News - Page 2318

VAUXHALL chief Nick Reilly has accused importers of risking residuals by underrating the established market. Car makers using advantageous currency rates to fund cheap UK deals might have laid themselves open to damage from poor residual values, he warned.

THIS week Fleet News publishes the UDT-sponsored 'Fleet News Guide to Fundamental Fleet Management'. The 80-page guide accompanies the Fundamental Fleet Management series of articles published over 36 weeks in Fleet News and written by Stewart Whyte, managing director of fleet consultancy Fleet Audits and resident Fleet NewsNet 'agony uncle'.

VAUXHALL has added air conditioning to the Vectra's growing list of standard equipment. Only the base level Envoy misses out on the enhancement, while the LS gets air conditioning in lieu of a sunroof and GLS models and above get both. The option previously cost an extra £250 on the LS and £350 on the GLS.

BRITAIN'S leading fleet managers have inspected at first hand the crash test results for supermini and upper medium cars under the European New Car Assessment Programme as the Government urges companies to take vehicle safety seriously. Around 200 leading fleet managers spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the Transport Research Laboratory as guests of the Department of Transport inspecting the crashed vehicles and being talked through the testing methodology.

VOLKSWAGEN has increased prices of its LT commercial range by 3.1% and the Caddy Pickup by 1%, while cutting prices of the entire range of Transporter panel vans, chassis cabs and window vans. A Volkswagen spokesman said this was the first price change for the LT since its introduction 12 months ago and comparisons with equivalently-specified rivals will show the Volkwagen LT to be extremely price-competitive.

SSANGYONG has revealed prices for its new off-roader, the Korando. Prices for the entry level 2.9LS Jeep Wrangler lookalike start at £15,950 on the road - complete with central locking, driver's airbag, electric windows, limited slip differential and immobiliser. The 2.3-litre petrol-powered GLS will cost £17,950 and includes alloy wheels, ABS and a new traction control system.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE-based Copywrite has opted for a sale and leaseback arrangement with BCH Vehicle Management for its fleet of 38 vehicles in a £500,000 deal. The company has a head office in Duxford and a manufacturing unit in Manchester producing character and fashion stationery and bags depicting cartoon characters and other children's favourites.

VAUXHALL has confirmed it will bring the Cadillac Seville to the UK in limited numbers starting next spring. As announced at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, General Motors wants to capitalise on Cadillac's premium brand in the competitive prestige car sector.

PERRY Group has announced pre-tax profits up 19% to £4.9m to June 30, compared to £4.1m last year, with turnover rising to £259m from £233m. The result was helped by turnover for the company's Nationwide Crash Repair Centres network rising 24% to £26m and improved results for new and used car sales from the group's 24 dealerships, as well as aftersales.

VIDEO is all set to play a leading role in a major charm offensive which will be launched by Jaguar over the next few months to help boost sales of its latest luxury saloons to company bosses. The Coventry manufacturer is planning to turn to film for the first time in an effort to win a wider audience for the new V8-powered XJ and Daimler models it will unveil at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.

VAUXHALL has released further details of its price rises which initially effect Astra, Vectra and van models and which came into effect this week. The rise averages 0.9% on Astra and 0.8% on Vectra and while the Tigra, Calibra, Sintra, Frontera, Monterey and Corsa ranges escape, increases on an up-specced Omega are expected to be announced later this month.

C H Jones, which operates the Keyfuels and Diesel Direct fuel cards, has published a new Diesel Driver Site Directory, providing details of more than 1,500 sites including 28 new entries. Business development manager Jason Hodge said this made the network - throughout which cardholders can draw diesel at fixed prices - the largest of its kind in the UK.

LIQUID petroleum gas will move ahead of the pack as the fleet industry increasingly focuses on which alternative fuel to use, rather than whether to use one at all. That is the message from Henry Clayton, European auto gas development manager for Shell LPG Europe, who says LPG offers a much more cost-effective option than its competitors in the 'green' fuel arena.

FACILITIES management company G&J Spencer has taken on 94 new Citroen C15 Champs. The vans will be used for the company's NIC Hygiene Specialists' British Telecom telephone box cleaning contract and bring the total number of C15 Champ D600s used for this service to more than 200.

ACCIDENT management company AutoManagement has negotiated a new deal to save customers around 40% on 'original equipment' body panel prices. The agreement with SVG - which supplies independently-produced panels and distributes the Q-Part insurance-approved range - is currently being trialed with LCV fleets.

