News - Page 2124

ON-THE-ROAD prices have been announced for Audi's aluminium-bodied A2 compact car. The two petrol-engined models, in standard and SE trim, will cost £13,950 and £15,730 respectively and be available from September 1.

ROVER is calling last orders on the Mini, which ends production next month after 41 years. The manufacturer claims stock for the Mini Se7en (£8,995), Mini Cooper (£8,995) and Mini Cooper Sport (£9,995) is already in short supply.

SKODA is continuing its cut-price promotion on Octavia saloon and estate models until at least the unveiling and first fleet drives of new versions in October.

Volkswagen has boosted its Lupo range with the introduction of a high performance GTI. The new car is powered by a 1.6-litre 16-valve 125bhp engine, enabling a 0-62mph sprint in just over eight seconds and a top speed of 127mph.

VOLKSWAGEN has cut the price of its new Beetle - by adding an eight-valve 102bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine option. Specification is otherwise the same as the £14,950 2.0-litre 115bhp version.

SELECTED SEAT Toledo saloon SE list prices have been cut following a range realignment which sees the 1.6 and S models deleted. The 125bhp 1.8 20V SE has come down £500 to £15,495 as has the TDi 110 SE, which now costs £16,595 on-the-road.

A NEW two-door C-class compact sports coupe is to make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show on September 28 and is expected to go on sale in Britain in March next year. It sits 20mm lower than its saloon stablemate and is 183mm shorter, but has, says Mercedes-Benz, 'plenty of space for four passengers'.

A new flagship for Rover's 45 model range has gone on sale in two trims, at £16,095 and £17,095 on-the-road.

FIRST Mutual Contracts is to merge with sister company Godfrey Davis in a rationalisation by parent firm Bank of Scotland. The FMC name will be dropped and the Cardiff site closed in favour of the stronger branding of its sister company.

UP to 2,500 UK fleets are to be involved in a nationwide bid to assess health and safety standards for company car drivers as part of a drive to cut accidents on the UK's roads. The survey will be combined with a Health and Safety Executive initiative to interview some 300 fleets to provide a comprehensive guide to the attitude of employers to the safety of their staff on the road.

EXHAUSTED company car drivers could be causing the deaths of hundreds of people on British roads each year, new research shows. Early results from a two-year research project into sleep-related vehicle accidents reveal that nodding off at the wheel may account for as many as one in five motorway accidents and one in 10 of all road accidents.

A SCRAMBLE to extend service intervals among fleet manufacturers is on the horizon after exclusive 'real-life' running cost figures showed Peugeot's gamble on longer service intervals had paid huge dividends by slashing running costs.

BRADFORD & Bingley Building Society is to scrap its standard company car fleet in favour of a Whitechapel structured personal leasing scheme for more than 2,000 of its company car drivers. The scheme, under which staff technically own their company cars is intended to save the building society £1.5 million a year through lower vehicle provision costs.

BP Amoco is distancing itself from the conflict surrounding UK fuel prices, after its chief executive Sir John Browne gave his support to Dump the Pump campaigners. Browne went on record saying that he shared the concerns of campaign protestors, adding that BP made 'less than a penny' per litre of petrol sold, while Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown was pocketing taxes in excess of 61p per litre.

NEW London mayor Ken Livingstone has pushed through plans to strip the capital's transport chiefs of their company cars in a bid to clean up the environment amid calls for employers throughout the capital to do the same. During a board meeting about company cars, it was agreed that instead of cars, staff would be encouraged to use public transport on all business meetings, or taxis where necessary.

FTM Tyrefit, which counts PHH Vehicle Management, Lease Plan and the RAC among its customers, is up for sale after its parent company went into administrative receivership. The fleet tyre replacement specialist, which represents a network of 1,000 fast-fit centres and 340 mobile tyre fitters, is continuing to trade until a buyer has been found.

A REVISED Passat is to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show on September 28, featuring a redesigned front and an expanded choice of engines. The latest version of Volkswagen's upper medium saloon and estate range will make its UK debut at the Birmingham International Motor Show in October and go on sale early in 2001.

TOYOTA'S fleet customers will not be asked to carry out transactions in Euros, despite calls to suppliers of its UK factories to ditch sterling. The company says it has been stung by the strength of the Pound and the falling value of the Euro.

TUMBLING new car prices could lead to the death of some internet car buying companies, it was claimed this week. With the Government publishing new legislation designed to ensure dealers who buy cars outright can benefit from similar discounts to fleets, so-called dotcom companies, which typically import cars, will lose their price advantage.

FLEETS could benefit from improved car servicing and repairs in the future, after a report by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) urged the industry to clean up its act. Although fleet operators were not required to give their opinions about standards of car servicing for the report, all consumers are set to reap the rewards of seeing the industry, which is worth more than £9 billion annually, given a thorough overhaul.

MOTOR business Perry group has predicted a 'more challenging' second half of 2000, claiming car sales may not pick-up until next year.

FLEET managers could be costing their employers millions of pounds a year because they fail to monitor their tyre costs, a new survey has revealed. Interviews with more than 200 fleet managers, including staff in charge of private and contract hire fleets, showed a damning level of ignorance over how much tyres were costing their companies.

AS many as one in 10 tyres in use by UK car drivers is illegal and could be putting lives in danger according to a nationwide survey of car users by the National Tyre Distributors Association.

EMPLOYERS need to take a more holistic view of their company cars if they want to 'future proof' their fleets and avoid soaring tax costs. VELO, the fleet management and funding specialist, is warning that fleets must adapt to remain a cost efficient element of their company's operations .

Honda will be exporting cars from the UK to Japan for the first time when production of the new Civic begins at Swindon. The manufacturer has decided to switch production of certain models to Britain due to the strength of the Yen against Sterling.

TRAFFIC levels increased by 1% in the second quarter of 2000 compared with the same time last year, according to new figures from the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.

A VOLKSWAGEN Lupo 3L TDI supermini has completed a round the world in 80 days journey and recorded average fuel consumption of 118mpg.

CONTRACT hire and leasing specialist Ford Business Partner has renewed its contract for UK and European cover with the RAC. As a result, the RAC will continue to provide Ford Business Partner's customers with roadside, recovery, at home and onward travel breakdown cover in the UK until June 2003.

PEUGEOT has signed a solus fleet deal with Hussmann Europe, which supplies refrigeration units to major supermarkets. The two-year agreement - Peugeot previously shared the contract with Ford - will see the Coventry-based manufacturer supply up to 100 diesel vehicles from across its car and LCV ranges. The vehicles will be driven by employees ranging from service engineers to senior management.

VEHICLE rental and contract hire specialist TLS has bought 22 Vauxhall Movanos, which will be used by its 36 mobile servicing engineers who operate from workshops across the UK.