News - Page 2068

HBOS, the £30 billion financial services company created from the merger of the Halifax and Bank of Scotland launched on Monday, but there were no immediate changes to the firms' leasing operations.

A LEADING transport chief has signed up to London's first car club scheme, the Avis-run CARvenience.

COMPANY car drivers will face benefit-in-kind tax charges running into hundreds of pounds a year if their employers automatically cover the cost of all congestion charges.

FLEET discounts have come under renewed attack from consumer groups and dealerships amid warnings that they are involved in a 'war without winners'.

CONSIGNIA, the former Post Office Group, will have a trade union battle on its hands if it presses ahead with plans to outsource its 40,000-strong fleet.

VOLKSWAGEN is being put forward as an industry favourite to purchase international leasing and fleet management company LeasePlan.

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NEW car sales for August leapt 6.2% last month as both private and fleet buyers pushed the market further towards record sales for the year.

LEASING companies could be shutting themselves out of a one million vehicle fleet market by replacing personnel with computers to serve small companies.

BETTER times are on the horizon for fleets with residual value risks, after a new report forecast that used car values are set for 'dramatic' and sustained improvement compared to the past two years.

A RAPID response fleet has been created by the Government to deal with congestion on the M25. The fleet will be on call 24-hours-a-day to clear away accidents and damaged barriers on stretches of the motorway.

SHAUN Price, who joined Manheim Auctions seven months ago as corporate sales director, has left the company.

VOLKSWAGEN will beef-up its diesel line-up with 150bhp TDI versions of the Golf and Bora next month.

LEX Vehicle Leasing has redesigned its website in an attempt to make it faster and easier to use.

A REPORT into driver awareness and concentration has provided further damning evidence that company drivers are playing a potentially fatal game of chance by using mobile phones on the move.

INTERNET-based leasing firm Tuskerdirect is to invest £5 million in business expansion following a major cash injection.

COMPANY executives can gain access to extra options on the Mercedes-Benz E-class while avoiding significant increases in their tax burden.

SIEMENS VDO Trading UK has launched a fleet management and tracking package that enables firms to pinpoint their vehicles' location and send and receive messages to drivers.

SO September 1 came and went, with the public in the main still being unaware that a new numberplate format came into existence.

INTERNATIONAL automotive data and residual value specialist EurotaxGlass's has appointed Kevin Gaskell as its global chief executive.

FLEET departments need to radically rethink their control over vehicle data collection to cope with controversial European plans to shake-up insurance from 2003, according to the head of a major fleet.

CITROEN is providing defensive driver training to a chartered building company as part of a deal to supply the company with 15 new vans.

PRE-TAX profits at car dealership group Lookers leapt more than £1 million as buyers returned to the new car market in the first half of the year.

PEUGEOT will be bidding to attract company car drivers who want a low-emissions petrol engine with a direct injection petrol engine in the 406 this autumn.

ANIMAL feed manufacturer and supplier BOCM has implemented a structured personal leasing scheme for its 300 company car drivers.

ONE of the UK's largest parallel importers is launching a bid for major fleet business by pledging huge savings on new vans.

CONSIGNIA, the group formerly known as the Post Office, has announced plans to outsource its 40,000-strong UK fleet, and will consider an outright sale of the operation.

MAZDA has slashed prices on its new 323 range by up to £1,000. The price cuts are part of Mazda's new competitive strategy that pledges better specifications and an average 10% price cut on UK models.

FLEETS are shouldering daily rental rate increases of more than 30% for some models as suppliers keep their promise to put the profit back into their industry.

GROWTH in cash-for-car schemes could spark rocketing administration costs for fleet decision-makers battling to ensure employees are insured to drive as part of their jobs.