News - Page 2247

GOVERNMENT hopes of introducing new Vehicle Excise Duty proposals before next summer's recess of Parliament could be dashed, because its computer systems cannot cope. The Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency, which would be the operational lynchpin of any new tax scheme, is updating its computer systems to make them millennium compliant and more flexible.

THE Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has called on the Government to come clean about the true aim of the Vehicle Excise Duty consultation document. Concentration has been on a £50 cut in VED for smaller, cleaner cars, but the motor industry is demanding more information about the other end of the scale which most affects fleets and which could see VED rates rise significantly above the present £150 flat rate level.

FLEETS have warned the Government to ensure the proposed Vehicle Excise Duty changes do not start a rush to register 'dirty' cars before the changes come into effect. Cost-conscious firms may see a financial benefit by registering cars early so they qualify for a lower VED based on their engine size rather than a higher VED based on their carbon dioxide emissions.

VEHICLE emission levels are set to become an integral part of the fleet manager's budgeting process as the potential savings from a £50 cut in Vehicle Excise Duty rates become clear. Their role in cutting costs could include coming up with imaginative ways of persuading employees away from the cars they want for esteem purposes towards the more environmentally-friendly models which attract lower VED levels.

EUROPEAN driver training organisation Drive and Survive has become a public limited company, resulting in a number of changes to the structure of the group of which it forms a part. New Driving Initiatives (NDI), the company created by Paul Austin and Mark Smith two years ago, which merged with Drive and Survive, will now become the group's holding company.

FULL ownership of the Smart city car brand by Mercedes-Benz is unlikely to have any impact on British marketing proposals. 'As far as we are aware, a plan to restrict the car to left-hand-drive will remain unchanged,' a Mercedes-Benz spokesman said after it was announced that the company behind the tiny two-seater model was now wholly-owned by the German car maker.

THE new Vehicle Excise Duty proposals take no account of newer, cleaner engines in vans - unlike cars with new models having VED levels based on CO2 emissions. All vans will be charged according to engine size, although the Government said any emissions-based charges would depend on manufacturers introducing their own system for producing CO2 figures for each model.

ZURICH Financial Services has launched a set of dedicated fleet operator Internet pages on risk management and insurance.

ENVIRONMENTAL solutions company Enviros has signed a deal worth more than £1 million to convert part of its fleet to liquefied petroleum gas. It has bought 10 LPG Toyota Corollas from Bradford-based Perrys Toyota to join its 80-strong fleet.

HAMPSHIRE Police has taken on 15 dual-fuel Ford Fiestas using grants from the Energy Saving Trust's Powershift initiative. The force has been given 50% of the cost of installing liquefied petroleum gas into the Fiestas, which officially joined the fleet of 748 vehicles.

A REVAMPED Honda Legend is to go on sale early in the new year with a host of changes to both the interior and exterior. There have been minor changes to the bodywork with the front wings sloping more sharply into the new high intensity gas discharge headlamps, plus there are alterations to the bonnet shape which covers the existing 3.5-litre V6 engine.

MOVES to tackle traffic congestion by implementing private non-residential workplace parking charges would be met with 'overwhelming opposition' from business, a new report has warned. But congestion charging may be more readily accepted.

MASTERDRIVE Leasing and Rental has won a contract to supply vehicles to national charity United Response. The Putney-based charity, which provides residential and day care for people with learning difficulties and mental health problems, operates a mixed 120-vehicle fleet including small saloon cars, MPVs, vans and minibuses.

BRITAIN'S sophisticated fleet market is being used as a benchmark to provide vital guidance to a fledgling fleet industry on the Malaysian island of Borneo. Four senior members of staff from Borneo Fleet Management have been in the UK to learn about the fleet industry and undergo training with the Institute of Car Fleet Management.

MILLIONS of pounds worth of vehicles once owned by stricken used car dealership Car Group have been sold to rival car supermarket company Concept Automotive Services. About 1,700 cars have changed hands for an undisclosed sum under the direction of Car Group's receiver KPMG.

