News - Page 2019

Berlin-based gedas, which describes itself as a system integrator, is playing a major role in the development of a traffic management system for the Olympic Games 2004 in Athens.

DR WOLFGANG Reitzle has quit his job as the global head of Ford's Premier Automotive Group.

An interactive workshop on driver tiredness, eyesight, mobile phone use and drink and drugged driving.

Abbey National has sold First National Vehicle Holdings (FNVH), its contract fleet hire businesses, to Lloyds TSB Asset Finance Division in a deal worth £447 million.

Fuel scale charges to be based on CO2 emissions, incentives for businesses buying low emission cars, freeze on fuel duties, including LPG and CNG, and VED discounts for van fleets - some of the highlights of the 2002 budget.

THE Government is investigating the impact of charging fleets and private motorists to drive on motorways and trunk roads, despite claiming that it has no intention of introducing road tolls.

UP to three-quarters of UK firms have reported staff quitting cash-for-car schemes and moving back into company cars, according to a new report.

BREWING giant Carlsberg-Tetley is backing a move to put almost 2,000 drivers through a new driver risk assessment programme in a bid to slash accidents and cut insurance costs by 25%.

VAUXHALL'S new Vectra is expected to offer competitive contract hire rates following the release of its first residual values forecast.

LEX Vehicle Leasing saw a huge surge in fleet car deliveries last month and a major swing to diesel as drivers minimised their tax bills under the new CO2-based system.

THE John Lewis Partnership is introducing the Whitechapel employee car ownership scheme for its 580 company car drivers.

IVECO has extended warranties on all Daily City Trucks from two to three years/100,000 miles, including vehicles bought from the beginning of this year.

MITSUBISHI is contacting owners of 41,000 Shoguns purchased between 1990 and 1999 after a series of steering failures.

DRIVERS opting out of company car schemes can take advantage of fixed insurance premiums for three years, irrespective of subsequent claims experience, through a policy offered by a London Jaguar dealership.

FIFTY Chrysler Neons will be supplied to Northampton-based Pentland Corporation to put its entire sales force behind the wheel of the US-built saloon.

A LEADING fleet manager is warning companies they could struggle to manage their fuel costs without investing in fuel cards.

THE Inland Revenue is undertaking a huge defensive driver training programme for its staff, awarding the training contract to Driving Services.

Further evidence of diesel's rise is witnessed with the first UK track appearance of a diesel-powered racing car.

UK companies are in line for a VAT windfall on short-term daily rental cars, following a relaxation of VAT rules by HM Customs & Excise.

PSA Peugeot Citroen and Toyota have pledged their commitment to producing 300,000 small 'affordable' cars per year for the European market.

MINI is confident of boosting its European sales with the launch of a new diesel engine in Europe next year.

CITROEN'S new small car, the C3, will be priced from under £9,000 when it goes on sale on May 1.

THE first Fleet News Drive event at Brands Hatch was hailed a success by the hundreds of people who attended, saying it gave them the ideal chance to assess manufacturers' latest offerings.

A FIRM of chartered accountants claims clients are successfully cutting their company car tax bills by switching to off-roaders that have been converted to vans

TWENTY companies in Edinburgh are to take part in an 18-month trial of Ford's environmentally friendly TH!NK City electric car.

THE typical salary at which a company car is provided is £32,500 and the business mileage threshold is about 10,000 miles, according to Monks Partnership.

A MAJOR UK fleet is applying a chemical windscreen treatment to its 650 company cars in a bid to improve safety.

Eleven teams from across the fleet industry battled it out in a drama-packed heat two of the Kwik-Fit Fleet National Karting Challenge in association with Fleet News.

FORD has announced prices for its new high performance Mondeo ST220,which goes on sale next month.

CLAIMS that repair costs estimating firm Audatex is losing bodyshops money and potentially pushing up repair costs because of an omission in its repair estimate system have prompted head-to-head industry talks to quell the row.