FLEETS have expressed very little interest in sourcing cars from continental Europe, preferring to focus on factors such as dealer service and after sales support.

The long-running dispute over new car pre- and post-tax pricing differentials between the UK and Europe was reignited last week when the Department of Trade & Industry expressed Government concern at the price of many new models in this country.

But multi-marque contract hire company Interleasing has received little interest from fleet customers for its European purchasing service, according to Len Clayton, chief executive officer, global full service leasing at General Motors Acceptance Corporation (owner of Interleasing).

'We looked at operating a sourcing programme from mainland Europe last year, but the response to it from UK-based customers was nominal,' he said.

'We had far more discussions about cars being delivered on time and serviced properly by the relevant dealer network in the UK, than on price.'

Interleasing found a general cynicism among British fleets that UK dealers would fully support cars sourced from abroad, with the majority of clients deciding that the price differences did not justify overseas sourcing for mainstream company cars.

'We marked down the residual values of imports before we put them on to contracts, and we supplied fewer than 100 vehicles this way, out of more than 20,000 last year,' said Clayton.