News - Page 2254

THE face of UK motor retailing could fundamentally change if Ford pushes ahead with its plans to set up a joint dealership venture with Jardine Motors Group. The plans would see Ford buy a stake in Jardine's eight Ford dealerships, which trade primarily as Polar Motor Group and BPW Group.

TWELVE divisions of Granada have outsourced their combined fleet of 3,500 company cars to PHH Vehicle Management in a contract worth £10 million over the next five years. PHH won the deal following a six-month, five-way tender process, and will now contract hire and maintenance manage Granada's dual badge Vauxhall and Toyota fleet, while providing drivers with its Allstar fuel card.

THE Government is jeopardising its push for integrated transport by taxing firms thousands of pounds for providing buses for staff as an alternative to the car. Subsidised transport is considered as a benefit-in-kind and instead of each employee facing a tax bill, a general charge is being handed to firms, either to be handed on to workers or absorbed by the company.

EXECUTIVES at advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi have been converting to two wheels instead of four for important business meetings in London. The firm has invested in a fleet of 10 £300 bicycles complete with the firm's logo to keep staff out of company cars and taxis when travelling in the capital.

NISSAN has increased prices on the majority of its car line-up by an average of 0.7% but the Window Van and Combi-5 models in the Vanette Cargo range increase by 3.7% and 3.5% respectively. Prices for the Micra, Almera, 200SX, QX, Terrano II and Patrol GR are all increased, but prices for Primera and Serena models and the remainder of the light commercial line-up remain unchanged.

RENAULT increased car prices by an average 0.7% and vans by 1% on October 1 - the first change to prices since February - but there are reductions in the French manufacturer's line-up. The entry-level Laguna - the RN 16v - increases £100 from £13,570 to £13,670, while the top of the range Executive 16v increases £350 from £18,770 to £19,020.

DEBIS Remarketing is planning a New Year relaunch of its electronic vehicle disposal system, after temporarily suspending operations. The Daimler-Benz InterServices company has developed a completely new remarketing system in-house to replace its former, externally sourced system.

SUBARU is to launch one of the most powerful 4x4s on the market with an S-Turbo all-wheel drive version of the Forester based on the famed Impreza Turbo engine and suspension set to enter showrooms. Costing £21,750 on the road in manual form and £22,750 as an automatic, the latter goes on sale next month with manual versions going on sale in January next year.

THE fleet industry has welcomed the recently announced changes to the new-look 1999 Fleet Show which see it transformed into a three-day business show. Vehicle manufacturers, service companies, and rental and leasing firms have supported the decision to go for an all-business format, with no driving facility, and backed the change of venue to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

SUBARU UK has agreed a £1 million alarm supply deal with vehicle technology group Toad. The Sigma brand of advanced alarms will be fitted as standard to Subaru Impreza turbo and Forester turbo models and the companies are in discussions over supplying the alarm as an option on other models.

ALL new Vauxhall Omegas fitted with the congestion warning system Trafficmaster Oracle will benefit from two years' additional free air time if registered before January 31, 1999. This represents a saving of £48 over the second and third years of an Omega's life. Vauxhall has historically provided the first year's Trafficmaster air time for free, but customers have then had to subscribe to Trafficmaster for a fee of £24 per year.

THE Fleet Driver Training Association has established a fleet-specific qualification for instructors involved in the training of company drivers. Members of the association voted strongly in favour of the qualification at an extraordinary general meeting of the FDTA.

ALLEGIANCES to the 'traditional' fleet car manufacturers are becoming a thing of the past as competition for fleet business grows, according to a new report. A survey from Staffordshire-based The Reward Group - 'Sales and Marketing Rewards 1998/99' - has found that Ford has seen its sales share to the sales and marketing industry drop from 30% in 1990 to 18%. Vauxhall records 17%, down from 24% in 1990.

A SIGNIFICANT number of European motorists who drive multi-purpose vehicles plan to switch back to traditional family transport, it was claimed at the Paris Motor Show. Independent research carried out for Mitsubishi in EU countries has revealed that 23% of MPV users are considering returning to the five-door hatchback models they owned previously.

