News - Page 2256

A PAN-European levelling out of new car prices and specification as a result of the introduction of the Euro will impact most on fleets. Once all European countries, including the UK, have adopted the Euro there will be widespread price convergence with new car prices falling compared with current 'high' UK prices.

MOTOR manufacturers General Motors and Suzuki have announced a strategic alliance to share expertise in designing a range of vehicles for the new millennium, including moves towards alternative fuels. Under the agreement, Suzuki will provide help with the design and manufacture of mini and small cars, while GM puts forward its experience in the larger car sector.

NISSAN has launched a 1.8-litre direct injection petrol engine which could be running in UK cars by the year 2000. The new engine has been matched to Nissan's latest continuously variable transmission.

FORD is cutting Fiesta production at its Dagenham plant by axing two shifts for seven weeks from October 1. This will reduce production of Fiesta cars and vans by 20%, in a bid to realign supply with falling demand in export markets.

ALL orders for the Volkswagen Golf GTi are being put on hold 'for a few weeks' until a problem with the supply of components can be rectified.

THAMES Water has signed up as the first affinity partner for Lex Direct, Lex Vehicle Leasing's new operation for small businesses. The joint marketing venture will see Thames Water promote Lex Direct to its 200,000 business customers in the south east via mail shots.

THE Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and road safety organisation Brake have called for aeroplane-style 'black boxes' to be fitted to company cars. They believe the 'spies in the cab' would help to combat the risk of under-pressure drivers clocking up 'ridiculous' hours behind the wheel to meet work deadlines.

BMW and BMW Financial Services have launched a new leasing and fleet management company in Germany as the first step towards the establishment of a European-wide operation. Petra Kerp, chief executive officer of BMW Financial Services and Alphabet in the UK, said international fleet customers now expect professional services extending beyond national borders.

VAUXHALL has retained the 'Whitehall superfleet' in a huge tender to supply Government department fleets. The 12-month contract, with a possible six-month extension, is worth an estimated 2,000 cars in the first year alone, and covers 21 Government departments and agencies including the Inland Revenue and Department of Social Security.

KWIK-Fit is to establish a major pan-European fleet operation following the agreed £105 million acquisition of Speedy Europe which operates 568 motorist fast-fit centres in France, Germany, Belgium and Spain. Kwik-Fit Fleet already operates in Holland, Belgium and Southern Ireland.

HYUNDAI will reveal its new flagship model at next week's Paris Motor Show with the XG due to go on sale in the UK next year costing under £25,000. The model is built on the Hyundai Sonata platform and will come with a choice of a 2.5-litre V6 163PS or 3.0-litre V6 182PS petrol engine, both coupled to a five-speed switchable automatic transmission - the former engine already serving the Sonata.

HYUNDAI has become the first manufacturer to fit a rev-limiter to reverse gear on its recently launched Atoz city car to prevent the 'one-in-a-million' chance that it could be involved in a high-speed reverse-gear roll-over.

THE launch of the 206 heads a massive five-year new Peugeot product range programme which will include a new large car. The 106 will remain in the Peugeot stable for 'at least another two years' with a replacement model not due to enter showrooms until 2002.

SAAB'S 1999 9-3 model line-up features a new 2.0-litre Ecopower engine which replaces the 2.3-litre petrol engine and simultaneously the Swedish manufacturer has increased prices on the range by an average 0.7%. However, fleets will also be getting fuel economy improvements of between 4% and 8% to help boost running costs.

PRACTICAL Car and Van Rental has closed one its centres after a hire car was found to be in such a poor condition it would have failed an MoT. The branch in Walsall, West Midlands, was the subject of an undercover RAC inspection and a P-reg Citroen Saxo was hired.

HONDA is claiming that the new Accord will be the 'most affordable car in its class to run'. The new figures from vehicle wholelife cost consultant Emmox show that the new Accord saloon 1.8i S and 2.0i S will cost less to run over three years/60,000 miles than rival saloon models from Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Toyota, Volkswagen and Nissan.

