A record 195 attendees helped the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM) celebrate 20 years at its annual national members’ conference held on November 13 at the MINI Plant Oxford.

The event showcased the Institute’s heritage to the present day and debated what might happen over the next 20 years through a morning session devoted to ‘Key Trends in Urban Mobility’.

Roddy Graham, chairman of the ICFM, said: “The turnout for our 20th anniversary celebrations surpassed all our expectations. It was tremendous to see so many members bring guests along, demonstrating just how proud they are of their institute which is dedicated to furthering the education, recognising the achievements and advancing the profession of car fleet management.

“Delegates were unanimous in their praise for our thought-provoking ‘Key Trends in Urban Mobility’ morning session.

“Increasing urbanisation, rising populations and more vehicles on the road all impacting urban mobility was a common theme running through the presentations.

“A move away from ownership to rental was flagged up by several speakers together with an increase in the popularity of car clubs, especially for electric vehicles.

“The lack of a common standard for EV recharging points was highlighted together with lessons to be learned from other countries. Specifically, in Japan, all new cities have to be built to new rules encompassing new road layouts with no on-street parking and consolidated deliveries to virtually eliminate HGVs.

“Clearly, though, UK plc still needs an integrated transport policy, something which Government apparently is working towards.”

The ‘Key Trends in Urban Mobility’ session was facilitated by Stephen Glaister CBE, Professor of Transport and Infrastructure at the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London.

Expert panellists who presented and joined in a lively question and answer session included Caroline Watson, transport strategy manager, Energy Saving Trust; Dr Colin Herron, MD, Zero Carbon Futures; Suzanne Gray, general manager of BMW Project  i at BMW Group UK and lead on the Mini E project; David K Martell, chief executive, Chargemaster Plc; Darren Lindsey, head of government & public affairs, Michelin PLC; Richard Bruce, head of the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles and Professor Allan Hutchinson, Oxford Brookes University.

Guest speaker, Murray Walker OBE, the veteran motorsports presenter and iconic voice of Formula One, entertained in the afternoon with his many anecdotes and also presented the training awards.

Besides the main conference partners – BMW Group UK and FMG – conference support partners were Fleet Hire Vehicle Management and Michelin Tyre PLC.

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