News - Page 2303

THE Government is expected to announce plans to reform company car tax in next Tuesday's pre-Budget report. It is expected that central to the reforms will be the proposed abolition of the existing 2,500- and 18,000-mile tax breaks, which the previous Conservative Government declared were sacred in the run-up to the 1994 reform of company car taxation.

ALL ministerial and Government cars are to be gradually replaced with vehicles which run on gas as well as petrol under an initiative aimed at encouraging use of greener fuels. The Government Car and Despatch Agency's fleet of 176 cars will be replaced with converted vehicles over the next six years at a rate of about 20 a year in line with usual three-year/ 60,0000-mile replacement cycles.

VAUXHALL has renewed a quartet of major fleet solus and preferred supply deals covering a maximum of almost 6,000 vehicles. The company this week announced new contracts with SmithKline Beecham, Laing Construction, George Wimpey plc and Comcast Europe which take the manufacturer into the next century.

BUSINESSES could save £2.2 billion and predicted nightmare traffic congestion levels could be avoided if companies utilise information technology. Two highways - the virtual highway and the real road - must run side by side with new technology playing a vital part in curbing congestion chaos, according to the RAC.

FLEET operators and car-makers will play a key role in developing environmental technologies for the future as part of the Government's newly-established Cleaner Vehicles Task Force. Co-chaired by Transport Minister Gavin Strang and Ford of Britain chairman Ian McAllister, the new public-private sector partnership will have a wide-ranging brief to promote the use of existing and emerging environmental technologies in vehicles for the new millennium.

THE gap between the most and least expensive car makes to repair has closed significantly over the past 15 months. The latest VELO Fleet Insurance Report has identified Land Rover as the cheapest marque to repair, with an average cost per repair of £418, and Mazda as the most expensive at £725 per claim, a difference of £307.

DEDICATED claims and accident management companies are focusing on the fleet sector as changes in the insurance market bring about a decline in their traditional sources of business. Referrals from high street brokers are falling as direct insurance takes a growing share of the personal business, leading accident management companies to offer their specialist skills to new markets.

SSANGYONG has become the latest vehicle manufacturer to trial a car with Britain's police forces. Previously the domain of the 'big three' more and more police fleets are looking for alternatives and in the past few months manufacturers such as Honda, Fiat, SEAT, Saab and Daihatsu were among manufacturers who entered the police fleet market.

TOYOTA has stepped up its fight to conquer the fleet market with the unveiling of its long-awaited Carina E replacement Avensis. Targeted directly at the likes of the Mondeo, Vectra and Laguna, Toyota is hoping the Avensis combination of smooth styling, high specification and an impressive safety package will win the hearts of fleet operators and become an aspirational car for user-choosers.

HOME-grown Toyota models will be attacking key volume market sectors across Europe by the end of the decade. The company's next B-class car will complete a trio of European-inspired and produced vehicles aimed at hitting Ford and General Motors hard in the showrooms, claims Toyota Motor Europe marketing vice-chairman Alan Marsh.

HIGHER road fuel taxes offer the most cost-effective way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but increasing fuel taxation by itself will not be sufficient to achieve the Government's environmental objectives, according to Transport Minister Gavin Strang. He was responding to a letter from Jim Sowler, managing director of Southport-based worldwide animal feed supplier Tithebarn, which operates an 80-strong multi-badge fleet of diesel cars with vehicles averaging around 30,000 miles.

A FORMER fleet industry director is attempting to launch a concerted environmental campaign to green up the fleet industry. Richard Mehmed has given up his job as sales director with Town & Country Assistance to concentrate on establishing a non-profit-making environmental consultancy - backed by a wide-ranging campaign.

KENNING Car Van and Truck Rental is taking delivery of a fleet of 100 Land Rover Defenders for winter use by customers. The rental company has so far taken delivery of 70 vehicles with the remaining 30 due to be delivered this week. The diesel-powered fleet includes Defender 110 Station Wagons, Defender 110 Hard Tops and Defender 90 Hard Tops.

FOUR Isuzu Trooper commercials are doubling up as chauffeur cars due to their smooth ride and comfortable interiors. Better known for their rugged off-road prowess and go-anywhere abilities, the four-wheel-drive vans are being used by engineers to transport important clients to inaccessible construction sites. Other duties include towing and transportation of tools and equipment.

