News - Page 2189

TOYOTA staged a high profile event to confirm that its revolutionary Prius hybrid car will go on sale across Europe next year. But company officials adopted a more cautious approach to questions concerning the likely cost of the tomorrow's world family saloon which combines a high-efficiency 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and can run on either or both, depending on speed and loading.

A MASSIVE sales drive by Toyota to break through the 100,000 annual sales barriers in the UK began with nine debuts at Frankfurt International Motor Show in its biggest yet range renewal ready for the next millennium. The push to boost sales from an expected 97,000 this year is part of a pan-European initiative to increase sales from 600,000 to 800,000 on the Continent.

THE ultra-low emission family car of the future was revealed by Opel - sister company of Vauxhall - at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. Called the G90 the four-seat lower medium sector car is powered by a 1.0-litre 60bhp three-cylinder engine emitting 90g/km of carbon dioxide - the lowest polluting CO2 car on sale in the UK presently is the SEAT Arosa 1.7 SDI on 119 CO2 g/km.

THE new Vauxhall Astra Coupe made its world debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show and is expected in the UK at the start of next year. Power will come from three units, including an ECOTEC 2.0-litre 190bhp turbo, based on the normally-aspirated 136bhp 2.0-litre. The turbo offers 0-62mph in 7.2 seconds and a top speed of 149mph, but can still return 31mpg.

MAZDA unveiled the final member of its family of multi-purpose the aptly-named range-topping seven-seater MPV at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. It joins the five-seater Premacy, launched earlier this year, and the Demio, and will only be available in one trim level in the UK. Mazda UK has decided to only take the luxury model trim level, which will go on sale on January 1, priced at less than £20,000.

PROFITABILITY is the key word for Mazda both in the UK and globally as the refocused Japanese manufacturer continues to become more mainstream. Renowned for its engineering prowess and much-loved sports cars Mazda has been transformed since Ford took a controlling 33.5% stake in the company.

FORMER Daihatsu UK managing director Paul Williams has promised an increased fleet focus following his appointment as Mitsubishi UK's sales and marketing director. Williams is taking on the roles of director of sales Andrew Wenzel and director of marketing Colin Peirce.

BUDGET UK is supporting former England cricketer and TV commentator Ian Botham's final walk in aid of the Leukaemia Research Fund. He sets off on his eighth walk on October 11, and to date has raised £1,000 per mile over 3,380 miles.

WALON has acquired a fleet of four new transporters specially designed to carry BMW (GB)'s cars from Immingham to the manufacturer's Thorne distribution centre.

HERTZ has strengthened its position in Europe with the acquisition of Autohof Rhine-Ruhr Autovermeitung, a former Hertz licensee based in Germany.

KWIK-Fit has relaunched its company internet site as the Kwik-Fit Online Motorist Centre.

ATS Euromaster has launched what it claims is the first fleet-specific mobile tyre servicing facility by a national fast-fit company in Northern Ireland.

THE Bank of Scotland has bid £74 million for truck and trailer leasing and hire company Hill Hire. The proposed acquisition will give the Bank of Scotland representation in the commercial vehicle market to complement its car and light van contract hire and leasing interests under the brands of Godfrey Davis, First Mutual Contracts and Capital Bank Vehicle Management.

THE new Nissan Primera is expected to be a key vehicle after Nissan Motor (GB) won a deal for a share of Lancashire-based Akzo Nobel Decorative Coatings' 600-vehicle fleet.

FLEET vehicles are 'ageing' faster as manufacturers gear up model replacement cycles to hold buyers' interest. But, according to CAP Motor Research, manufacturers could be damaging fleet residual values as used vehicles tend to be worth less if they are not the current model.

FORD revealed its FC5 fuel cell powered car at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, giving a clear clue as to the look of a five-door family car in five years' time. Electric power is produced by the latest generation fuel cell technology to give exceptional fuel efficiency and ultra low emissions, while providing similar range, top speed and performance to today's petrol engines.

GENERAL Motors has joined forces with Toyota in a bid to have a driveable volume fuel cell car on sale at an affordable price by 2004. GM and its subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall, have a fuel cell team headed by a group in Germany which is leading research which will result in fuel cell zero-emission vehicles going into full production.

NATURAL gas presents the only 'sensible and really meaningful' alternative to petrol and diesel for the foreseeable future, claimed BMW AG chairman Joachim Millberg when the German company unveiled a new gas-powered car at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. But he also promised that BMW would be the world's first carmaker to offer hydrogen cars built in serial production.

THREE is becoming the magic number for manufacturers striving to produce cars which use just three litres of fuel per 100 kilometres. At the Frankfurt International Motor Show a number of manufacturers, including Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT, Nissan, Vauxhall and Daihatsu, rolled out plans for 'three-litre' cars, which can achieve just short of 100mpg - with diesel engines offering the holy grail of performance and economy rolled into one.

NISSAN claims a host of innovations on its new Almera will raise industry standards in the volume lower medium sector. The new 'sporty' Almera made its world debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show - seven months ahead of its March 1, 2000 UK on-sale date.

THE shape of things to come on the Renault stand included the creation of a long-forgotten market segment, the Grand Touring Coupe. Its striking new Avantime, which was shown at the Frank Motor Show in the shape it will take to the road, offers just two doors, but enough space for four adults to travel in comfort.

THE facelifted Nissan Terrano II made its debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show and will go on sale in the UK on January 1, 2000. Changes include a new front grille, new tail light clusters and improved braking system.

HYUNDAI is bidding to capitalise on its recent world rally championship with the imminent launch of the new Accent. Next year, Hyundai expects to sell 35,000 units, up 5,000 on this year, with half of them Accent models and 20% of all stock going to fleets.

HYUNDAI and Kia Motors are continuing to integrate in a bid to cut behind-the-scenes costs which is set to benefit both companies as they plan to launch a string of new models in the coming months. Hyundai acquired its ailing Korean rival in an international auction last year and work is on-going to maximise synergies between the two companies.

KIA Cars (UK) is determined to 'earn its spurs' with fleet customers by beating its bigger competitors in adapting to the fast pace of change in the market with innovative ideas and new products. As part of its relaunch, announced at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year following Kia's rescue by Hyundai, Kia Cars (UK) has rethought its approach to marketing cars and introduced a wave of fresh new ideas along with its plan to vastly extend its product range.

CITROEN UK is aiming to be Britain's first fleet supplier to offer a budget-price car with equipment which responds to commands from the driver's voice. A move to add the model to the French firm's right-hand-drive product line-up was revealed as the parent company announced a limited production run of an advanced new 'mobile office' version of the Xsara hatchback range at the Frankfurt International Motor Show.

A FACELIFT for the Citroen Saxo unveiled at the Frankfurt International Motor Show is likely to be its last before a potentially radical departure for small cars is unveiled by the manufacturer. The Saxo, Citroen's best-selling car yet, topped the UK sales charts last month with 3,513 registrations, more than the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and Renault Clio combined, the firm says, with all but 13 of them retail sales.

A MAJOR restructuring is under way at Daihatsu in Britain to focus its operations more clearly on its expertise in the small car market. Hard on the heels of the arrival in May of new managing director David Green, Francesco Gamberini has joined as marketing director and the firm is in the process of looking for a sales director.

A MASSIVE increase in service intervals which could slash British fleet servicing costs may be launched by Audi next year when its new small car, the A2 - Audi's first supermini - is launched in the UK. At the unveiling of the A2, the world's first mass-production aluminium car in Frankfurt, Audi revealed that maximum service intervals for German customers would be 18,000 miles for petrol models and 30,000 miles for diesels, or two years, whichever comes sooner.