So much for the fantasy – what about the reality?

Fleet Van was invited to the judging event at the RCA in Kensington. Not only did it give us the chance to question the students on their findings, we also spoke to two of Citroën’s top LCV experts who gave a fascinating insight into what we are likely to see unfolding in van design.

Andy Cowell is the man who designed both the Citroën Nemo and the DS5 car.

He told Fleet Van: “We work four to five years in advance and so at present we are creating vehicles for 2016-17.

"But unlike the students, we have to consider the powertrains and these are dictated to us – we don’t have a choice.

"Old vans were pretty basic vehicles with no comforts at all. We are increasingly seeing the lines blurred between cars and vans and this will continue.

"Van drivers quite rightly want the same comforts as car drivers and the extras on cars at present will be available on commercial vehicles soon.

"But the biggest advance is in connectivity. Telematics is a fast-moving industry and this will continue.”

Richard Meyer, PSA’s light commercial vehicle director, told us how he saw the future of van powertrains. With Citroën about to launch an electric version of the Berlingo in the summer, he was suprisingly downbeat about the future of electric power.

He says: “We do not see pure electric power as anything but a niche product. The right technology for fleet users must be a versatile and cost-effective solution and electric power just doesn’t do that thanks to its high cost and limited mileage range.”

The Berlingo Electric will be sold both as a complete vehicle and as a dual option with the van sold outright and the batteries leased – the same as the Renault Kangoo ZE electric van.

But Meyer believes the constraints on mileage range and the extra price of electric vans will be their undoing.