News - Page 2149

CONFUSION over future company car tax policy on alternative fuel vehicles could threaten future growth of 'green' fleets, a Fleet Show 2000 Forum heard. Under the new CO2-based company car tax regime, to be introduced in 2002, aftermarket gas vehicles will be pay tax based on their petrol emissions, while production line vehicles pay according to their gas emissions, which are significantly lower.

A GOVERNMENT focus on the environment, which is to transform company car tax in 2002, could lead to major changes to van taxation. Currently, benefit-in-kind tax for vans made available for private use is set at a standard £500, but delegates at the four Fleet Show Forums on tax changes for fleets heard the Government was expected to assess vans on their carbon dioxide in the same way as cars.

ARTHUR Large, chairman of LPG Systems, who has been travelling in a liquefied petroleum gas van from John O'Groats to Lands End, has been surprised by the level of support for LPG in rural communities. The sponsored trip, christened the JOGLE journey, was aimed at illustrating LPG saves money, is kinder to the environment and is available nationwide by refuelling at the LPG stations along the route.

A DIRECT Government appeal to fleet managers to take action now over CO2 was made at the Fleet Show amid fears drivers are being left unprepared for the impact of carbon dioxide-based company car tax in 2002. At a packed Fleet Forum on the first day of the show, attended by about 80 fleet buyers and decision-makers, Sara Woollard, policy adviser to the personal taxation division of the Inland Revenue, warned fleet managers they had to act now to avoid big shocks for drivers in 2002.

Advanced underbonnet technology is poised to drive Saab deeper into the business car sector, it was claimed at the Fleet Show. Fleet operations manager Andy Dunsdon said the company was eagerly anticipating the arrival of a new model range featuring breakthrough engineering allowing a new plateau in performance and operating economy.

ZAFIRA, Vauxhall's innovative seven-seater, has been given the seal of approval by Britain's biggest fleet, Motability. Already voted Best MPV in this year's Fleet News Awards, the compact people-carrier's Flex-7 system helped the Luton-based manufacturer carry off the charity's Motor Manufacturer Award.

Honda has given another boost to its European car manufacturing operations by deciding to build the CR-V sport utility model in Britain. Only days after announcing cutbacks in volume at Swindon, the Japanese company has confirmed that the popular recreational off-roader will be added to its production lines there this summer.

A RADICAL campaign to encourage support for beleaguered Rover was launched at Fleet Show 2000 aimed at key fleet buyers and decision-makers who will decide the future success of the brand. The Friends of Rover Group will recruit supporters from the manufacturer's dealer network and aims to provide a positive image to fleets and retail buyers about the future of the brand.

CAR manufacturers exhibiting at Fleet Show 2000 have been slammed 'a disgrace' for not displaying carbon dioxide emissions figures on their show vehicles. Out of 21 car firms at the NEC event just 10 included CO2 performance in specification lists on or next to models seen by more than 7,000 fleet decision-makers during the show's three days - just three weeks after Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's Budget confirmed CO2-based vehicle excise duty and benefit-in-kind taxation regimes.

FLEET managers face one of the biggest threats yet to their future and could find themselves on the dole queue unless they get trained, adapt and get to work. In a series of hard-hitting predictions, high profile industry figures told the Fleet News Budget Briefing that change was the only option.

THE NHS Transport Managers Association and NHS Supplies have settled their differences and united in a vehicle supply deal with 10 contract hire firms. In 1997 a number of national health service transport managers rejected the official supply terms negotiated on their behalf by NHS Supplies after the number of suppliers was cut from 14 to four and was seen to unacceptably restrict choice.

EXHIBITORS have voted Fleet Show 2000 an overwhelming success with many praising the 'business-to-business' perspective of the event and the quality of the people visiting the stands.

FORD will not follow the lead of Peugeot and Rover in offering three-year warranty cover on its cars, despite giving the new Transit model a three-year guarantee. The company announced at the Commercial Vehicle Show that Transit buyers will receive a three-year/100,000-mile warranty package - the first time such cover has been offered on a Ford vehicle in the UK.

