News - Page 2240

THE bosses of two of the world's biggest car companies have called on Britain to join the European single currency. Just days after the launch of the Euro with 11 countries opting to join the currency both Jack Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors, and Jac Nasser, Ford's president and chief executive officer, say Britain should join.

MAZDA has insisted that its stylish new MPV concept show at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit will not be a candidate for parallel production as a Ford when it begins coming off the line in the next few months. 'The car will be available in Europe and will come to Britain, but it has been designed as a Mazda.' said Mazda Motor Corporation product planning managing director Martin Leach.

A DECISION to market a futuristic Japanese off-road model in the US has boosted efforts to put the car on British roads. Officials at International Motors, the West Bromwich-based car import company, are delighted that American Isuzu Motors Inc is to make the Isuzu VehiCROSS available in the next few months.

IT could be six months before Hyundai announces the outcome of a major study as to how the company will be structured following its recent acquisition of rival Korean company Kia. Hyundai bought its struggling competitor last year and a Hyundai spokesman told Fleet NewsNet a special integration division with representatives from both companies had been established.

DAIMLERChrysler may soon be building a new Chrysler-badged car range to spearhead a major drive aimed at lifting its sales across all European markets. A fresh line based on the underpinnings of the latest Neon is under consideration and could be in the showrooms in less than three years. Research into the project is already under way and management board approval could be given in the next few months.

FUEL cell technology may be the ultimate answer to reduce vehicle emissions globally but Honda believes battery power will usher in a fresh era of economy motoring. Most manufacturers expect fuel cell technology to be the fuel of tomorrow although the costs associated with production of such vehicles is likely to mean significant Government incentives will be required to make such cars commercially viable.

DAIMLERChrysler will take a wild drive back to the future when it builds a unique new all-purpose family car range in 12 months' time. In its first international motor show appearance, the giant Euro-American car firm stunned rivals at Detroit by giving the green light to the Chrysler PT (it means 'personal transportation') Cruiser.

THE world's fastest sport utility vehicle was unveiled in concept form at the North American International Auto Show with expectations high that Mercedes-Benz will import the M-class-based vehicle into the UK in mid-2000. Due to be launched as a production vehicle initially in the US at the end of this year the high performance ML55 AMG made its world debut as a design study in Detroit with Mercedes-Benz claiming the vehicle injects the word 'sport' into 'sport utility'.

UNPRECEDENTED demand for BMW turbodiesel cars is posing a threat to British supplies of the German company's bold new sport utility vehicle. Unveiled at the North American International Auto Show, the breakthrough off-road model is due to reach UK showrooms in June 2000, with a choice of petrol and diesel engines.

HYUNDAI will import a British version of its first sport utility vehicle launched at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in spring 2000. The new Hyundai Santa Fe was unveiled as a concept vehicle in Detroit but it will go on sale in the United States in spring next year.

YORKSHIRE Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Australia Bank, has acquired the total shareholding of contract hire specialist Eden Vehicle Rentals. The banking group already owned 75% of Carlisle-based EVR, which has a fleet of 13,000 contract hire vehicles, and has purchased the remaining 25% shareholding in the business from County Garage Group.

THE Government has failed to settle fleet manager nerves despite abandoning its plans for a company car tax system based on private mileage. Potential changes to benefit-in-kind tax remain the number one preoccupation of fleet managers as they face the challenge of another uncertain year in 1999.

THE fleet subsidiaries of the German Deutsche Bank have bid £39.6 million for contract hire and fleet management company BCH Vehicle Management. The deal has yet to be approved by BCH's shareholders, but is expected to get the go-ahead having been recommended by the Bristol-based company's directors, senior managers and other parties who between them own 19.1% of the shares.

FLEETS which exploited a VAT leasing loophole will have to repay a large part of their tax savings on company car expenditure. HM Customs & Excise estimates that as much as £20 million of VAT was lost through a scheme which exploited the change in the VAT treatment of a leased company car on August 1, 1995.