REAL life fuel consumption figures have exposed a massive nine miles per gallon difference between the most and least efficient 1.8 litre upper medium sector petrol engined cars. This means a potential fuel cost saving of £1,706.71 per car for a fleet switching from the most thirsty to the most frugal car in the class.

REPAIR costs could rocket if European legislation forces independent parts manufacturers out of the market place, the RAC is warning. At present all EU countries, apart from France, allow free trade of independently-produced parts. However, a proposed EU directive would lock independents out of the market, in effect creating a monopoly for vehicle manufacturers, unless member countries bring in their own 'repair clauses' allowing an open market.

JAGUAR dealers are going on a massive spending spree to get ready for a new car which will double the size of their businesses. They are investing more than £35 million in a major showroom overhaul prior to the launch of the important new executive model which will challenge the BMW 5 Series.

TOYOTA will unveil three common rail injection turbo diesel engines at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show. It says the 1.5-litre, 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre engines are ready for production and hope they will be seen in vehicles within the next 18 months.

NEW rules which state that MPs must give details of business journeys before claiming mileage allowances have been suspended - because MPs say they are too tough. The regulations say MPs must give details of each trip for which they are claiming expenses - as is the case for company car drivers across the UK as well as anyone facing Inland Revenue self-assessment.

ELTON Vehicle Contracts has changed its name following the takeover by financial services giant Abbey National. After 10 years in the contract hire industry, the Bury-based company is now trading as First National Vehicle Contracts, reflecting its ownership by First National Bank - Abbey National's finance arm - which purchased Elton last year.

AVIS Fleet Services has won a contract hire deal for the 300-car fleet operated by John Mowlem & Co's facilities management division Aqumen Services. The move also sees the fleet moving from Peugeot to solus Ford - a decision which Aqumen says was taken two-and-a-half years ago by Mowlem group.

MOTORWAY Tyre & Auto Centres has promoted Paul Harrell to managing director, replacing David Openshaw, who resigned by mutual agreement with the company. Harrell joined Motorway two years ago as sales director, and has nearly 20 years of experience within the fast fit sector. He has been behind Motorway's £15 million restructuring and investment programme, started in April, which has placed particular emphasis on fleet business.

MERCEDES-Benz has launched a new cover package for used models which it says will offer an attractive disposal and acquisition option for fleets. The scheme, called Signature, will be available at every Mercedes-Benz dealership in Britain and looks set to further boost Mercedes' already strong residual values.

FORD has launched a new Galaxy model and introduced a series of specification enhancements to the Galaxy, Mondeo, Escort and Fiesta. The new Galaxy Si is available with a 2.3-litre engine at £19,490 on-the-road and with a 2.8-litre V6 unit for £22,300 on-the-road and air conditioning becomes standard across the entire Galaxy range.

FORD Credit has overhauled and refocused its fleet funding operation to increase substantially the proportion of Ford vehicles it finances for businesses. This has led to the creation of Ford Fleet and Commercial Operations under director Allan Frode, bringing together Ford Credit's existing fleet and commercial sales functions. Ford Contract Motoring has now become a brand name within Fleet and Commercial Operations.

VOLKSWAGEN has announced price rises of around 2.4% for Passat, 1.5% for Polo and just over 1% for Golf from Monday, September 1, along with a full model review of the Sharan. Prices of the Golf Cabriolet and Vento remain unchanged and price details for the Passat V6 Syncro, which is also undergoing a specification review, and the VR5 will be announced soon.

AUDI will be unveiling the A4 range's performance flagships at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show. The S4 quattro and S4 Avant quattro continue Audi's S concept and are powered by an all-new six-cylinder bi-turbo engine with permanent four wheel drive which offers Porsche-like performance in saloon or estate guise.

HARPUR UK has launched a new service which allows its Overdrive and Dialcard customers to use their fuel cards to make telephone calls. Harpur claims the facility, called Drive Line, provides savings of up to 30% on UK and international calls compared with BT chargecard published rates, and up to 50% compared to mobile phone providers' published rates.

JAGUAR is considering building a new small saloon to join the model range below the mid-size executive car X200 due to be launched in around 18 months' time. The manufacturer has yet to decide whether the car, codenamed X400, will come to production or whether it will be built in Britain or overseas. An in-depth study of the possibilities is now under way.