News - Page 2014

JEANS, CDs, cosmetics, furniture - and now Mercedes-Benz. The shopping experience at the giant Bluewater retail park in Kent has just become a whole lot more interesting, and more expensive, after Mercedes-Benz opened a showroom amid all the other shops.

MILLIONS of pounds has been added to fleet fuel bills, following a petrol price leap of 22.75 pence per gallon or five pence per litre in the last two months.

DAEWOO'S direct sales outlets are likely to be replaced with a network of franchised dealers following the signing of a take-over deal between General Motors and parent company Daewoo Motor.

VAUXHALL is believed to be on the verge of signing a deal with EasyCar for 1,500 Corsas, ending the rental company's exclusive agreement with Mercedes-Benz for the A-class.

Renault is planning to regain leadership of the compact MPV sector by offering its next Scenic in a choice of body lengths.

BRITISH fleets faced insurance premium increases totalling millions of pounds in the past year, with some firms paying increases of more than 40%, a shock new survey reveals.

THE National Blood Service has created a new national fleet department in Manchester to take central control of its fleet.

THERE'S a new team of cars in the squad at Premiership football club Charlton Athletic which has switched to a solus Renault line-up from Volkswagen with the delivery of 20 new Lagunas and Meganes.

BREWING giant Coors - which includes the brands Carling, Grolsch, Worthington and Reef - is offering a greater range of options for staff entitled to company cars.

PRICES and specifications have been announced for the Mercedes Vaneo mini-MPV. On sale from May 16, the range costs from £14,680 to £16,780 on-the-road.

SIEMENS Metering Services (SMS) has taken delivery of 130 Citroen Berlingo vans, following a previous order of 93 taken in 2000.

NATIONWIDE Accident Repair Services has conceded defeat in its battle to stave off a hostile takeover by two of its biggest shareholders.

Ignition Vehicle Management is switching to e-procurement of all its new vehicles.

THE world's first zero-emission fuel cell car to use petrol to generate electricity has gone on the road in the United States.

COMPANY car drivers are putting specification above speed when choosing their next vehicle to keep their benefit-in-kind tax bill down, new research shows.

VOLVO has revised its S40 and V40 range for the 2003 model year with price changes, extra equipment, a new-look black grille and improved emissions.

READING Rugby Football Club is taking delivery of 40 Citroen Xsara Picassos to be used by the semi-professional players of the promotion-hungry club.

A NEW guide for employers called Managing Road Risk has been put together by the Fleet Safety Forum in partnership with the University of Huddersfield.

THE Department of International Development has on average spent more than £250,000 a year on ministerial cars and more than £65,000 on taxis, new figures reveal.

The first shipment of UK-build Honda CR-Vs has left Southampton for the USA.

A MAJOR US car rental firm is searching for an independent car rental company to launch its international operation in the UK.

THE Theatre of Dreams - Manchester United's Old Trafford football stadium - provided the backdrop for the north west's finest fleet karting teams as they battled it out to become regional champions in the Kwik-Fit 2002 National Karting Challenge held in association with Fleet News.

OULTON Park racetrack was the setting for the second of our test driving events, which gave fleet decision-makers the opportunity to get behind the wheel of many different models.

Opel is promoting the green credentials of its new Zafira that runs on compressed natural gas and which it is now on sale in Germany.

BCA is working on closely guarded plans to develop and expand its auction network.

A NEW internet-based company says it can persuade drivers to opt out of traditional company car schemes by tracking down appropriate new and nearly new vehicles from main dealers.

Policy development and health and safety information is available to European charities operating a 'non profit' fleet of vehicles.

MINI is recalling hundreds of cars because of suspension problems. The recall of 600 MINI Coopers and MINI Ones registered in the UK was ordered after technicians discovered ball joints on some models could become loose.

BMW has announced its first quarter earnings and said it hopes to achieve record worldwide sales of more than one million cars this year.

BASIC errors in implementing cash for car schemes could be costing fleets thousands of pounds.