News - Page 2165

CUTTING costs and exploiting new business opportunities, particularly in vehicle repairs, finance and insurance must be pursued in the quest for improved profitability, according to General Motors bosses. Despite 1999 seeing a 7% rise in sales globally with all GM's regions returning improved year-on-year figures with the exception of Asia Pacific, Jack Smith, General Motors chairman and chief executive officer, said he was concerned at the 'waste' in the business.

A CLEVER new power system developed for Honda's Insight hybrid is to be grafted on to other models produced by the company. The feature, called Integrated Motor Assist, is to be combined with a new range of four-cylinder engines due to be fitted to the Accord next year, president and chief executive officer Hiroyuki Yoshino revealed at the North American International Auto Show.

VOLKSWAGEN'S first off-road all-drive platform emerged in dramatic fashion at the North American Auto Show in Detroit under the imposing bodywork of a high-luxury pick-up truck concept. But the 'advanced activity' model built to test public response also provided the first clues as to the size and specification of the long-awaited 4x4 sport utility car under development with Porsche and due in two years' time.

ASTON Martin is set to extend its sports car range with the introduction of a third model - and the company is likely to need a new factory to build it. In an interview at the North American Auto Show in Detroit, chairman Wolfgang Reitzle revealed the new car would be positioned as an added challenger to Porsche models and could take the Midlands firm's annual output to 3,000 units.

CONTRACT hire supplier Ford Business Partner is launching an aggressive attack on eight fronts against rivals, which could see a doubling of its fleet size. The campaign will include the launch of a new electronic authorisation system next month which will wipe out the need to process more than 12,000 paper invoices a month, speeding up service and cutting costs.

THE Government is being warned that its intention to introduce graduated Vehicle Excise Duty in autumn this year is 'over-hasty and 'ill-planned'. Norman Donkin, director general of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, first outlined his frustration at the way in which the CO2-based charging scheme was being introduced in January.

STRUGGLING independent contract hire firms could fall victim to 'bulk buying' by bank and building society-owned rivals desperate to build their fleet size. Dealer-owned contract-hire operations will be the most vulnerable to bids from big rivals, as they struggle to cope with dropping car sales with buyers staying away in expectation of price cuts, and residual value losses on contract hire stock.

VAUXHALL'S contract hire company MasterHire has announced a record year for contract hire sales, with 14,500 new vehicles delivered during 1999. The performance, 5% above expectations, was hailed by director Tony Williams as an example of the increasing move to contract hire among fleets.

FORD will give its new compact sport utility model a different name when the car reaches the British market towards the end of this year. The UK nameplate chosen for Escape, the model which shares a new platform developed with Mazda for its new Tribute SUV, will be Explorer.

AROUND 30 separate sub-committees have been established by General Motors and Subaru to look at opportunities which the two companies can exploit following the American manufacturer's acquisition of a 20% stake in its Japanese rival. Many opportunities are being discussed which are likely to extend to shared engines, platforms and transmissions and could lead to the two manufacturers rebadging each other's vehicles.

FURTHER mergers and acquisitions in the global automotive industry are on the cards - and General Motors is in the vanguard to acquire further businesses. Chairman and chief executive Jack Smith said at the North American Auto Show in Detroit that the spate of deals sparked by the 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Corporation was 'not over yet'.

COMPANY car drivers in Northern Ireland will be able to take advantage of Kwik-Fit Fleet's mobile tyre fitting service from March. Last year the fast-fit giant bought out its joint venture partner Hampden in Northern Ireland, and it is now investing heavily to deliver the same levels of service that fleets and drivers on the mainland expect.

SUZUKI gave advance warning of joining the sector for full-size sport utility vehicles when its XL6 concept made its world debut at the North American Auto Show in Detroit. Despite being based on the same platform as the Grand Vitara, the concept's bodywork is more than 17 inches longer and its wheelbase is extended by more than 12 inches.

THE fleet industry will be unrecognisable in its present form within a few years as a result of Government policy, new taxes, changing personal attitudes to the car and the growing influence of public transport. A new report from the Centre for Automotive Industries Management at Nottingham Business School, backed by HSBC Vehicle Finance (UK), shows how fleet professionals believe the pressures placed on them are greater and the pace of change quicker than ever before.

