News - Page 2080

BRITAIN'S largest independent petrol retailer could be about to fall into foreign hands.

FLEET customers choosing a new MINI will be able to take advantage of a remarkable servicing package that covers the car for 50,000 miles for a fee of £100.

FLEETS are paying inflated service and maintenance costs because they are failing to investigate labour rates fully, a leading fleet manager has claimed.

GE Capital Fleet Services claims fleets could slash monthly vehicle rentals by 30% through a new Econolease nearly-new car contract hire and contract purchase scheme.

THERE has been plenty of talk recently about Y-reg cars, both those registered by dealers, and those being imported from Europe.

FLEET industry leaders have issued the new Labour Government with a 10-point agenda for change as the dust settles on Prime Minister Tony Blair's Cabinet reshuffle.

FLEET managers for two of Britain's largest pharmaceutical companies have attacked the damaging effect of changes to company car tax next year.

SOLUS fleet deals could be bad for company car drivers, according to a new 'back to basics' internet guide to fleet health and safety, based on a Government-commissioned report.

SHARP Electronics is to sell and leaseback its fleet, and move its company car drivers to a structured employee car purchase scheme.

EMPLOYERS must 'tread carefully' when offering drivers a cash-for-car scheme because they will have to provide staff with different allowances to maintain a fair company policy.

COMPANIES running relatively few vehicles could employ an 'invisible' fleet manager by using dealers and brokers for key services, according to a leading high street bank.

NICK Reilly, chairman and managing director of Vauxhall Motors, has been appointed president of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

A DRUG research company is trying to reduce its accident rates by sending its fleet drivers and non-company car users on a defensive driver training course.

A NEW car tax guide has been launched to help fleets cope with the introduction of the 2002 carbon dioxide-based company car tax.

VOLVO has revealed prices for vehicles using its new turbodiesel engine, which will go on sale in late summer.

HONDA is recalling new five-door Civics in the UK. The company says the problem potentially affects more than 8,000 vehicles and it is in the process of identifying customers of cars involved.

THE RAC is challenging the UK fleet industry to enter teams in its annual Five-a-Side Football Charity Challenge in aid of Motability, the charity set up in 1977 to assist people with disabilities to acquire vehicles.

EUROVANS of Eastbourne has won Volkswagen's van centre of the year award.

AN ESTATE variant of the new Audi A4 will go on sale in the UK in September.

PEUGEOT has awarded a three-year multi-million pound contract to dispose of its end-of-lease contract hire vehicles to Eurofleet.

SEAT has improved the specification of the range-topping Toledo V5 by adding satellite navigation as standard.

THE new Ford Mondeo has made its auction debut in a special Ford sale at BCA Nottingham.

A NEW chairman and secretary have been elected for the London East group of the Association of Car Fleet Operators.

AN INCREASING number of drivers are being wrongly accused of speeding due to errors in speed cameras and police records, says the AA.

FLEET operators could save money by asking drivers to accelerate hard, according to new research.

FLEET managers risk losing a fortune because of confusion between residual values and depreciation, an industry expert claims.

BUSINESS travellers and commuters will be able to avoid road user and workplace parking charges by travelling to the office on a motorbike.

A GOVERNMENT drive to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the roads by 40% in the next decade could lead to 'mountains of unsettled insurance claims'.

MANY manufacturer websites lack the key information required by company car drivers to make the right choice for next year's changes to company car tax rules.

JUST a year has passed since Rover was sold by BMW to the Phoenix Consortium headed by John Towers and it has been interesting to observe the events of those 12 months.