News - Page 2236

AUTOLEASE is using technology developed in-house to encourage consideration of fuel economy as a parameter in car choice. But it has met with a lack of interest from fleet managers despite clear evidence that fuel can account for hundreds of pounds on top of the monthly rental of the most popular fleet cars.

AN increase in fleet business has failed to stop a slide in profits at Lookers, the motor dealership group. Pre-tax profits in the year to September 30, 1998 dropped to £8.6 million (1997: £9 million) on turnover down from £606.8 million to £584.5 million.

VAUXHALL increased prices of the Astra, outgoing Vectra, Omega, Sintra and Tigra by an average 1% on Saturday. Simultaneously the Luton-based manufacturer increased prices of the Corsavan, Combo (up by £80) and Brava (up by £120) vans by an average 0.9%.

FORD has dramatically streamlined its Escort range to offer a choice of just two engines, two body styles, and two trim levels. The realignment effectively started last year with the launch of Focus, Ford's other lower medium contender, and the manufacturer has gradually sold out of Escort engine, body style and trim variants.

GUARDIAN Insurance has published a guide to the effects and risks of road rage, including a special survival supplement for company car drivers. The technical brief, 'Road Rage - the Risks', is a wide-ranging compilation of recent research on road rage.

MAZDA is to follow the arrival of a new turbodiesel engine into the 626 line-up with its introduction into the new 323 - the first time the model has had diesel power. Launched in October last year, the 323 range is made up of three vehicles, the 1.5 GXi, 1.8 GSi and 1.8 SE, but on February 1 they will be joined by the 2.0 Di Turbo costing £14,220, and emphasising Mazda's promise of more diesel engine developments.

HONDA has boosted the performance and specification of the 1999 Prelude coupe and while prices of the 2.2 VTi have increased by £125 (0.5%) prices of the 2.0i have been held. The 2.2 VTi now has 200bhp on tap from its DOHC VTEC engine - up from 185bhp - with more torque (212Nm at 5,250rpm).

A NEW report, 'Green transport plans, the cost and benefits to employers', is being produced for publication in the summer into the popularity and success of company green travel plans. The research has been commissioned by the Department of Environment, Transport and Regions.

TRANSCO is on target to cut fleet operating costs by £55 million over five years after signing what is claimed to be the largest vehicle outsourcing contract in Europe and one of the biggest in the world. In 1995 Transco fleet manager Peter Babbage carried out research into the hourly rate of the 56 garages being run by the company to refuel the 8,000-strong fleet of vehicles and 8,000 pieces of plant machinery.

FUEL efficiency is of little concern throughout UK company hierarchy according to the evidence of one of the high street's biggest retailers. Marks & Spencer, which has a fleet of 1,150 vehicles, has revealed it has had to rethink its car provision policy which offered cash benefits for those who chose a more efficient car and a penalty for those who opted for gas-guzzlers due to a lack of interest among employees.

TAX-aggressive fleets, leasing companies and daily rental firms could find their VAT plans outlawed by new catch-all tax avoidance legislation. Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo said the Government was determined to make the tax system fairer and end VAT avoidance schemes which cost the Treasury about £1 billion per year in lost revenue.

KWIK-FIT has announced it will join the National Tyre Distributors Association to create a stronger body which will seek a voice for the industry at national and international levels. But the decision has not been viewed lightly by Mike Bridgman, chairman and chief executive of Montinex, who has fulfilled a threat made in December to resign from the NTDA and set up a new association should Kwik-Fit join.

UK bosses are urging Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown not to increase fuel duties by more than the pre-set 6% escalator in the March Budget. In its representations to the Government the Institute of Directors, which represents 56,000 company heads, also says that a road congestion tax must not be considered without full consultation and companies paying should be rewarded with reductions in vehicle excise duty.

ALEXANDERS Holdings' sale of its contract hire division brought in half-year profits of £11.7 million but cuts may still be needed as difficult trading conditions and poor residual values hit hard. The sale of Alexanders Contract Rentals to Axus UK threw a lifeline to the company's accounts with a cash injection of £13.3 million.

