News - Page 2289

CONTRACT hire and leasing companies are forecasting very different maintenance budgets and residual values for alternatively fuelled vehicles. The paucity of historic data on both the running costs of gas-powered vehicles and demand for them on the second-hand market is forcing the industry to take a stab into the dark with its forecasts.

THE Government intends the £25 levy to be charged on new cars to remain fixed at that level for a number of years to come. Consultation on the new fee ended last week.

WEIRD science employed in an April Fool's spoof has become reality after BMW engineers announced they had produced a 'dirt-proof' windscreen coating. Developed in the aviation industry, the technology to make glass water and dirt-resistant is now available on the BMW 8-series.

CREDIT hire and repair specialist Helphire Group has appointed Avis Rent a Car as premier supplier of rental vehicles in a £2 million deal involving around 500 cars a day. Helphire says it has experienced a growing need for rental vehicles to supplement its own expanding fleet - which currently stands at around 1,000 vehicles - but has until now used a range of daily rental suppliers.

MITSUBISHI is planning to be Europe's first manufacturer to offer route guidance as standard in a family car. The breakthrough move will be made when the Dutch-built MGX hatchback is introduced at the end of this year.

LONDON'S business community wants transport to be the number one priority of the planned Greater London Authority. A new survey by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry reveals that 55% of the capital's business leaders want the authority - which would give London an elected mayor and assembly - to put transport at the top of its agenda.

PRACTICALITIES such as safety, economy and security are killing off company car drivers' desire to run 'flashy' GTI-style cars, according to Autoglass.

POLICE in four counties are to trial road-side drug testing equipment, after Government research showed that nearly one in five drivers killed in accidents had taken illicit drugs. Forces in Cleveland, Lancashire, Strathclyde and Sussex will test two devices, one which tests sweat wiped from the forehead and another which analyses saliva on drivers. They will be stopped at random, but can choose whether to take the test.

RYLAND Multifleet is set to enjoy savings of about 70% on the cost of communicating with National Car Rental by using the Internet rather than the telephone. The leasing and fleet management company is using the Internet to carry out booking, quotation and reservation checking for its short-term hire vehicle supply.

FORWARD Trust has appointed Michael Darby as national business development manager for the public sector side of its commercial vehicle division. His goal is to target customers within local authorities, the NHS, ambulance and fire services, and the waste management industry, helping clients with the specification, funding and maintenance of vehicles ranging from light commercial vans to heavy commercial vehicles.

CITROEN has won the contract to supply Sheffield City Council with vans for its construction and engineering departments. The 87-vehicle deal comprises 53 Relay short wheelbase vans and 14 assorted Relay derivatives, 18 Berlingo 1.8D 600 vans and two Berlingo 1.9D 800 vans.

NEW income-based fines guidelines published by the Magistrates Association will see high earning traffic offenders paying significantly higher financial penalties than those on lower salaries. The latest sentencing guidelines give magistrates examples of appropriate fines for offenders with incomes of £100 net per week, £250 net per week, or £600 net per week.

POLICE may be given new powers to stop and breath-test drivers during temporary drink-drive clampdowns near pubs or clubs. Although the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions stresses that no decision has yet been made, there has been widespread speculation that the new powers will become law next year.

AGGRESSIVE front end prices, strong residual values and low maintenance costs have made the Toyota Avensis one of the cheapest cars to contract hire in the upper medium sector. The well-specified and aggressively priced Carina E replacement is at or near the top of the contract hire charts according to three leading leasing companies.

LIAISON VAT Consultancy has handed over full management of its 55-vehicle fleet to BCH Vehicle Management. The company - which provides VAT consultancy services to the NHS, land and property commercial sector and education and charitable organisations - previously handled its fleet in-house, but decided to outsource management in order to reduce administration and cost.

