News - Page 2216

INSURANCE companies could refuse to pay outstanding credit hire bills totalling £30million following a Court of Appeal ruling in their favour. The verdict will force all credit hire companies to examine their documentation carefully to make sure it complies with the 1974 Consumer Credit Act.

MERCEDES-Benz is to add a new flagship model A-class, while also improving the specification on the entire range. The new 125bhp 1.9-litre A190 has a top speed of 123mph and a 0-62mph time of 8.8secs. It also has a close-ratio gearbox and increased torque.

AN airbag could have been partly responsible for the death of a motorist in the second such case in less than a month. Company car drivers were alerted to the dangers of sitting too close to the steering wheel in vehicles fitted with airbags following the death of Jennifer Reichardt, who died when her Rover 400 was in collision with another car at low speed.

ZENITH Careline is celebrating a double contract win, supplying accident management services to two fleets running a total of 150 vehicles. The deals are with Wetherby-based Bayford and Co, with a 50-strong fleet, and Sheffield-based engineering firm Economatics which runs 100 vehicles.

FLEET managers are risking the future of their companies if they ignore the savings available from using alternative fuels or cleaning up their emissions, firms are being warned. Company coffers have already felt the pinch with traditional fuels rocketing in price as the Government's fuel duty escalator adds 6% plus inflation to the tax on diesel and petrol each year.

SAAB'S role in the fleet market is strengthening with 'slow but substantial' growth that has culminated in record March sales figures. A total of 1,068 Saabs went into fleets that month - a 60% year-on-year increase.

CAR buyers had their first chance to examine the new Honda Accord five-door at close quarters at the 1999 Fleet Show. Due to go on sale here in September, it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show but was 'untouchable' on a revolving platform.

A UNIQUE car radio, which does away with the need for a separate hands-free mobile phone kit, has been launched by Milton Keynes-based electronics specialist Visscher-ESMO. It claims the £300 unit is set to revolutionise communications on the move when it is launched in July.

MICHELIN has established a product development panel made up of six leading players in the fleet market.

SUFFOLK County Council Fire Service is converting its 50-strong car and van fleet to liquefied petroleum gas following a deal with Flogas, the Leicester-based LPG supplier. A'skid' refuelling unit is being installed at the fire service headquarters in Ipswich, which will be used to fuel the LPG Vauxhalls..

A NEW brand of alternative fuel is poised to cut the price of LPG. Greenergy UK has added LPG to its portfolio of premium fuel solutions — and pledges that the brand will be significantly cheaper than its competitors. 'We have decided to take lower margins than other suppliers and I wouldn't be surprised if rival brands cost less in future as a result,' said company chairman Andrew Owens.

HALFORDS Autofleet has launched a central booking call centre for its fleet customers.It will be based at Lakeside, Redditch, and offers an alternative to the implant concept for fleets of all sizes. Fleet drivers will be able to call the centre, via a dedicated phone number, for a one-stop-shop booking facility for all service and repair work.

THE tax implications of buying company cars abroad dominated fleet enquiries at the shared Fleet Show stand of Customs & Excise and the Inland Revenue. The two departments are working ever more closely on general issues, and have formed links with representative trade bodies such as the BVRLA and ACFO.

FLEETS are drastically under-estimating the effect the Woolf Reforms will have on their work and could be hit with massive court costs as a result, warn solicitors Amery-Parkes. The changes, which recently came into effect, are designed to speed up the legal process and cut court costs for cases including motoring injury accident claims.

AN array of congestion-beating hardware has been launched by the RAC. Developed jointly with Trafficmaster, the breakthroughs included everything from a rearview mirror which warns of congestion ahead, to a fleet consultation service on how to better manage journey patterns.

LEASING and fleet management company Axus has signed up RAC Commercial Assistance to provide roadside cover for its growing van fleet. Axus operated 1,500 LCVs at the end of 1998 and expects its fleet to increase by 65% to 2,500 this year.

GOVERNMENT statisticians believe the number of company car drivers will rise under the new benefit-in-kind tax regime at the expense of personal motoring plans. Forecasts suggest that drivers at the tax band margins who have opted for a cash allowance in lieu of a company car will move back into the fleet fold when the new regime becomes effective in April 2002.

CONGESTION - not pollution - is the most pressing problem facing the UK transport system, says Matthew Taylor, senior Liberal Democrat spokesman on environment and transport. And he wants corporate decision-makers to put company transport needs at the top of their strategic planning.

LEX Service is to buy RAC Holdings for £437million, creating a leader in the motoring services market. The recommended cash offer is virtually certain to be approved by both companies' shareholders - Lex Service's share price jumped 93p to 587 1/2p following Friday's announcement - with the deal expected to be completed by early July.

COMPANIES face a raft of environmentally-based taxes in the next few years as the Government bids to honour pledges to cut the UK's production of carbon dioxide by 20% by 2010. The fight against greenhouse gases and global warming will see businesses taxed on all areas of energy consumption via the Climate Change Levy.

THE downward pressure on new car prices in the UK is being taken into account by the Inland Revenue as it determines the new company car tax regime.

MANAGING directors of companies whose drivers are involved in road accidents could end up in court on manslaughter charges. Giving this warning, John Owen, deputy chief constable of North Wales Police, says there is an increasing attitude of zero tolerance to firms that neglect to ensure the safety of employees while driving.

THE Government has been urged to come down in favour of either petrol or diesel, and not 'sit on the fence' in the fuel debate. Current policy favours unleaded petrol at the pumps through fuel duty, but will favour diesel through the proposed graduated vehicle excise duty and new company car tax regime.

MAZDA is offering commercial fleets the best warranty package available in the industry - five years/unlimited mileage - in a bid to kick-start a sales drive aimed at tripling the manufacturer's van sales over the next five years.

ALMOST 8,000 of Britain's top fleet managers and fleet decision makers attended the 1999 Fleet Show at the NEC, Birmingham, which ended its three-day run on Thursday last week. With the show's business-to-business focus resulting in there being no driving at this year's event, coupled with the move to a new venue, there was a virtual united view among exhibitors that 'quality counts'.

FLEETS with poor accident records are likely to see their insurance premiums double. Changes in the Budget, new legislation and industry pressures will all, almost simultaneously, exert huge pressures on companies with fleets and those who ignore the warnings will pay the highest price, warned Rosemarie Spiers, executive director of Aon Risk Services, at a forum on 'Cutting fleet costs through effective risk management and savings lives'.

ALMOST half of vehicle accidents could be avoided, according to research by Lease Plan, which has more than 30,000 vehicles under its accident management programme.

TAX harmonisation, the last great barrier to the achievement of a truly European single market, is unlikely to be achieved for perhaps 20 years and only after overcoming massive political and financial difficulties, delegates were told at a PricewaterhouseCoopers-sponsored Fleet Show Business Forum 'Threat, Danger or Potential? The European Perspective'.

COMPANY car drivers must make sure their company's name is printed on any fuel receipts when paying for fuel for business journeys to avoid falling foul of European legislation. The European Commission is challenging the 'pay and reclaim' system used by thousands of UK companies to reimburse drivers for business fuel expenditure.

THE European Commission has launched infraction proceedings against DaimlerChrysler. The car giant is accused of preventing its dealer networks in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Spain from selling cars to foreign customers between 1985 and 1996.