NISSAN says companies ‘will have to start recruiting young blood to replace an ageing workforce’, with more than one third of van drivers over 45-years-old.

Just three per cent of van drivers are aged between 16 and 24, with 39 per cent over 45-years-old, according to the Japanese car and van manufacturer.

“Van drivers are a loyal bunch with 45 per cent of correspondents saying they had been with their employer for six years or more,” a Nissan spokesman said.

Nissan surveyed 250 drivers and 252 fleet managers to source facts for their findings and is using the survey to encourage more van drivers to consider going green. 

And while 48 per cent of van drivers said they drove less than 100 miles a day, two thirds said they could not live without their radio or MP3 player. Seven per cent claimed they always listened to talkSPORT while driving, ‘reinforcing that professional drivers do love their sport’. BBC Radio 2 proved to be the most popular with 23 per cent tuning in while behind the wheel. Meanwhile 14 per cent of drivers prefer the more mainstream music aired on BBC Radio 1.

“With almost half of van drivers questioned driving less than 100 miles a day, the research further supports our decision to build an electric van,” explained an excited Jon Pollock, Corporate Sales Director for Nissan. “We are excited to be showcasing the new zero CO2 emission eNV200 in the UK for first time at the CV show, which also responds to the need for reduced fuel costs.”

The electric Nissan NV200 could save a huge amount of in fuels costs for van drivers.

One in every 12 van drivers has worked for their employer for more than 20 years, making it more difficult for the younger generation to show off their driving skills to prospective employers. But with 34 per cent of drivers working in companies with fewer than five employees, a huge number of van drivers are sole traders and there are an increasing number of young entrepreneurs investing in vans for their business. 

With only one in every 20 drivers being female, it is very much a male-dominated profession. “Any future recruitment campaigns could aim to balance up a gender ratio by employing more women,” Mr Pollock said.

Despite this, 23 per cent (one in every four) of fleet managers are women, most aged 45 to 50, while three per cent were 16 to 24. 

Nissan says the discrimination against young van drivers and young fleet managers is ‘an issue which needs to be addressed quickly’.

Car safety innovations have had little impact on reducing whiplash injuries ONE of world's most prominent orthopaedic surgeons believes car manufacturers have not done enough to reduce whiplash injuries, despite claims having fallen by 24,000 in the last year.Sanjiv Jari, w

Europe on verge of creating 400,000 jobs in free trade agreement with Japan to allow EU-built cars to ‘compete on an equal footing’ in the Far East Europe’s automotive industry is calling for Japan to bring a halt to the drawn-out process of selling EU-built cars in the Far Eastern country, with the European Union (EU) launching a free trade ag

Used LCV values rise in March, as ‘continued shortage of stock helps to drive demand and keep prices firm’, says British Car Auctions USED LCV values have risen again in March to a record high of £4,860, while the value of the average used car sold at auction decreased to £7,000.The average March figure of £4,860 for all LCVs was

Driving instructors embracing new technology, new study reveals.  Driving instructors are beginning to embrace modern technology to run their business on a day to day level, according to a new study from adiNEWS and Hitachi Capital Driving Instructor Solutions.&nb... 

Budding engineers needed for Formula One's Red Bull Racing.  Talented performance-driven engineering graduates are to be given an exclusive opportunity to work in Formula One as a result of a new global talent search initiative.The ‘Infiniti Performance Engin... 

Lord Drayson set to beat sub-1000kg electric car world land speed record on Bonneville Salt Flats.  Technology entrepreneur, former UK science minister and racing driver Lord (Paul) Drayson is bringing his spectacular Drayson B12 69/EV electric Le Mans Prototype racing car to the Bonneville Salt F... 

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock arrive at Venice film festival in Maserati Quattroporte.  Yesterday evening saw the highly anticipated inauguration ceremony of the 70th Venice International Film Festival. For an event of such calibre, world renowned international stars arrived on th... 

Bridgestone Potenza S007 tyres selected for Ferrari F12berlinetta .  Bridgestone has developed a new super sports car tyre, the Potenza S007, as original equipment for the 2013 Ferrari F12berlinetta. Delivery of the tyre, size 255/35 ZR20, to the Ferrari factory... 

Nissan to have affordable driverless cars on sale within seven years.  Nissan today announced that the company will be ready with multiple, commercially-viable Autonomous Drive vehicles by 2020. Nissan announced that the company's engineers have been carrying out ... 

Mercedes announce new S 63 AMG will cost nearly £120,000.  Mercedes have made quite a bold, sweeping statement by calling their new S 63 AMG ‘the most sophisticated car in the world’, but it is by no means affordable for the majority of people – with a pric... 

Electric vehicle motor speeds could double with help of new research.  Specialist engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) has been named as a key member of a new £16 million government-backed development consortium announced at LCV2013, the Low Carbon Vehicle... 

RM Auctions aims to set records with glamorous London car auction.  RM Auctions is set for another spectacular sale that could see several records broken, as well as fierce competition for the submarine Lotus that featured in James Bond’s The Spy Who Loved Me.Last O... 

Car dealerships need to 'be active' in finding 'newly qualified youngsters' to help reduce youth unemployment.  Steve Nash, CEO of the Institute of Motor Industry (IMI), is urging the retail motor sector to capitalise on the opportunity of increased new car sales with a greater commitment to apprenticeships a... 

Concours of Elegance in Pictures: 1929 Monaco Grand Prix winning Bugatti is stand-out star in classic car get-toget.  Last week’s Concours of Elegance was an impressive event, with a high-quality line-up of some of the world’s rarest and most valuable classic cars.The sun was beaming its highest quality heat on the... 

Like many popular websites, Motortrades Insight uses some third party widgets that may set and may have already set cookies, for example the Twitter feed on our homepage. For more information see our cookie policy. By clicking close and continue you agree to our use of cookies.