News - Page 2285

FLEETS have been urged by bosses of one of Britain's leading high street stores to adopt driver training as it embarks on an even more ambitious scheme to have 'professional people in a professional industry'.

THE Retail Motor Industry Federation will step up its war against people who tamper with vehicle mileage recorders despite a recent Government decision to take no further action on setting up an 'anti-clocking' register.

AROUND 450 road deaths and serious injuries could be avoided each year if Britain adopted European Central Time, according to a new report.

FLEETS are being targeted for practical risk management advice from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

SANDERSON Bramall Motor Group has announced pre-tax profits for 1997 of £14.05m - 14% up on 1996 - helped by strong car sales.

A COMBINATION of carefully considered carrots and sticks will be needed to persuade company car drivers to reduce their dependence on their vehicles according to a new survey.

VAT changes which came into effect almost three years ago and could save companies £8-£11 a month on an average fleet car have still to be understood by many businesses, according to GE Capital Fleet Services' managing director Jonathan Burr.

FAST-growing GE Capital Fleet Services' European fleet has hit the 300,000 mark and its UK fleet - the largest in Europe - now exceeds 90,000 vehicles.

HYUNDAI has added extra specification to a mildly-facelifted Lantra but pegged or reduced list prices.

DEALERSHIP group and contract hire operation Pendragon has announced pre-tax profits of £15.1 million for 1997, up 30% on 1996's £12.6 million.

COMMUTERS who drive in to work look set to become public enemy number one as the Government pinpoints parking controls as a key means of traffic restraint.

TOYOTA'S Prius - the first production car to be powered by a petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain - made its European show debut at Geneva.

GENERAL Motors and powertrain development partner Isuzu Motors are to launch the first 'common rail' direct injection four-valve diesel engine in a 4x4 this year.

VAUXHALL'S Renault Scenic rival - the Zafira - will go on sale in the UK early next year, it was revealed at the show.

A DRAMATIC bid for major-player status across European markets was launched when Toyota unveiled two significant new models on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show.

MOTOR industry chiefs have issued a last-ditch 'hands-off the company car' plea to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown as he puts the finishing touches to Tuesday's long-awaited Budget.

FORD dealers could soon be making some of their customers an offer they cannot refuse.

DAEWOO unveiled its new small car - the Matiz - to the world at the Geneva Motor Show with the vehicle due to be launched in the UK in September.

MANUFACTURERS have reacted with surprise at Ford's radical move to extend service intervals to an industry-leading 15,000-miles on its new lower medium sector car.

FLEET diesel sales in line with the total new car diesel market increased last month thereby reversing the downward trend of recent months.

MORE than 1,000 people will be at the 1998 Fleet News Awards to be held on Wednesday (March 18) at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

PEUGEOT is raising the stakes in the upper medium sector with the introduction of a battery of specification upgrades - including standard ABS - across the 406 range.

BUDGET tax changes could increase costs to business if tough new measures trigger an exodus from company cars according to accountant KPMG.

PHH Vehicle Management Services has pledged to maintain the Dialcard and Overdrive fuel card brands, and to keep open Fleet Cost Management's operation in Solihull, following its acquisition of Harpur UK last year.

FLEET News' Budget Breakfast has sold out after 150 fleet decision-makers rushed to book their places at the essential forum to be held on March 24 to learn about the implications on their fleets of Tuesday's announcement.

COMPANY car drivers will bite the bullet of higher company car tax, rather than give up their car, a pre-Budget Fleet News/Kwik-Fit Fleet survey reveals.

CRASH repair costs on the new Vauxhall Astra have been cut by up to 50% thereby savings fleets money and vehicle downtime.

TREASURY bosses have said the views of fleets chiefs in response to the Fleet News-inspired 'Driving Business Forward - the future of the company car and business transport' report have been considered in the run-up to Tuesday's Budget.

MORE than four in five company car and van drivers have received no driver training according to new research from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

FLEET sales continued to run at record levels last month with February's figures 4.1% up on February 1997 at 85,142 units, according to figures released this week by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.