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See the Citymaster 1650 and 2250 at the Public Sector Vehicle Forum
What if one vehicle could sweep your streets, clear the weeds, scrub your paving and still be ready to grit the footpaths when winter arrives? That’s the idea behind the Citymaster 1650 and on Wednesday 18 November 2026 you can see it for yourself. We’ll be at the Public Sector Vehicle Forum in Leicester with the 3.5T Citymaster 1650, the 6T Citymaster 2250 and our municipal team will be on hand to talk through how they could work for your fleet. If you manage a council or public sector fleet, it’s worth knowing what the day involves before you go.
What Is the Public Sector Vehicle Forum and Where Is It?
The forum is a one-day event for the people who run public sector fleets; local authority fleet operators to waste and recycling managers. This year’s theme is roadworthiness and keeping fleets compliant, so the day is as much about keeping vehicles working as it is about buying new ones. Here are the details you’ll need to plan your visit:
- Date: Wednesday 18 November 2026
- Time: 9am to 4pm
- Venue: Leicester Tigers Stadium, Mattioli Woods Welford Road, Aylestone Road, Leicester, LE2 7TR
- Entry: free for qualified visitors, with registration required
Places are limited and advance registration is essential, so it’s best to register for the forum before you travel.
What Is the Citymaster 1650 and Who Is It For?
The Citymaster 1650 is the machine we’ll be putting front and centre in Leicester. It’s a 3.5 tonne road sweeper built for city cleaning and its interchangeable attachments turn it into a multifunctional road sweeper, so one vehicle can cover different jobs through the year. It’s also simple to operate and easy to clean and maintain, which makes it a good fit for local authorities and municipal teams who want more from a single machine.
Drivers matter as much as the machine. In our experience, many councils find it hard to recruit and keep drivers for larger vehicles. The CM1650 is designed to stay within 3,500 kg, so it may be driven on a category B licence, which is the standard car licence. Category B covers vehicles up to 3,500kg, although the rules differ depending on when a driver passed their test, so check your drivers’ entitlement before you rely on it.
How Do Citymaster Attachments Change Over?
The changeover is what sets the CM1650 apart and it’s the part we’re most keen to show. It uses a simple, tool-free quick-change system. Across our Citymaster range, attachments can be exchanged by just one person without heavy lifting or tools, so the same vehicle can follow the work from one job to the next. If you’d like a preview before the forum, there’s a short video of an attachment changeover.
In our view, adding attachments to a vehicle you already own can offer better value than buying several dedicated machines. Here are the attachments the CM1650 can work with:
- Brush deck: for everyday sweeping
- Snow brush: for clearing snow, sand and paths
- Weed removal arm: for taking out weeds without chemicals
- Scrub deck: for cleaning hard surfaces
- Gritter and brine sprayer: for winter treatment
- Plough: for pushing snow aside
- Flail & Deck mower: for cutting grass
Which of these fit depends on the Citymaster model and the options for each one are listed on our attachments page.
Can a Road Sweeper Remove Weeds Without Chemicals?
Weeds along kerbs and paths are usually dealt with by hand or with weedkiller and the weed removal arm offers another way. Councils looking for an alternative to weedkiller can use our weed removal attachment, which removes weeds physically instead of treating them.
On the Citymaster 1650, the arm also mechanises a job that’s otherwise done by hand. Doing it by machine can cut the time and labour involved compared with manual removal on larger areas significantly. That comparison is with manual methods, so the right answer for your site will depend on the size of the area and how often it needs treating.
Can a Road Sweeper Scrub Pavements and Paving?
Some jobs need more than a brush. With the scrub deck fitted, the Citymaster 1650 can scrub hard surfaces as well as sweep them, which gives teams another option besides pressure washing for some jobs. It turns a sweeper into something closer to a cleaning machine for paving and pavements.
City of London’s team saw something similar when they tried our all-electric Citymaster ZE. They noted it could both sweep and work as a scrubber drier, where they would usually rely on pressure washing to deal with staining. Some teams may also find a use for scrubbing beyond their usual routes, such as paving outside private buildings, to add a commercial benfit to investing in the attachments.
Can the Same Machine Help With Winter Maintenance?
Winter is where a multifunctional machine can earn its place. The gritter and brine sprayer treat surfaces, while the snow brush clear snow. That means the vehicle that spent the year sweeping and tackling weeds can take on footpath gritting once the cold arrives. The compact nature of the CM1650 means it can treat areas that can otherwise only be tackled by hand.
What Does It Cost to Own a Sweeper Over Its Life?
The purchase price is only part of the picture. The full cost of owning a vehicle over its working life, from the price you pay to servicing and repairs, is known as whole life vehicle cost and it’s a fairer way to compare sweepers. It shows what a machine costs to keep on the road, not only what it costs to buy.
That was the approach at Doncaster, where the council’s senior transport manager said our machines stood out for lower expected whole life costs within the first few years. The case study also reports a notable fall in repair costs and operational disruption since the council added our machines.
Where Does the Citymaster 2250 Fit?
Alongside the CM1650, we’re bringing its larger sibling, the Citymaster 2250. We describe it as the market leading sweeper in the 6t class and it has a 2,200 litre hopper and a gross weight of 6,000 kg, so it suits teams that need more capacity.
The difference comes down to size and licence. The CM2250 increases the work capacity not only by having a larger payload, but also increased travel speed, suction power and cabin space. In a large local authority fleet it makes the perfect companion to the small, nimble CM1650 to allow effective sweeping from city centre to residential and industrial areas.
What Should You Ask Our Team at the Forum?
It helps to arrive with a few questions in mind. Start with the jobs your team covers across the year, then ask which attachments would handle them and whether they fit the model you’re considering.
Tell us how your street cleansing operation currently operates and we can talk through whether the CM1650 or the CM2250 is the better match for your application. It’s also worth asking about servicing and training, because the arrangements you choose at the start shape how much time a machine spends on the road.
How Does Hako Support Fleets After Delivery?
Since the forum is about keeping vehicles on the road, support after delivery matters as much as the machine. Our operator courses are endorsed by the CILT and we offer familiarisation training on delivery through our training programme, so drivers can get to know a new machine from the start.
For servicing, our service packages are tailored to each machine’s expected annual use and start with planned preventative maintenance. Doncaster used our service contracts alongside its own maintenance team. Its senior transport manager said the product and all aspects of aftersales were “beyond what I expected”, which is the standard we aim for with every fleet.
In Summary
The Citymaster 1650 is built around a simple idea, which is that one vehicle can change with the job. Its tool-free attachment changes take it from sweeping to winter gritting and its 3,500 kg design means it may be driven on a category B licence. The larger Citymaster 2250 suits teams that need more capacity, with training and servicing behind both, so the forum is a good chance to see which would suit your fleet.
Whether you’re coming to Leicester on 18 November or would like a conversation before then, get in touch with our team. Tell us about your fleet and the jobs that fill your year and we’ll go through how the Citymaster could fit.