News - Page 2154

CONFUSION reigns among contact hire firms, daily rental companies and residual value experts on the future viability of running Rover cars - and in particular their resale value. Interleasing, which until the latest crisis bought about 1,000 Rovers a year so the brand made up 8% of a total fleet of nearly 80,000 vehicles, has now stopped buying Rover.

IN five years, Rover Group's fleet sales have plunged by almost 100,000 units. From a high in 1995 of 132,388 sales to fleets - accounting for 14.51% of the fleet market - when Rover was a 'big three' player with Ford and Vauxhall, sales slumped to just 46,934 units last year - 4.63% of the fleet market - putting the Midlands manufacturer behind Peugeot, Renault and Volkswagen as well as the 'big two'.

AN 'all-new' lower medium sector car range is to be built and badged by BMW. The German manufacturer refused to confirm or deny that it will be based on development plans for the R30, which was to have replaced Rover 25 and 45 in 2003.

CONFIDENCE among fleet managers running Rovers was shaken by the announcement of a new owner for Rover, particularly the effect it could have on residual values of their vehicles. But no-one spoken to by Fleet NewsNet has said they will abandon Rover cars.

GROUP corporate sales director Trevor Houghton-Berry, appointed to the post in January, says it's business as usual at Rover's fleet sales department and that there was a positive mood within his team despite the sell-off announcement. 'We're pursuing business with all the Rover models and existing fleet agreements and there's no reason not to,' he said.

ROVER'S new owner, Alchemy Partners, has outlined its vision for the company's future and why it expects to succeed where BMW failed. At the launch of the MG Car Company, which will run the loss-making manufacturer, Alchemy boss Jon Moulton said the firm will enter a new era of car making, using outside suppliers for parts for new vehicles to cut development costs, while following the example set by Lotus of using composites and aluminium to cut costs.

BMW yesterday ended its six-year expansion into Britain with the disposal of its Rover Cars subsidiary and Longbridge plant to London-based venture capitals, Alchemy Partners.

THE fleet industry is on tenterhooks waiting for 'the most important Budget for 30 years' which will be delivered by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown on Tuesday. However, industry leaders say the majority of fleet managers, contract hire and leasing companies and vehicle manufacturers are totally unprepared for the changes in company car tax which Brown is expected to announce.

A LAST-ditch bid to force the Government to abandon its plans to introduce graduated vehicle excise duty in October has been made by three motor trade associations. The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, the Retail Motor Industry Federation and the Finance & Leasing Association have written a joint letter to Financial Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms saying seven months' notice is not enough for the industry to gear up for the change.

EMAP PLC has announced a further internet initiative for the automotive market complementing its existing on and offline media for this sector.

THE dawn of a new millennium has presented the fleet industry with the biggest challenges it has ever faced. Transport, cars - and company cars particularly - are under the political microscope from both revenue and environmental standpoints. That is why the 12th Fleet News Awards have been the hardest to judge by people with more than 150 years' fleet experience.

MITSUBISHI has awarded Mondial Assistance a £1 million-a-year contract to continue to supply warranty and roadside assistance under its Inter-Euro Service scheme.

THE chairman of the National Association of Police Fleet Managers, Allan McLellan, has stepped down and also retired from his role as fleet manager for Strathclyde Police. McLellan's role as chairman has been taken by John Lawrence, who runs the Hertfordshire Police fleet, but his position in Strathclyde, offered with a salary of up to £39,243, has yet to be filled.

VEHICLE rental group Northgate has won the Tees Valley Company of the Year Award for the second time.

AUTOWINDSCREENS has announced its best trading year in almost 30 years of business following the winning of new business worth more than £5 million last year - much of it in the fleet sector.

NORTHERN Constabulary is looking for a fleet manager for its fleet of 200 police vehicles.

KWIK-Fit's customer relations are the best in the UK, according to a survey by customer management consultancy Round of 300 experts.