LEX Vehicle Leasing has won a sale and leaseback deal to supply vehicles to Forth Ports. Lex beat seven of its close rivals to win the contract hire deal with Forth Ports, which operates six ports on the east coast of Scotland and Tilbury in Essex.

COMPANIES and company car drivers who make the effort to shop around for the lowest fuel prices will profit significantly, while filling station prices continue to vary massively nationwide. The latest monthly fuel report from fuel card company PHH AllStar claims a 400-strong fleet could save £189,353 a year by consistently buying the lowest priced fuel available.

MANUFACTURERS have been urged to ensure hi-tech in-car traffic information systems are 'affordable and accessible' to help motorists beat congestion hot-spots. The plea comes from Pete Johnson, AA managing director, as the motoring organisation publishes its latest quarterly traffic index which reveals that 'the stretched seams of Britain's road network burst open' in the summer.

CITROEN has taken the battle for the hearts and minds of the leasing industry on to the roads with a national tour of major contract hire companies. Complete with 12-metre battle bus, the Citroen fleet sales team visited leading players like Lex Vehicle Leasing, Swan National and Leasecontracts with the Xsara roadshow.

DRIVERS who use mobile telephones or 'adjust, operate or view' in-car traffic information screens while on the move will be in breach of the Highway Code under new provisions outlined this week. The revised version of the Code - the first changes since 1993 - is designed to reflect road safety concerns and traffic conditions and practices.

FORWARD Trust is restructuring its motor operations to further boost its contract hire and leasing business - Swan National. The move - the result of a doubling of Swan National's fleet size to 51,000 units since it was acquired by Forward Trust four years ago and expansion into Europe - focuses on the finance company withdrawing from the retail point of sale finance market.

TIME is running out for fleet managers and fleet decision-makers to book their places at the 1997 Fleet News Roadshows. So far 130 delegates have booked their places at the events to be held at Sopwell House, St Albans on December 2 and The Donington Thistle Hotel, East Midlands Airport on December 9. All delegates will have the opportunity to attend three 75-minute seminars delivered by industry experts from accountant Deloitte & Touche, Shell Fuel and Fleet Services and Swan National. And, at Sopwell House, software specialist Tranman Solutions will be joining the line-up with a demonstration of its systems.

FLEETS have been urged to look more closely at when they buy and sell their company cars to ensure they maximise residual values with the imminent introduction of a new registration plate system. The Government will shortly announce the abolition of the present August 1 plate change and the introduction, from March 1, 1999, of a new twice-yearly system. The second plate change will take place on September 1.

THE Government is putting up £5 million to assist British technology companies develop sophisticated on-board systems to make the mass market car of the 21st century as safe and efficient as possible.

FLEETS should shop around for more than the cheapest quote when looking for a contract hire supplier. Value for money should be judged on more criteria than cost alone according to Godfrey Davis Contract Hire managing director John Lyons.

THE move to taxation of company cars on the basis of price has had little impact on fleet buying habits, according to the latest National Travel Survey. The report, covering 1994 to 1996, published by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, examines the travel habits of people living in Britain.

AUTOLEASE has cleaned up with a solus supply deal with Birmingham-based We Are Cleaning. The nationwide commercial and industrial cleaning company runs a fleet of about 100 vehicles and Autolease has already supplied two dozen cars to it.

VAN sales have continued to increase in 1997 and October was no different with sales of light vans totalling 6,987 (October 1996: 6,612) and sales of panel vans totalling 12,033 (October 1996: 10,261).

THE continuing increase in fleet sales offset a drop in retail sales to ensure that October's new car sales figures were 1.3% up on October 1996. Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures reveal that fleet sales last month were 77,104 (October 1996: 73,328) - a rise of 5.1% - which enabled total new car sales to increase 1.3% to 156,706 (October 1996: 154,733).

LEASE PLAN has scooped a sole supply deal to provide more than 100 vehicles to global credit card company Visa International. The contract includes disposal and acquisition, maintenance, accident management, direct driver contact and Lease Plan's new portfolio of electronic communication products.

CLOCKERS are finding it increasingly hard to sell the cars they have tampered with to dealers, according to Experian and Vehicle Mileage Check. Research shows that dealers who check the mileages of cars they are offered with VMC, which is available through Experian's VIN-based Car Data Check, have seen a 40% drop in the number of clocked vehicles they are faced with.