THE British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has renewed the fleet industry attack on MPs who claim that new car fleet discounts are responsible for driving up the prices of vehicles for retail customers. Members of the House of Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee held bulk-buying fleets responsible for manufacturers hiking up new car prices for private buyers to restore bottom line profit.

It then called on companies which obtained discounts of around 40% to be 'named and shamed'. But, in a New Year attack on the claim BVRLA director general Norman Donkin said: 'Market forces dictate that if you buy anything in sufficient numbers, you negotiate a discount. Companies purchasing tens of thousands of vehicles every year would not expect to pay the full retail price.'

'The UK car market has been the proverbial goose laying golden eggs for the manufacturers in the form of high prices for vehicles and it is absurd to blame volume buyers in the fleet industry for this untenable situation. An orderly reduction in new car prices, spread over a period, would benefit both purchasers of new vehicles and those who depend upon the used car market.'