News - Page 2213

RENAULTS are helping the Vehicle Inspectorate to improve road safety and environmental standards. In a £870,000-plus contract, 43 New Master vans are being supplied for use as mobile units for random roadside checks on vehicles all over the UK.

LDV has announced a major contract worth £2.8million at showroom prices to supply 200 vehicles to Severn Trent Water. The contract marks a two-year extension of a current supply agreement and includes vans from all three product ranges - Cub, Pilot and Convoy.

THE Government's VAT policy on commercial vehicles had been described as confused and damaging to sales by Ford's commercial vehicles manager, Mike Platts. Two thirds of Ford's model range, the super cab and the double cab, is liable for VAT because the addition of extra seats and windows means that it is not classed as purely a commercial vehicle.

AVIS UK has a new managing director, Luke Medley. The appointment follows the resignation of Georges Sampeur, who will be leaving the company to join the Carlson Wagonlit Travel Group in his native France.

FLEETS risk paying up to double the going rate for their vehicle rental unless they shop around. A nationwide survey of rates across a range of operations has revealed massive price changes at outlets and differences of nearly 100% in price. The year-long investigation by Practical Car and Van Rental found that major national chains were the most prone to large price changes from month to month.

A CAMPAIGN calling on all manufacturers to include carbon dioxide emission figures alongside vehicle list prices in all publicity and on dealer fleet invoices has been launched by FNN sister title Fleet News. It also wants contract hire and leasing companies to ensure that cars' CO2 performance is included with list prices on all paperwork supplied to fleets.

THE RAC has called on the managers of small fleets to invest more in the service and maintenance of their vehicles, after research showed these were the worst culprits for breakdowns. The organisation claims that small fleets are 75% more likely to suffer vehicle breakdowns due to the higher average age of their cars and vans.

IAM Fleet Training has won a four-year solus contract to provide driver training to the Health and Safety Executive's inspectors. The safety watchdog is making driver training available to more than 700 members of staff who are required to make regular journeys by car.

HYUNDAI is slashing the prices of its Accent range for the second time in under six months and introducing a new 1.3-litre base model at £6,999 on the road. Earlier this year, prices were cut by between 3% and 6% and, now, the Korean manufacturer is undertaking a series of cuts of between £200 and £500, effectively chopping more than £1,000 off some of the range from December 1998 price lists.

BRADFORD-based dealer and contract hire group JCT600 reports pre-tax profits of £6.35million for the year to December 31, 1998 (1997: £6.5million) on turnover up to £231million (1997: £217million). The slight shortfall was due to a one-off profit on disposal of a business in 1997 and the opening of two new purpose-built dealerships in September 1998 for Peugeot and Vauxhall franchises covering the entire Bradford region, in line with market trends towards larger franchise territories.

MASSIVE growth in the customer base at credit hire and credit repair services company Helphire Group saw profits and turnover rocket to record levels in the past year. In the year to March 31, turnover was up 87% to £47.6million (1998 £25.5million) while profit before tax increased 81% to £4.54million (1998 £2.5million).

GLOBAL vehicle management specialist Lease Plan has opened an office in Brazil where there are an estimated 500,000 company cars managed by 62 leasing companies. The Sao Paulo branch, which has Mauro Pontes as managing director, boosts Lease Plan's global coverage to 46 offices and 23 countries including 18 offices in Europe.

COLT Car Company, official importer of Mitsubishi vehicles to the UK, has pledged its continued commitment to the fleet sector despite a radical review of its business that will see 70 redundancies. The company blames the state of the new car market, and in particular the grey import phenomenon and pre-registration by leading manufacturers, for the job losses.

ROVER could be the next manufacturer to offer fleet buyers a three-year warranty as standard when it launches the Rover 75 in the UK next month. The make-or-break model was first revealed to the Press with a one-year unlimited mileage warranty, but the company is now investigating whether customer demand is high enough for the warranty to be increased in time for the June 17 launch.

FORD of Britain is not commenting on remarks made in the US by the manufacturer's chief executive that it had ruled itself out of the bidding for the AA. Jacques Nasser, Ford's global chief, was quoted in the Financial Times as saying that the bidding had gone too high. It is understood the market price for the AA could be £1.5billion.

COMPANY drivers who talk while on the move increase the risk of having accidents. This is the finding of research by the British Psychological Society which involved tests being carried out on 121 drivers on a digital-video driving simulator.

DR John Reid has been replaced as Transport Minister by former Scottish Office minister Helen Liddell in a Cabinet reshuffle.

INITIAL demand for the Toyota Yaris - the manufacturer's new European small car which went on sale in the UK last month - has exceeded expectations.

THE world's foremost debating society, The Oxford Union, is to stage a debate at the London Motor Show, Earls Court, on preview day (October 20). It will be the first time in the society's 176-year history that a debate has been staged outside its Oxford home.

HYUNDAI and Kia are to cut their number of vehicle platforms from 20 to seven as part of a radical restructuring aimed at reducing costs and improving quality.

KWIK-FIT Fleet has received its fourth consecutive Gold Award from Dial in recognition of exceptional levels of service and customer satisfaction among operators of its 52,000-strong fleet of vehicles.

THE Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 12v Trip hatchback is the cheapest car to run in Britain at 13.1 pence per mile over three years/60,000 miles, according to CAP Motor Research's Top 40 May Value for Money chart.

MASTERDRIVE Leasing and Rental, which operates a fleet of almost 10,000 vehicles, has launched an updated version of its 'On the Other Side of the Road' - a Guide to European Driving' factsheet produced in association with the RAC.

FLEET drivers hoping to cut their benefit-in-kind tax bills by sourcing company cars overseas are going to be disappointed. With company car tax based on the official list price of a car, some drivers have expressed the hope that, by purchasing a car in a cheaper market, they could use the foreign list price as a basis for their P11D calculations.

MANUFACTURERS face a tough, competitive future in the new Europe as monetary and regulatory pressures threaten margins. Over-capacity is already a serious issue for car makers in Europe, and the creation of a Euro trading zone is going to increase supply before it boosts demand.

PRICES for Vauxhall's seven-seat Zafira start at £14,500 on the road for the entry-level 1.6 16v, it was announced this week. The Zafira, Vauxhall's long-awaited answer to the five-seat Renault Megane Scenic in the burgeoning mini multi-purpose vehicle class, has now started entering UK showrooms.

BRITISH businesses should start planning for the UK's adoption of the Euro in 2001, according to a senior European banker. David Kemp, ABN AMRO's vice-president - Euro director, said economic and political indicators all pointed towards the UK signing up to the Euro in two years' time.

FLEETS may face serious problems having grey import vehicles serviced and repaired, a motor industry chief has warned. Robert Edmiston, chairman and chief executive of International Motors Group, which imports Subaru and Isuzu models to the UK, has attacked the Government's moves to scrap restrictions on grey imports coming into the UK, claiming it has ignored the investment and commitment shown by official importers in Britain.

AUDI has expanded its range of performance-orientated A4 models with the new 1.8 T quattro Sport costing £27,150 on the road in saloon format and £28,225 as an Avant. About 750 of the new models will be imported into the UK this year and the new variant - which adds power, torque, extra equipment, permanent four-wheel drive and unique styling details - supplements the existing 1.8 T Sport.

FIAT Group is slashing the price and increasing specification on several models in the UK from both its Fiat and Alfa Romeo car ranges.