The core Volkswagen Crafter range has been expanded, with several new models joining the panel vans launched at the Commercial Vehicle Show in April.
Alongside the already available front-wheel-drive vans with gross vehicle weights of up to 3.5 tonnes and a three-way engine choice, the Crafter range now also caters for buyers needing greater capacity. Maximum gross vehicle weight increases to five tonnes, while rear and all-wheel-drive transmissions are now also available in the line-up.
Also newly added are open-body variants. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is now offering  Luton, dropside, tipper or other specialist vehicles through its Recognised Converter scheme, potentially greatly expanding the Crafter’s potential customer base.
The Crafter launched with a manual gearbox but buyers can also now specify an automatic version, an eight-speed unit which VW says is the first of its type available in the Crafter’s class.
Prices for the Crafter start from £24,640 (excluding VAT) for the basic panel van. Models with eight-speed auto gearboxes cost from £30,385, rear-wheel-drive variants from £30,590 and £34,145 for all-wheel-drive.
Volkswagen says that orders for the new models taken now will be delivered before the end of the year and further range expansion is planned for 2018. This will include the addition of a 122hp diesel engine, slotting into the range alongside the current 102, 140 and 177hp powertrain options.
