Fleet briefs: Latest from DriverCheck, Northgate, Aston Barclay, VGroup International, Fleetmaxx, Geotab and Drivetech

DriverCheck ensures Link Group’s drivers stay safe and legal

Link Group is working with DriverCheck to ensure employees driving personal and corporate vehicles are legally compliant.

Link Group operates a number of social enterprise companies serving more than 10,000 customers across 26 Scottish local authorities - making it one of the largest social landlords in Scotland.

It has 584 drivers across its various activities, 393 of whom use their own vehicles on company business, with the remainder operating approximately 165 company-owned vans.

DriverCheck now checks and verifies the eligibility of all Link Group grey fleet vehicles, including MOT, road tax and insurance details, and confirms that all driving licences are up to date and relevant.

It also carries out licence checks on the company-owned van fleet, with frequency based on the perceived risk of the drivers.

Sharon Taylor, HR shared services team leader at Link Group, said: “We wanted a specialist provider of managed services to take over this issue for us and to ensure we were legally compliant in terms of our occupational road risk policy.

“DriverCheck has brought us peace of mind and effectively taken away the admin and logistical burden of managing the grey fleet for us, ensuring our drivers are operating within the teams of our road risk policy and allowing us to concentrate on more mainstream activities.”

DriverCheck managing director, Yvette Giannini, added: “Grey fleet continues to be a major issue for many businesses. Estimates suggest that a third of employers do not check that grey fleet insurance adequately covers drivers for work use, 63% do not check the roadworthiness of employee-owned vehicles and 43% don’t check that the vehicle has a current MOT.”

Northgate grows its network with the opening of new branch

Northgate has begun the year with an increased national network of 68 branches across the UK thanks to the opening of its latest premises in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, to the northwest of London. 

The Borehamwood branch opening will offer customers in the southeast a full range of business van hire and fleet mobility solutions, in addition to complete workshop and repair facilities.

As an integrated branch, Northgate’s Borehamwood location will also offer Northgate’s fleet electrification consultancy to customers looking to maintain efficient and cost-effective fleets while moving towards low-carbon mobility.

Three charging points are available to support servicing, and thanks to Northgate’s workshop technicians who are trained to IMI level 3 standards, the branch is set up to service and repair both EVs and eLCVs.

Neil McCrossan, Northgate’s sales and marketing director UK and Ireland, said: “Northgate continues to expand its service offering to our customers across the whole of the country, and this latest branch opening in Borehamwood underlines our commitment to providing access to the benefits of Northgate’s professional hire services to customers in the most efficient way possible.”

Aston Barclay to launch new sale in Chelmsford 

Aston Barclay is launching a brand-new sale at its Chelmsford centre on Fridays at 10am due to growing demand.  

To celebrate the launch of the sale, a launch day event will take place at 10am on April 19, and will include food, refreshments and a prize draw for all registered buyers.  

The sale is expected to feature circa 150 units and will primarily feature fresh dealer sale stock from the following vendors and many more:  TCBG, Addison Lee, Ogilvie, VWFS, Sportif Citroen, STB, Startline Finance, Vauxhall Finance, Haydock Finance, Mann Island, Zuto, Toomey. 

Chelmsford’s current sale schedule runs separate fleet and dealer sales on a Monday, along with a dealer sale on a Wednesday. 

Martin Heavey, auction centre manager at Chelmsford, said: “This is the first new sale launch for Aston Barclay since before the pandemic, and we are thrilled to give our Chelmsford and online buyer base another opportunity throughout the week to fill up their forecourt with fresh stock.  

“Our current dealer sales are extremely popular with buyers, and we hope to see some new and friendly faces at our launch event.”  

VGroup International announces the acquisition of Pick Pack Despatch

VGroup International has acquired Pick Pack Despatch (PPD), a logistics and order fulfilment service catering to small and medium-sized businesses.

Its acquisition of PPD marks a strategic move towards enhancing its logistics capabilities and expanding its service offerings.

PPD specialises in total e-commerce storage and order fulfilment for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Suzanne Merrell, director of Pick Pack Despatch, said: "We were approached by VGroup back in April 2022, to see if we had any appetite to sell. Just by chance we had already started to explore our options as co-founder and director, Karen Williams was keen to retire and we felt the company was ready for its next steps.

