News - Page 2309

VOLKSWAGEN has reorganised its fleet department as the manufacturer's company car sales continue to soar to record levels. Although there are no changes in personnel and the fleet department still numbers 25 people, Volkswagen fleet chief Vince Kinner becomes head of fleet with responsibility for the fleet development programme reflecting the importance that Volkswagen places on developing its dealers to match the needs of fleet customers.

ALFA Romeo displayed the new 156 at the London Motor Show for the first time on British soil. This is potentially a make or break car for the marque in the UK, and represents a car which has to win conquest business in the corporate sector from the likes of the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and Volvo S40 if it is to succeed.

THE London Motor Show marked the first official appearance of Martin Hillman, Renault's new national fleet sales manager, following his appointment a fortnight ago. He takes over from Mark Smith, who has been promoted to commercial operations manager for the Renault Retail Group.

FIAT and Alfa Romeo are gearing up for an imminent major push into the corporate market, with the intention of appealing to fleet managers as much as the product appeals to company car drivers. A month after taking over as managing director of Fiat Auto UK Geoff Smyth is in no doubt of the importance of this country's corporate market and the attention paid to it in Turin.

AUDI will focus on strengthening residual values and developing a sportier image over the next 12 months. Following the launch of three extremely successful new models over the last three years, the manufacturer will introduce high performance S versions of the A3, A4 and A6 over the next year.

CITROEN'S 'funwagon' Berlingo Multispace will be going on sale in the UK next spring. Based on the hugely-successful Berlingo van, the Multispace offers a passenger-friendly alternative featuring a sunroof which stretches from front to back, an estate car sized boot and ingenious amounts of storage space.

JUST a couple of weeks away from the new Xsara range's arrival in British showrooms, Citroen has unveiled the Coupe version which it hopes will have a halo effect on the entire range. The main Xsara range will be on sale from November 1, boasting Z, LX, SX and top-of-the-range Executive specifications designed to take on the new Escort, Astra and Golf.

CITROEN, Peugeot and Volkswagen have announced price realignments and specification changes to their MPV ranges in a bid to claw bigger shares of the increasingly competitive niche market. The moves are all aimed at 'adding value' and, in the case of Citroen's Synergie, involve price cuts of up to £1,250.

PEUGEOT could face some marketing difficulties when it adds another supermini to its UK product range next year. But the benefits of potential extra sales will far outweigh any showroom problems which might follow the introduction of a second small car, believes managing director Dick Parham.

VAUXHALL'S new satellite-based communication system, OnStar, will be launched on Vectra and Omega models in the spring. OnStar will be an option on the two models, but no decision has yet been made as to whether it will be standard on other models.

VAUXHALL is offering the 2.5-litre V6 Vectra CD at the same price as the 2.0-litre 16v version to fleets which place orders before January 31 next year. The CD model was introduced for the 1998 model year and the price parity move represents a £1,000 saving with the 2.0-litre model costing £17,175 on-the-road and the 2.5-litre model £18,175 on-the-road.

THE all-new Vauxhall Astra will 'push' the established Vectra hard for the position of top-seller in the Luton-based manufacturer's range. That's the view of Vauxhall chairman and managing director Nick Reilly, who believes the spring launch of the car will lead to a significant boost in Astra sales resulting in the lower medium sector contender 'closing in' on the Vectra.

VAUXHALL has launched Britain's first dual fuel gas/petrol light van available with a one-year manufacturers' warranty and is to launch gas-powered cars next year. The 'green' Combo van costs £10,920 (excluding VAT) and is £1,965 more than the petrol Combo 1.4i (hi-torq) Merit model on which it is based. Fleets can recover up to 50% of the cost of converting to gas from the Energy Saving Trust.

MITSUBISHI celebrated the London launch of its new direct injection petrol engine with a £1.2 million order for Carisma GDIs. Office equipment company Sharples Group confirmed an order for 87 Carismas powered by the 1.8 Gasoline Direct Injection engine after receiving an early evaluation car.

