News - Page 2219

PAUL Austin has stepped down as managing director of driver training company Drive & Survive to explore new business opportunities. He will remain on Drive & Survive's board and retain a substantial share-holding in the company, which has grown rapidly and diversified in the last few years.

AUTOMOTIVE parts specialist Unipart is targeting fleets, insurers, accident management companies and bodyshops with a new range of crash repair parts. The company has bought Wakefield-based Sterling Automotive, renamed OB (Bodyshop Services), an established supplier of 'all makes' independent parts to the accident repair market.

FLEET managers should see outsourcing as a chance to focus on fleet strategy by stripping out time consuming paperwork and saving tens of thousands of pounds a year, rather than as a threat to their jobs. Axus UK, the vehicle leasing company, claims that savings of £20,000 a year would be available to a 100-vehicle fleet simply by cutting out the processing of invoices in an outsourcing agreement.

DEPARTMENTAL wrangles over funding for the Energy Saving Trust's ground-breaking Powershift programme are holding back a promised future commitment of millions of pounds to the scheme - just as demand for grants rockets. The official budget for the programme ran out last month and a contingency budget has had to be created while the Treasury and the Department of Environment Transport and the Regions lock horns over who pays for the scheme in future.

INCREASED demand for gas-powered vehicles following last month's Budget has seen Vauxhall radically expand its dual-fuel business to cope with unprecedented fleet demand. The manufacturer, which had expected to sell 2,000 gas powered vehicles this year, claimed sales could reach 3,000 units as a result of post-Budget interest with demand from the public sector and large fleets being augmented by significant interest from sub-100 fleets.

MAZDA is to phase out the executive Xedos 6 and fill the gap it leaves in the range with changes to the 'similar' 626. Poor sales last year, particularly in the retail sector are to blame for the demise as well as the fact Mazda believes the model is getting long in the tooth.

TOYOTA is aiming to create a blueprint of a zero-emission public access car fleet with the launch next month of an electric vehicle commuter system called 'Crayon'. The firm will 'go live' with a fleet of 35 two-door electric vehicles, later to be increased to 50, which will be used by employees in Japan at first for testing.

CITROEN has not only slashed the price of many of its models, it is also now offering small to medium fleets a £1,000 cashback on the Xsara, Xantia and Synergie models. Any fleet sized between two and 199 vehicles can choose between a £1,000 cashback, a package of a three-year extended warranty, three years' servicing and three years' roadside recovery, or £1,000 worth of computer equipment on each vehicle.

THE British Trust for Conservation Volunteers has taken the maintenance management of its 330 vehicles back in-house, after nearly four years of outsourced arrangements. BTCV's group fleet and insurance manager Martin Hall said the original promises made at the outset of the outsourcing contract by supplier Overdrive (formerly Fleet Cost Management) were never achieved.

VAUXHALL has won a £40 million solus deal to supply ADT Fire and Security with 3,500 vehicles. The contract follows last year's merger of three fire and security companies, ADT Security Systems, Thorn Security and Modern Security Systems.

THE increasing demands on staff time and complexity of the business has led North Dorset District Council to consider outsourcing the administration of its car fleet. The authority leases all of its cars through a selection of companies with which it negotiates individual contracts to provide a tailor-made service.

THE Automobile Association this week joined RAC Motoring Services at the centre of takeover speculation. The RAC is considering about five bids for its motoring services arm after a second round of bidding closed on Monday, with Ford thought to be in the driving seat, but this week it was claimed that several offers have also been made for its rival, the AA.

THE Office of Fair Trading has launched an inquiry into car servicing and repairs.

PERODUA UK, the London-based importer of Britain's cheapest car, the Nippa, has joined the Motability scheme which, since being launched in 1978, has helped supply more than one million cars to disabled people.

VAUXHALL has launched a 'summercare programme' offering motorists a comprehensive check of the cooling system in their Vauxhall car. The check includes all hoses and clips, radiator and pressure cap, thermostat and gasket, water pump and gasket, cylinder head, block and gasket.

STOLEN vehicle tracking and recovery system Tracker has retrieved its 4,000th vehicle since launch in 1993.

THE Home Office is considering the views of the Magistrates' Association on plans to impose a wider range of sentences on people convicted of driving without insurance.

SUZUKI has won a far-flung deal to supply Grand Vitaras in one of the most remote corners of the British Empire, the Falklands.

COMPANIES are being told to pay greater attention to ensuring the safety of their staff on the roads - or face being shamed publicly for endangering life if legal action ensues. While the initial Government strategy is to persuade companies to give greater attention and resources to the issue it is being made increasingly clear that what may be needed is 'strong-arm tactics' to force managers into introducing hazard reduction practises.

RECORDING vehicle mileage information on registration documents in a bid to beat car clocking has moved a stage nearer following a Government announcement. Shadow transport minister Bernard Jenkin asked in the House of Commons what plans the Government had for including the mileage details on registration documents.

FEARS that company car drivers could face serious injury or even death in the event of an airbag inflating have been raised at an inquest which has demanded a Government investigation into the safety of the devices. Coroner Christopher Sumner called for the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions to carry out the safety inquiry following an inquest into the death of Jennifer Reichardt, who died when her Rover 400 collided head-on with another vehicle at just 27mph.

BRITISH Car Auctions has sold its vehicle inspection, preparation and transport service subsidiary Euro-Fleet for an undisclosed sum. Euro-Fleet's management team, led by Robert Wilkinson and Andrew Murphy, has bought the company back after selling it to ADT Auctions (now BCA) in 1994.

BREAKTHROUGH diesel technology is expected to pave the way for substantial future growth for Peugeot and Citroen in the UK fleet market. PSA group chairman Jean-Martin Folz predicted a significant expansion in demand for both brands as a power unit described as the most environmentally-friendly ever built was unveiled in Paris.

SUPERMINIS produced by Ford could be among the first to offer super-clean diesel motoring. A new range of motors sized up to 1.5-litres now being designed could easily incorporate the French company's advanced particle filter technology, according to PSA Group chairman Jean-Martin Folz.

RENAULT is the first manufacturer to launch an advertising campaign around its performance in the European New Car Assessment Programme safety tests, which saw the Megane come joint top in its class. Max Molsey, chairman of Euro NCAP and president of the FIA, said: 'Euro NCAP has always said that safety not only saves lives but can also sell cars.

MOBILE phone manufacturer Ericsson has awarded a £1.5 million daily rental contract to Lease Plan. The deal comes two months after Lease Plan won a sole supply fleet management contract for Ericsson's 700-strong fleet.

HONDA has slashed the on-the-road price of its facelifted and more refined range-topping luxury saloon, the Legend, by more than £2,000. The Japanese manufacturer says the new pricing will give it a 'keen competitive edge' over its rivals, such as the BMW 5-series and Audi A6.

FLEETS are being urged to learn from an innovative green tyre programme adopted by the Environment Agency's fleet to cut down on fuel consumption and waste. Under the programme the agency has insisted that its fleet supplier, PHH Vehicle Management, only supplies new cars fitted with 'green tyres'.

BMW will decide within the next few weeks where it will build its replacements for the Rover 200 and 400. BMW's main board has accepted 'in principle' the UK Government's offer of aid for Rover's troubled plant at Longbridge, believed to be in the region of £180 million, but other hurdles remain.

FLEET management company Cirrus Fleet Services has launched a new cut-price accident investigation service for clients. Managing director Ralph Ingham-Johnson, who is a Law Society listed expert witness and an accident investigator, is offering the service from about £150.