“So yes it’s been two years in the making but definitely worth the wait and we are excited for the future of PPD."

James Nash, group managing director of VGI Holdings, said: "The acquisition of Pick Pack Despatch marks a significant milestone for not only VGroup, but the whole VGi Holdings group.

“As we continue to expand our service offerings, we are thrilled to welcome PPD into our family of companies. This strategic acquisition aligns with our vision of providing unparalleled logistics solutions to our clients, and we look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.

Fleetmaxx partners with Artura powered by Agile Developments

Fleetmaxx Solutions has announced a strategic partnership with Artura Consultancy and Agile Developments.

The collaboration, it says, aims to revolutionise fleet insurance claims processing with the introduction of the Fleetmaxx vehicle insurance claims app.

The app aims to streamline the claims process, offering step-by-step guidance to fleet managers and drivers, ensuring accurate and efficient reporting of accidents or incidents.

By facilitating swift capture of relevant claims data and vehicle damage assessment, the app expedites the claims process, reducing repair duration and claims settlement time, says Fleetmaxx.

Scott Greenhill, founder and CEO of Agile Developments Group, said: “We are excited to collaborate with Artura and Fleetmaxx to deliver a game-changing claims reporting solution that enhances customer experience and outcomes while reducing costs and resource allocation.”

Fleetmaxx customers utilising the Claims App will receive £100 toward their insurance excess when making a claim through the app, further enhancing the value proposition for fleet operators.

Sue Florence, founding director of Fleetmaxx Solutions, said: “At Fleetmaxx, we continuously seek innovative, value-added products and services to assist our customers in cost-effectively managing their vehicles.

“The Fleetmaxx vehicle insurance claims app perfectly aligns with our goals, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Artura Consultancy and Agile Developments to bring this product to market.”

Geotab extends its Stellantis partnership into Europe

Geotab has announced an expanded partnership with Mobilisights, a business unit of Stellantis.

Mobilisights was set up last year as an independent business unit, fully dedicated to growing the company’s data services business. 

Data from the Stellantis vehicle-embedded telematics system can now be integrated into the MyGeotab platform.

The web-based management software tool helps fleet companies manage vehicles in near-real time.

Via this expanded partnership, fleet managers with Stellantis-branded vehicles can now benefit from the combination of Geotab solutions and data from Stellantis-embedded telematic systems. 

Sebastien Fraysse, head of sales EMEA for Mobilisights, said: “Thanks to the integration with Geotab, Geotab’s fleet customers can now also easily and seamlessly access the telematic data from their Stellantis vehicles without the need for additional hardware or software.”

Christoph Ludewig, vice president OEM Europe at Geotab, added: "The cooperation with Stellantis, a heavyweight in the automotive industry, is a significant milestone.

“Our customers will benefit from the efficient and straightforward use of telematics.”

The partnership with Stellantis expands Geotab’s growing integration options for embedded telematics across Europe.

Drivetech urges fleets not to cut safety budgets amid economic uncertainty

Drivetech is urging fleets not to sacrifice their safety budgets amid the current economic uncertainty, following the launch of its bespoke fleet consultancy service, Drivetech Consult.

Fleets are under increasing pressure to maintain high safety standards amidst a tricky landscape of both rising costs and the transition to alternative fuels.

Anthony Marcou, UK commercial consultant at Drivetech, said: “Since the launch of Drivetech Consult, we've engaged with hundreds of businesses on their pain points and frustrations.

“Fleets, both large and small, are, out of sheer necessity, putting more of their safety budgets into other areas, as costs continue to rise across all elements of fleet management.”

Drivetech, part of the AA, and a specialist in driver training and risk management, launched Drivetech Consult in 2023.

The service provides bespoke consultancy, supporting businesses with operational and strategic decision making, while also addressing sustainability goals and optimising data to improve fleet and business performance.

Drivetech delivers fleet and driver risk assessments and safe driving training in over 95 countries and online in over 35 languages. The firm’s expertise has helped clients enhance driver safety, minimise fleet expenses, and reduce their carbon footprint.