FLEET buyers will not be able to cherry pick the best product and service prices across Europe, according to one of the continent's major fast-fit companies. Ian Thomas, European marketing and communications director of ATS Euromaster, said the Euro would expose pricing differentials across Europe, but that some of these were unavoidable.

'Fleets cannot pick low service prices from one market and low tyre prices from another,' he said. 'Pricing is influenced by delivery logistics, taxes, currency fluctuations, local staff and overhead costs.' Where fleets will gain is in the improvement of service levels and the co-ordination of management information, explained Thomas at the Pan-European fleet forum, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers in association with Manheim Europe.