PENDRAGON has agreed to buy rival dealership Evans Halshaw for £83.7 million, creating the UK's largest motor retailer. The deal gives Pendragon control of more than 180 dealerships, considerable territorial control for the sale of Ford, Vauxhall, Fiat and Peugeot cars, and catapults the company into the market leader's position above Lancaster.

VEHICLE manufacturers are remaining price cautious with only a handful of car makers joining in the traditional New Year round of price rises - and some are reducing the list price of models. Of the major manufacturers - Ford, Vauxhall, Rover, Peugeot, Renault and Citroen - only Ford is increasing prices from the beginning of 1999, with the rest sticking to last year's autumn or spring changes.

FORD looks set to become the first manufacturer in the UK to take control of the distribution of its cars. In collaboration with Jardine Motors, with which it formed a joint venture called Polar Motor Group, Ford has agreed a £28.8 million takeover bid for Dagenham Motors, its main UK distributor.

LOCAL authorities have given widespread support to workplace parking charges which could see fleet running costs soar. But many authorities have shied away from moves towards road tolls, a national survey of 105 local authorities by the Institution of Civil Engineers has revealed.

THE condition of Britain's roads is reaching crisis point with nearly £5 billion needed to get them back into shape, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers. In the last year, the bill for required maintenance work on local authority-run highways, which does not include trunk roads or motorways, has grown by £800,000 or 20%.

ALL new cars entering British showrooms will have to carry labels giving fuel economy and carbon dioxide emission level details, following a decision by EU ministers to highlight the 'green' credentials of vehicles to consumers. The directive, which is expected to come into effect this year, also formalises the collection of emission data from new vehicles on a Europe-wide basis.

A NATIONWIDE survey of fleet managers by the AA to monitor concerns over the Government's proposals for beating congestion has revealed widespread fears that running costs will rocket. A questionnaire has been sent to 10,000 fleet managers and early indications from more than 300 responses show that companies will be hit financially by proposals for workplace parking charges, motorway tolls and congestion charging.

DEALER group DC Cook has blamed a 'disappointing' fall in half-yearly pre-tax profits of nearly 50% to £1 million on the effect of expansion costs and the poor performance of residual values. The group has invested heavily in its dealerships in the last two years and now has 45 dealerships covering 15 franchises.

THE British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association has written an open letter to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown urging him not change the company car tax system. The pre-Budget submission calls on the Inland Revenue to keep the current benefit-in-kind tax regime in place until sufficient research has been carried out into alternatives.

ENTERPRISE Rent-A-Car has reassured the customers and staff of hire firm Churchfields that it is business as usual, despite Churchfields directors calling a meeting of creditors to appoint a liquidator. Accountancy firm Grant Thornton was instructed to contact Churchfields' creditors just three days after Enterprise bought the business of Churchfields in December.

CONTRACT hire company Evans Halshaw Fleetcare has changed its name to c.2K following a major reorganisation and substantial investment.

ATS Euromaster has extended a strategic alliance as fast-fit partner to the AA in a deal worth at least £3 million over the next three years. As part of the agreement, which extends a partnership which has been running since 1995, ATS Euromaster wins a multi-million contract as approved tyre supplier to the AA fleet of 3,800 roadside assistance vehicles.

FORD has dismissed as 'market speculation' rumours emanating from the Detroit Motor Show that it is poised to buy BMW.

TRANSPORT minister Lord Whitty has backed calls for driver training to become a necessity not an option in the Government's crusade to reduce the number of company car drivers killed or injured in road accidents. According to Institute of Advanced Motorists' figures, a company car driver clocking up 25,000 miles a year has a one in 8,000 chance of being involved in a fatal accident.

FLEETS are to play a key role in the Government's latest move to cut accidents, lower vehicle emissions, and reduce congestion - simply by cutting vehicle speeds. Transport minister Lord Whitty has unveiled plans for the Government's 'National Speed Review', which he says is crucial in developing an integrated transport strategy.

AUDI is to seek further details of a survey which for the second time in succession has shown its cars to be the most expensive of the most popular brands to repair. The latest of the six-monthly surveys by Motor Warranty Direct shows that annual repair bills for prestige brands such as Audi and BMW are among the highest, even though in other research they have been shown to break down less often.