News - Page 2319

VAUXHALL is to increase prices on some of its models from Wednesday, September 3. Prices of Astra models increase by an average 0.9%, prices of Vectra models rise by an average of 0.8% and prices on the manufacturer's van range increase by an average of 1.2%. Prices of Corsa models are unchanged, while prices of the Omega range will be announced in due course.

SHELL is at an advanced stage of negotiation with US oil giant Chevron to purchase its 450-strong UK network of Gulf filling stations. If successful, the deal will see more than 50% of the UK filling station network concentrated in the hands of the big three - Shell, BP and Esso - prompting renewed concern about the threat to competition in the petrol retailing market.

THE RAC has vowed to campaign against unfair treatment of company cars following the publication of the Government's consultation paper on Integrated Transport Policy. The document invites views on a range of proposals and, although it stops short of targeting the company car directly, suggests a range of options designed to encourage drivers to leave their vehicles at home.

THE Fleet Motor Show will switch dates as well as venue when it moves to Donington Park next year. As announced earlier this year, the extensively revamped Show is moving to the Midlands race circuit in a bid to raise its profile and extend its appeal.

THE long predicted superleague of contract hire and leasing companies appears to be taking shape as Fleet News publishes its fifth Top 40 table of UK contract hire companies. This annual survey of the contract hire industry has identified a breakaway group of four companies with fleets of over 70,000 vehicles, followed by a pack with between 33,000 and 50,000 vehicles, and then a drop to 20,000 units where the rest of the market begins.

BRITISH Car Auctions' Brighouse centre is to undergo a multi-million pound redevelopment in time for its 25th anniversary next year. Work on the site, which is one of the company's longest-established auction centres and was one of the first purpose-built auction centres in the UK, began this week and should be completed by early 1998.

LEASE Plan has launched a three-pronged communications initiative which sees it taking a step closer to its aim of paperless trading. The programme includes the increasing use of electronic products LP Direct, LP Link and LP Office, which enable customers to communicate with Lease Plan's account teams via the Internet or e-mail.

THE Milton-Keynes based Braylake Car Company has launched its own vehicle leasing and contract hire division. The move follows the company's acquisition last year of a Honda main dealership at Hemel Hempstead, a used car dealership at Wolverton and a servicing and specialist repair centre at Bletchley. Braylake previously operated a single Suzuki main dealership in Bletchley.

VAUXHALL Master Hire has secured two new contracts with Home & Office Fire Extinguishers and the Management & Professional Officers Association. The MPO has already taken delivery of 10 Vauxhall Vectras on a three-year contract hire deal including maintenance, and will also promote to its 9,000 members Vauxhall Public Sector Operations' Public Sector Choices 1.2.3, a scheme designed for employees with a business mileage allowance.

FLEETS of 100-plus vehicles should consider moving away from contract hire in order to cut costs, according to Fleet Cost Management. Responding to the BVRLA's latest statistical survey - which showed 28% of contract hire companies are making profits of more than £1,000 per vehicle while a further 48% were earning between £500 and £1,000 - FCM urged fleet managers to take a close look at cheaper acquisition methods such as finance leasing.

VAUXHALL Public Sector Operations has won a contract to supply vans for the Forestry Commission's 1,800-strong fleet. The fleet is currently made up of 30% Vauxhalls, plus a wide range of other makes, all owned by the Commission. The new deal involves the supply of Brava trucks, Astravans and Astra pool cars, some bought outright and others on contract hire.

FOREST Enterprise has decided to contract hire its Land Rover Defenders for the first time to ease the pressure on capital. British Car Contracts has secured the four-year deal to supply 21 Land Rovers, which represents the first contract won by its new light commercial division.

AUTO Windscreens has won the contract to handle all glazing repair and replacement for TNT Group's fleet of around 4,000 vehicles. The group now incorporates TNT UK and TNT Express Worldwide. TNT Express Worldwide has always used Auto Windscreens, but TNT UK moved over to Autoglass in 1995. Now Auto Windscreens has been re-appointed as sole recommended supplier for both.

PERRY Contract Hire has won a £500,000 solus deal to supply an anticipated 30 to 35 Ford Mondeos to scientific instruments manufacturer Micromass UK. Wythenshawe-based Micromass UK's fleet was previously handled by Cowie Interleasing under a non-maintenance contract hire deal. Following a reappraisal of its corporate fleet business in December, Ruislip-based Perry Contract Hire beat six other companies to win the business, this time on a with-maintenance basis.

