News - Page 2180

NISSAN'S Sunderland car factory is the only European plant in the world to produce more than 100 cars per employee per year, according to a major new study. The plant ranks 11th out of 54 plants studied by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the top 10 was entirely made up of Far Eastern plants.

VAUXHALL has revealed bullish plans to boost significantly its penetration of the light commercial vehicle segment. And, with the segment marginally down, this inevitably means the Griffin plans to get aggressive, plucking sales from its rivals.

VAUXHALL Van brand manager Darren Payne has revealed an aggressive new marketing strategy aimed at persuading customers into Vauxhall vans. 'These are in addition to our usual finance deals, such as 0% on Combo and Movano as an incentive to customers to consider Vauxhall,' he explained.

THE Vauxhall Movano now offers a wheelchair-accessible minibus which is fully tested to M1 passenger standards, which are the latest to apply to minibus seat belt anchorages and wheelchair clamps. Based on the Movano LWB High Roof, it can carry up to 13 passengers and up to four full-size wheelchairs.

EAGLE Couriers, Scotland's largest independent courier, has become the first courier company in the UK to take delivery of Citroen Berlingo Electrique vans, buying two of the vehicles.

NATIONAL Car Rental has ordered 150 LDV Convoy Hi-Loader vans in a deal worth nearly £3million at showroom prices. Durability, reliability and LDV's purpose-fit options all weighed in favour of the British van maker.

RENAULT has cleaned up with personal hygiene company PHS by clinching a huge deal for more than 650 vans over five years. The deal will be conducted by PHS's contract hire company Ryland Multifleet and will involve Master and Kangoo models.

LONDON'S leading premature baby unit is taking two Renault Master CNC 35s for its front line, supplied by TLS. The units will be run by University College Hospitals NHS Trust and will be used to bring in babies from outlying areas.

KENNING Car, Van and Truck Rental is to supply up to 150 vans to Vanwell Services, the company which installs new digital TV top boxes. The vehicles, Ford Escorts, VW Caddys and Seat Incas, will all have the client's livery and are being supplied using Kenning's Logic flexible long-term rental package.

GLASGOW City Council has introduced 110 alternatively-fuelled vehicles to its land services department at a cost of more than £2 million. Forty Volkswagen Caddy 1.6-litre vans and 70 Volkswagen 2.3-litre LT vans will make up a large proportion of the department's fleet.

THE Government is expected to abandon its anti-diesel car policy under mounting pressure from manufacturers, led by Peugeot, the UK's leading diesel manufacturer. The anticipated U-turn is the result of global car makers ploughing billions of pounds into new 'clean' diesel technology.

FLEETS should not panic that new car price cuts will undermine residual values, according to CAP Motor Research. The used car market specialist has dismissed 'false assumptions' that a residual value crisis is looming that could wipe up to a quarter off the value of the UK fleet parc.

THE Competition Commission is investigating the pre-registration of cars as part of its New Cars Inquiry. The surprise announcement came in an unexpected addition to the remedies statement that was issued by the inquiry three weeks ago.

AN investigation by FNN sister publication, Fleet News, has uncovered hundreds of V-registered cars for sale, just two weeks after the September new car sales figures were released amid allegations of false sales and pre-registration. The majority of the V-reg models have fewer than 10 recorded miles on the clock, and are available at major discounts on official list prices.

FORD has abandoned its plans to import Lincoln cars from the US. Following the manufacturer's 1998 decision to scrap the Scorpio, it had long been expected that Ford would return to the executive car sector with the Lincoln in the final quarter of this year.

COMPANY cars and cash-for-car allowances are the two most highly prized employee benefits across Europe, according to the first pan-European survey of company car drivers. The 1,750 drivers questioned said they valued their company car/cash option more highly than health insurance, mobile phones, pension schemes, share options, creche and a canteen.

ROVER'S corporate sales director for the past five years, Steve Harris, is leaving to take up a new post with the BMW Group in South Africa. Harris, who has already been shuttling between the UK and his new base in Johannesburg, officially takes up the job of regional director African sales for the BMW Group next month.

