News - Page 2308

FORD chairman Ian McAllister has admitted the company's decision to significantly cut daily rental sales last year had been 'risky' - but had resulted in improvements throughout the business this year. McAllister said Ford had found the right balance between daily rental sales and fleet sales, and had forced up residuals in the key fleet market segments.

THIRTY of Ford's major fleet customers have been to Germany to see the new Ford Escort, which will go on sale in Britain in a year's time. The fleet chiefs are understood to have been fully briefed on the car by Ford's design team and their impressions will prove influential in terms of finalising engine and trim variants for the UK and marketing tactics.

LEXUS is to distance itself further from its mass market parent company as it prepares to launch a new prestige compact executive car which should see a five-fold increase in sales. The company is to reduce its dealer network - shared with Toyota - in favour of larger territories and stand-alone sites before revealing a new BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class contender in 1999.

FORD could import the new 'baby' Lincoln to the UK in a bid to compete with General Motors, which starts to import the Cadillac Seville in the second quarter of 1998. The Lincoln, which will be launched in the United States of America at the end of next year, is a rival to the BMW 5-series, Lexus, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz in the same way as the Seville.

CALOR Gas has announced it will open 25 public refuelling stations for liquefied petroleum gas within the M25 ring during the next 12 months, and has called for the Government to back LPG with a long term commitment. Calor's initiative aims to break the chicken and egg cycle which has stopped buyers switching to LPG because of the paucity of the refuelling network, and stopped gas suppliers investing in filling stations because of lack of public demand.

A CAVALCADE of close to 100 clean-fuelled vehicles drove from Battersea Park to Earls Court on the opening day of the London Motor Show. The convoy was organised by Powershift, the Energy Saving Trust's three-year programme aimed at establishing clean emission vehicles in the UK.

FORD is to launch a 50-strong gas vehicle demonstration fleet to give companies, local authorities and health authorities the chance to test the 'clean and green' fuel a year ahead of selling gas-powered vehicles through its dealers. The fleet of compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles will be launched early next year and will comprise both cars and vans including 2.0-litre Mondeos and 2.0-litre Transits.

FUEL company Fina has outsourced management of its 200-strong British car fleet to Cardiff-based First Mutual Contracts. The leasing company has been supplying Fina with cars for some years, but has now been chosen to take on management of the mixed-badge fleet as well. The role was previously handled in-house, but staff have been relocated within Fina.

FLEET Cost Management Services has been appointed to handle maintenance of British Waterways' 350-strong fleet of commercial vehicles. The fleet, mainly made up of Ford Transits and other LCVs, is used in five regions across the country for the maintenance of canals and other waterways. Vehicles are outright purchased and typically replaced every four years.

HEALTHCARE company Biocompatibles has fully outsourced its fleet with Fleetlease. Farnham-based Biocompatibles previously dealt with a range of suppliers - principally Cowie - for contract hire, while handling administration in house. However, it has now opted for an all-round package with Fleetlease.

NEXT-generation Honda cars are set to be powered by the cleanest petrol engines in the world, the company claimed this week. On the eve of the Tokyo motor show, Honda president Nobuhiko Kawamoto hailed the latest powertrain developments as a technological breakthrough which had finally paved the way for the petrol-driven zero-level emission vehicle.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant BT is to offer its 200,000 employees and pensioners access to Lex Vehicle Leasing's FreeChoice personal contract purchase scheme. The PCP package will form part of BT's 'Benefits Plus Scheme', a wide ranging portfolio of employee benefits.

BCR Vehicle Rental has launched a pilot scheme in central London aimed at encouraging infrequent car users to give up their vehicle and opt instead for daily rental. The BCR Privilege Rental Club offers flexible, discounted car rental as an alternative to car ownership, saving customers the cost of running their own car or second car, and removing the associated urban hassles of parking and security.

THE Government appreciates and is sympathetic to how integral the company car is to the functioning of both British business and motor manufacturers, according to Association of Car Fleet Operators chairman Tony Leigh. He was speaking after meeting junior transport minister Glenda Jackson for 60 minutes to discuss the Government's attitude towards the company car and how fleet managers can help the Government achieve its aim of an integrated transport policy.

INSURANCE broking and financial services group Sedgwick is to appoint a fleet manager to run its 1,500 company cars, in preparation for the retirement of senior fleet co-ordinator Alan Thrower. Thrower, who worked for Noble Lowndes prior to its merger with Sedgwick in 1993, will leave in January. A spokesman said the company would not be appointing another senior fleet co-ordinator. Instead it would take on a fleet manager whose role would include re-assessing all areas of fleet policy.

