Midlands Asset Finance (MAF) rebrands

Midland Asset Finance (MAF) has rebranded and will now trade under the name, MAF Finance Group.

The rebrand follows the broker launching a group of specialist divisions across the business over the last four years, including MAF Healthcare, MAF Property, MAF Vehicle Management and Leasing, MAF Construction and MAF Agriculture.

The broker said the specialist car and van leasing division will continue to trade as MAF Leasing, while all other divisions will be brought under the MAF Finance Group name.

During the pandemic in 2020, the broker arranged over £43 million of CBILS funding for 124 businesses, said the company.

Vimcar achieves company milestone

Vimcar, the fleet management software, has reached the milestone of connecting its 100,000th company vehicle.

The software has also recorded over 222 million journeys and over 2.7 billion miles - the equivalent to saving SMEs more than 141 years in time, said Vimcar.

Vimcar entered the UK market last year with its Fleet Geo product. The company said its next target is to achieve 500,000 connected cars.

Andreas Schneider, co-founder and managing director at Vimcar (pictured), said: “The future of the company vehicle lies in its resource-efficient use. We have the data and use it to help our customers inform decisions around e-mobility and resource efficiency.”

Copart UK announces expansion plans

Online vehicle remarketing company, Copart, has announced expansion plans for its Wisbech Operations Centre as part of the company’s growth programme.

The company said the expansion aims to meet the rising demand for its customers including fleets and motor traders.

Expansion of the Wisbech site from 16 to 21 acres is the latest step in Copart’s re-investment strategy, which combines a programme of land acquisition with continuous improvement at existing sites and reinvestment in transport, services, and technology.

The expansion will increase overall vehicle storage capacity by around 35%, said Copart.

Copart also announced expansion plans for its Bristol operations centre, earlier this year. 

Phil Briggs, director of operation centres, transport & engineering at Copart UK, said: “Annually, this expansion will provide storage for just under 7,000 additional vehicles at our Wisbech Operation Centre and will enable us to continue providing our industry leading services.”

QV Systems partners with Licence Bureau

QV Systems has formed a partnership with Licence Bureau. 

The SaaS solution provider said Licence Bureau’s solution is a strong addition to QV Systems’ offering as customers can benefit from driver risk management software, providing  fleet managers greater ability to assess their fleet and manage driver risk and compliance through a single, central system.

Rebecca Duckworth, chief sales officer at QV Systems, said: “It’s always important for us to secure the best partnerships to ensure we give clients and businesses the tools and technology they need to thrive.

“With this partnership we have added another feature to our solution, further helping and protecting our fleet management users remain compliant through additional driving licence checks.”

Steve Pinchen, sales director at Licence Bureau, said: “The partnership with QV Systems will allow an additional angle in the push for improving company driver compliance in the UK when dealing with customer expectations, risk and competition by offering Licence Bureau Driver Licence Checking services.”

Wessex Fleet Group develops new website

Wessex Fleet Group has developed Ignite, a new website to help users find a suitable lease car – taking inspiration from dating aps.

The Ignite site allows users to add their criteria, such as distance of how many miles they want to do and long or short lease deals. The site then provides matches suited to what the user is looking for, where customers are can swipe ‘yes’ or ‘no’ along their matches.

Harry Tuckerman, senior pricing and marketing executive at Wessex Fleet Group, said: “It all started with a funny conversation in the office about online dating, and I suggested we could use that concept to pick and choose lease cars.

“When we came up with the idea, we knew it would be something totally different, it is important to think of new and exciting ways our customers can engage with leasing a car, as it can be a little mundane with all the terminology.”

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