KENNING Car Van and Truck Rental has won a solus agreement to supply Fleetlease with all its replacements car and commercial vehicle rentals. The 12-month deal is worth £500,000, and will be reviewed at the end of the year.

CAR drivers left out in the cold by thieves who have driven off in their vehicles after leaving them with their engines running to warm up in the icy weather have been warned that insurance companies are unlikely to pay out on the resulting claims.

GOODYEAR has retained its contract with the Home Office to supply tyres to all of Britain's police forces until at least the end of 2001. The original tyre supply contract was first signed in 1994 and was extended in 1997.

BETTER driving standards, increasing use of technology and higher taxes for gas-guzzling cars are among the recommendations in a six-point transport plan of action unveiled by Lex Service. The demands are set out in the 1999 Lex Report on Motoring and compiled from interviews with 1,297 British motorists, including 293 company car drivers.

KEY Government policies for cutting traffic on Britain's roads through increased taxes and charging are deeply unpopular and would fail to have an effect unless raised to crippling levels. The 1999 Lex Report on Motoring found that while drivers expressed concern for the environment, they saw moves to increase the cost of motoring as 'just another tax' they would have to pay which would not push them off the roads.

SOUTHWARK Council is to investigate the establishment of a car pooling scheme, a move that will further boost its reputation as the UK's greenest fleet. In what the council sees as the most revolutionary response to the Government's white paper on integrated transport, it says it has plans for thousands of residents to share pools of cars as part of a commercially-managed green transport programme.

THE AA has sold its mobile communications division to York-based JWE Telecom for a maximum of £1.4 million. The deal gives JWE installation contracts and adds 27 fully-qualified engineers supported by a team of 10 administrators operating out of Birmingham to its existing nationwide installation operation.

THE pioneering London Borough of Sutton has added four Citroen Berlingo Electrique electric-powered vans to its increasingly environmentally-friendly fleet. The vans will be used for meals on wheels deliveries, which the council describes as an ideal application for electric vehicles where mileage is regular and predictable.

GE Capital Fleet Services has formed a strategic partnership with accident and claims management specialist Accident Assistance. Birmingham-based Accident Assistance is the subsidiary of Consolidated Financial Insurance, another GE Capital company.

SECURICOR Fuelserv has switched to ultra low sulphur emitting fuel City Diesel at its flagship Waterfront Services site in Felixstowe.

FLEETS and private motorists could soon be relicensing their cars over the Internet, rather than queuing up in a Post Office, if a pilot project by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing is successful. The DVLA has won a grant of £279,000 from the Treasury's 'Invest to Save' budget to develop the idea, which follows the hugely successful EDI fleet relicensing scheme.

TOYOTA is creating a new 'green' position within the company to co-ordinate all environmental issues, from international policies to disposal of tyres. The Japanese manufacturer says issues on the environment are becoming a key part of business and that has resulted in it needing an 'environmental analyst' who will co-ordinate with Toyota's European and Japanese operations.

NIDD Vale Group has launched straight from a record-breaking financial year into four fleet contracts worth more than £2.5 million. Turnover for the year to April 30, 1998 was a record £65 million representing a near 40% increase over the previous year's figure of £46.9 million.

FLEET managers have been receiving the first full copy of the Powershift Register, listing the cleanest cars they can add to their choice lists. About 75 copies of the £50 register have been distributed this month listing alternatively-fuelled vehicles which qualify for Powershift grants.

FLEETS face lean pickings if they are looking for the maximum Energy Savings Trust Powershift 75% grant for the extra cost of a 'green' car - with just Ford, Vauxhall and Volvo models represented. For vans, the range is nearly as small, with Ford, Mercedes, Skoda, Vauxhall and Volkswagen models - either in-house or aftermarket conversions - represented and only Iveco Ford offering an alternative fuel light truck.

A FLEET Show first will see key industry issues put under the spotlight with fleet managers and fleet decision-makers able to quiz the experts. Each day of the show, from Tuesday, April 27 to Thursday, April 29, a Fleet Forum will be held with speakers highlighting issues, ranging from the growing importance of Europe and taxation to alternative fuels and fleet finance.