News - Page 2120

<I>Association of Car Fleet Operators director and managing director of Fleet Audits Stewart Whyte has issued the following advice to fleet managers wanting to maintain their operations as best they can:</I>

THE fuel crisis gripping the country has sparked a call to action for fleet managers to prove the essential role they play keeping British businesses on the move. An action plan for fleets to cope with the crisis emerged this week as pumps throughout the country ran dry, with campaigners blockading fuel refineries demanding a cut in taxes on petrol and diesel, which make up about 76% of fuel costs.

BRITAIN'S two biggest car companies, Ford and Vauxhall, have strongly denied they are to cut recommended retail prices. Both have said they will continue to offer retail incentives and special discounts, despite a spate of 'permanent' list price reductions by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Volvo, Saab, Lexus, Honda and Chrysler.

ASSOCIATES Fleet Services has become the latest leasing firm to change hands after its parent company was bought by international banking giant Citigroup. The £21 billion deal covering Associates First Capital Corporation businesses worldwide comes hot on the heels of the sale of ACL autolease, Jessups Vehicle Contracts and Highway Vehicle Management in the UK.

THE much hyped Supply of New Cars Order came into effect at the beginning of September: it was accompanied by a string of changes in new car prices, some of them expected, others a surprise. The Order is aimed at reducing new car prices to the private buyer; and, simultaneously, at moving those prices closer to the acquisition figures achieved by fleet operators.

PETROL and diesel shortages caused by demonstrations over high fuel prices could provide the perfect springboard to encourage fleets to join Motorvate, the ground-breaking scheme helping fleets slash fuel costs and clean up the environment through best practice.

MANUFACTURERS hold the future of small dealerships and the shape of the new and used car industry in their hands, CAP Motor Research has warned. As the Supply of New Cars Order 2000 begins to take effect, fears are growing that consolidation among car dealerships will be the only way they can survive.

ROVER Group is to change its name to MG Rover Group in a move which, says the Birmingham-based car maker, shows its commitment to MG and Rover products. It also confirms its strategy of moving towards a sports-based niche line-up, outlined by chairman John Towers and which will involve collaborative partnerships with other manufacturers.

FORD is set to redefine the upper medium fleet car sector with the launch in early November of the new Mondeo. Just as the Ford Focus set the conservative lower medium sector on fire two years ago with its radical styling, so the all-new Mondeo is expected to appeal to both job need and user-chooser company car drivers with its upmarket image and market-leading interior space.

BMW has signalled its confidence in the new Mini, saying it will attract fleet operators when it goes on sale in summer 2001. New Minis will appear in showrooms in summer 2001, three months later than planned after a delay caused by switching production from Longbridge to Cowley.

PROFITS at the AA have rocketed in its first year of ownership by Centrica. An operating profit of £18 million was achieved in the six months to June 30 following a £1 million exceptional hit on turnover of £226 million, according to half-year results.

NATIONWIDE Network Services has signed a deal with Vendepac, specialist in the installation and maintenance of vending machines, to provide an accident management service for its fleet of 800 cars.

NON-fault accident management services provider Auto Indemnity has signed a three-year contract with RAC Motoring Services to provide replacement vehicles to policyholders involved in an accident.

SHEFFIELD Insulation Group will be upgrading to FleetPlus, Car Fleet Control's latest product for medium to large fleets, in September. The new FleetPlus software was launched at Fleet Show 2000 and builds on the previous product offering Eurofleet.

INTERLEASING UK has signed a deal with AA Business Services for the provision of roadside recovery services to its fleet of 70,000 vehicles. Birmingham-based Interleasing, which provides fleet services to 2,000 companies in the UK, wanted to source all of its recovery services from a single supplier which could also provide comprehensive European cover for fleet drivers.

FLEET sales slumped to a monthly year low in August as companies continued to adjust to new car buying patterns to take account of the introduction of the twice-a-year registration plate change. Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures show fleet sales dropped to 38,560 last month - the first time they have dropped below 40,000 this year - down 7% from August 1999's 41,464 units.

END of month self-registrations by some volume manufacturers should be at an end following publication by the Department of Trade and Industry of The Supply of New Cars Order 2000, it was claimed this week.

HONDA has become the first volume manufacturer to announce wholesale price cuts across its range in the latest round of realignments triggered by the Competition Commission's new car price legislation.

USED car values are relentlessly falling much faster than new car prices, increasing the wholelife costs of fleets and private drivers alike. The latest survey to confirm the residual value problems is the Alliance & Leicester Car Price Index.

FLEETS must make their political presence felt at the heart of Government as rival political parties roll out strategies for the next general election. Transport will be one of the central battlegrounds in future elections and fleets are being urged to demand parties from all sides take fleets needs into account.

TRAFFIC congestion information provider Trafficmaster is claiming a world first for fleets with the offer of live traffic information over the internet. The company has been supplying live traffic congestion for the past 10 years and is now aiming to dominate the market with trafficmaster-online.com - presenting detailed UK maps overlaid with traffic congestion information updated every four minutes.

PLANS for workplace parking charges in the UK have been thrown into chaos as London says it will not levy the new tax and Birmingham - Britain's second city - looks set to follow suit.

VOLVO has restructured its corporate sales operation to increase annual fleet sales from 16,000 to 22,000 by the end of 2001 and central to growth is the opening this week of a Volvo Business Centre tasked with making the Ford-owned marque more of a fleet force to be reckoned with.

GOVERNMENT plans to spend £1.2 billion on 'smarter roads' to cut traffic congestion over the next decade will have no impact on company car journey times. On the same day as the Agency revealed its package for 'smarter roads', which forms part of the Government's ten-year £180 billion transport plan, director of technology Richard Eastman admitted that the new measures were unlikely to speed up journeys.

THE first group to take part in the Institute of Car Fleet Management Fast-Track Certificate Programme has completed its study workshops. The ICFM now expects the majority of the group to attain the Certificate in Car Fleet Management by early November - nine months after starting the course.

MOTOR dealership, car rental, bus and rail group Arriva is selling its two motor finance businesses - Broadwood Finance and Arriva Finance Lease. The decision to exit from motor finance operations came as the company announced half-year results for the six months to June 30. Turnover for the period reached £875.3 million with pre-tax profits of £35.5 million down from £51.6 million for the same period last year, largely due to the sale of Arriva Automotive Solutions - renamed Interleasing in July last year.

Renault is launching an internet scheme to sell low-mileage cars and vans vetted by the RAC. Renault To Go Online (RTGO) will become the main source of disposal for the company's own cars - starting with 12,000 next year, and rising to 20,000 by 2003.

The RAC has been appointed to run the warranty and breakdown cover for online nearly-new vehicle dealer yourautochoice.com - owned by Avis.

ONE of Britain's biggest fleets, BT, has halted the purchase of new cars for its staff amid continuing confusion over the future of new car pricing and collapsing used car values.

CONSOLIDATION and change in the contract hire industry stepped up a gear this week with ACL autolease and Jessups Vehicle Contracts both sold to major finance and leasing players.