News - Page 2103

GENERAL Motors has announced a multi-million pound programme to back a new force in fast-fits aimed at company car drivers called Fit4Fleet. The move is part of a drive by car manufacturers to ensure they get more value out of the products they produce, as the money made out of making and selling the car is a fraction of the income it generates through servicing, accident repairs and accessories.

A SPECIAL telephone hotline (0870 429 4376) has opened to enable fleet decision-makers to register to attend the 2001 Fleet Show which takes place at London's Alexandra Palace from May 1-3. At least 6,000 people are expected at the annual event which is firmly established as the number one show for fleet business.

FLEET managers and their drivers will be the target of a high-profile campaign calling for mandatory risk management audits in the industry to slash its high road accident rate. The call is part of a six-point action plan from RAC Motoring Services which puts the poor safety record of fleet drivers as one of its key priorities to be tackled during the year.

FLEET managers are ignoring stark warnings that they could be facing manslaughter charges if they force their drivers to spend dangerously long hours behind the wheel. A total of 4% of working drivers questioned in the RAC Report on Motoring 2001 felt that pressure from their employers to drive too far or too long had put themselves and other motorists at risk.

THE Government's bid to encourage 'green transport' plans is failing to win backing in fleets, with only 6% of employees saying their firms had any policies to reduce the impact of cars on the environment, according to the RAC Report on Motoring 2001. A further 53% of drivers said they did not know if their employer provided such a scheme and 41% said one was not offered.

RAC Risk Management has thrown down a challenge for fleet managers to show their commitment to cutting costs after the industry said saving money was its key priority for the next year. Fleet managers listed a raft of key money-saving issues they wanted to tackle in the next year, including fuel costs and accident costs in a joint Fleet News/Lex Vehicle Leasing survey.

DEALERSHIP group Reg Vardy has announced a fall in profits and turnover, mainly caused by plummeting residual values as investigations into car pricing sowed uncertainty and confusion in the new and used car markets last year. Turnover fell to £656 million in the six months to October 31, 2000, compared to £667 million for the same period in 1999, while pre-tax profits were down to £9 million (1999: £14.5 million).

FORD is to become the sole shareholder in rental giant Hertz by the middle of this year, the company has revealed.

THE AA has won a three-year contract to provide breakdown cover for all of Renault's new car and van buyers after winning the contract from the RAC, which held it for 11 years.

PRINCESS Anne used a keynote speech to call for a joint effort involving the police, vehicle manufacturers, insurance companies, businesses and local authorities to step up action to tackle car and van crime. While she acknowledged that vans were not stolen as frequently as cars, she told delegates at a conference called 'Putting the Brakes on Vehicle Crime' that the cost of thefts to businesses was too high.

THERE are just a handful of tables and sponsorship opportunities available for the annual Fleet News Awards, which take place on Wednesday, March 21 at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. Thirty-one awards to fleet managers, fleet service companies and vehicle manufacturers will be presented at the fleet 'Oscars' which is traditionally the fleet event of the year.

ADT Fire and Security and the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) have yet to reach agreement over plans to fit tracking devices to its fleet of 1,500 vans. The union had threatened legal action under the Human Rights Act if the company went ahead with plans to fit the black boxes to its fleet.

A UK representative has been appointed to deal with the Daewoo Worthing Technical Centre while negotiations for its sale are finalised. Daewoo Cars - the sales arm of Daewoo in the UK, and a separate, financially independent company - continues unaffected by the measures.

FORD has put back plans to launch a common-rail diesel engine in the Mondeo in June because of a shortage of fuel injectors. The manufacturer had originally hoped to introduce the new diesels in both the Mondeo and Focus this year

THE MINI dealer network has begun to take shape with the signing of contracts by BMW.

VOLVO is mounting a successful challenge to the established residual values premium upper sector kings with the new S60 compact executive saloon. Cars like the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class set the benchmark for RVs in this class, but the latest figures from used values experts show the Volvo S60 to be equal to its rivals and significantly better than the current Audi A4.

NORTON Way Motors has been named 'Most Successful Business' at the fourth annual Hertfordshire Business Awards.

PEUGEOT and BMW were both claiming 'outstanding' success after staging auctions at BCA Blackbushe. At Peugeot's first Lion Used Car closed sale of the year the company saw a record number of buyers registered - 90 dealers - as the manufacturer sold all 300 cars.

AWARD-winning fleet manager Gwilym Anthony says businesses must think about the future of the planet as they draw up company car policies, in a retiring rallying cry to the industry. Anthony, who retires in May as sustainable development officer at the Department of Social Security and was the first civil servant to win a Fleet News Award, says every company in Britain should operate a 'green' fleet policy.

FORMER Fleet News award winner Peter Corder has left his position as head of transport services with Suffolk Constabulary after nearly 27 years in the industry. A well-known figure in fleet, Corder now plans to work from home offering advice to small businesses in Ipswich and the surrounding area - that is, after he visits the US in February.

GENERAL Motors, the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, recorded 'unacceptable' losses of $463 million (£319 million) in the final quarter of last year partly due to a slowdown in sales caused by continued pricing pressures in the UK.

ONE of the UK's largest motor retailers, DC Cook Holdings, has gone into receivership, blaming last year's collapse in residual values as the main cause. The firm, which expanded heavily in recent years, made pre-tax losses of £6.3 million in the year to April 30, 2000 on turnover of £266.1 million.

MERCEDES-Benz dealers are seeking legal advice on plans to reorganise the dealer network which could see nearly half of them lose their franchises. Around 150 dealer representatives met at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham, last week to discuss their next move after they were given 12 months' notice to quit by Mercedes-Benz.

FORD is in bullish mood for 2001 sales after it revealed last year's results which included a $1 billion restructuring charge on its European operations, partly related to the closure of car-making at Dagenham. Ford Motor Company earned $6.7 billion (£4.6 billion) last year on sales of $170 billion (£117 billion), up 6% year-on-year, but after taking account of one-off items including the hit on European revenues the company earned $5.4 billion (£3.7 billion).

EOIN Flint has stepped down as managing director of Lombard Vehicle Management to take a post as director of asset management for all Lombard business, transferring the skills learnt in car leasing to assets from planes to boats.

LAND Rover's new UK sales director has been named as Philip Popham, who has joined from Volkswagen. Popham has spent much of his automotive career with Land Rover after joining as a graduate trainee in 1998.

DAVID W.Thursfield has been appointed as chief executive officer for Ford of Europe, a position that has been specially created to accelerate the company's transformation strategy.

PAUL Jarvis has been promoted to managing director of Glass's Information Services following the merger between European automotive information provider Eurotax and Glass's at the end of 2000. Jarvis, previously director, dealer division, will be responsible for all of Glass's UK activities.

NEW fleet marketing manager at Volkswagen is Cheryle Kateley, who joined the Milton Keynes-based manufacturer in April 1996 and latterly has been retail development manager.