News - Page 2116

RENAULT UK is claiming its new Laguna II will soon be setting records in the business car market. Managing director Benoit Marzloff was in competitive form when he handed over a £10,000 cheque for the British Olympic Association to five-times gold medal winner Steve Redgrave at the UK launch of the hatchback and sport tourer range.

BRITISH built and proud of it - that's the message emanating from Honda as it unveiled 'pace-setting' prices for the all-new five-door Civic at the show. The Swindon-built car will go on sale in January next year and will be sold alongside the current Civic 1.4i Sport five-door which will remain in production until February next year

MG ROVER is to step up its bid to win over fleet customers after a wave of uncertainty over the future of the company, sparked by its decision not to attend the show. It has launched a national advertising campaign highlighting the £1.25 million cost of putting a stand at the show and said it simply could not afford to attend, while offering an equivalent 'motor show' at its dealerships.

HIGH-PROFILE protests over the mushrooming cost of business motoring are set to provide the perfect launchpad for a new range of dual-fuel cars from Volvo.

BMW revealed a host of new models and added to a wave of manufacturer demands for a Government rethink of its approach to diesel under the new CO2-based company car tax regime.

CITROEN is under-established in the fleet market and now is the time to make headway, according to UK managing director Alain Favey. Six months into his stewardship at the helm of Citroen UK and Favey has much to shout about.

The UK got its first look at the Alfa Romeo 147 at the motor show before it goes on sale next year. Designed by Alfa Romeo Centro Stile, the 147 continues the styling themes of recent Alfas and will be available in the UK with 120bhp and 150bhp Twin Spark 16-valve engines.

CHANGES in Octavia prices and specification are just what the doctor ordered as far as Skoda's UK ambitions are concerned. It's a small player - 23,000 units in 1999 - and company funded sales are in the main sealed in low numbers to small to medium size businesses.

SEAT chose the British International Motor Show to launch the first in a new series of high-performance variants in its range. Developed by SEAT Sport, the Ibiza Cupra R uses the 1.8-litre 20V Turbo engine developing 180bhp - eclipsing the Renault Clio Sport's 172bhp - resulting in a 0-62mph time of 7.2 seconds and a top speed in excess of 140mph.

AN ALL-OUT drive for more diesel car business will get under way when Saab launches heavy-oil versions of its 9-5 saloon and estate range next year. And the lack of premium pricing could form a key part of the campaign, fleet operations manager Andy Dunsdon revealed at the show.

THE Honda Accord, which put the Japanese manufacturer on the fleet map, is being given a January 2001 facelift. The simplified range also sees the addition of a new 2.3- litre model alongside chassis enhancements to boost ride and handling and upgraded specification.

A SIGNIFICANT rise in fleet sales is being predicted by Chrysler Jeep with the establishing of a new Corporate Direct sales team and 20 designated corporate dealers. And in a bid to boost sales the Corporate Direct team, headed by corporate sales manager Graham Powell, has compiled the, eCard which is being billed as an 'innovative electronic calling card'.

MAZDA is the latest mainstream manufacturer to join in the price war with cuts of up to 15% announced at the show. The company has been offering discounts on certain models over the last few months, but the move, effective from October 20, came in the wake of list price cuts by Honda, Ford, Vauxhall and Toyota.

CITROEN van sales are at record levels and the manufacturer has boosted the fuel efficiency of Britain's most economic van and added a sliding door option to its Award-winning Berlingo line-up.

THE Inland Revenue continued its ongoing campaign to educate company car drivers about CO2-based company car tax at the show. A spokesman for the Inland Revenue said: 'People will be able to pick their new company car at the show and then let us give them an estimate of the amount of tax they will have to pay for it.'

THE AA unveiled a new hi-tech patrol vehicle aimed at improving safety for drivers and its staff after a major report into hard shoulder safety revealed on average 250 people are killed or injured in hard shoulder incidents on the motorway every year.

VIRGIN Cars, the car sales division of entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire, announced a focus on fleet business at the show with the launch of a new PCP product. Retail buyers made up most of the 2,000 vehicles the firm has sold since launch earlier this year, creating business worth more than £30 million.

Fiat and Alfa Romeo have launched two interactive online buying service websites as part of a five-year £32 million e-commerce strategy.

MINI enjoyed high-profile backing at the UK launch of the new car, now under the ownership of BMW. Andrew Smith, chief secretary to the Treasury and MP for Oxford East, where the new car will be built, joined the brand's general manager, Trevor Houghton-Berry, on the stand for the launch of BMW's new contender in a hotly-contested small car sector.

RELIANT showed off the BE UP in a new partnership between Piaggio, Ligier Automobiles and Giugiaro Design. The car can be driven on a motorcycle licence. The Ligier Ambra, making its UK debut, is the latest version of the microcar that offers 80mpg in diesel format and can also be driven on a motorcycle licence.

BRITAIN has finally joined the 'Smart' set - two years after the micro mini was introduced to mainland Europe. With the 600cc left-hand-drive two-door, two-seater's official launch at the show, the UK has become the DaimlerChrysler subsidiary brand's 10th market.

THE Volkswagen Polo is Britain's best used car, beating 14 other vehicles to the top title in the first annual CAP Used Car of the Year Awards. Voted Best Supermini in the Used Car Awards from trade experts CAP Motor Research, the Polo went on to take the overall title beating vehicles ranging from its Golf stablemate, the Vauxhall Vectra and Peugeot 406 to the BMW 3-series and Porsche 911.

A FIRM offering real-time vehicle tracking and location information direct to a PC, laptop or even a mobile telephone is targeting fleets.

SEAT is preparing for a major attack on the leasing sector before the crucial launch of the Toledo replacement next year, codenamed the S5.

FORD'S new Mondeo will cost up to £1,405 less than the outgoing model when it goes on sale next month - a pricing policy set to force chief rival Vauxhall to slash the price of its Vectra.

FLEET managers are being routinely misled about carbon dioxide-based company car tax by the Government's own tax offices, which are struggling to understand the new system. The Inland Revenue is to launch an investigation after claims its tax offices provided a completely wrong explanation of the system to fleet managers.

TODAY Fleet NewsNet's sister title Fleet News launches the search for the winners of the 2001 Fleet News Awards - the 13th year of the awards which have become known as the fleet industry 'Oscars'.

A BENEFIT-in-kind tax cut is definite for company car drivers taking on some Vauxhall cars after the firm cut screen prices by up to 12%, but transaction prices will remain unaffected for fleets, or could rise in some cases.

Renault announced an extended warranty of three years/60,000 miles and new two-year/18,000-mile service intervals for petrol and diesel models at the British International Motor Show. The company said it had always planned to unveil a new package at the motor show but had been overtaken by recent announcements from Ford and Vauxhall.

ONE of Europe's largest orders for alternatively-fuelled vehicles was unveiled by van specialist LDV at the British International Motor Show on Tuesday. The £2 million order from Swindon Borough Council for 68 dual-fuel Convoy vans was part of £10 million-worth of deals announced by the manufacturer at the show.