You can enter the new Crafter via the conventional door at the front, while for wheelchair users, there's a Braun Vista Split inboard passenger lift at the back. Because Volkswagen fully recognises and approves Taxi Bus Conversions' work, the Crafter minibus comes with the same factory warranty as a standard Crafter.
While a 16-seater (plus the driver) layout is standard, all of the seats have quick-release mechanisms so that you can alter the layout and accommodate as many as six wheelchairs, with restraint systems if needed.
The new Crafter minibus will make its commercial debut at the CV Show in Birmingham this year. Volkswagen's Engineered To Go program is designed to allow local conversion companies to adapt Volkswagen's van models to customer needs, at a sharp price, and to Volkswagen's exacting standards.
Nick Axtell, Specialist Sales Manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in the UK, said: "This conversion meets a customer demand for a spacious minibus with the flexibility to adapt the seat configuration to transport wheelchair users. We expect huge interest in this vehicle at the CV Show 2019 and plan to place the finished product into our Engineered To Go programme so customers can get their hands on the conversion in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible."
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Ireland has not yet announced when it will launch the minibus Crafter here, but we'll let you know as soon as they give us any details. In the meantime, the existing Caravelle and Shuttle models, based on the T6 Transporter van, remain on sale.
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