FLEET Support Group has put its reputation on the line by promising to save fleets money on their company car operating costs. The Chippenham-based fleet management specialist has invited 3,000 fleets to trial its no-strings offer.

HOPES of an end to the long-running battle to find a new owner for Kia, the bankrupt Korean car company, have been dashed after a second round of bidding was abandoned. A new owner for the firm was hoped to be announced at the end of September, but none of the bidders was prepared to take on the required portion of the £6-7 billion debts.

ALFA Romeo has carried out an extensive revision of its GTV and Spider and added more equipment while increasing prices by an average 1%. All models in the UK now come with standard air conditioning, which also includes a pollen filter, a new dashboard and central console. Among exterior styling changes are body-coloured bumpers and new design alloy wheels.

THE future of fleet managers lies in the boardroom, not in the transport depot, as companies adapt to major cultural changes. With the cost of operating company cars second only to wages, high-powered executives are required to oversee fleets, and companies' survival could even depend on making the right fleet decisions.

FLEETS could wipe thousands of pounds from fuel bills by getting non-essential car users to abandon their company vehicles and take up personal motoring schemes. Drivers would feel less pressure to hike up their driving time to qualify for tax breaks as they would no longer be paying company car tax, according to Roger Ashman, director of sales in the financial services division of PHH Vehicle Management.

VOLKSWAGEN has become the latest manufacturer to turn to factories in South Africa to produce right-hand-drive stock for the UK as demand for its cars across the European markets rockets. VW is importing an additional 6,000 Golfs from South Africa this year.

CONTRACT hire and rental specialist TLS has created a new central reservations office to speed up service for customers. A six-strong team is based at the company's Manchester headquarters to cope with a growing demand for one-stop-shop style rental service from some of its 12,500 clients.

MAZDA has slimmed down its flagship Xedos 9 range to a single, 2.3-litre supercharged version. The previous engine was a 2.5-litre V6. With the Miller supercharger unit, the new Xedos 9 accelerates from 0-62 mph in 9.5 seconds, and is capable of a top speed of 143mph.

FORD is cutting its ties with Volkswagen and forging an alliance with Peugeot and Citroen in a series of astonishing moves at the summit of European vehicle manufacture. VW is in discussions to buy out Ford's share of their 50:50 joint venture in Portugal which manufactures the Ford Galaxy, Volkswagen Sharan and Seat Alhambra.

SALES of Peugeot and Citroen cars in central Europe have more than offset a sharp downturn resulting from the economic crisis in Asia. Demand from Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Turkey rose by 45% in the first six months of this year, according to PSA president Jean-Martin Folz.

VOLKSWAGEN will sell left-hand-drive versions of its new-generation Beetle model in Britain in a bid to satisfy surging demand. Up to 2,000 examples of the smash-hit retro car are to be made available to customers who don't want to wait 12 months for supplies of right-hand-drive cars to start reaching UK showrooms.

BRITAIN'S most-revered car marque is to be 'nurtured and developed' until it is handed over for a new life under BMW in 2003. That was the pledge made by Volkswagen AG chairman Ferdinand Piech when the latest model to emerge from the beleaguered Rolls-Royce car factory made its debut at the Paris Motor Show.

DEVELOPMENT of SEAT in Britain will move into a fresh phase when the new Toledo range reaches showrooms in April. Styling, which shows cues from the BMW 3-series, is set to play a big role in changing buyers' attitudes to the Spanish brand, according to SEAT UK director Kevin Rose.

TWO extremes of engineering expertise allowed Volkswagen to unveil a tantalising glimpse of tomorrow's world of motoring at the Paris Motor Show. The fast-expanding group which now embraces nine vehicle brands rolled out the world's first realistic 100mpg car - then showed off the world's first 18-cylinder car engine.

A STUNNING and sharply-styled concept at the Paris Motor Show gives more than a hint as to how Renault is planning to join the elite club of European prestige car makers. Distinctly different from the traditional three-box style, the Vel Satis is paving the way for a new top-draw French model which will rival cars built by Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

MAZDA is aiming to introduce at least two new models and two facelifted models each year as the company fights for greater success in the showrooms. The products will be brought to market in less time thanks to innovations which are revolutionising the company's design, development and manufacturing processes, Mazda Motor Corporation president James Miller said in Paris.