News - Page 2255

NISSAN wants thousands of motorists to help it choose a fresh design for a crucial new car model. The company is hoping that visitors to the Paris and Birmingham motor shows will tell them what they think of KYXX, a design study which is the first step in the process to find a replacement for the Micra supermini.

THOUSANDS of ex-company cars are failing to sell at auction because fleets are setting unrealistic reserve prices. These reserves are based on residual values set three years ago when the used car market was buoyant, and fail to take account of today's significantly weaker market.

THE 1999 Fleet Motor Show will be held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham from April 27-29. The new-look, three-day show will be a 100% business event - with no driving facility. It will be the focal point of a 'fleet week' which is expected to feature a gala dinner and associated business-related seminars exploring key fleet industry issues.

FLEETS are falling behind the rest of the business community in taking up the benefits of paperless electronic commerce which is fast becoming the norm in other sectors. While the likes of Tesco and Marks & Spencer reap the rewards of technology, the fleet industry remains content to shuffle paper invoices and orders according to FleetNet - the organisation under which the fleet rental and leasing industry is developing common standards.

A NEW contract hire business is to be launched in January next year by the Sytner Group, the luxury car dealership company. As the 20-strong dealership group announced record interim results for the six months to June 30, it was revealed that the Leicester-based company is in final discussions to forge a partnership with a bank to launch the new business.

ENVIRONMENTAL driver training is part of a new package being offered to all companies taking delivery of contract hire vehicles from Vauxhall Master Hire. Included within the contract hire rate, the 'greener' driving initiative can add up to major savings for fleets, according to Vauxhall.

THE residual value crisis in the UK's nearly new car market wiped £1.1 million off Avis Europe's £36 million profits for the first six months of 1998. But Alun Cathcart, Avis Europe's chairman and chief executive, said the company had protected itself from most of the recent pressure on prices in the UK's second-hand car market by acquiring 88% of its fleet on risk-free, buy-back agreements.

INNOVEX, the pharmaceutical company, has awarded the contract to supply and manage its entire 2,200-strong fleet to PHH Vehicle Management. The outsourcing contract will include acquisition and disposal services, maintenance management and PHH's driver services package.

LIFE assurance and pension company Canada Life is replacing its company car scheme with Arriva Automotive Solutions' personal motoring product. This radical change follows Canada Life's acquisition of Albany Life last year, which left it with two different car policies.

ABBEY National has signed a two-year dual badge deal with Vauxhall and Ford, marking the end of a long-term buying agreement with Rover. About 2,000 cars will be bought from the manufacturers for Abbey National staff in a deal negotiated by the bank's subsidiary First National Vehicle Contracts.

BRITISH cabinet ministers who have traditionally travelled in UK-built vehicles will for the first time be climbing into German-built cars as a high-profile Government fleet is forced to look to the Continent. The Government Car and Despatch Agency, which operates a 223-strong fleet for ministers, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, senior officials and VIPs, has always used British-built cars to transport cabinet ministers.

PAT Smart, Jaguar's manager of police and special sales, has left the fleet sector after a 23-year career - although he will remain with the luxury car manufacturer. Smart, who has been a regular visitor to the annual Fleet Show and is a well-known figure among fleet managers, moves from the corporate operations department, which encompasses fleet, to the communications and public affairs department in the motor firm.

FLEET managers considering the chance of taking on alternatively-fuelled vehicles have the chance to attend a range of free seminars offering valuable advice. Powershift is holding meetings throughout the country offering practical help, using fleets which have already made the switch.

PRESTIGE manufacturers have warned car buyers not to treat the European New Car Assessment Programme's crash test results as a definitive guide to car safety. While they applauded NCAP's goal of establishing an independent safety rating of new cars, they also criticised the lack of scientific rigour behind the tests.

NEW vehicle self-registrations with the potential to cause a residual value catastrophe are 'a fact of life' unless individually manufacturers choose to take action, according to the UK's leading motor industry guru. Professor Garel Rhys, director of the Centre for Automotive Industry Research, Cardiff University Business School, said calls for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to act multilaterally by calling a summit meeting of all manufacturers - large and small - to solve the massive over-supply problem could fall foul of the monopoly authorities.