MITSUBISHI has called on the oil companies to play their part in 'greening' the motor car by introducing cleaner fuels. While Mitsubishi and other manufacturers have introduced a raft of new technologies to clean up their vehicles since emissions became an issue, the oil industry has only grudgingly introduced unleaded fuel over the last decade.

HERTZ Leasing is on the brink of revealing its new corporate name and identity. The rebranding follows changes in ownership of Hertz Corporation, which will see the daily rental giant own the Hertz brand worldwide.

THE Cowie Group plc is changing its name to Arriva plc in a move which will see the group's 140 different company brands adopt the same identity. Cowie Interleasing will become Arriva Automotive Solutions, and the 30 Cowie dealerships will fall under the banner of Arriva Motor Retailing, and become known as Arriva Ford or Arriva Renault.

JAGUAR'S two worldwide advertising agencies, J Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather have formed a collaborative relationship to further strengthen the UK-based luxury car manufacturer's global marketing activities. J Walter Thompson currently handles Jaguar's advertising in Europe and many other markets around the world. O & M currently provides an integrated marketing service to Jaguar in North America - Jaguar's biggest single market.

VEHICLE service is a rapidly developing area and one which needs to be kept under control by the cost and efficiency conscious fleet operator. According to the latest Tolley survey, while franchised dealers continue to hold the upper hand in the fleet servicing market, used by 73% of fleets, 67% of fleets now also use non-franchised outlets.

HISTORIC predictions that company car drivers would downsize their car to save on benefit in kind taxation have failed to materialise, according to the Tolley Swan National Survey of Company Car Schemes 1997/98. Drivers are choosing larger, more expensive cars, and will only consider a smaller vehicle if they can pocket the difference in cost.

THE company car is alive and well and faces a bright but changing future. Business requirement for employee mobility is currently paramount with the economy in a healthy state. Low unemployment, along with a shortage of specialist skills in some industries, has focused companies' attention on the remuneration package they offer staff.

LEX Vehicle Leasing has won a new contract to provide cars as part of BT's new employee paid 'Benefits Plus Scheme' for 1996/97. Under the Lex FreeChoice umbrella, Lex Vehicle Leasing will provide 200,000 BT employees and pensioners with a number of options for them to purchase new and used cars.

SEWELLS International has produced its second annual Bodyshop Opinion Survey, designed to measure the quality of relationships between bodyshops and the businesses they deal with. The report, which includes executive summary and results tables, is now available, with each buyer receiving two copies and a diskette of the report for £995, plus VAT.

PRINCESS Diana's death in a car crash should be used as a stimulus for road safety improvements, according to campaigners. Fleet operators say safety was a top priority long before the crash which killed the Princess, but agreed that this could refresh the message to drivers.

AUDi is recalling an estimated 50,000 vehicles in the UK as part of a worldwide recall involving 840,000 cars due to an airbag fault. A small number of airbags have been discharged by a build-up of static electricity while stationary. No one has been injured. The recall involves cars from across the range built between 1995 and 1996 and owners will be individually notified by Audi UK.

THE British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association now has more than a million vehicles on its mileage database with Vehicle Mileage Check. The BVRLA has long campaigned to stamp out clocking and in 1995 set up the database, in collaboration with VMC, to record the mileages of members' vehicles on disposal.

ROVER Group and Lease Plan International have won major contracts to supply and manage vehicles for British diplomatic posts around the world. Following an open tender, Rover Group has been chosen as the primary supplier of vehicles, through Lease Plan International.

HONDA is thinking small as part of a new plan to win a bigger share of business in Britain's fleet market. The size of the company's next-generation Accord has been shrunk to make it more of a match for its competitors.

EUROPCAR has ordered 1,000 Megane Scenics from Renault in a deal worth £10 million at showroom prices. The deal involves 1.6 manual and 2.0 automatic versions of the Scenic and makes Europcar the only major international rental company to feature the model on its fleet.

THE Institute of Car Fleet Management is to hold its annual conference on November 6 at the Vauxhall Conference Centre in Luton. The event is free to ICFM members and to ICFM guests, but non-members can attend for £75, which includes the first year's subscription to the organisation. Further details from the ICFM on 01844 261828.