News - Page 2133

DAIHATSU has cut prices in its workhorse Fourtrak range as part of a special edition promotion running until September 30. A TDL Limited version of the Fourtrak Independent is being offered at £15,995 on-the-road with the same level of standard equipment as the pre price-cut £19,100 TDX model.

THE first of Vauxhall's new Bertone-designed Astra Coupe models goes on sale on Thursday (July 6). Priced from £16,150, the 115bhp 1.8-litre petrol-engined three-door includes ABS, traction control, air conditioning, driver and passenger airbags, single-slot CD, electric windows and door mirrors, and remote central deadlocking as standard equipment.

RENAULT has published its latest price guide complete with CO2 emissions – in preparation for the switch to carbon dioxide-based company car tax.

ROADS in England and Wales are in their poorest condition since records began, according to a Government-sponsored survey. The national highway maintenance report found the state of roads declined last year to the lowest point since the annual inspections started in 1977.

THE Queen has rewarded the innovative and pioneering fleet management skills of one of Britain's top fleet managers with the OBE in her Birthday Honours list. Double Fleet News Award-winning fleet chief Stan Ayling, head of transport and travel at the Inland Revenue, said the award was recognition for the commercial fleet practices he had brought to the 2,000-strong fleet, which have saved taxpayers millions of pounds.

THE continuing residual value crisis in the used car market has prompted the parent company of one of the UK's leading contract hire firms to issue a profits warning. Lex Service said on Monday the continuing debate around new car prices - and its knock-on effect on second hand values - was also taking its toll.

THE boss of Britain's biggest fleet supplier has savaged the Government for making fleets the scapegoats in the row over car pricing. In a hard-hitting attack, Ian McAllister, chairman and managing director of Ford of Britain, warned that fleet discount structures could end up being decided by the courts under an order released in Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers' response to the Competition Commission's New Cars Inquiry.

NEW car prices in Britain have fallen as far as they are likely to according to motor industry experts. Only short term special marketing programmes are likely to deliver any further reductions with media speculation of further price cuts of 30 - 40% dismissed as 'nonsense.'

THE official UK launch of Peugeot's 607 executive saloon has been put back to January 2001, six months behind schedule. Fleets had originally been told to expect demonstrator models in the early summer, but full introduction of the three-trim, three-engine range was first put back to late autumn to allow adjustments to the roll bars to correct a stability problem.

THE Government is to be pressed to give drivers of gas-powered cars a 6% discount under the forthcoming carbon dioxide-based benefit-in-kind tax rules due to be introduced in 2002. In the March Budget, the Treasury said it was considering giving discounts in the tax system to recognise that gas powered cars emit less CO2 than conventional road fuels. The tax breaks would offset the additional cost involved in buying a liquefied petroleum gas or compressed natural gas-powered car.

VELO and tax adviser Ernst and Young are demanding clarification over differing vehicle carbon dioxide emission statistics, which are making accurate assessment of future company car tax bills impossible.

COMPANY car drivers face choking levels of congestion, workplace parking charges and new taxes on fuel in a radical vision of the future produced by an influential advisory group.

THE UK is set to lead a rapid pan-European expansion in the growth of the liquefied petroleum gas vehicle parc, which is likely to top 500,000 units in this country in a decade, according to new research by Datamonitor.

LACK of refuelling facilities will soon become an invalid excuse for refusing to invest in gas-powered vehicles as more than 1,000 gas filling stations will be open for business by the end of this year. At the LPGA's LP Gas 2000 exhibition, the organisation's director general Tom Fiddell said that he believed with commitments from oil companies such as Shell and BP, there would be a comprehensive national refuelling network by the end of 2002.

THE former Rover Group is undergoing a major shake-up with a series of high-profile staff changes following its sale. About 3,000 BMW Group employees have moved to jobs with BMW, Land Rover/Ford and seven smaller 'business units' established by owner Phoenix Consortium. Rover has been operating without a corporate sales director since Trevor Houghton-Berry left in May to take up a similar position with BMW, but it is understood that he could head up Mini sales. Former Rover corporate sales director Steve Harris has quit his post with BMW in South Africa after seven months to become Peugeot's global fleet sales director.

BUSINESS drivers face another substantial rise in commuting expenses from September when the Government could be forced by Brussels to impose VAT on road tunnel and bridge toll charges. The extra tax is threatened under a European Union ruling which is expected to be upheld by the European Court of Justice.

FLEETS could face rocketing insurance costs and higher repair bills after a key area of the nation's body repairers network announced it will begin charging for 'free' services from next year.

ORDERS for more than 3,500 Mitsubishi Carismas, worth £60 million at showroom values, have been taken by the Circencester-based importer since February. The sales boost coincides with the recruitment of three new fleet sales executives - David Morris, Sue Williams and David Parry and with the manufacturer's pricing initiative, which saw reductions of up to 15% across the Mitsubishi range.

A LABOUR MP has criticised the Government's failure to support the domestic car industry in buying decisions for it's Whitehall fleet. Dudley South MP Ian Pearson is pressing his bosses to adopt a 'buy British' policy when sourcing vehicles for the Government's 7,000-vehicle fleet.

FLEETS are paying tens of thousands of pounds more for their fuel than they were six months ago - prompting renewed calls for Chancellor Gordon Brown to reduce fuel duty.

FLEET drivers continue to shun public and alternative forms of transport despite increasing pressure from the Government, according to a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

FLEETS are snubbing demands to offer the most environmentally-friendly vehicles to staff in time for carbon dioxide-based company car tax in 2002 because they fear restricting choice would damage recruitment and staff retention. Research by fleet management and leasing company Godfrey Davis, unveiled in a report called Company Car Strategy - 2000 and Beyond, found that 88% of fleets had not made allowance for the introduction of emission-based benefit in kind tax and 60% have no plans to take action.

COMPANY car drivers are used to seeing numerous different roadside signs but now a sign warning them they being watched by police helicopter patrols is being piloted on a stretch of road in Derbyshire which has claimed at least 17 lives.

FLEET drivers are showing no interest or knowledge in the carbon dioxide emissions of cars they are choosing - even though it holds the key to reducing their tax bills in future, the Association of Car Fleet Operators' London southern region has been told.

THE Automobile Association is the UK's top ranked roadside assistance provider, according to a survey of almost 25,000 drivers by the international research company JD Power and Associates.

SILVER Shield Screens' managing director Keith Walker has left the company and been replaced by an executive from its new owner, Kwik-Fit. John Clark has moved to the top position at the glass replacement firm from a role of head of group operations - new projects, for Kwik-Fit.

DAIMLERChrysler is to launch an official operation to market the MMC Smart city car in Britain in the build-up to sales of right-hand-drive versions. Re-engineering facilities are being installed at the factory in

PEUGEOT is to introduce two more 'launched-for-retail' models into its 2001-year fleet sales catalogue along with a raft of 'value-added' specification enhancements.

RENAULT has revealed that a key element in its decision to introduce the radically designed Avantime was that it could only compete with the prestige German brands in the executive sector on price.

THE long-awaited legislation designed to shake-up new car prices will force car-makers to give dealers similar volume discounts to those offered to the fleet market and allow car retailers to source cheaper vehicles from the continent for sale in the UK.