News - Page 1890

SUZUKI is introducing a high-performance version of the Suzuki Ignis, based on its Junior World Rally Championship car.

PRACTICAL Car & Van Rental has opened a series of new franchises across the UK airport network.

MG Rover engineering subsidiary Powertrain has won a contract to supply engines to the recently announced Gibbs Aquada, the world's first sports amphibian craft.

ONE of the UK's largest accountancy firms has re-branded with a change in name.

EARLY models of the Fiat Ulysse, Citroen C8 and Peugeot 807 have been recalled to investigate a problem involving the electronic sliding doors.

USED car prices are firm and are even rising in some sectors due to strong trade buying, partly fuelled by a shortage of customer part-exchanges.

THE weather may have turned colder, but premium badge convertible cars hold their value better than any other type of vehicle, according to Glass's Information Services.

BUYERS were treated to a themed auction at BCA Nottingham recently, when the firm teamed up with Ford for a 'Destination Football' sale that included the chance to win tickets to Premier League matches along with jackets, T-shirts, hats and bags.

FLEET van disposal experts should not assume that just because a new model is launched, the outgoing one will drop in value.

'THE lower-medium sector has been growing, both in dimensions and popularity, in recent years – the latter at the expense of the larger upper-medium sector.'

VOLKSWAGEN'S new Transporter van, codenamed T5, may not win any prizes in a beauty contest but it should win more than a few new fleet friends.

TOM Madden, director, customer affairs at BCA, argues that fleets should concentrate on simplicity in their efforts to maximise success at auction.

GENERAL Motors is drawing up plans to make its Vauxhall subsidiary an upmarket brand.

MAJOR changes at Kwik-Fit, including its fleet division, are paying dividends for the company's fleet customers, with improved services and a rocketing demand for business, according to a senior executive.

SKODA has launched a Euro IV-compliant version of the Superb 2.5 TDI, with increased power and torque but lower tax liability.

STAFF working for a Scottish NHS Trust responsible for an area of 10,000 square miles in the Highlands are using a new fleet of Vauxhall Corsas.

DRIVE & SURVIVE's Andy Neale has resigned from his position as managing director and has accepted a role as consultant on driving events for the group's principal clients.

THE biggest cause of accidents is the attitude of employers towards managing risk, but fleet managers can be the catalyst for change, the Fleet News Hit for Six Conference heard.

THE Inland Revenue is asking fleets, companies and key figures in industry five key questions as part of a review of the carbon dioxide-based company car tax system.

YORKSHIRE Building Society expects 10% of its fleet to be powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by the end of this year.

FLEETS currently offering free fuel to company drivers are being urged to reconsider the policy immediately.

COMMUNICATION with employees is essential if companies are to successfully move their drivers into cash-for-car schemes, the Hit for Six conference heard.

CASH for car expert Gary Hull, director of human resource services for PricewaterhouseCoopers, highlighted a number of reasons why a fleet might want to provide its drivers with a cash option.

FLEETS should issue an outright ban on making any phone calls while driving, even if employees are using hands-free mobile phones.

THE used car market is unlikely to cope with a surge of diesel models coming up for sale in three years' time, delegates heard.

KEN Davis, managing director of Automotive Management, has won a Mazda RX-8 for a weekend.

CHANGES to Block Exemption could save fleets hundreds of millions of pounds a year on their leased vehicles.

WITH the new Crossfire already proving a runaway success, Chrysler Jeep managing director Simon Elliott is looking forward to some sparkling sales successes in the coming year.

Average fuel prices in the UK.

The latest appointments in the fleet industry.