INTERLEASING is the new name of Arriva Automotive Solutions, the contract hire and fleet management giant recently acquired by General Motors Acceptance Corporation. The acquisition forced AAS to rebrand, and it has returned to its roots.

VOLKSWAGEN is the first vehicle manufacturer to book a stand at Fleet Show 2000 - and Nissan has confirmed it will also be there. Volkswagen's decision to attend the show at the NEC, Birmingham, from April 4-6 came at the London Motor Show, where it was announced that the company's Passat had been voted joint Fleet Car of the Year with the Vauxhall Vectra by members of the Association of Car Fleet Operators.

REPLACEMENTS for the Rover 200 and 400 - the 25 and 45 - made their world debuts at the London Motor Show. The manufacturer insists that together with the new 75 saloon fleets it now has a complete range of vehicles that on cost and performance will outsmart competitors.

ROVER chose the London Motor Show to release more detailed information about the new 45 saloon. The 45 five-door will come with 1.4 16v, 1.6 16v and 1.8 16v petrol engines and the 2.0 turbodiesel engine already in the Land Rover Freelander, while the saloon will come with 1.6 16v, 1.8 16v and 2.0 V6 first seen in the 75 with Steptronic CVT transmission available with 1.8 and 2.0 litre engines.

ROVER has refuted claims that its new 75 saloon, which is seen as the 'saviour' of the brand, is a flop. Figures supplied by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that since its launch in June until the end of September, 4,461 units had been sold.

NISSAN is backing Britain with a £200 million investment to build its next-generation Primera range at Sunderland. Only days after the Renault-controlled company announced shock factory closures and 21,000 job losses in Japan, as part of a 1 trillion Yen cost-cutting initiative, it revealed the capital injection plan to confirm its north east England plant will be the major source of European supply for the new fleet car.

RENAULT unveiled its 4x4 version of the Scenic at the London Motor Show confident it has 'massive' fleet potential. The Scenic RX4 is based on the new Scenic which reached showrooms in August and will be available with the new 140bhp 2.0-litre 16v variable valve timing petrol or the new 1.9 dCi common rail diesel, producing 105bhp, available first in the Laguna next month.

RENAULT'S recent cut price sale of pre-registered vehicles has been 'blown out of all proportion', according to Keith Hawes, the manufacturer's fleet and commercial vehicle operations director. About 1,200 V-reg cars of all specifications were being sold by 13 of the 19-strong Renault UK-owned Renault Retail Group with prices discounted by as much as £4,800.

TURMOIL in the used car market caused by tumbling residual values is being worsened by industry-wide fears over grey imports. Grey imports are vehicles which are brought into the UK, but were not originally intended for sale in the EU and bypass the appointed 'official' import and distribution network.

THE motor industry responded to a damning report into used car safety at a conference organised by the Institute of Trading Standards Administration (ITSA). The institute, which published its 'Coffins on Wheels' report in June, invited all firms involved in the used car trade to attend the event, which took place in Warwickshire.

A HI-tech system that offers everything from satellite tracking to security devices and telecommunications could be fitted to every Avis Rent-a-Car vehicle in Europe within years, it was revealed at the London Motor Show. Skynet Telematics won an order to provide 250 of its Skamp devices to Avis, which combine telecommunications, vehicle and personal security, route guidance and a full interactive service with a telephone helpdesk.

CENTRE stage of the Volkswagen stand at the London Motor Show was the new Polo which will enter UK showrooms in January next year with prices little different to the outgoing model. Fleet managers and company car drivers had their first glimpse of the new car following its world debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show last month.

ELECTRIC vehicles remain largely an unexplored topic among the UK's fleets, according to Toyota, which showcased its Prius hybrid at the London Motor Show. The company believes fleets' attention has been diverted from exploring alternative power sources by concern over what the final outcome of the Government's assessment of the benefit-in-kind legislation based on carbon dioxide emissions will be.