Thinking CAP: CAP manufacturer relationships manager Martin Ward scours the globe for the week's insider fleet intelligence

Monday

Not one, but four new Infinitis delivered to the office – all from Infiniti Centre Paris, which is probably our nearest dealer at the moment until the first UK site opens in Reading in the autumn.

Infiniti is the luxury arm of Nissan, which has been very successful in the US, and the firm now hopes to repeat that success across Europe.

I took delivery of an EX37 GT, a £36,500 BMW X3 rival; a £44,600 FX 37 S, an X5-sized car; a G37 GT Coupe, priced at £33,250 and a competitor to the Audi A5; and the one most likely to appeal to fleet, but in very limited numbers, the G37 S saloon priced at £33,500.

The latter lines up against the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

All are powered by a 3.7-litre V6 petrol engine, and there are no plans for a smaller petrol engine or a diesel unit.

Infiniti is entering into a tough sector of the market but low sales expectations (a few hundred a year) should help it remain exclusive.

Remember, it took Toyota nearly 10 years to establish Lexus as a serious contender in the UK.

Tuesday

Spent the day driving Volvo’s new DRIVe models which include stop-start technology to bring CO2 emissions down to 104g/km for the S40 and V50 models, compared to 119g/km before.

The Start/Stop system costs £250, but would be worth it for the savings in fuel alone over the vehicle’s life.

I managed to get a V50 to stop and re-start 22 times in the space of 100 metres – impressive.

Friday

Another take on the BSM/Fiat announcement from a friend of mine who is a driving instructor for BSM.

He’s a tall lad and the Vauxhall Corsa he has just about fits him.

It is also the family car, used at weekends to transport the wife and kids.

His problem is that the Fiat 500 he will now be given will be too small for him to use as a work vehicle and the family run-about.

He is certainly not a happy driving instructor, and will probably have to leave BSM.