News - Page 2118

ELECTROLUX has signed a multi-million Euro travel deal with internet-based business-to-business travel procurement system provider GetThere.com, the October edition of Fleet News Europe has exclusively revealed.

DEMANDS for the Government to be clearer about fuel prices and tax have been made by the Retail Motor Industry Federation as the furore over duty on petrol and diesel continues. With the political party conference season now in full swing, the three major parties have all made their positions clear.

FIRST National Vehicle Holdings could build its contract hire fleet to a massive 160,000 units - double its current size - as the battle for business in the contract hire industry heats up.

FLEETS across Europe could face sharp increases in motoring costs following a call by an international team of scientists for motorists to pay for the full cost of pollution, reveals the October edition of Fleet News Europe.

THE organisers of the European New Car Assessment Programme crash tests are claiming victory this week in their campaign for better new car safety after a string of good performances from superminis.

CAR dealers want regulations governing the distribution of cars in the UK and Europe to be extended for a further five years when the present agreement ends on September 30, 2002.

BLACK Horse Vehicle Management is to shut its Harrogate headquarters and move its operations to new sister company ACL autolease in Birmingham. ACL autolease managing director Simon Richmond has also left the company, it has been revealed.

SELF-insured fleets are on the 'road to nowhere' unless they take drastic action to raise safety levels and driving standards among their drivers, according to GE Capital Fleet Services boss Steve Taylor. The stark warning was made amid claims that fleet operators are trying to combat rising insurance costs by effectively going it alone and insuring themselves.

SUPERMARKET fuel retailer Safeway believes higher fuel prices are inevitable after claiming it has been selling petrol and diesel at a loss. The company has increased its filling station prices by 5p per litre/22.7p a gallon, resulting in a new high of 84.9p for a litre of unleaded, 85.9p for a litre of diesel and 88.9 for a litre of LRP.

HELPHIRE, the vehicle hire and accident management group, has conceded defeat in its battle with insurers over millions of pounds of outstanding credit hire bills which have sent its finances into the red. The firm has issued a profit warning and admitted the court system could not handle the thousands of outstanding cases over bills insurers were refusing to pay.

LOCAL authorities and businesses are showing a growing interest in European Car Free Day after the fuel crisis focused attention on alternatives to car travel. This year, despite a row over the lack of official Government support for the event, millions of people in 860 towns throughout Europe took part, including 10 local authorities in the UK.

THE international leasing partnership Interleasing has announced a fundamental change of strategy to serve better multi-national fleets, the October edition of Fleet News Europe has exclusively revealed.

THE Confederation of British Industry has established an action group to review Government policy on road-user taxes including company car taxation.

THE 2,000th copy of Fleetbase has been supplied by Car Fleet Control to North West Auto Trader for its 65-car fleet. It is the first time North West Auto Trader, has made use of fleet management software.

BUILDING society and estate agency Bradford & Bingley has whittled down its preferred list of four vehicle suppliers for its 2,100-strong fleet to two - Peugeot and Ford. The move is part of a fleet policy standardisation which has led to more than 1,400 employees joining the Whitechapel structured personal leasing scheme under which staff technically own their company cars.

NATIONAL Grid is replacing its 1,450-strong Rover and Ford car fleet with Vauxhall and Peugeot in a new three-year deal. The energy provider, which put the outright purchase business out to tender earlier in the year, has the option of extending the contract to five years.

LEICESTER-based luxury house builder David Wilson Homes, which operates a fleet of 800 cars and 120 light commercial vehicles, has extended its fleet policy to include Peugeot in a new triple badge deal which also includes Vauxhall and Toyota.

HUNTINGDON-based Marshall Leasing has appointed AA Business Services to provide roadside recovery, European cover and accident management for its 6,500 vehicles.

ONE of the UK's largest manufacturing and call-centre unions, the AEEU, has signed a leaseback deal for 161 vehicles with Lex Vehicle Leasing.

BCA Europe and Sewells International, a sister publication to FNN, have warned that the disposals industry faces significant change amid the long-term fall in residual values. Used car buyers staying away from the forecourts and the new threats from internet-based car buying companies will herald a revolution in the used market.

ADT Fire and Security, the UK's largest supplier of electronic fire and security systems, has renewed its 18-month contract with Vauxhall for a further three years.

A FURIOUS row has broken out between a senior fleet industry leader and the Consumers' Association over the role the organisation has played in the UK new car pricing debate. The association was behind the 'Great British Rip Off' campaign designed to force vehicle manufacturers to cut new car prices, but simultaneously it launched its own internet-based car buying site - Carbusters.com.

WITH the fuel crisis fresh in their minds, hundreds of fleet managers grabbed the opportunity to test drive the latest models at this year's two-day Drive 2000. Organisers of the diesel and alternative fuel show, held at the Heritage Centre, Gaydon, could not have chosen a better week to hold the show if they had tried after the nation almost ground to a halt amid the fuel crisis.

POWER-hungry company car drivers are ignoring a nationwide shift among car drivers towards downsizing, with fleet demand for luxury saloons up by nearly 20% in the past half-year. Overall sales for vehicles such as Jaguars, Mercedes-Benz S-class, Rolls Royce and Lexus fell 9.6% to 6,156. But fleets snapped up 1,761 of the sales - up from about 1,500 for the same period last year.

THE 500th liquefied petroleum gas service station has been officially opened in Plymouth by BP Amoco. It's the company's 72nd and with 10 further stations currently in build, the fuel giant is well on the way to reaching its target of having 100 stations open by the end of 2000.

THE scramble to buy bargain nearly-new cars as their prices are savaged by falling new car prices and uncertainty over price cuts is creating chaos throughout the used car market. Owners of vehicles up to seven years old are grabbing the chance to pick up cheap nearly new vehicles, but the glut of old stock has provoked a dramatic downturn in the market. Half of Britain's cars are becoming worthless, according to CAP Black Book, the trade guide to used car values.

THE European Commission is formally investigating a £40 million grant to Nissan proposed by the Government to help keep new Micra production in Sunderland. The plant faces strong competition from other European factories, and Nissan UK has launched a series of initiatives to cut production costs by 30% and boost efficiency in order to win the business.

WESTMINSTER City Council is claiming it has the world's first CCTV 'supervan' which is taking to the streets as a high tech weapon in the ongoing war against crime.

AN estate version of the Skoda Fabia will be available to British fleets from March next year. Its wheelbase remains the same as the hatchback at 2,462mm, but the estate is 262mm longer overall, giving it about a 20% increase in luggage capacity.

SUBARU'S UK range-topping Outback is to be offered with a 3.0-litre 207bhp six-cylinder 'boxer' engine towards the end of the year.