FLEET managers could be earning their companies millions of pounds worth of unseen benefits provided they have their branding clearly displayed on their vehicles. Rather than blowing big budgets on expensive press and TV advertising, companies could be better advised to give their fleets a new lick of paint and some eye-catching liveries.

PRESTIGE German executive cars will face head-on competition when Saab's new 9-5 model goes on sale in October. Crucial wholelife cost figures are set to drive the Swedish saloon to a position of strength over arch-rivals BMW and Audi, it was revealed this week.

DIESEL-POWER could be set to make a comeback as prices fall and fleet concerns over rocketing fuel duties persuade people to look for more frugal alternatives to petrol. After three years of declining demand for diesels, Glass's Guide is predicting a renaissance as leading manufacturers prepare to launch the next generation of oil-burners.

BUDGET Rent a Car has won an award for its environmental initiatives around the world. The award for the 'Most environmentally-friendly car rental company' was presented at the European Incentive and Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition in Geneva, as part of a 'Greening of Tourism' awards scheme for the travel industry.

HONDA has confirmed it will bring the fire-breathing Integra-R to Europe in limited numbers next year as part of an ongoing campaign to spice up its slightly staid image. The 200bhp flying machine boasts one of the highest specific outputs in the world among normally aspirated production car engines.

FLEETS would be hit if the Government adopts new taxes and congestion-charging measures to beat the gridlock facing the British roads network advocated by the Institution of Civil Engineers. In a new report on strategic funding for Britain's transport network - 'Paying for transport', the Institution suggests higher taxes on parking for company car drivers and their employers as part of a raft of measures to discourage commuting into congested cities.

AT&T Automotive Services is to supply Peugeot 306, 405 and 406s to photocopier and fax machine supplier Danka UK. The firm's UK's fleet has grown from 130 to more than 1,200 vehicles over the last four years as a result of acquisitions of other companies.

FIAT Auto has appointed Keith Bowles as managing director of its new in-house contract hire operation. Bowles spent 24 years with Swan National - initially with the company's car rental operation - before transferring to the leasing business where he was latterly southern divisional director.

SHARES in dealership and leasing group Pendragon slumped 25% following the group's £44 million bid for 17 dealerships from Lex and a simultaneous £56 million rights issue amid City fears over the profitability of volume dealerships. Pendragon shares have fallen steadily since the bid for Lex's remaining Ford and Vauxhall outlets and a handful of Nissan and Peugeot franchises.

APPLES Car Clinic is introducing a new service under which data from an initial 'super tune' is stored on disk and held in the vehicle's glove compartment to be used for reference during future maintenance work. The disk also contains information on the performance of key electrical components, such as the alternator. This enables technicians to measure future checks against the original data and predict the lifespan of the part.

PHH Vehicle Management Services has called on car manufacturers to fit built-in hands-free kits for mobile phones as standard in all new cars. The call comes as the debate over the safety of car drivers using mobile phones on the move intensifies.

BCR Car & Van Rental has become the latest rental and leasing company to offer a flexible hire package. The Coventry-based company has launched Option 20, a medium-term rental plan which includes maintenance and mileage allowances and is aimed at small to medium-size businesses whose fleet requirements vary from day-to-day and cannot afford to run a fleet for peak periods.

MAIL order giant Grattan has ordered a new Car Fleet Control fleet management software package for its 580-vehicle fleet. Based in Bradford, the company has opted for Car Fleet Control's EuroFleet system for larger fleets to replace ageing software which had been written in-house.

FLEETLEASE is celebrating two new deals - to manage Barbour Index's 50-strong fleet and to jointly handle Raychem's 230-vehicle fleet with PHH Vehicle Management. Raychem's fleet was previously managed by three companies, including PHH, but Fleetlease has now taken over the business handled by the other two.

THE company car is again in the firing line from environmental groups as speculation grows that the new Government is about to propose a raft of anti-car legislation. The DoT has already launched one consultation document outlining proposals which include closing congested sections of motorway to private cars. Another paper - containing even more stringent anti-car measures - is expected to be published later this month.

FAULTY components have forced Mercedes-Benz to call back several thousand cars to check whether their new Brake Assist systems are working correctly. Dealers are having to disconnect the system on certain vehicles after two owners in the UK reported unusually heavy braking on their new Mercedes cars.