News - Page 2097

FINISHING touches are now being put on the CV Show at the NEC Birmingham on March 20-22 and a record number of visitors are expected. The show has so far attracted more than 400 exhibitors. It is run jointly by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the Road Haulage Association and the Society of Operating Engineers (formerly the IRTE) and replaces separate shows run by each organisation.

HONDA has injected some excitement into its new Civic range with the first public outing of the Type-R. The three-door high performance model will use a 2.0-litre VTEC engine producing 198bhp, with a 0-60mph time of less than seven seconds.

MORE people die in work-related road accidents than all other industrial and workplace accidents put together, a shock new Government report will reveal next week, which is set to spark a massive overhaul in the way fleets are run. Research carried out last year, has shown that more than 1,000 deaths could be caused by work-related road accidents each year, compared to 622 deaths caused by all other workplace accidents, ranging from farms to buildings sites, chemical factories and mines.

FLEETS throughout Britain are enforcing new bans on the use of mobile phones while driving. Some of the most high-profile fleets in the country have taken the radical step for safety, despite some companies claiming they cannot do anything because they do not want to upset drivers.

USE of mobile phones while driving should be banned outright to save the lives of fleet and private drivers along with pedestrians, leading road safety organisations are claiming. Fleets have come under renewed pressure to take action to stop drivers using their phones on the move after a high-profile court case in which a judge jailed a man for five years for causing death by dangerous driving while using a mobile phone.

LEADING figures in the driver training and risk management industry have thrown their support behind the new Fleet Forum. A launch event, hosted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists and chaired by chief executive Christopher Bullock, saw representatives from Government and the driver training industry in attendance.

DRIVER training company DriveTech UK has won what it claims to be one of the largest contracts awarded in the industry, to help train thousands of drivers who commit motoring offences in the Thames Valley area over the next three years. The firm will provide training for drivers who would normally face prosecution for driving without due care and attention and other motoring offences that can be dealt with through fines.

A NEW initiative aimed at slashing fleet van fuel bills by as much as 15.3% has been launched by Texaco and IAM Fleet, the commercial division of the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Fuel economy, driving skills and fuel efficient lubricants will be at the centre of STAR Drivers, launched last week by the firm.

FLEET operators looking for risk management and driver training services are being targeted by the Fleet Driver Training Association through a new telephone hotline and permanent office. The re-launched FDTA, which now has 19 members, has set up its first office and fully-manned switchboard in Peterborough.

LESS than two years after the introduction of bi-annual registration plate changes another new system is threatening to damage short-term residual values. Industry forecasting guide CAP Monitor has warned new cars coming into the second-hand market after the new plate is introduced will seem older and more dated then they would otherwise have appeared under the current system.

SIMON Roper, managing director of Kwik-Fit Fleet is leaving the company on March 9 to take up a 'significant opportunity' outside of the fleet industry. Roper, who joined St Albans-based Kwik-Fit Fleet six-and-a-half years ago as sales and marketing director, has been managing director for almost two years.

DIRECT delivery of vehicles from manufacturers to fleets, bypassing the dealer network, could be one of the upshots of a shake-up in car distribution on the cards for next year. With the European Commission to decide whether the block exemption, which governs the distribution of vehicles across the UK and Europe, should be renewed in September 2002, Vauxhall chairman and managing director Nick Reilly believes 'some form of franchise dealer network will exist in the long term'.

A TRUCE has been called in the dispute between the two sides in the row over the use of 'black boxes' to track vehicles. ADT Fire and Security had been threatened with legal action by The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) over its plans to introduce tracking software to its fleet of vans.

FLEETS operating thousands of vehicles have given their backing to tracking systems as a key to better fleet management. Fleets running an estimated 2,000 vehicles including Hampshire Police, Chubb Security and Otis, have signed up to Fleetstar for tracking and monitoring vehicles.

NEW car price-cutting is likely to bottom out following year-on-year price reductions averaging a record 6% last month. The latest CAP Motor Research New and Used Car Price Index says that most car manufacturers have now cut prices and dealers, many of whom have had their margins sliced, now need to restore profit margins.

