News - Page 2084

Prepare for French polish at Paris Motor Show, November 6-11

Major launches at Frankfurt International Motor Show, September 13-23

As I have been going round the trade, it appears that many dealers are advertising an amazing number of 'Y Reg - delivery mileage' vehicles. These are cars that have been registered by franchised dealers to achieve their first quarter's sales objectives.

A MAJOR drive for fleet business by two of Britain's biggest independent leasing companies has provided the strongest signal yet that years of residual value chaos is expected to end. The move comes after more than a year of consolidation, which has seen finance house and bank-owned contract hire companies rocket in size, predominantly through taking over smaller independent rivals.

FLEET Show 2001 will open with a bang at London's Alexandra Palace on Tuesday as exhibitors swing into action to make this year's event the best show ever. One of the big-hitters out to attract fleet managers to its stand is Manheim Europe, which will use a Ferrari F355 GTS to prove the benefits of its vehicle refurbishment service Manheim Magic.

THE new Renault Clio will have the lowest carbon dioxide emissions of any diesel car on sale in the UK when it hits showrooms in June, rewarding its drivers with lower company car tax bills from 2002. Using a new generation of 1.5 dCi units, the Clio will be available in 65bhp and 80bhp versions with CO2 emissions of 115g/km and 113g/km respectively.

BRITISH fleets face a mammoth administrative task to comply with a new European Union-wide insurance directive scheduled to come into force at the end of 2002. The Fourth Motor Insurance Directive will oblige companies to keep an exact record of every car driven by their employees that is covered by the corporate insurance.

MANUFACTURERS and dealers have hit out at claims they are openly breaking strict rules on vehicle supply laid out in the Supply of New Cars Order 2000. CAP Network national research manager Martin Ward has alleged that franchised dealers are pre-registering cars to boost their sales targets and damaging the used car market in the process.

THOUSANDS of fleet drivers face a life sentence of medical problems caused by high mileages behind the wheel unless employers give them expert guidance. Fleet decision makers at an Association of Car Fleet Operators' East Anglia meeting heard that poorly designed seats or bad driving positions in cars, combined with high mileages, could result in long-lasting problems for drivers.

FOOT and mouth disease has damaged business for one of Europe's biggest rental companies, adding to pressure for further rental rate increases. Avis Europe has announced that the epidemic has led to a downturn in business both from tourists and domestic travellers.

LEISURE company Whitbread has become the first major client of National Car Rental to use its new online booking system. The web-based real time management system will be rolled out across Whitbread's major brands that include Marriott, Travel Inn and David Lloyd Leisure and on its intranet.

FORD is expected to report record losses in the UK in its annual results as its parent company announced a sharp fall in worldwide profits. Ford's UK arm is preparing for losses of more than £100 million plus a one-off restructuring cost of £300 million for 2000 when its results are published in June.

FALLING used car values last year dented profits at JCT600, according to the company's end of year results. Although turnover increased by 1% to £242 million (1999: £240 million), pre-tax profits fell by 15% to £4.3 million (1999: £5 million).

A GROUND-breaking telematics system for Britain's best-selling fleet car, the Ford Focus, is to go on sale by the end of the year. The Vodafone branded kit is part of a bid by Ford to 'put the internet on the road' and is expected to include voice activated access to the internet via mobile telephone and satellite navigation.

HIGH mileage fleets are being given the opportunity to slash running costs with a new system offering real-time traffic and travel information (TTI). Satellite-based vehicle tracking solutions company Global Telematics has launched a service that allows fleet managers to log on to the Orchid management system and access up-to-the-minute congestion, incident and traffic-related information that could cause drivers to be delayed and running costs to rocket.

FLEETS have been reassured that their service is unlikely to be affected by a review which will see 32 Daewoo sales and service centres at Halfords stores close. Daewoo had 74 centres at Halfords stores across Britain, but the company said it would not pose a problem for fleet customers.

DAEWOO'S Worthing Technical Centre in Sussex has been sold to Oxford-based engineering group TWR for an undisclosed sum as part of the manufacturer's global restructuring plan. Daewoo will now consolidate its research and development operations in South Korea. All staff will have their employment transferred to TWR.

VOLVO is the latest upper-medium car manufacturer to offer a Sport version with styling cues from the range-topping high-performance model. Sport variants of the S40 saloon and V40 estate are now on sale with 16in alloy wheels, black headlamp surrounds, front fog lamps and part leather trim shared with the 200bhp T4 model.

COMPANY directors after the ultimate Audi A8 will have to wait for the next generation of the luxury saloon before the 420bhp 6.0-litre W12 engine comes to the UK.

A V6 petrol engine option for the Mitsubishi Double Cab is now on sale with a choice of manual or automatic transmission. The Triton Double Cab is the first petrol derivative of the vehicle which accounts for 25% of the pick-up market in the UK so far this year.

FOR the first time Sally Hair and Beauty Supplies has decided to operate Citroen cars and vans. The company is acquiring 19 Citroen C15 Champ D600 vans and 17 Xsara 1.6i hatchbacks and Xsara Picasso 1.6is in LX and SX trim levels.

LAND Rover has been awarded two Queen's Awards. The Award for Innovation recognises the revolutionary hill descent control on the Land Rover Freelander and Discovery that automatically slows vehicles on steep off-road descents improving safety and control.

HONDA'S Swindon plant will build three-door Civics for the North American market, with around 15,000 Civic Si hatchbacks going to the US and Canada annually from next year.

DAIHATSU has teamed up with He-Man Dual Controls to offer driving school fleets a special package worth £400 when they buy a Sirion.

PEUGEOT UK managing director Tod Evans was awarded the Castrol/IMI Gold Medal for 2000 at the Institute of the Motor Industry's annual dinner.

LEASING and rental rates are set to increase over the next three years as instability in the used car market continues, according to a new report. 'European Used Car Dynamics 2001 - The Changing Landscape of Remarketing Strategies' from Datamonitor also predicts that by 2005 more than 25,000 used vehicles will be disposed of on the internet by leasing companies and manufacturers.

SKODA has revealed its battle plan to build fleet sales to record levels over the next three years. Key targets include sub-100 fleets, where companies may be more open to changing their choice lists, the taxi market, which took 500 Skodas last year and is expected to account for 1,000 sales this year, the emergency services and the daily rental sector.

INTERNATIONAL chemical and healthcare giant Bayer has introduced a personal contract purchase scheme for its fleet drivers as part of a bid to slash the cost of its company car fleet and save drivers tax. More than 1,300 staff are being offered the chance to move out of company cars into a contract purchase scheme offered by Fleetlease.

CHANGES could be taking place at First National as the company is considering rebranding its divisions and perhaps uniting its operation under one single name. The First National operation consists of First National Vehicle Contracts, First National Fleet Management Services, First National Highway Management Services and Whitechapel Corporate Services.

UP to a third of leasing company business could be carried out over the internet if contract hire firms invest in the right technology to serve their customers, a leading software solutions firm claims. Motivity Solutions claims its research has shown that some leasing firms now channel 30% of their business through the internet after introducing online services, but says the key is getting the system right in the first place.