BRITAIN'S first chain of Smart repair centres is to be established by former contract hire and leasing company chief Richard Pepper. He co-founded vehicle refurbishment company Scuffs Cosmetic Repairs a year ago and it currently operates from two sites in Bristol, including its head office in Brislington, and sites in Reading, Cannock and Enfield.

THE Inland Revenue has issued an updated leaflet on the tax treatment of company cars. The leaflet - IR172 'Income Tax and Company Cars' - updates and replaces leaflets IR132 'Taxation of Company Cars from 6 April 1994: employers' guide' and IR133 'Income Tax and Company Cars from 6 April 1994: a guide for employees'.

FLEETS are transforming their success at auction with a Smart approach, according to British Car Auctions. The percentage of ex-fleet stock selling first time has risen from 70-80% to in excess of 90% for those which have been through the BCA Smart Prepared system.

BRITAIN'S two top-selling panel vans - the Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter - are both relaunched this month, setting the scene for a battle royal in the sector as both struggle to gain market share. Ford revealed prices this week ranging from £18,250 to £19,000.

MORE than 80 fleet decision-makers have booked places at a special Fleet News Budget Briefing to hear industry experts explain the full implications of the March 21 Budget. The company delegate list is filling rapidly for the Kwik-Fit Fleet, ACL autolease and Avis Rent-a-Car event, which starts at 10.30am on Thursday, March 30 at Sopwell House, St Albans, Hertfordshire. There are still some places left and to make a reservation phone Charlotte Cunningham at Fleet News on 01733 467038.

FLEETS are unprepared for Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's Budget on Tuesday, revealing 'widespread ignorance' of issues which will affect them, one of the largest surveys yet of fleet industry chiefs has revealed. Initial findings in 'Fleets, Fuels and Taxes', an AA survey of 1,439 fleets, revealed that 49% were unaware of proposals to introduce carbon dioxide-based Vehicle Excise Duty this year.

USED car dealers are continuing to benefit from a slump in new car sales caused by the 'Rip-Off Britain' campaign and New Car Pricing inquiry, according to the latest CAP Confidence Index. The used car retail performance monitor reports used car sales averages were up 12.5% year-on-year across Britain in February, a dramatic improvement on January's figures, which saw a rise of almost 8%.

WAR on cut-price European vehicle imports has been declared by a Volvo franchised dealer which has slashed on-the-road prices by up to £3,800 in a move which could cost the company hundreds of thousands of pounds. The dealer-subsidised cars are available to fleets, but companies will not obtain any further discounts on the cars - which are from across the Volvo range.

MITSUBISHI Motors is to offer cut-price, late registration used cars for sale to private buyers in a new bid to fight off competition from grey and parallel importers. The official UK importer is planning a series of special sales at auction sites around Britain, each staffed by local Mitsubishi dealership personnel, to help establish or maintain direct dealer-customer relationships.

GENERAL Motors and Fiat stand to save billions of pounds on components, engines and transmissions - and pass the savings on to UK fleets in Vauxhall, Saab, Fiat and Alfa Romeo front-end prices - following the formation of a new strategic partnership between the vehicle manufacturing giants.

A 228-franchise super-group has been created following the sale of Lex Service's last 32 retail motor sites and four car repair shops to Pendragon, already the UK's largest dealership network. The deal, worth up to £95 million, marks the end of 50 years of Lex's involvement in car retailing and follows the company's acquisition of the RAC for £315 million completed in July last year.

REDUCED demand for new vehicles from rental companies, coupled with the well documented difficulties within the UK motor retailing sector, contributed to a drop in operating profits at Arriva Motor Retailing. The 38-dealer group subsidiary of Arriva has reported 1999 operating profits of £15.6 million - down from £18.3 million in 1998 - on turnover of £608.2 million (1998: £659.2 million).

FLEET managers will have the opportunity to quiz the experts at a series of forums to be held at the Fleet Show taking place at the NEC, Birmingham, from April 4-6. Fifteen forums, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers in association with Manheim Europe, will be held during the show's three days.