VOLKSWAGEN Financial Services is launching a banking operation in the UK to offer customers a wide range of motor-related banking products. These will add loans and deposit schemes to VWFS's current portfolio of instalment finance, leasing, stocking, service and maintenance products.

LAND Rover has maintained its position as the cheapest marque to repair according to the latest quarterly VELO Fleet Insurance Report. The accident and claims management specialist said the average repair cost of a Land Rover was £397, while Mazda was the most expensive marque to repair at an average cost of £738.

SIXT Leasing has launched an operation in the UK, the latest addition to the company's pan-European network in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. Sixt Leasing has a fleet of 26,000 vehicles in Germany, and is a division of the massive German daily rental company which last year entered the UK with the acquisition of European Car Rental.

MORE than 13,000 individuals accessed Fleet NewsNet - the Emap Automotive Internet website - in January. And during the month the site registered 292,000 'hits', an increase in excess of 100,000 compared to December 1997. The figures, monitored by London-based information technology specialist Aspect Internet Marketing, were announced less than four weeks after Fleet NewsNet introduced a new design to allow faster access and improved functionality.

MOTORCYCLES look set to become increasingly attractive to businesses searching for congestion-busting transport options. The bike market is experiencing a sales boom and the Motor Cycle Industry association (MCI) is expecting the growth to continue this year, partly in response to the Government's transport white paper due out in May.

SIMON Elliott is leaving his post as Toyota GB corporate sales general manager to become sales director of Toyota Belgium. Elliott has spent nearly 10 years with Toyota GB and has headed the company's corporate sales operation for 18 months. He was previously regional general manager responsible for dealers in the south of England.

THE Government Car Service is resisting pressure from ministers to broaden the choice of vehicles available to them as 'company cars'. Disgruntled junior ministers are allegedly calling for a wider selection of vehicles than the current list of four upper medium models.

SPECULATION is mounting that Ford is preparing to increase its stake in the Kia Motors Corporation as the Korean manufacturer continues to gear up for its UK fleet launch. Ford executives have been in negotiations for several months with Kia bosses and it is believed those talks are with a view to the company increasing its existing stake in the manufacturer.

VAUXHALL and Europcar are each 'one in a thousand' after being two of 33 companies across Europe out of a possible 33,000 to be presented with Supplier Excellence Awards by Honeywell Control Systems. The awards were presented by Roger Sterling, Honeywell's vice-president procurement international, to Vauxhall fleet director Mike Bonner, the manufacturer's Honeywell account manager Rob Hopkins and Gail Barrell, Europcar's Honeywell account manager.

VAUXHALL is offering fleet customers a new range of discounted driver training courses with BSM Fleet Training. Vauxhall and BSM have been working together since 1994. Last year 960 fleets took advantage of the link-up - up 50% on the previous year.

SPECIALIST air conditioning service contractor Team National has become the latest fleet to take delivery of Mitsubishi Carisma GDI models as new wholelife costs figures show the 'green' car to be the cheapest vehicle in its class. Six Carisma 1.8 GLX five-door models have been added to the 30-plus fleet of Team National.

LEASE Plan commercial director Steve Dunn has resigned a month after former operations director Howard Thomas was promoted to managing director. Dunn is being replaced by Nick Salkeld - commercial director of sister company Automotive Leasing - while Graham Rixon comes in to fill the vacancy left by Thomas's move.

TRIALS of a new prototype electric van by BAA Heathrow could result in the replacement of many conventionally-fuelled vehicles used at the airport. BAA Heathrow is trialling the van, which incorporates quick-charge technology, for two months.

SEVENTY-five MPs have lent their support to an Early Day Motion pressing the Government to support the use of liquefied petroleum gas for vehicles. Simultaneously there have been calls for special tax breaks to encourage fleet use of gas-powered cars.

CALOR Gas has won the Institute of Transport Management's 1997 Award for Excellence for Environmental Fuels. The award recognises companies and products which have made a contribution to more environmentally-aware transport systems.