News - Page 2140

THE Phoenix Consortium has made a commitment to joint ownership of the firm with employees and dealers. The consortium's head, John Towers, will have a share in the firm as will other Phoenix members.

THE Government has admitted that Rover faces a tough future under new ownership due to the highly competitive market. Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers told the House of Commons the deal was 'good news for the workers at Longbridge and the wider community in the West Midlands'.

BUSINESS buyers will become an increasingly important customer for Land Rover products, according to managing director Mike Wright. With Ford set to buy Land Rover for £1.75 billion from BMW with the acquisition due to be completed by the end of June, the 4x4 specialist's strategy under its new owner is being eagerly awaited.

PRODUCTION of the Rover Mini is to cease at Longbridge in September after 41 years. In its run-out year it is expected to have sold almost 12,000 Classic, Mini7 and Cooper units, more than 85% for export - Japan is the Mini's biggest customer.

VOLKSWAGEN Group has announced first quarter pre-tax profits of DM1,205 million (£362 million), a 15.3% rise on the same period last year on a 14.5% increase in sales to DM40,957 (£12,720 million). A new record in worldwide deliveries was set for January- March with 1,257,082 units (up 6.1% on 1999) and all group brands showed sales increases, and the manufacturer's board of management has predicted 'significant growth' in profits for 2000.

A PAN-European call centre to handle enquiries from General Motors' fleet customers in Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland has gone on line at Vauxhall's Luton HQ.

FLEET decision-makers say they expect to recruit more staff in the next 12 months to work on fleet-related functions. A survey taken at Fleet Show 2000 revealed that of seven possible future fleet operation changes, an expansion in staff numbers was the number one likelihood, according to 32 of 111 fleet decision-makers surveyed.

THE Institute of Transport Management has announced its latest fleet roll of honour - the result of research carried out at this year's Fleet Show. ITM's Private Eyes Programme 2000 product and service awards are for 'significant contribution to the development of best practice in the fleet industry' and will be presented at the Café Royal, London, on June 2.

A BID to launch an internet trading scheme for early termination vehicles has failed to take off as fleet managers were told it is talking, not technology, which will cut their costs. It was hoped fleets could save thousands of pounds in early termination costs using a trading scheme through which fleets would offer vehicles to other ACFO members instead of paying their contract hire company an early termination charge.

MITSUBISHI has renewed its commitment to fleet following its alliance with DaimlerChrysler, which it says will have no effect on its UK sales and distribution operations. Following the acquisition of 34% of the Japanese company by DaimlerChrysler, which is expected to be formally signed next month, the manufacturers are to jointly develop new ranges of small cars, light commercial vehicles and pick-ups.

FLEET managers are being warned they face a high price for continued complacency a year on from the introduction of the Woolf Reforms. The warning has been given by Derick Perkins, director of Fleet Management Services, who says fleet managers are still in the dark about what to do to comply with Woolf.

VOLKSWAGEN'S three-cylinder 1.4-litre diesel engine is now available in S-trim Polos, priced at £11,670 for the three-door and £12,135 for the five-door version. The 75bhp pump injection 'pumpe duse' engine was launched in the Polo SE in February and has now also been added to the Lupo range.

UP to £1,600 has been slashed from the on-the-road prices of selected Hyundai models. The Korean manufacturer says the reductions are part of a 'while stocks last' summer promotion.

A CONVERTIBLE version of the Nissan Silvia sports coupe is to go on sale in Japan in July. The Varietta has an electric foldaway metal hood which raises and lowers in about 20 seconds.

PRICES for the new Volkswagen Sharan start at £18,645 on-the-road for the entry-level 2.0-litre S 115bhp model - £1,000 more than the previous entry model.

WAITING lists for the compact sports coupe Audi TT have been cut from a year to between three and six months after the manufacturer stepped up production of right-hand-drive versions.

ALL BMW 3-series 2.8-litre-engined models are to be replaced with 330i-badged variants from July. The new cars will feature a straight-six 3.0-litre petrol unit which produces 20% more power at 231bhp than the one it replaces, more torque - 221lb-ft versus 206lb-ft - and extra performance.

A V6 petrol engine is to be added to a revised SEAT Alhambra range, due to be launched in the UK in August. All new models will have a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, but the 2.8-litre 204bhp six-cylinder unit will also have the option of five-speed Tiptronic transmission and a permanent four-wheel-drive system.

CITROEN has slashed the price of its five-door Saxo Desire and Forte models to match their three-door equivalents. The five-door 1.1i Saxo Forte, available in three metallic colours, is £7,795 and the Desire is £8,980 - the same as the three-door 1.1i SX.

HEAVILY revised Volvo S40 saloons and V40 estates have gone on sale with list prices unchanged compared with the outgoing models. Improvements to the £14,495-£21,615 range include new engines and transmissions, retuned chassis and higher standard specification - the latter equating to about £800 of extra equipment.

FRANCHISED dealers look set to remain the mainstay of vehicle distribution despite competition from the internet, according to an Institute of the Motor Industry survey. Manufacturers and importers operating in the UK have dealership expansion plans which have seen the number of franchised outlets increase to 6,439 compared with 6,365 in March last year and 6,381 in March 1998.

THE UK's largest dealer network, Pendragon, has launched an internet new and used car buying service to capitalise on growing interest in cash-for-car options. At www.tins.co.uk, customers have access to vehicles from major manufacturers sourced via the group's 228 dealerships.

DC COOK is considering a de-merger and flotation of its e-commerce subsidiary, launched a month ago selling imported new cars. It is in discussion with financial institutions with the aim of a flotation by the end of the year.

VAUXHALL is supplying Lincolnshire County Council with 280 vehicles through a four-year solus contract hire deal.

GLASGOW-based First Engineering has taken delivery of 40 Vauxhall Movanos.

STEEL producer Corus plc, formerly British Steel, has renewed its fleet management contract with Cardiff-based First Mutual Contracts (FMC).

THE Government is to turn to the UK's safety champions in its attempts to improve fleets' safety record. The country's most proactive companies are to be approached to unite to share information on how they have tackled safety through introducing sound risk management strategies that go way beyond just offering driving training courses.

ACCIDENTS caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel are not simply due to spending excessive hours driving, according to scientific research. Responding to an appeal for guidance on how far an employee should be expected to drive in a day and whether driving at night or day was safer, Professor Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University, said there were no 'hard and fast rules'.

THE RAC is calling for employers to introduce work-related road safety plans for their company car drivers in a bid to cut the number of road deaths and accidents caused by driver fatigue. The measures follow shocking results of an RAC poll which reveal few drivers are sufficiently aware of the potential seriousness of driving while tired.

BT's far-reaching approach to reducing accidents has cut its repair bill by millions of pounds in two years. The company implemented a Drivewise risk management programme in an effort to reduce a £27 million vehicle accident repair bill and the £100 million paid in indirect costs each year as a result of collisions among its 55,000 vehicle fleet.