News - Page 2146

USED car prices have revived slightly this month, with improvements concentrated in popular sectors. But niche markets such as MPVs, sports cars and 4x4s saw an accelerated decline, according to the latest CAP Motor Research Index of new and used car prices.

DAEWOO has linked with British Car Auctions to hold up to eight branded used car sales a month across Britain from next month. The remarketing initiative is designed to control stock levels and maximise disposal values.

VEHICLE Wrapping Services signed a deal with Coca Cola at Fleet Show 2000 to custom wrap 20 of the company's vehicles to support the launch of the Coca Cola glass bottle campaign in the UK. VWS uses self-adhesive vinyl film to livery all manner of vehicles, which it claims cuts the cost of repainting them at the end of their life and enhances residual values.

FORD cut its losses in Europe to $3 million (£1.95 million) in the first quarter of the year, compared with a $10 million (£6.5 million) in 1999. Globally the motor manufacturer earned a record $2.1 billion (£1.36 billion) against last year's $2.0 billion (£1.29 billion).

TURNOVER tripled to £6.1 million (1999: £2.2 million) in the six months to February 29, 2000 at telemetric-based vehicle management information provider Minorplanet Systems with the business returning a pre-tax profit of £73,000 (1999: loss of £896,000).

LAND Rover is recalling 2,289 Discovery models and Citroen has issued a recall notice on 569 Xsaras. The Discoverys are built between July 13 and December 13 last year and have ACE system high pressure pipes which could fracture and leak fluid which, under some circumstances, could ignite.

GENERAL Motors and Fuji Heavy Industries, which owns Subaru, have completed the share transaction which gives the world's largest vehicle manufacturer a 20% stake in Fuji.

FLEET chiefs used the Fleet Show as a fact-finding mission to get to grips with significant changes in the fast-moving fleet industry. With major changes in the industry as a result of Government-inspired initiatives on tax, legislation, driver training and environment there are significant moves fleet chiefs must make to ensure their fleets operate at maximum efficiency.

FLEET managers should adopt a European outlook to protect their long-term job prospects, and start by preparing their IT systems to cope with the Euro by the end of next year. While the UK public is still hostile to the single currency, business pressure is mounting for the Government to take Sterling into EMU.

Skoda will return to being a two-model range when production of the Felicia comes to an end in August. But the arrival of the Fabia supermini guarantees the company's record sales growth in Britain will continue, believes business sales manager John Rooney.

LAND Rover is still on course to make significant progress in the business car market despite the upheavals of BMW's controversial Rover Group disposal. The company followed up record sales in the sector last year with further big gains in the first quarter, corporate sales manager Vince Floyd told Fleet NewsNet.

NATIONAL Tyres and Autocare showed fleets it was firmly in the driving seat when it comes to service with a range of new products at its show stand. The firm, which has 750 branches throughout the UK, has equipped all its branches with state-of-the-art computer equipment which keeps each depot informed instantly of pricing agreements with individual fleet customers and eradicate invoicing queries.

AN unprecedented roll-out of new products is signposting another record performance by Volvo in the corporate car market this year. But Ford's acquisition is also likely to fuel further gains for the Swedish company, believes corporate sales manager Alistair Murray.

RENAULT paved the way for a major change in marketing strategy by previewing its next new model at Fleet Show 2000. The company used the Avantime coupe to put the focus on a dramatic bid to capture fresh business in Britain's luxury car market.

Executives of a new IT company pronounced the show a resounding success when they left Fleet Show 2000 with more than 30 leads to follow up. 'The motor industry is fertile ground for us,' said q.bit Systems director William Cohen.

THE company car will be alive and well in 10 years' time, but in an environment radically changed as a result of e-commerce and green legislation, Fleet Show 2000 Forum visitors were told. By 2010 employees may have to prove the need for a work car in a business culture which will have reacted to mandatory alternative travel plans by introducing vehicle sharing, people-carrier pooling and home and satellite teleworking centres.

GLASS cost management was the new concept highlighted at the show this year by Silver Shield Windscreens, which it believes will be a leading concept in the market in the future. It sees the firm bring together a number of individual services that takes the emphasis off winning business purely on price.

