News - Page 2294

SPECULATION is mounting that the Government's controversial plan to introduce a £25 new vehicle registration fee on April 1 could be the precursor to the abolition of or introduction of a graduated road fund licence with fuel duties increasing to compensate. The £25 registration fee sparked fury in the fleet and motor industry when Transport Minister Gavin Strang made the 'out of the blue' announcement.

FLEET Cost Management has begun shedding senior staff following its takeover by PHH Vehicle Management Services' parent company HFS Inc, which also bought Overdrive and Dialcard fuel card business and accident management organisation Automanagement. Last week the Department of Trade and Industry gave the go-ahead for the acquisition after a call for it to be referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission because the deal would give PHH a virtual monopoly of the multi-brand fuel card market was refused.

FLEET NewsNet readers are being asked to give their backing to 'Driving Business Forward - the future of the company car and Business Transport'. All responses endorsing the report will be forwarded to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to ensure the voice of the fleet industry is heard.

FLEET and motor industry leaders have united behind a major new report which underlines the importance of the company car and stresses the role businesses are playing in cleaning up the environment. 'Driving Business Forward - the future of the company car and business transport' - was launched at the House of Commons this week and received immediate support from MPs and peers of all parties.

VOLKSWAGEN continues to face the wrath of prospective Passat customers who are still waiting for vehicles ordered months ago. The manufacturer's dealer network is working hard to place every spare vehicle in the country with a waiting customer, but some are not prepared to accept an alternative vehicle.

FLEET managers have just this weekend to enter the 1998 Fleet News Awards with the deadline for submissions being Monday, February 2. Entry forms for the seven fleet manager awards - Fleet Manager of the Year in charge of small, medium and large fleets, awards for safety, security and environmental measures and the prestigious UK Fleet of the Year Award - were with the January 2 issue of Fleet News. Copies of the entry form can still be obtained from Sandra Evitt on 01733 467084.

AT&T Automotive Services has won the sole supplier deal to fund and run accountancy firm Latham, Crossley and Davis's fleet of almost 60 management cars. The fleet, which includes BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Volkswagen, was previously outright purchased and run in-house.

RADIO station operator UKRD Group is moving its 30-strong, Vauxhall Tigra-based fleet on to contract hire. Chief executive Mike Powell, who owns and operates eight radio stations, has so far taken delivery of 12 Tigras and three Vauxhall Calibras on contract hire through Vauxhall Master Hire, with the rest of the fleet due to be replaced within the next six months.

NEW business totalling £25 million won Jeremy Heron the salesman of the year title at GE Capital Fleet Services. Heron, who leads the northern new business team, was presented with the keys to a BMW 840i Coupe for use as his company car by GE Capital Fleet Services managing director Jonathan Burr and also received an engraved crystal award to mark his achievement. A Concorde trip to Greenland will follow.

INTERNATIONAL process engineering company Purac has outsourced its fleet to Powermarque in a £1.1 million deal. The arrangement will see Powermarque fund 60 new Peugeot 406s on contract hire, along with accident management, daily rental, driver liaison and fuel card management.

CARDIFF-based First Mutual Contracts has installed David Henley Systems' contract hire fleet management system Fleetman after a two-year development period. John Tumelty, FMC's operations director, said the new system would enable the company to improve radically its management of information.

PERSONAL contract purchase schemes will play an even greater part in new car sales in the future, according to Volkswagen Financial Services. PCPs already account for 30% of VW Group products sold with finance, and VWFS believes this figure could explode if the Government hits company car tax dramatically in the March 17 Budget.

FAST growing Nexus Media Communications has switched from outright purchase to contract hire for its 100-strong car fleet. Axus UK has won the sole supply contract which will see a sale and leaseback of 60 of Nexus's cars, while 40 others due for renewal will be replaced with contract hired vehicles.

TLS's contract hire division TLS Auto Rentals has been awarded a five-year contract to supply vehicles to The City and County of Swansea. The deal includes Escort vans, Ford Transit LWB vans, a range of Iveco tippers and Iveco LWB panel vans, all of which will carry the local authority's logo and be liveried in both English and Welsh.

SOVEREIGN Fleet Services - the fleet leasing subsidiary of the Alliance and Leicester - is bidding for a three-fold increase in its fleet size by early next century. Manchester-based Sovereign Fleet Services was established last June, eight months after the acquisition of Sovereign Finance by the Alliance and Leicester through its Girobank subsidiary.

