News - Page 2110

FLEET managers must treat drivers using their own cars on business as if they were part of the company fleet to stop them putting their lives at risk in unroadworthy vehicles and creating a legal nightmare for their employers.

COMPANIES using tracking systems in their fleet vehicles have dismissed claims the devices are used to spy on staff amid a row between the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union and ADT Fire and Security over plans to install vehicle management information systems in company vehicles.

THE Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has defended fleets with a blistering attack on the Government for interfering in the car market without understanding the consequences of its actions. Christopher Macgowan, chief executive of the SMMT, has warned that there could be 'unintended consequences' of Government attempts to give consumers cheaper car prices.

THE Association of Car Fleet Operators is in top-level talks with Government over a place on the influential Work Related Road Safety Task Force, that signals a U-turn in official approaches to the organisation.

LEX Vehicle Leasing is claiming a groundbreaking fleet first with the launch of an online auction system for the purchase of new company cars for customers that could lead to online buying for all its business needs.

EASY Car Rental has issued a counter claim against Easy Group, the operator of easyRentacar.com. The move comes after Easy Group, the firm run by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, also owner of easyJet, issued proceedings against several companies using the easy name, predominantly on the internet.

THE deadline is looming for entries from fleet managers and fleet supply companies for the 2001 Fleet News Awards. The entry form to find the finest fleet managers in Britain was published with sister title Fleet News on October 20. However, copies of the form and further details about which awards are up for grabs are still available by clicking <A HREF="http://www.automotive.co.uk/fleetnews/pages-2/special/AWDS2001.htm" target="_blank">here.</A>

ZENITH Vehicle Contracts has clinched a new outsourcing deal with W S Atkins worth a potential £40 million over four years. The 2,400-vehicle fleet has appointed Zenith as the sole supplier of fleet management to the firm. The move increases the leasing firm's managed fleet size to 8,250 vehicles.

MG Rover insists it is on track to meet its worldwide sales target of 200,000 cars this year, and is exceeding financial targets set in August. But UK sales for the first 10 months of 2000 are 90,887 - down nearly 8,000 units on 98,680 for 1999.

FLEET managers who have outsourced their accident management should demand to see cheaper insurance premiums as a result or consider moving suppliers.

FLEET chiefs must take a vehicle's safety record into account when they establish their company car choice lists, junior transport minister Lord Whitty told delegates to the Fleet News UK Congress.

RENAULT is recalling 14,000 Kangoo vans and cars in the UK after a fault was discovered in the mechanism controlling seatbelts and airbags. The company says the 'accelerometer', made by Swedish company Autoliv, responsible for triggering airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners, had been found to be over-sensitive following incidents in Europe.

BLACK Horse Vehicle Management/ACL autolease and its subsidiary Motorent has launched a major rebranding. From January 1,all new business for the three contract hire and fleet management operations, ACL autolease, Motorent and Black Horse Vehicle Management will be assigned to the new brands, Lloyds TSB autolease and Lloyds TSB motorent.

EXPERIAN, the information solutions company, is reporting growth in both sales and profits in half-year results from parent company Great Universal Stores. Pre-tax profits were £105.7m, while sales increased to £487m to September 30.

FINANCIAL Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms has fended off claims that the new CO2-based company car tax system unfairly penalises essential users of company cars.

GENERAL Electric has negotiated a global deal for its fleet of about 20,000 company cars using a reverse, e-business auction, <I>writes FNN sister title Fleet News Europe.</I>

VOLKSWAGEN has announced prices for the revised Passat and made price cuts of an average of 7% across its range. The new-look Passat will start at £14,495 on the road when it goes on sale in January - £1,610 or 10% less than the price for the entry level version of the outgoing model.

CITROEN has slashed UK prices in the wake of a price realignment by sister company Peugeot last week. Prices have been cut across the range, with the exception of Synergie models and the £5,995 Saxo First.

FIAT has announced a list price cut by an average of nearly 7% following the end of a temporary offer announced at this year's Motor Show in Birmingham. It joins European rivals Peugeot, Citroen and Volkswagen which have all cut prices from December 1.

FLEET managers should ask themselves some serious questions about their fleet policies over the next few months as traditional cornerstones of providing a company car may need to be killed off.

THE chaotic state of the UK's used car market following 18 months of new car pricing uncertainty shows that the Government should not interfere in any market under any circumstances, according to British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association director-general John Lewis.

PROACTIVE managers can bring big cost savings and much greater control to their fleet operations through the internet and new technology according to a leading US fleet chief.

FLEET managers provided a snapshot of what makes the industry tick during an interactive voting session held on the internet and during the Fleet News UK Congress. Delegates registered their opinions on issues ranging from the future of the company car to their opinions on alternative fuels, the effect of Government taxation and technology.

PHARMACEUTICAL giant Johnson & Johnson has taken part in a major benchmarking exercise in an attempt to make savings on its 8,000-strong pan-European company car fleet, <I>writes FNN sister title Fleet News Europe</I>.

FLEET drivers and managers are downsizing their fleet vehicles in a trend that will continue as the Government focuses on the environment Christopher Macgowan, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' chief executive, said.

LEGISLATION is blocking local authorities from providing the potential solution to the slow growth of the alternative fuel refuelling network in the UK.

NEW human rights laws could be used to ban the fitting of 'black boxes' on vehicle fleets, amid claims that they allow companies to spy on staff out of hours.

TOYOTA has slashed up to £1,250 off the price of its Avensis range, as new wholelife cost figures put the model ahead of its mainstream rivals in the upper medium sector.

FLEET managers who have yet to educate drivers on CO2-based company car tax are in a 'critical' situation and must act immediately.

VAUXHALL has announced a series of senior management changes as part of a fundamental business reorganisation to unite its sales functions in a new area called sales, marketing and customer care (aftersales).