LAND Rover has cut the price of all new Range Rovers by £3,000 in a bid to encourage customers to buy vehicles in the UK and not import them from Europe. The Ford-owned manufacturer claims UK-sold vehicles offer better standard warranty cover and higher equipment levels than those sold on the continent.

THE 2001 Fleet News Budget Briefing for fleet decision-makers will be held on Friday, March 16 at Sopwell House Hotel, St Albans, Hertfordshire. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown will make his Budget speech on Wednesday, March 7 and fleet chiefs will be able to hear comprehensive analysis from a fleet perspective including recommendations for immediate action which should be taken to ensure maximum fleet efficiency.

CHRYSLER Jeep UK is looking to increase sales by 15-20% this year as the business continues to expand despite dramatic job losses and factory closures in the United States of America. Two weeks ago DaimlerChrysler announced job losses totalling 26,000 over the next three years in its Chrysler subsidiary and the closure of six plants in the USA over the next two years in a bid to regain competitiveness and profitability.

PLUMMETING residual values have sparked an increase in vehicle write-offs for fleets as the cost of repairing damaged cars dwarfs their market value. Fleet managers are being warned they face increased insurance costs to cover the problem, which is caused by the growing amount of hi-tech safety equipment being fitted to vehicles.

DIESEL company car drivers are getting a raw deal as pump prices stay unchanged despite falls in the price of petrol over the past six months, ARVAL PHH Vehicle Solutions said this week. Latest figures from the fuel card provider show that the average price of unleaded petrol is 77p a litre/350p a gallon, a fall of 7p /31.8p from the 84p/381.8p it cost in July last year.

FLEET managers have called on the Government to abolish the controversial 3% diesel company car benefit-in-kind tax levy to be introduced in April 2002. Many fleet operators are now offering company car drivers a diesel option for the first time as a way of off setting potential tax increases because diesel is carbon dioxide efficient when compared with petrol-engined vehicles.

CALLS for an oil industry regulator to be appointed have been made following record profit announcements by both BP Amoco and Shell. BP Amoco announced profits of £9.8 billion - the highest in British corporate history - and Shell announced record profits of £9 billion.

DIESEL is in demand among used car buyers, according to auction experts, who add that the resulting higher residual values are leading to lower running costs for fleets. British Car Auctions has reported strong demand for diesel vehicles and through its online Auction View service has revealed that average prices paid for diesel vehicles are well above CAP clean prices.

NEW research by a leading vehicle leasing firm shows almost 63% of financial directors expect to see an increase in the number of drivers choosing a diesel option under the 2002 carbon dioxide-based company car tax. According to the survey, carried out by Hertz Lease, 32 of the 51 financial directors asked to take part believe the new tax regime will see more drivers opting for diesel cars.

KWIK-Fit Hometune will be adding new vehicles to its fleet at the rate of one a week throughout 2001, taking its total number of mobile servicing vans to 200. Since 1999, Hometune fleet has grown from 60 vans to 150 in a bid to extend mobile servicing to fleets.

THE second generation 3-series Compact makes its world debut alongside two other new BMWs at the Geneva International Motor Show next week. The new Compact which will go on sale in the UK in August and has the same wheelbase as the 3-series saloon, but is 21cm shorter.

FIAT'S new lower-medium sector hatchback will be making its public debut at the Geneva International Motor Show. The Stilo will replace the Bravo and Brava in the UK early next year, and follow a similar theme with significant visual differences between three and five-door models.

TOYOTA will unveil the replacement for its Picnic MPV at the Geneva International Motor Show. Called the Avensis Verso and based on an all-new platform, it offers a choice of five or seven individual seats, and will be available either with a 2.0-litre VVT-i petrol or 2.0D-4D common rail diesel.

VAUXHALL has introduced a new flagship powerplant in the Omega to replace the 3.0 V6. The new 3.2 V6 complies with Euro III regulations and produces 215bhp compared with 209bhp for the 3.0-litre, and improves torque output to 214lb-ft instead of 199.

MITSUBISHI has broadened the appeal of the Space Wagon with an entry-level 2.0-litre model priced at £16,995 on-the -road.