ROVER'S new executive car, formerly known by its codename R40, is to be called the Rover 75 in a nostalgic move from the British manufacturer. The Rover 75 was originally unveiled at the 1948 British Motor Show at Earls Court, the first show to take place after the second world war, and the vehicle became known as Cyclops because of its 'revolutionary' extra spotlight mounted in the grille of the car.

THE £450 million acquisition of RAC Motoring Services by American-owned Cendant Corporation has been referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. In announcing the referral, Competition and Consumer Affairs Minister Dr Kim Howells, said he was concerned that the proposed acquisition by Cendant, which already owns Green Flag, 'raises competition concerns in respect of the market for breakdown insurance'.

LONDON-based courier company Challenger Group Holdings has taken delivery of the first of a 30-strong fleet of Mercedes-Benz A-class cars. The vehicles - worth £500,000 - will be delivered to Challenger over the next month and will form the company's luxury car fleet.

A MAJOR new trial of road-user charging is being prepared by the Government as Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott pushes forward with key proposals from his white paper on integrated transport that could see fleet running costs soar. Hot on the heels of smaller scale tests throughout the country, including one in Leicester, Prescott announced he was looking for local authorities from throughout the country to volunteer.

ESSENTIAL-use company car drivers may be exempted from plans to charge drivers to enter towns and cities or use congested roads. Congestion charging is aimed at discouraging drivers who have a viable alternative method of transport and not punishing those who rely on their vehicle for work, according to Nicky Gavron, chairman of the Local Government Association's planning committee.

THE lure of guaranteed future residuals, improved quality and high specifications have proved too much of a bargain for Thrifty which has extended its deal with Daewoo. Initially the car rental company was to take delivery of 500 Daewoo cars before the end of this year.

PHH Vehicle Management has added its weight to a call for liquefied petroleum gas powered vehicles to be allowed through the Eurotunnel.

COMPANY car drivers are far more concerned about the image of a car and extras such as CD players and air conditioning, than environmental considerations according to new research. As part of its 'Stop Fuming' campaign the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders found that although three quarters of motorists taking part in its survey think vehicles are the principal reason for air pollution, only 4% consider the environment when choosing a car.

FLEETS could lose out on thousands of pounds worth of Government cash to help pay for green vehicles if they choose the wrong conversion after a radical shake-up in the grants system at Powershift, which promotes the use of alternative fuels. From this month, Powershift is ditching its 'leap of faith' approach to handing out grants for alternatively-fuelled vehicles or conversions.

FLEETS which switch to alternative fuels could face unexpected costs for safety checking and possible replacement of gas tanks. Users of gas-powered vehicles whether liquefied petroleum gas or natural gas, need to have the gas tanks checked and approved by an expert every two to three years, which could involve lengthy vehicle downtime and costs for replacing faulty tanks.

VAUXHALL has pride of place in the new Powershift Register after it became the first car manufacturer to appear, and qualified for the highest grant available. The company's 2.0-litre Vectra and Omega LPG conversions qualify for a 75% grant on the premium over a normal model (currently £1,950, including VAT).

THE European Commission is proposing a massive shake-up of fleets' right to recover VAT on company cars, fuel, maintenance and repair expenditure. The proposals form part of an EC initiative to simplify and harmonise VAT recovery among member states.

HIGH levels of safety have been achieved by the seven executive cars tested in the latest round of crash tests conducted under the European New Car Assessment Programme. The BMW 5-series, Saab 9-5 and Toyota Camry all achieved top four-star ratings after undergoing a 40mph frontal crash and a side impact crash at 30mph.

COMPUTER Sciences Corporation has outsourced its 1,200-strong UK car fleet to Lex Vehicle Leasing in a £26 million contract hire deal. This will see Lex manage the entire process of buying, funding, managing and selling cars on behalf of CSC in this country, and become one of CSC's three preferred suppliers of vehicles in Europe through the Lex Frontier Lease service.

MANUFACTURERS must improve stock level controls to avoid distress marketing, fleet chiefs have been told. In the wake of another bout of so-called 'false' registrations by some manufacturers in August, Peugeot has called on rival car makers to effectively 'get their houses in order'.