EASTBOURNE Car Auctions is to expand its operations dramatically in the next few years in a partnership deal, the start of which has began with the opening of a new centre in Guildford. The deal has been struck with South East Marts which has given ECA a lease to operate on a site in Moorfield Road previously occupied by Guildford Car Auctions. Under the partnership the site will trade as Southern Car Auctions (Guildford) Ltd.

THE Government's new Vehicle Excise Duty proposals to encourage 'smaller and cleaner' cars look set to fail, after a major new survey revealed that environmental factors play a minor role in fleet policies. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown unveiled the graduated VED consultation document, claiming it would incentivise new car buyers - fleets - to select 'greener' vehicles.

FLEET managers have been told to obtain professionally-recognised qualifications to maximise their career potential or face losing their jobs. As the RAC launched the second phase of its fleet manager training Scholarship Awards Scheme at the Institute of Car Fleet Management's annual members' conference, fleet managers were told to 'grasp the opportunity and move with the times - to not only expand but safeguard their own jobs'.

THE Confederation of British Industry has challenged the Government to use its own fleet 'to set an example in cost-effective environmental best practice'. The call to green the Government's fleet features in the CBI's 'Transport Agenda 1998/99', and follows revelations that 14 central Government departments operating more than 14,000 vehicles, ran just eight gas or electric-powered vehicles.

THE fleet industry is this week grappling with a muddled and contradictory 37-page consultation document for the reform of Vehicle Excise Duty. 'Consultation on reform of Vehicle Excise Duty to ensure a cleaner environment' aims to encourage British motorists, including fleet drivers, to drive the 'smallest and most environmentally-efficient cars'.

FLEET managers have condemned the Government's 'woolly' and 'half-cocked' approach to the changes to the current VED system. Many fear a hidden 'catch' with promises of VED reductions, but no talk of increases to allow the Treasury to recoup lost revenue.

FLEETS have called on the Government to end confusion over its policy on diesel after the Vehicle Excise Duty consultation document appeared to signal a U-turn in its approach to the fuel. A cursory glance at the tables of the UK's cleanest cars shows diesel's domination, and the document confirms that diesel is key to the success of Government commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

ENGINE size and possibly car age will be the basis for establishing Vehicle Excise Duty rates for the 22 million private and light goods vehicles already on the road. The consultation document suggests different VED bands for engines: A, up to 1,250cc; B, 1,251- 1,600cc; C, 1,601-2,000cc; and D over 2,000cc.

RESIDUAL values on large-engined cars could plummet if the Government significantly increases their Vehicle Excise Duty. Both CAP Motor Research and Glass's Guide agree that the future shape of residual values hinges on the size of the differential between VED rates.

33% of fleet drivers would use their company car less if public transport were better, according to the 1998 Lex Vehicle Leasing Report on Company Motoring.

FLEET drivers remain loyal to their company cars in the face of environmental and tax pressures, but are demanding more choice in the vehicles they drive. A quarter of companies, for example, now run people-carriers, up from one-in-five last year, while 29% of companies have four-wheel-drive vehicles on their fleets, according to the 1998 Lex Vehicle Leasing Report on Company Motoring.

NEXT year is going to be a tough one for the fleet industry, with a marked slowdown in the number of company cars bought by businesses. The 1998 Lex Vehicle Leasing Report on Company Motoring forecasts a total fleet market this year just 1% or 2% above last year's 1.15 million cars, and a 6% fall to about 1.1 million fleet registrations in 1999.

VAUXHALL has ousted arch rival Ford to win a major solus contract with the Costain construction group. Ford's decision to stop production of the Scorpio played a critical part in Costain's decision to significantly curtail a relationship with Ford stretching back more than 20 years.

VOLVO has cut its UK workforce by more than a fifth in an attempt to control costs amid increasing competition and gloomy economic outlook - but the manufacturer is increasing its fleet department staff. A total of 50 jobs at the company's two main sites at Marlow and Daventry have been cut from a total workforce of 237.

HYUNDAI has secured the all-important backing of Kia's creditor banks in its bid to take over the troubled manufacturer, effectively winning control of the company. The end to uncertainty about the future of the manufacturer has been welcomed by Kia Cars UK, which is making preparations for a renewed marketing push of the brand in Britain.