News - Page 2132

ROCHE Healthcare is to axe its 600-strong UK company car fleet and offer staff a cash-for-car alternative. The Hertfordshire-based company has appointed BCH Vehicle Management to handle the transition from contract hire to personal contract purchase and will be the preferred PCP provider through its AutoChoice scheme.

COMPANY car drivers are being targeted in a campaign urging drivers to join a weekly boycott of fuel forecourts in protest at the taxation of petrol and diesel. The organisers of the internet-based 'Boycott the pumps' campaign are calling for motorists to steer clear of stations on August 1 - dubbed 'Dump the pump day' - and then every Monday 'until the Government acts and cuts the taxes'.

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown has extended the ministerial right to a chauffeur-driven car - a tax perk understood to be worth more than £5,000 - to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The perk was introduced in 1996, allowing a chauffeur for the prime minister, leader of the opposition, the opposition chief whip, the speaker, all cabinet ministers and ministers who were assigned drivers, exempting them from benefit-in-kind tax.

HEALTH authority fleet managers have added their voice to national calls for their staff to be shown fairer treatment under local parking restrictions which have resulted in nurses on call returning to their cars to find them clamped or ticketed. The issue was brought to the fore by the Community and District Nursing Association, which says parking in restricted areas can be unavoidable if staff are to get through their caseload.

GOVERNMENT-approved moves to reduce car prices while trying to encourage drivers out of vehicles have been criticised in the House of Lords. Lord Jenkin of Roding said: 'The Government has made a huge number of statements about the need for sustainable transport and to get people out of cars, and with much of that I have sympathy. However, the Department of Trade and Industry now seeks to make it easier to buy many more cars by making them cheaper. It is very difficult to see how these matters can easily sit next to each other.'

CAR supermarkets say they are winning the battle against up-and-coming internet-based retailers, both in terms of service and in capturing fleet business. Retail centres claim to be selling hundreds of cars to fleets - without the lengthy waiting times associated with web-based retailers and often at cheaper prices.

FLEET drivers are being warned against thinking they are safe from prosecution by speed cameras after a landmark court ruling threatened to make the devices practically useless. The warning follows a Scottish test case which ruled that compelling a motorist to say who was driving at the time of an alleged offence would infringe that person's right to a fair trial under The European Convention of Human Rights.

HONDA has warned that unless its UK component suppliers drop their prices it will turn to European sources because the strength of sterling means it is cheaper to import parts. Honda's parts suppliers are expected to face calls to cut prices by up to 30% and the company expects to import 35% of parts from the Continent, up from 25% last year.

THE focus will be firmly on the future at the Automotive Congress Europe (ACE) in November. Expert analysts will evaluate how the internet will change the nature of fleet business, address new leasing and rental business opportunities in Eastern Europe and examine the post Block Exemption world.

THE new head of Cadillac has committed himself to the brand's future in the UK, despite disappointing sales figures. Michael O'Malley, who took up the role of general manager two months ago, said the UK was part of Cadillac's European strategy which will see its sales both here and on the continent grow through the introduction of new models which have been designed with a European audience in mind. So far this year, Cadillac has sold just 35 cars in the UK, compared with 82 in the year to May 1999.

FORMER GE Capital Fleet Services UK and Ireland managing director Jonathan Burr has been appointed MD of Coventry-based traffic and travel information provider ITIS (Integrated Transport Information Services). Burr, who resigned from GECFS in November, 1999, after three years in the chief's seat, will be responsible for the development and implementation of business travel solutions including delivery of traffic information to fleets for ITIS and its subsidiary NavTrak.

BRITISH Gas has ordered 500 Citroen Berlingo 1.9D 800 vans, worth more than £4 million at showroom values, in one of the biggest LCV deals won by the French manufacturer. All the Berlingos will go into service this year, operated on a 36-month, 36,000-mile agreement with British Gas subsidiary The Leasing Group.

TOYOTA will remain independent and only seek tie-ups or collaboration deals, Toyota Motor Europe executive vice- president Juan Jose Diaz Ruiz told a European automotive conference.

CAR Fleet Control's latest roadshow designed to give fleet managers the chance to discuss their fleet software needs and other industry issues will be held on July 13 at Oulton Hall, Leeds.

DRIVERS are finding motorway journeys increasingly jam-free, according to the fourth national Road User Satisfaction Survey.

FINANCIAL services company United Assurance Group has outsourced its 750-strong fleet to Fleetlease. The contract consists of full fleet management, including acquisition, disposal, maintenance and accident management.

THE rapid expansion of south-west based telecommunications company Eurobell, has led to a supply agreement with Renault for 11 Laguna Sport 1.6 16vs to its business sales staff.

RYDER Ground Fleet Services is opening a new workshop at London Heathrow Airport to maintain and service the 700 vehicles it manages at the airport. The company, which owns and operates a fleet of nearly 20,000 large trucks and vans in the UK and a worldwide fleet of 175,000, manages around 7,500 units at Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham.

JAIL sentences await company bosses who fail to tighten up risk management procedures or review the fitness of cars on their fleets, one of Britain's major leasing firms has told its corporate customers.

TWO of the country's biggest daily rental firms have joined forces to lobby for tax dispensations for companies which adopt car club schemes if workplace parking and congestion charging proposals become reality.

PACESETTING computer communications equipment is to be made available on most Citroen vehicles from next year. A Windows CE package initially developed for the Xsara hatchback and estate range will also be optional on the Xantia replacement model, the Synergie MPV and XM.

A ROAD safety management self-audit for fleet managers has been relaunched by Brake, the not-for-profit road safety organisation. The move follows Home Office proposals to introduce a new offence of corporate killing and three offences to deal with death caused by a company's recklessness or carelessness.

WAITING time for a new BMW car could be slashed to as little as 10 days from the time of ordering after the installation of a new computerised ordering and production system. Current lead times vary from about three to six weeks, depending on the model, but the German manufacturer has installed workstations in its outlets to radically speed up the process.

PSA Peugeot Citroen has perfected the advanced technology to pave the way for full-scale production of super-economy vehicles. But it is likely to be another four years before the French group is ready to roll out its full line-up of hybrid cars and light vans.

COMPANIES are being urged to offer employees bicycles in a bid to reduce traffic congestion and cut urban pollution - and Volvo UK is among those leading the way. Volvo announced it was backing the cycling call by offering all of its 400 UK employees a contribution of around a third off the cost of a bike with the unveiling of Green Commuting - Cycling Plan.

COMPANY cycling schemes are struggling to catch on despite tax incentives for pedal-pushing executives. Employees who opt for a company bike do not pay benefit-in-kind tax, thanks to Government measures to encourage employees to cycle to work and to use bikes for business journeys.

MALAYSIAN car maker Proton claims to be offering the cheapest new full size saloon available in Britain following an effective price-cut in its Wira range of almost 13%.

SMUGGLERS are cashing in on Britain's soaring fuel prices by flooding the market with thousands of gallons of black market fuel which is costing the Exchequer £1 billion a year and wrecking car engines, fleets were warned this week.

UNIVERSAL Salvage, the UK's largest vehicle salvage company, has reported a massive increase in full-year pre-tax profits. For the year to April 29 pre-tax profits reached £5.5 million (1999: £200,000) on slightly reduced turnover of £87.6 million (1999: £89.4 million).

STANDARD equipment levels on most Peugeot 406 variants have been raised for the 2001 model year, effective from Tuesday, July 4. Prices remain the same on the entry L specification, starting from £14,320 on-the-road, but the gains are front fog lights, side airbags, trip computer and electric door mirrors.