DOUBTS have been raised about the outsourcing of police vehicle maintenance work following concerns about the safety of the Metropolitan Police's emergency vehicles - and forces throughout the UK are being urged to reconsider external servicing contracts. The issue came to light following the launch of an inquiry by the Metropolitan Police into its £53 million maintenance and servicing contract with the Venson Group after drivers complained that vehicles were unsafe.

HAMPSON Self Drive managing director Steve Hampson has vowed to raise standards among Britain's van and heavy goods vehicle operators following his appointment as chairman of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association's commercial vehicle committee.

CONSUMERS look set to win the battle over new car pricing within the next few days after Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers gave the strongest hint yet that he has accepted the findings of the Competition Commission's report. He told the Commons on Monday he would respond to the report by Easter and said: 'We will put the interests of consumers first for the simple reason that strong and assertive consumers build strong companies.'

VEHICLE distribution and technical services company Autologic Holdings has ploughed £6.3 million into an American automotive internet business to help it prepare for a boom in web-based fleet car buying.

DEALERSHIP group Lookers returned pre-tax profits of £6.4 million last year compared with £5.3 million in 1998, despite slow new car sales.

FLEETS which choose Volkswagen cars ahead of their Ford and Vauxhall rivals stand to cash in following the launch of a new running cost guarantee scheme by the German. The guarantee, based on CAP Motor Research figures for servicing, maintenance and repair over three years/60,000 miles, is being introduced in a bid to dispel the view that Volkswagen cars are expensive to operate.

PRICES for Subaru's facelifted Forester sports 4x4 utility range - are to start £1,000 lower than those of its predecessor. The cut is a 'going for growth' initiative intended to boost Forester sales from 2,000 units last year to 2,500. The entry-level 2.0-litre petrol AWD will cost £15,950 on-the-road compared with £16,950 for the GLS it replaces. Shortage of turbo-powered engines means, however, that prices for the 170bhp S-Turbo models remain the same, starting at £21,750 on-the-road for the manual version.

BI-FUEL liquefied petroleum gas/petrol options have been introduced across the Daewoo car range. The importer has made the move to soak up fleet demand for cleaner vehicles following the Budget, and anticipates up to 600 annual corporate sales of Tickford Engineering converted Lanos, Nubira and Leganza models.

A NEW customer-specific internet fleet management operation has been launched by Huntingdon-based Powermarque. Business-to-business On-line provides customers with their own-brand internet site - screens and printed pages can be personalised with user logos - sourced through contract hire and leasing company Powermarque's database.

THREE new sales executives have helped clinch a £30 million supply deal for Mitsubishi.

JAPANESE car manufacturer Honda is reassuring fleets that production cuts at its Swindon car plant are a 'short-term measure' as it prepares for a new model launch this year.

VAUXHALL is recalling 620,000 Astras, produced between 1992 and 1998, to check for water contamination in brake fluid. Vauxhall will replace fluid depending on the seriousness of the contamination.

FLEET managers and car manufacturers have been blasted for their inaction and disinterest in preparing for carbon dioxide-based company car tax. While the industry should be gearing up for some of the biggest tax changes it has ever faced, some fleets have been in 'do nothing mode' for the past year, while manufacturers have 'behaved disgracefully' in failing to help the industry by providing CO2 information on all vehicles as standard, according to the Association of Car Fleet Operators.

MANUFACTURERS immediately defended themselves following Stewart Whyte's hard-hitting attack on their work. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders hit back with a list of extensive efforts to put CO2 figures into the public domain.

MASSIVE increases in the taxation on fuel provided for private mileage has led to tough choices for many fleet drivers on whether to keep the perk - and fleet managers must have all the facts staff need to make the decision.

AN action plan for fleets was laid out during the Fleet News Budget Briefing, showing the key areas fleet managers must concentrate to ensure they adapt smoothly to the new tax changes. Stewart Whyte, managing director of Fleet Audits and director of the Association of Car Fleet Operators, said the first rule of fleet management had to be the capture of CO2 data, the key to ensuring drivers had tax-efficient cars.

FLEETS have given unanimous backing to diesel as a key fleet fuel, despite the Government imposing a 3% company car tax supplement in the Budget. A survey of Fleet News Budget Briefing delegates showed that of those who ran diesel vehicles, not one would be dissuaded by the extra taxation.