NISSAN has added a new model to its five-door Primera range - the SX - which on both price and specification beats the GX model. The manual Primera SX will cost £14,495 on the road powered by a 1.6-litre 16v petrol engine and £15,095 powered by a 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine.

RENEWED calls for delivery charges on new cars to be abolished with all manufacturers publishing directly comparable on the road prices have been made by CAP Motor Research. Three years after Shrewsbury-based Fleet Management Services launched a campaign for delivery charges to be scrapped and two years after the campaign was given new impetus by the Association of Car Fleet Operators, CAP says the present compromise arrangements are 'confusing and should be abolished'.

A MOVE from four wheels to two as people try to beat traffic jams has contributed to car and motorcycle dealer Dixon Motors lifting interim pre-tax profits 67% to £6.7 million (1997: £4 million). This was achieved on turnover up 83% to £318 million (1997: £173 million) for the six months to June 30.

PEUGEOT'S all-new 206 - the long-awaited replacement for the 205 which established itself as an icon and the spiritual leader of the marque - could become the French manufacturer's best-selling UK model next year. Sales are expected to total 60,000 units - about 3% of the UK market - with fleets buying about 30%.

BRITAIN'S number one diesel manufacturer is leading the fightback against the anti-diesel lobby. As Peugeot and its sister company Citroen prepare to launch a revolutionary new range of diesel engines in the UK, managing director Dick Parham has pledged to lead the fight.

DUAL-fuel gas-powered Peugeot 306 and 406 models are to go on sale in the UK next spring. The French factory-produced cars are on sale in Belgium, France and Italy on the strength of significant Government-inspired fiscal incentives.

FLEETS face massive increases in car hire rates after daily rental giant Hertz announced it was increasing its charges by an average of 15% with effect from September 21. All the major rental operators are likely to follow Hertz's move in the very near future, having openly expressed their desperate need to increase hire rates.

THE Ministry of Defence is to fully outsource its 10,000-strong non-operational 'white fleet' with the potential £1 billion-plus 10-year contracts to be awarded next year. The MoD's fleet - which excludes the 2,800 RAF 'white fleet' vehicles already outsourced to Lex Vehicle Leasing - will be broken down into five separate contracts on a regional basis - Scotland, central Britain, London, the south and south west.

A HANDFUL of places remains vacant to join about 200 of Europe's top fleet decision-makers at the first Automotive Congress Europe conference in Geneva on September 29 and 30. The event will bring together pan-European fleet, leasing and rental experts for a high-powered two-day examination of the fast-growing European fleet market.

ROVER Group has scrapped the first service on most of its cars and 4x4 models as the company joins the growing list of manufacturers to make the move in a bid to reduce operating costs. Extended first service intervals now apply to the Rover 200 (except those with the VVC engine), the Tourer, 400 (except 416 automatic), the 620 diesel, 820 and 825 petrol registered on or after August 1 (S-plate).

UP to 400,000 company cars are at stake in a series of major global leasing deals, it was claimed this week. Lease Plan International is in a series of negotiations - some preliminary, some advanced - with pan-European and worldwide fleets which run 400,000 vehicles between them, double the size of Lease Plan's own global fleet.

SWINDON-based Petrol Express - which trades as Thames Rico Service Stations - has launched a fuel card in conjunction with Cendant Business Answers, a division of Cendant Business Partners. The Account Express Card will operate from more than 75 Petrol Express sites and initially involve more than 200 business accounts.

GOVERNMENT restrictions on grey imports are to be subject to a judicial review after independent motor traders won the first round of a High Court action. The British Independent Motor Trade Association wants the current quota of 50 cars a year on any single model lifted, claiming it could save UK customers thousands of pounds by sourcing cars outside franchised dealer networks.

LOW volume British sports car manufacturer The Healey Sprite Motor Company has outlined plans to launch a light 4x4 utility vehicle. Named Workhorse, drivetrain and chassis are to be sourced from India, while the bodyshell and interior are to be designed and assembled at the firm's Maidenhead plant.