With preparations for the launch of their key new fleet model, the Astra, well under way, the team wants to make the Vauxhall brand the first choice for both fleet decision-makers and drivers.
Already the firm has enjoyed unprecedented success with large fleets, signing two of the biggest deals in fleet history this year.
Just last month, it was part of a deal between its parent company General Motors and daily rental group Avis worth £4 billion (Fleet NewsNet November 6).
The five-year pan-European deal will see General Motors supply Avis with 350,000 vehicles from its Opel/ Vauxhall, Saab and Daewoo brands, with the two groups expected to introduce new fleet initiatives and combine brand marketing. At the beginning of the year, Vauxhall was also involved in a deal with ANC Rental Corporation, which was worth £1 billion.
But as the first new Astras arrive on the fleet scene early next year, the firm wants to ensure that more small fleets and user-choosers are won over by the brand.
Vauxhall's fleet sales director Maurice Howkins said: 'We need to get the driver excitement of the Astra to user-choosers. There will be a number of new features in the Astra which will help target the user-chooser market.
'Our product range is already enthusing user-choosers with the VX220, the Vectra GSi, Astra GSi and Zafira GSi and they are giving a real halo effect to the range and giving drivers a different perception.'
This perception has also been buoyed by the VX220 Turbo taking the annual Performance Car of the Year crown in Car magazine.
Its success is all the more impressive considering previous winners have included the Porsche 911 in 2000, the Ferrari 360 Spider in 2001 and the Pagani Zonda C12S last year.
The success rounds off an award-winning year for Vauxhall, which took away two gongs at the Fleet News Awards in March, with the Zafira taking the Best Mini MPV category for the second year in a row.
Vauxhall itself was given one of the most important awards of the night, the Platinum Award, which recognises long-term achievement in the fleet industry over its 100 year history.
The judges said: 'The award goes to Vauxhall to recognise its role in motoring and the fleet that has stretched over a century. During that time, it has become a stalwart of the fleet industry, but its commitment is also being recognised in the important area of alternative fuels.'
From the strong base it has set down in 2003, Vauxhall has high hopes for 2004, with sales for the new Astra expected to reach 100,000 units, while developments on other key models will increase the attraction of the range of cars and commercial vehicles.
To build awareness of the new Astra, customers were shown the car in August and key fleet buyers are being invited to events next year.
Howkins said: 'We need to maintain current business demand and entice the user-chooser. We want to be known as the best fleet manufacturer, with the best product range covering car and commercial vehicles tackling the needs of fleet operators.
'As a mission statement we want to be the best volume fleet manufacturer. We are already rated number one in terms of support we give to our customers. And as a reflection of the prospecting activity we are doing, we have signed 80 new customers over a six-month period.'
He added: 'Our aim is to be number one for service levels and we are one of the few major fleet manufacturers that is improving its market share, while keeping service levels high.'
Although Vauxhall says the position in the sales charts comes second to running a profitable business, the firm will be heartened to see that it is currently set to take the number one fleet sales spot from Ford this year.
Its success has also been driven by a surge in sales of commercial vehicles. Howkins added: 'Fleet commercial vehicle sales are up 67% year-on-year. In the commercial vehicle market it is getting the infrastructure right and we have been realigning the retailer network.'
In the commercial vehicle retailer network there are 204 dealers, split into 115 selling light and heavy commercial vehicles, with 89 selling light commercial vehicles only.
Vauxhall has also realigned its entire fleet department in preparation for the arrival of the Astra, backed by a conscious move to ensure more staff become customer-facing.
The fleet sales team is segmented into three teams, covering blue chip clients, 100 to 500-vehicle fleets and a new group for 25 to 100- vehicle fleets.
Howkins said: 'The restructure has been put in place to prepare for Astra, including restructuring of vehicle retailers. We have more than 100 fleet specialists, a third of the total.
'We are going to be very active with diesel and Astra is getting common rail diesels. Current Astra, Corsa and Meriva models are available with Euro IV common rail diesels, with Vectra to get them in the new year, while the new Astra will be launched with Euro IV engines.'
Howkins believes this has created a sound base for Vauxhall's success in 2004 and is now looking to ensure that his vision is one New Year's resolution that lasts the whole year.
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