News - Page 2214

FORD has postponed the UK launch of the new Lincoln LS saloon until the end of next year as a direct result of the acquisition of Volvo Cars. The manufacturer says it needs time to consider the strategy for the European sales of the Lincoln - which was due to go on sale later this year - following its purchase of Volvo.

FUEL prices have increased by an average 1p a litre/4.54p a gallon in the past month, according to the latest PHH Vehicle Management monthly fuel price report. But as pump prices continue to rise as a result of the increases announced in the Budget, there continues to be political fall-out over the annual fuel duty escalator.

NATIONAL Car Rental has hit the headlines with a £600,000 exclusive hire deal with networked technology services and solutions giant Wang Global, and a £200,000 contract to supply vehicles to national news company, ITN.

VEHICLE damage repair firm Dentmaster has agreed to a £11.4million take-over by Dent Wizard, the Manheim Auctions-owned paintless dent removal service which launched in the UK last month.

BMW has announced UK specification and pricing for the new 3-series coupe range, which goes on sale on June 10. The 323Ci, powered by a 170bhp 2.5-litre six-cylinder engine, will cost £25,950 on the road, with the bigger 193bhp 328Ci coming in at £28,995. A four-cylinder 118bhp 318Ci will join the range in the autumn and its price will be announced nearer launch. There will be no replacement for the 316i Coupe.

FLEET chief Barry Mills will be making children's dreams come true when he raises thousands of pounds for national charity Dial-A-Dream by competing in the 3,700-mile non-stop Cape to Cape Challenge in July.

A FLEET of 60 Daewoo vehicles is being used by the 12 teams competing in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. The Korean manufacturer is supplying its Musso 4x4, Nubira estate and Leganza models to the teams and organisers, and LDV, Daewoo's joint-venture partner, is providing vehicles to be used to carry luggage and equipment.

THE official Parachute Regiment and Army team of display sky divers, the Red Devils, will be travelling to events around the country by SEAT for the next three years.

NISSAN has denied speculation that its Sunderland plant is to manufacturer the first cars to have a common Nissan/Renault platform.

THE London Borough of Southwark has been named as running the cleanest fleet in Britain at a new national green fleet awards ceremony. The Green Fleet Awards, sponsored by Calor Autogas, gave the top prize to Southwark for reducing its fleet size and working to convert the rest of its fleet to alternative fuels or low sulphur diesel by the year 2000.

DESPITE the hype, Volkswagen has still to receive orders for all 900 of the left-hand drive Beetle's being imported into the UK this year. The manufacturer is two-thirds of the way through a national tour to promote the Millennium Bug and about 200 remain without orders. They went on sale on April 29.

THE residual values of Britain's best-selling fleet car - the Mondeo - have crashed to an all-time low following Ford's decision to flood the new car market with thousands of discounted ageing vehicles. Prior to the surprise move, which is seeing Mondeos being sold at discounts of up to £3,000, Glass's Information Services was quoting residuals of 29.7% at three years/60,000 miles while CAP Motor Research was quoting 32%. However, both said Ford's move would result in further falls to new record lows and take second-hand values in the rest of the upper medium sector with them.

LITTLEWOODS is scrapping its 500-strong 'perk' car fleet and introducing a personal contract motoring scheme as part of a reform of its benefits and remuneration policy. The transition will affect the company's senior management before being extended to other employees, including 300 essential car users, later in the year.

THE Government is being urged to reconsider plans to introduce road tolls after research found that drivers are more likely to have an accident on unclassified roads. The findings come from VELO Motor Accident Management's Fleet Insurance Review 1999 and are based on data from almost 55,000 accidents, thefts and other insurance-related incidents.

CHARGING for road use and workplace parking look almost certain to be given their first green light in the UK after the Greater London Authority Bill completed one of its final stages in Parliament despite a bid by Conservative MPs to kill it off. The Bill creates a new post of Mayor for London and includes powers for the mayor to approve workplace parking and congestion charges.

