FLEETS have come a step closer to being offered standard three-year/60,000-mile warranties by all car manufacturers after Rover and Mercedes-Benz this week introduced three-year cover packages.

Rover has introduced three-year/ 60,000-mile warranty cover on the new 75 model which went on sale in the UK on Thursday and Mercedes' warranty has been extended from 12 months' unlimited mileage to three years' unlimited mileage for all its cars sold by official dealerships. The warranty applies to all vehicles registered since May 1.

Tony Leigh, chairman of the Association of Car Fleet Operators which has campaigned for three-year/60,000-mile warranties, said the moves were a breakthrough and he expected other manufacturers to follow. Before the announcement, just three of the top 10 fleet manufacturers - Volkswagen, Nissan and Toyota - offered three-year cover across their model line-ups. Leigh said: 'If a volume manufacturer such as Rover can do it, then I look forward to seeing Ford and Vauxhall also introducing three-year warranties.'