DAILY rental giant Hertz Corporation has launched a leasing company offering customers a vehicle on contracts of anything from one day to four years. This new Hertz Leasing - the former Hertz Leasing is now called Axus - aims to operate in every European country by the end of next year, and become one of the top five pan-European leasing companies by 2002.

VOLKSWAGEN has launched a new 75bhp Caddy Van 1.6P - the most powerful engine available in the car-derived high-cube van. The new model is powered by the 1.6-litre multi-point fuel-injected petrol engine used in the Polo saloon and hatchback and has a retail price of £8,445.

BOLTON Metropolitan Borough Council has taken on 59 LDV vehicles as part of its on-going fleet replacement programme. This is the third consecutive year that the authority has bought mainly LDV vehicles.

PEUGEOT is increasing production of the 106 GTI, following a three-month build up of orders in 1997. The sporty version of the restyled 106 went on sale in January last year. During 1997 more than 1,300 customers took delivery of a new 106 GTI, but Peugeot believes that figure could double in 1998.

ADRIAN Rice has left Adrian Truck Hire to set up a new company, Acrobat Vehicle Rental, specialising in the rental of refrigerated vans and trucks. The move comes three years after Rice and his family sold Reading-based Adrian Truck Hire to Transport Development Group.

TOWN & Country Assistance has launched a new service, Fleet Cost Controller, designed to ensure that fleets are not being overcharged for servicing and repairs. Under the new service Town & Country will appoint a fleet engineer to check costs for each client, controlling and reducing costs while cutting customers' administration time.

VAUXHALL has defended on safety grounds its decision to position the navigation system Carin out of the driver's line of vision in the Omega. Drivers have complained that it is impossible to consult the screen while driving, making it difficult to find the correct lane when driving in urban conditions.

A FORD Galaxy equipped as an armed response vehicle has been on test with a number of UK police forces. Prepared by Ford Special Vehicle Preparations in conjunction with Ford Special Vehicle Operations, the ARV Galaxy is designed to provide the rapid response capability needed for ARV patrols.

LABOUR MP Tom Levitt has called for tax relief on the use of company minibuses which are used to reduce employees' reliance on private cars. Levitt raised the point in the House of Commons after it was highlighted by an engineering company, Brake Linings, in his Derbyshire constituency.

BMW is implementing a series of steps to improve its aftersales service - including the introduction of free accident management and uninsured loss recovery by Mondial Assistance for BMW users. The manufacturer's Emergency Service Cover offered to customers will also grow, with the fleet of technician-manned BMW 5 Series Tourings - operated by Mondial Assistance - due to increase to more than 50 during 1998. It currently stands at around 40.

USE of sophisticated security systems has resulted in fewer new cars being stolen or broken into - but fleets are being warned that commercial vehicles could be next on the criminal agenda. Home office minister Alun Michael says that although vehicle crime fell by more than 9% during 1997, there is no room for complacency.

SAFETY is at the heart of Transport Minister Gavin Strang's European presidency agenda as he outlined plans for an annual report on transport safety across the European Union aimed at reducing transport-related deaths and injuries. Around 45,000 people are killed annually on European roads. Strang said: 'I want to set in motion a process which will eventually result in effective action to save lives.' Further safety measures which the UK intends to progress include a directive on roadside checks on commercial vehicles.

ROAD tolls to fund much-needed investment may be necessary to cut the £19 billion annual cost of congestion to British business, according to the Confederation of British Industry. CBI director general Adair Turner has called for an extra £2.5 billion a year for the next decade to be pumped into transport by the Government.

DAEWOO has formally agreed to take a controlling share in Korean rival manufacturer SsangYong Motor after weeks of negotiations. Under the terms of the deal, Daewoo will pay $35.5 million for SsangYong and assume around half of the manufacturer's $1.88 billion debt to gain a stake of 51.98% - 48% of which will be held by Daewoo's motor division.

THE proposed switch to twice-yearly registration plate changes could create more problems for the motor industry, according to the latest Lex Report. The authors predict potential for 'twin peaks' of a similar scale to the current August rush as car-buyers delay ordering new cars to coincide with the new registration letter.