ONE of Britain's most popular fleet cars is in line for a dramatic makeover later this year. Destined to be a star of September's Paris Motor Show, the new Ford Mondeo will feature significantly changed styling aimed at promoting a more upmarket appearance when it goes on sale in the UK late this year.

THE Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has pledged that fleet managers' voices will be heard at the heart of Government transport policy. The assurance followed fleet furore after the Association of Car Fleet Operators was barred from the Government's car seminar on November 29.

THOUSANDS of disabled company car drivers forced to run vehicles with an automatic transmission on health grounds face being penalised under the future carbon dioxide-based benefit-in-kind tax system. The Government is proposing that from April 2002, company car tax will be based on a proportion of a car's list price determined by its CO2 emissions.

A NEW air quality strategy is due to be launched by the Government, amid growing controversy over Labour Party policy towards motorists. Just days before the new policy was unveiled, a row erupted between the Department of Health and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions over the real effect of car pollution.

THE UK's biggest leasing and rental companies could start retailing new cars within three years, according to the Consumers' Association. In a report called 'The forecourt revolution: the future of the car industry', published this week, the CA claims that car buyers will abandon the traditional dealer-related buying process.

THE Conservative Party is backing calls by the fleet and leasing industry to scrap the 'October 2000' introduction of graduated Vehicle Excise Duty. The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association and Association of Car Fleet Operators have called for a delay in the introduction of the new system to March 1, 2001 to avoid administrative confusion, and coincide with a plate change.

RENAULT is cutting up to £300 off Clio models and introducing new engines and models as part of a reorganisation aimed at simplifying the range. Every model, with the exception of the £7,995 on-the-road Liberte, costs less and all models receive specification improvements with a Clio RSi gaining air conditioning and CD player worth about £700 despite a cut in its price by £305 to £12,495 on-the-road.

PAUL Blake, managing director of ACL, has died, aged 52. He had led ACL for five years, and been executive director of its parent, Chartered Trust, for a further 10 years.

COMMERCIAL vehicle hire specialist Northgate increased its turnover by 8.3% to £126.3 million (£116.6m), pre-tax profits by 2% to £15.4 million (£15.1m), and fleet size by 12.5% during the six months to October 31, 1999. The period saw Northgate's fleet exceed 30,000 vehicles for the first time, as the company opened two new companies in Preston and Croydon, and four additional smaller branches.

BMW GB managing director Kevin Gaskell has resigned his post and will be leaving the company at the end of next month. The shock announcement was made to staff on Monday.

ROVER Group has appointed Trevor Houghton-Berry as its new corporate sales director. He joins Rover from Mazda, where he was corporate sales manager, then general manager, light commercial vehicles, and replaces Steve Harris, who was promoted to regional director African sales for the BMW Group at the end of last year.

NORTH east-based dealership and contract hire group Reg Vardy plc has reported increases in pre-tax profit, turnover and vehicle sales. Company chairman and chief executive Peter Vardy announced a 17.7% increase in turnover to £667.4 million (1998: £567.1m) and a 17.9% increase in pre-tax profits to £14.97 million (£12.7m) for the six months to October 31, 1999.

GE Capital Fleet Services has appointed Steve Taylor as its new managing director to replace Jonathan Burr, who resigned from the company last year.

ROAD safety organisation BRAKE is calling for fleets to help make this year's Road Safety Week the biggest yet. The event, to take place on May 1-7, aims to slash the death toll on Britain's roads,

DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott has appointed Willy Rickett as head of his new transport task force. Rickett is charged with drafting a 10-year transport strategy meant to overhaul Britain's transport system and tackle congestion.

VOLVO is looking to increase global sales by 50% in the next five years and in Britain is looking to woo company car drivers back to estate cars from 4x4s and MPVs. The ambitious bid to increase worldwide sales from 400,000 units a year to 600,000 by 2004 was revealed at the North American International Auto Show unveiling of the new V70 and V70 Cross Country.