INTERNET service providers proved one of the biggest attractions at the show, with many companies making their first appearance - and even launching at the show - finding themselves in big demand. Many are reporting a high level of familiarity among the sector of what the internet can provide and one of the markets being tapped heavily is in car buying and disposal, promoted by companies such as AutoRespond, availablecar.com and Autohit.

KWIK-FIT Fleet unveiled at Fleet Show 2000 its new BrakeSafe electronic measuring device which can forecast the life of braking systems. Under the new system, which Kwik-Fit says will save fleet operators money, an electronic signal is beamed from the BrakeSafe measuring device to a computer which contains data for allowed wear limits for every make and model sold in the UK.

DEBATE on company car tax, pricing, block exemption, consolidation, the environment, new legislation, the internet, Europe and the future of fleet pulled in packed houses at Fleet Show 2000 Forums, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers in association with Manheim Europe. Over the show's three days, more than 850 fleet decision-makers heard experts discuss the industry's burning issues and joined in lively question and answer sessions sparked by a total of 15 presentations.

THE joint Customs & Excise and Inland Revenue stand at Fleet Show 2000 had one of its best years at the show as fleet managers tried to get the lowdown on key issues facing their fleets. Tax changes were one of the main focuses of interest as fleet buyers and decision-makers sought expert help on CO2-based company car tax and Vehicle Excise Duty.

THE pressure to maximise shareholder returns will see continuing consolidation among motor manufacturers. In the long-term, six or seven car makers will emerge to lead the field, according to Steven Utting, corporate finance partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, at the Fleet Show 2000 forum, 'Impact on consolidation on the contract hire market'.

DEALER-based and independent contract hire firms are facing a battle for survival amid increasingly tough market conditions. Colin Tourick, managing director of Associates Fleet Services, said factors such as low sale margins and competition from European imports were making it hard for firms to compete against their manufacturer and bank-owned competitors.

KWIK-Fit Fleet and Fleet NewsNet's print sister Fleet News have joined forces with the aim of raising £100,000 for the fleet leg of Britain's biggest charity run - the Island Race which has been dubbed 'The Event of the Millennium'. And Fleet Show 2000 was the launchpad for the charity appeal, with high hopes that hundreds of people from across the fleet industry will support the 'company car' leg of the run on June 6.

VISSCHER-Caravelle is taking the hassle out of van fitting with the launch of Van Solutions - a one-stop outsourcing service for leasing companies and fleets. Visscher has formed a partnership with Bolton-based Vanliners to fit any accessory including ply-lining, roof racks, sign writing, beacons and towbars to vans.

CONTRACT hire and leasing companies must innovate and adapt to 'counter hostile waters' in the fleet industry, British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association director general Norman Donkin said at the Fleet Show launch of the organisation's 'Industry Review 2000'. Falling residual values coupled with strong competition which has kept rental rates down, have contributed to undermine the profitability of Britain's short and long-term rental companies, although their combined fleets have topped the two-million vehicle mark for the first time.

A MAJOR drive for higher efficiency is taking place at Jaguar dealerships as the luxury car firm prepares to seize a dramatically bigger stake in the corporate car market. Retailers are being subjected to an exhaustive appraisal just 12 months before the new X400 executive saloon sweeps into the sector dominated by the BMW 3-series.

DETAILS of an accelerated £1.5 billion improvement programme for England's 6,500 miles of motorways and trunk roads were revealed to fleet operators and transport managers at this year's Fleet Show. The Highways Agency's stand was at the NEC event to answer inquiries from visitors who had heard Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's March Budget promise to improve the road network.

FLEET operators were urged to take an immediate leap into new technology at Fleet Show 2000. Holding back for the pace of advance in vehicle telematics to settle was a futile exercise, warned RAC executive Andy Duxbury.

RADICAL new in-car vehicle tracking gadgetry is set to please the drivers it is designed to oversee. To be made available in May, the equipment will be such a success that it will drive the Trafficmaster group to pole position in the burgeoning tracking industry, it was claimed at Fleet Show 2000.