News - Page 2327

VOLVO is to establish an international corporate sales team based at the company's UK headquarters in Marlow. The decision to switch the fleet sales operation from Sweden to Britain acknowledges the UK's pre-eminent position as the most advanced corporate car market in the world.

LEASING companies are setting class-leading residual values for the new Honda Civic 5-door according to figures obtained from a basket of leading players. The latest Yew Tree Consulting survey of figures from 40 leading contract hire companies indicate that the Civic could be worth up to 25% more than its rivals after three years/60,000 miles.

TAG Cadre has been chosen to provide driver training for staff of BMW (GB) and their partners or spouses. The programme will include initial training involving on-road defensive driving techniques and training such as skid car, emergency procedure training, parking and manoeuvring. It will also feature theory work including defensive and advanced driving strategy, BMW's F.I.R.S.T. safety concept, BMW product knowledge and lone driver safety.

STEVENAGE based fleet software specialist FCS Computer Services has sold its fleet management system DRIVE into one of the world's biggest city councils - in Brisbane, Australia. The £150,000 contract was secured through FCS's Australian partner Mat-Man, and will see Brisbane City Council use DRIVE for its 3,500 strong vehicle fleet.

AUTOGLASS is buying 300 Ford vans this year and 350 in 1998 both as replacements and as part of a plan to expand the company's fleet by 10%. The company currently operates 600 Courier and 400 short wheelbase Transit 80 vans which operate from 210 locations in the UK and Eire.

VOLKSWAGEN has upgraded the security on the Polo hatchback with the introduction of new door and steering column locks. The new free-wheeling door locks are the same as those used in the Passat, which has also lent its steering wheel clutch mechanism to the Polo.

A MAJOR business park has joined the race to encourage blue chip companies to put green commuter plans in place. Stockley Park at Uxbridge, which is home to Glaxo and Panasonic, has issued a draft Green Transport Plan aimed at improving public transport to the site and providing improved cycling and walking facilities.

FIAT Auto has extended its free Accident Management Service (FAMS) to owners of all Fiat cars registered in the UK and under five years old. Previously FAMS was only available to buyers of new Fiats, but now owners of older Fiats can also take advantage of the service, which is administered by the AA on behalf of Fiat Auto (UK).

AVIS Rent A car has unveiled a new corporate image for the millennium which will feature in all its UK locations and with its 14 implants at major corporate customers. 'Red Hot' is the company's new theme for branding, service, pricing and promotions.

MORE than three-quarters of all cars sold in Britain develop problems within the first two years, according to a new report by research company JD Power. The 1997 UK Car Quality Study says European badges develop more problems than Asian models, with four out of five owners reporting problems compared to three out of five owners of Asian marque vehicles.

ELECTRONIC commerce steering group Fleetnet is warning companies not to turn their backs on EDI technology as the industry embraces the prospect of widespread trading via the Internet. With many leading players in the industry predicting that paperless Internet trading will become a reality within the next few years, Fleetnet is warning it is too early to allow emerging Internet developments to eclipse existing EDI facilities.

HERTZ Leasing and the Co-op Bank are to offer company car and light commercial vehicle funding and management packages to the bank's customers.

FLEETLEASE will benefit from a multi-million pound cash injection netted by its parent company's flotation on the London Stock Exchange. Hitachi Credit (UK)'s £50 million flotation will make £15-£20 million for development and expansion when the shares go on sale later this year.

THE Dutton-Forshaw Group, which includes Masterdrive Contract Hire and Leasing and dealerships, saw a £1 million increase in operating profits to £6 million in the half year to March 31 after a 12% increase in new car sales.

PHH Vehicle Management Services is asking manufacturers to include wiring for hands-free use of mobile phones as standard in new cars. The call follows two surveys - one by PHH and one by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents - showing that most people want drivers banned from using hand-held phones.

HONDA has effectively slashed £3,000 from the price of the Shuttle people carrier and added a new entry level version.

COMPANY car drivers will not be driven out of their cars by punitive tax increases - but they could be lured out of them if public transport systems were improved. That is the finding of a survey of 108 company car and 251 private motorists by the Cowie Group on the eve of the Government's first Budget which is expected to target the company car and contain radical measures in support of an integrated approach to transport.

REDUCED emphasis on the mileage of used cars is the key to stamping out clocking according to Glass's Guide. Such a change could improve residual values for traditional three-year-old ex-fleet stock.

Ten things you didn't know about the company car

Ten things you didn't know about the company car

PUBLIC spending watchdog the Audit Commission has slammed local authorities for not framing transport strategies to reduce car use. In a report this week, the Commission says councils should restrain traffic growth and enhance public transport.

SAAB has hit out at the NCAP crash testing programme ahead of the next set of results from tests on upper medium cars. Saab's head of accident investigations Christer Nilsson said analysing how cars behaved in real road accidents was a better way of improving safety than laboratory crash tests.

LEASING and rental companies have won a test case establishing that they are not liable for parking fines incurred by drivers of their vehicles. The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association appealed to the Parking Committee for London amid fears that contract hire companies and rental businesses could not pass on liability.

VEHICLE management data provider David Henley Systems has published details of leasing industry residual value predictions showing differences of more than £1,000 from the price guides.

FLEET News will shortly be publishing 'The Fleet News Companion to Fundamental Fleet Management' which accompanies the Fundamental Fleet Management series of articles which finished last month.

THE battle over the VAT treatment of company cars continued at the Court of Appeal this week. RoyScot Trust, Allied Domecq and dealer group TC Harrison contested rules preventing recovery of VAT on vehicles used for business purposes.

TRANSPORT minister Gavin Strang put tolls back on the agenda this week after it became clear that Government public spending limits would not fund plans for an integrated transport policy. Announcing a review of the roads programme Strang said road-pricing was under consideration.

THE Government is planning to clamp down on clocking which defrauds the public of £100 million a year. Minister for Transport in London Glenda Jackson called clocking 'deplorable' and said the Government was reviewing what further measures - in addition to car mileage registers - could be taken to deal with the problem.

HERTZ is the official supplier of cars to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships for the third year in succession. The rental company is providing 100 luxury Ford Galaxies and 38 Transit minibuses plus 200 uniformed drivers to ferry players and VIPs to the All England Club throughout the two-week tournament.

HPI is to join the battle against clocking with the launch of a new vehicle mileage database in conjunction with the Independent Mileage Verification Association.