ROVER'S new 75, due to go on sale in June, is already attracting a lot of fleet interest and it is understood the manufacturer is soon to announce several major fleet deals involving the 75 as well as the new 400 variants. Variants have also been launched on the 200 Series but corporate sales director Steve Harris said they were largely aimed at the retail market.

BMW has got off to a storming start to 1999 with first-quarter sales of the new 3-series 66% up on the same period last year at 14,600. Despite other manufacturers trying to position rival models as 3-series contenders, the German marque continues to dominate the prestige upper medium sector.

BRAND development is crucial to Skoda being accepted as a fleet manufacturer as it bids to sell more than 4,000 units to fleets this year and set it on its way to 37,500 new car sales by 2003, with about a third being bought by corporate cheques.

PEUGEOT is preparing for a tough marketing challenge this year when it joins the race for a slice of the growing 'green' fleet market with two new LPG launches - a 1.8-litre 406 in saloon and estate form and 1.4-litre Partner van. Buyers can expect to pay between £1,500 and £2,000 more than the equivalent petrol models but the manufacturer expects them to be eligible for a 75% Powershift grant.

MASSIVE increases in fuel duty will never succeed in pricing motorists out of their cars as long as alternative transport remains under-funded and fails to meet the public's needs, says Martin Brock, principal consultant at Stanger Science and Environment, an environmental management group within construction services company Tarmac.

COMPANIES will lose out on key Government contracts if their fleets do not meet strict environmental guidelines. The Government, when looking at tenders, will be considering environmental impact as well as standards of quality, product performance, delivery and value for money.

FLEETS wanting to qualify for the Government's new Green Fleet Certification Scheme should pay careful attention to the environmental performance of the bodyshops they use. The Cleaner Vehicle Task Force's new 'green' scheme, exclusively revealed by sister publication Fleet News, has prompted bodyshop network ABS to call for body repair to be included as part of the environmental criteria alongside fuel consumption and emissions.

SIX environmental transport projects have been presented with the first Foresight Clear Zones awards for innovation in beating traffic pollution and congestion.

DEMAND in the public sector for alternative fuels has led to major changes at one of the sector's leading exhibitions. Public sector leasing company TransLinc - which will be holding its annual ride and drive event on Saturday, June 5 - has renamed the event Ride and Eco Drive '99.

SOME cheap alternative fuel conversion kits are so badly made that they can make a vehicle's pollution even worse, warns the Energy Saving Trust's Powershift programme. The Government-funded initiative to encourage fleets to take on alternative fuels says companies should make sure any conversion kits they buy will actually clean up emissions rather than simply give cheap access to alternative fuels.

FLEETS are being sounded out by PHH Fleet Management on whether they would use a new fuel card which would help to offset carbon dioxide emissions of their vehicles. Several are said to be interested but PHH has not yet revealed who is involved in current talks.

POOR fuel management could result in bankruptcy for companies that ignore the impact of the Government's fuel duty escalator, warns an academic. The escalator is set to increase petrol and diesel by at least 6% above inflation each year but many fleets have failed to realise the scale of the problem, says Michael Coyle at the University of Huddersfield.

SELF-registrations have been defended by a used car values expert amid warnings that 'steady nerves' are needed by used-car professionals to ensure RVs are not damaged.

BUYERS have given a 'tremendous' response to the first sales held by Manheim Auctions at sites throughout the UK. The first week of sales following the auction company's re-naming from ICA/CMA/NCA have been held at sites in Manchester, Washington, Wimbledon and Bristol. They were the first in Europe for US-based Manheim Auctions.

PHH Vehicle Management has published a booklet to help companies frame their fleet policy. 'New Directions for the Company Car - Getting Car Policy Right' advises companies on how to balance the financial and human resource issues and highlights the benefits and drawbacks of traditional fleet policies compared with new opt-out cash allowances.