News - Page 1741

LATEST appointments in the fleet industry.

LEASEPLAN Corporation is taking over Europcar Fleet Services companies in Italy, Portugal and Spain.

FRENCH voters have hugely rejected the EU Constitution, prompting the resignation of French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

AVERAGE fuel prices in the UK.

A CONTROVERSIAL court case in which a traffic officer was cleared of speeding and dangerous driving will undermine drivers’ confidence in the Government’s anti-speeding campaign, experts believe.

FLEETS should be confident that diesel residual values are likely to be unaffected by new company car tax rules introduced next year that no longer exempt drivers from a tax surcharge.

E.ON UK, the company which runs Powergen, has announced plans to take on 70 hybrid petrol-electric vehicles for its pool fleet and is hoping to save more than £150,000 on fuel costs.

HONDA is briefing leasing companies and large fleets about its growing role in the company car market after achieving its highest-ever position in the fleet sales rankings.

MORE than 60 fleet executives were given a preview of the new BMW 3-series Touring at BMW/GE Commercial Finance, Fleet Services’ driving event.

THE variation in standards of outsourcing within the fleet industry has led LeasePlan, one of the world’s biggest leasing companies, to start a worldwide search to uncover best practice methods.

SPEED cameras usually generate bad press but latest findings have shown that the majority of fleets believe cameras are reducing the number of road accidents.

ENVIRONMENTAL campaigner Greenpeace has called on the fleet industry to join the backlash against sport utility vehicles by banning them from choice lists.

A QUARTER of drivers admit to getting behind the wheel of their vehicles after drinking more than the legal limit.

A COMPUTER maintenance and repair services company is replacing its fleet with 50 Citroen Dispatch Enterprise 1.9D vans over the next 18 months.

Glass's experts give the lowdown on what's selling and what's sitting

PEUGEOT’S new 107 city car will cost from £6,995 on-the-road when it goes on sale next month.

FLEET management systems company Chevin Fleet Solutions has formed its own fleet safety ‘think tank’.

RETIRING Ford of Britain chairman Roger Putnam will become the next president of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, succeeding Tod Evans, former chairman of Peugeot Citroen Automobiles UK.

THE car rental needs of Scotland-based NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG) will be met by Avis UK.

INDEPENDENT fleet management company Zenith Vehicle Contracts has announced an increase in yearly operating profit of 39% to £3.2 million.

PROTON has revised its Impian saloon range with extra equipment for no increase in price.

THE Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is using five specially branded Vauxhall Combo vans to promote its work.

VAUXHALL is launching a Fleet Service Commitment programme designed to ensure the group’s retail network provides a better service to fleets.

CO-OPERATIVE Insurance Society has appointed RAC Auto Windscreens as its preferred supplier for automotive glass repair and replacement.

BOSSES at Newtown Vehicle Rentals say a year of ‘unprecedented growth’ has prompted a move to bigger premises.

SUBARU’S Forester SUV model now has a quicker range-topper, thanks to a Prodrive Performance Pack that offers 252bhp.

THE Renault subsidiary that distributes Renault, Nissan and Dacia brands in major European countries has been renamed REAGROUP.

GENERAL Motors has opened its first all-new engine factory in Germany.

IN the past five years, diesel growth has dominated the new car market.

Letters to Fleet News' editor John Maslen.