News - Page 2226

A NEW direct injection diesel engine is poised to put Volvo on the road to a dramatically improved fleet market performance this year. Officials believe the extra pulling power of Renault's latest 1.9-litre turbo engine will give the Swedish firm greater success in the competitive sector for upper medium business cars.

THE Geneva Motor Show signalled the 'rebirth' of Kia Motors Corporation following its rescue three months ago by Hyundai. After 18 months of pain, according to Kia Cars UK head of marketing Gary Elliott, the company is now looking ahead to a bright future kicking off with a string of new launches later this year.

MAZDA believes it has stolen a march on people-carrier competitors in its production of the compact space wagon the Premacy. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show the Premacy is set to go on sale in the European market in the second quarter of this year.

CITROEN looks set to launch a new executive car in 2003 based on the concept C6 Lignage unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. Public opinion and media reaction will determine whether the C6 goes from concept to production early in the millennium but the manufacturer's UK boss is optimistic.

DIESEL and not gas power is the fuel of the future, according to Volkswagen UK boss Robin Woolcock as the 'green' car battle continues to rage. 'Gas power is inferior to diesel,' said Volkswagen UK managing director Woolcock, stressing the approximate £1,500 cost of vehicle conversions to gas power and low mpg performance as the downside of the alternative fuel.

THE 1999 Budget has confirmed the long term future of the company car, but left fleets confused as to what constitutes a 'green' vehicle. There are genuine environmental arguments supporting Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's plan to introduce a company car tax regime which is based on a vehicle's emissions performance and offers no discounts for business miles driven.

FLEETS do not expect to make any immediate changes to their company car policies in the light of the new benefit-in-kind tax regime. Amid a host of personal taxation changes, including a new 10p starting rate of income tax, some commentators even questioned whether drivers would notice the slight rise in their company car tax bills.

CONSERVATIVE MPs and industry experts may be questioning a taxation on workplace parking through the new transport forum, but have stopped short of calling on all Tory local authorities to reject the plans.

HEADLINE grabbing changes to company car tax in the Budget loom large in percentage terms but pale in real terms. A close analysis of Treasury forecasts shows the Government expects the UK's 1.7 million benefit-in-kind tax paying company car drivers to contribute an extra £194 million in the next tax year, while employers will pay an extra £73 million in National Insurance Contributions.

THE 1999 Budget has failed to act as a catalyst for company car drivers to opt for personal motoring schemes. Company car drivers covering more than 18,000 business miles a year bore the brunt of the Budget's tax rises, and these drivers are the least appropriate converts to personal contract purchase or personal leasing schemes.

FLEETS should examine the new Vehicle Excise Duty system which comes into effect in autumn 2000 for clues to the format of the new company car tax regime scheduled for April 2002. Both have strong environmental justifications, and both will be based primarily on carbon dioxide emissions.

CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has given car makers a three-year warning to cut their list prices and improve their vehicles' emissions. His outline of the new benefit-in- kind tax regime for April 2002 will increase the focus of company car drivers, and particularly user-choosers, on a car's list price and environmental credentials.

CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has deprived sick and mistreated animals of tens of thousands of pounds by raising duty on fuel. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is £82,000 a year worse off as a result of the Budget, because of the extra fuel burden it puts on the all diesel fleet of 550 vehicles.

A BOOM in the automotive gas market has been predicted following Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's decision to cut duty on liquefied petroleum gas and compressed natural gas. The Energy Saving Trust, which offers the Powershift grants of up to 75% off the conversion cost of a gas vehicle, says the 'surprise' cut has taken the fleet industry by storm.

A SEVEN-strong raft of tax breaks to kick-start green commuter plans has been launched in the Budget in a move billed as the most radical ever package of environmental tax reforms. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has ploughed £5 million into the measures to remove benefit-in-kind tax liability from schemes including company-provided bus services.

THE Government has shot itself in the foot by basing Vehicle Excise Duty discounts on engine size, manufacturers have warned. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has branded the new scheme 'ridiculous', saying it has no environmental benefit and is simply 'public posturing of the worst kind'.

A BUDGET boost for vocational training is expected to encourage more fleet managers to become properly qualified and persuade company car drivers to invest in driver training. By the end of this year, it is hoped that new Individual Learning Accounts will be in place for employees to invest in training and qualify for discounts of up to 80% on specified courses.

BMW's new chairman Joachim Milberg has made his strongest commitment yet to the future of Rover. He says the German group's success is inextricably linked to its UK subsidiary with the company promising a decision on where its successors to the 200 and 400 ranges will be built by the end of March.

VOLVO will retain its brand identity and image under Ford's ownership after shareholders in the Swedish manufacturer gave approval to the planned takeover of the company by the American-owned car giant. Shareholders of AB Volvo approved the sale of Volvo Car Holding Corp to Ford Motor Company on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show six weeks after the two manufacturers agreed the deal.

NISSAN is to unveil a radically facelifted Primera at next month's Fleet Show giving fleet operators the first chance to see the car which will go on sale on September 1. And Fleet NewsNet can reveal that the heavily revised Primera will have the option of a 1.8-litre petrol engine - the lack of which was a major criticism in the Primera model line-up when the current range was launched three years ago.

A MAJOR plan to revitalise Rover got the go-ahead at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday. BMW AG chairman, Professor Joachim Milberg announced the company's troubled British subsidiary will produce a new range of medium-sized cars.

CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Gordon Brown undermined the business friendly message in his Budget by hitting fleet fuel bills to the tune of thousands of pounds. Brown stuck to Government pledges to raise fuel prices 6% above the rate of inflation.

FLEETS and motoring organisations have poured scorn on the introduction of graduated Vehicle Excise Duty in this year's Budget as simply 'tinkering at the edges' of moves to encourage greener motoring.

FLEETS have won a major victory in this year's Budget, with the removal of benefit-in-kind tax on company sponsored green transport schemes. From April 6 there will be no BIK charge on work buses, subsidies to public bus services along with company bicycles and safety equipment, at a cost to the Government of £5 million.

THE price of liquefied petroleum gas has been slashed by 3.5p a litre, putting it at about half the cost of a litre of petrol. But Greenergy, the supplier of ultra-low sulphur fuels, says the move smacks of tokenism. Andrew Owens, chairman of Greenergy, says that if Gordon Brown wanted to make an impact on the environment he would not have increased duty on ultra-low sulphur petrol in-line with unleaded petrol.

THE Government is continuing its crackdown on the benefit enjoyed by company car drivers who receive free fuel for private mileage.

FLEET decision-makers can hear in-depth analysis of the Budget's implications for company cars and vans at the Fleet News Budget Breakfast, organised by Fleet NewsNet's sister publication, Fleet News.

INTERNATIONAL management and accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers has appointed Arriva Automotive Solutions to fund and manage its 5,000-strong fleet. The deal will give a major boost to up-for-sale Arriva, and follows the merger between Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand last summer.

TOAD has awarded a solus contract to Renault for the supply of its entire van fleet, ending a three-year relationship with Vauxhall. The security and car audio company has placed an order with Epsom-based Wilson's Motor Group for 100 diesel Renault Kangoo vans to replace the existing fleet of Corsa vans over the next six months.

TRAFFIC information provider Trafficmaster this week launched the first phase of plans to expand its services throughout Europe as it announced a £3 million jump in annual pre-tax profits. A joint marketing agreement has been made with the firm's German licensee Mannesmann Autocom to provide common broadcast standards for its equipment.