VAUXHALL is restructuring its dealer network to include fewer major dealerships and more satellite operations. The move, next spring, will result in about 600 sites - compared to a dealer network of around 500 dealerships - but the number of main dealership operations will be reduced.

TOYOTA has unveiled the first mass-produced hybrid power car - which switches between a traditional petrol engine and an electric motor - amid speculation as to whether the vehicle will go on sale in the UK. The Prius has been launched in Japan with the manufacturer expecting to sell about 1,000 units a month after the upper medium sector hatchback goes on sale in Japan on December 10.

THE Government has vowed to curb traffic growth as the latest National Road Traffic Forecasts predict worsening congestion over the next two months. Traffic Minister Gaving Strang said inaction was not an option and aid reducing congestion was at the heart of the Government's consultation process.

BSM Fleet Training could be operating on a pan-European basis by the end of the century following parent company BSM's £1.8 million acquisition of a Dutch driving school. Britain's largest driving school's first foray into Europe comes with the purchase of Verkeersoefencentrum Zuid-Nederland, which last year taught 4,400 new pupils.

SAAB is preparing to launch a wave of crucial new models next year following the recent debut of the 9-5 saloon. The Swedish manufacturer says business sales will be vital for its first diesel model launch in March, new V6 9-5 models are set to be launched in February or March, and the 9-5 estate will hit the market later in the year.

THE final stages of Republic Industries' acquisition of EuroDollar have seen Ian Mosley, chief executive of EuroDollar, leave the company. Mosley urged EuroDollar shareholders to accept Republic's £95.1 million bid for the company in August, at which time the entire EuroDollar management team was expected to remain in place.

THE Ministry of Defence has taken the first steps to outsourcing the remainder of its 11,000-strong support vehicle fleet with a pre-tender conference in York. About 30 leading leasing companies attended the meeting, at which MoD officials outlined their requirements for the private sector management of the Armed Forces' 'White Fleet' under the Government's Private Finance Initiative.

FEARS that the company car could be a cash-raising target in the spring Budget have been dampened by Prime Minister Tony Blair. Questioned about the likelihood of the Government increasing company car tax in the spring he said: 'I would not believe everything you read in the newspapers, but it is up to the Chancellor.'

FLEET managers must mount a massive awareness campaign to educate company car drivers about the dangers of drink-driving before a likely reduction in the blood-alcohol limit. The Government is expected to introduce legislation cutting the current 80mg limit per 100ml of blood to 50mg within the next year - virtually halving the amount of alcohol a driver can drink before risking his licence.

BRITAIN'S two largest car manufacturers have called on the Government to introduce major incentives - including reductions in company car tax - to encourage fleets to operate 'clean and green' gas-powered vehicles. Ford and Vauxhall each urged the Government to take radical action to incentivise the widespread introduction of compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles as both announced major fleet initiatives on gas-powered cars and vans.

INTERNATIONAL Motors and Suzuki are both preparing to launch dealer training programmes with a view to creating specialist fleet dealerships. The moves come as the companies prepare for what they hope will be the expiry in the year 2000 of restrictions on the number of Japanese vehicles they can import.

CHRYSLER has appointed its first national corporate sales manager, although the company will continue to specialise in selling to user-choosers and small fleets with no plans to take on the major manufacturers. Graham Powell has joined Chrysler Jeep Imports UK after 11 years with Toyota to head up the corporate sales team which also includes two special sales executives.

TRISTAR Cars has taken delivery of the first of a fleet of Honda Legends - the largest yet order in the UK for the executive car. Tristar plans to run around 30 Legend models to meet the growing aspirations of its 'One Level' executive chauffeur fleet. The company provides luxury road travel for passengers of major airlines and blue chip corporate accounts centred principally around major UK airports and in the London area.

A CAR which has been on sale for only two weeks is already subject to delivery delays of at least six months. Unprecedented showroom success of the new Jaguar XJ8 has brought a flood of orders to outstrip the supply of the car.

VOLVO has revealed a 'warm' version of the 40 series for customers who want more pace than the standard cars without the tearaway performance of the new T4. The new 2.0T uses a light pressure turbo to deliver 160bhp in a slightly more restrained fashion than the scorching T4.