News - Page 2329

CAR Supermarkets has opened its first site for two to five-year-old cars, within half a mile of its original Car Supermarket site at Cannock. The opening of the new centre and the enlargement of the company's existing site for nearly new vehicles on the A5, mark the first steps in a nationwide expansion plan for the Midlands-based company.

SMALL and medium fleets will qualify for £1,000 cashback for every new Citroen ZX bought before the end of August, as well as two years free insurance on all Saxos except the VTS model.

KWIK-FIT has unveiled a signage upgrade which will be rolled out across branches - initially 156 centres - this summer.

THE National Grid Company has renewed its contract with Sussex-based Automotive Leasing to provide fleet management for its 2,600-strong fleet of cars and commercial vehicles.

THE Princess Royal has become patron the the Wooden Spoon Society, the motor and fleet industry-backed charity which raises money to help disadvantaged adults and children.

CAFFYNS has announced an upturn in profit and turnover during the last financial year. Announcing the results for the year ending March 31, chief executive Alan Caffyn said the figures showed a welcome improvement after seven difficult years of trading.

MOTOR vehicle group Appleyard has announced it is in the 'early stages of discussions' with a potential buyer. Shares in the dealership group - which jointly owns Appleyard Vehicle Contracts with Mercantile Credit - increased 19p to 90p on Thursday (June 12) following confirmation of talks.

VAUXHALL has renewed a major solus supply contract with Northern Ireland Electricity which will involve the acquisition of 1,400 cars and vans in the next three years.

ACCIDENT Assistance, the accident management and claims handling company, has been bought for an undisclosed sum by Consolidated Financial Insurance, a subsidiary of GE Capital Services.

THE Government has announced a fundamental review of transport policy to be published in a White Paper next spring. The fact that it will be a White Paper, rather than a Green Paper, underlines the Government's commitment to deliver an integrated transport system.

LEICESTER will become the first British city to experiment with urban road-pricing in an extensive trial project starting this summer. The scheme uses carrot and stick tactics to encourage motorists to avoid driving into the city centre by using state-of-the-art park and ride facilities on the outskirts of town.

REFORMS of company car taxation, fuel duties and vehicle excise duty are at the heart of pre-Budget submissions made to Chancellor Gordon Brown by key representative bodies of motorists and the fleet industry. The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has urged Chancellor Gordon Brown not to attack the company car in the new Government's first Budget on July 2.

FLEET Management Services has won a highly commended award in this year's Daily Telegraph and BT Customer Service Awards. The company was highly commended in the category for businesses with between 50 and 100 full-time employees.

VOLVO has increased the prices of S40 and V40 models by between £200 and £550. The S40 1.6, 1.8 and 1.9 turbodiesel go up by £200, with the 2.0 models up by £300. Meanwhile, the V40 1.8 and 1.9 turbodiesel increase by £450, with the 2.0 rising by £550. The price increases apply to models ordered from June 1.

PLANS to scrap the August car registration plate change could be a £740 million disaster for the motor industry, according to a new report from KPMG Business Consultancy.

FLEET sales in May surprisingly dropped 0.34% year-on-year in a total car market which rose 2.5% leaving industry experts puzzled as to why the reduction in the fleet market occurred. Last month's fleet sales, according to Society of Motor Manufacturer and Traders' figures released this week, show a market down 277 units on May last year at 81,779 (May 1996: 82,056), in a total market of 169,886 (May 1996: 165,685).

THE UK's two largest fleet management companies are pre-empting anticipated Government legislation to outlaw the use of all but hands-free phones in cars after nearly 50% of drivers admitted making calls on hand-held units.

VEHICLE rental group TLS has revealed it has received an approach which may lead to the fast-expanding company being bought. London Stock Market speculation suggested a bid was likely from GE Capital and, as a result, TLS shares rose 35.5p last week to a high of 135p after the company issued a statement to the Stock Exchange that it had been approached.

GE Capital Fleet Services has again hit the acquisition trail with the surprise purchase of BRS Car Lease. The £120 million deal, with troubled parent company NFC, moves GE Capital near the top of the UK leasing and fleet management leagues with a total fleet across its three businesses of some 83,000 vehicles.

HM CUSTOMS & Excise has given 'temporary approval' for Smart Choice - the consultancy behind the new Internet-based automated fleet transaction system Fleet Web - to trade over the worldwide web.

THE Association of Car Fleet Operators has branded as 'nonsensical' Nissan's re-introduction of separate delivery charges on fleet price lists and Volvo's near 13% rise in delivery charges. Six months after scrapping separate delivery charges in favour of all-in pricing, Nissan is now including a breakdown of delivery costs in price lists for fleet customers, while Volvo's delivery charges have risen from £425 to £480.

THE Government is to review the three-year-old list price-based system of company car taxation in a bid to promote more environmentally responsible corporate travel. The review will be a central element in the Government's White Paper proposing an integrated transport solution, due to be published next spring.

EURODOLLAR has gone live with the first customer on its new Windows-compatible Speedlink application. The rental company has been working with Ryland Multifleet for three years using the original version of Speedlink, which offers desktop access to EuroDollar's 115 UK branches.

THE daily rental sector is promising a new era of partnership with car manufacturers and the fleet industry to help guarantee greater residual value stability in the future. The move comes as Ford, Vauxhall and Rover maintain their strategy to minimise business with the fast churn rental sector in a bid to improve residual values. Ford alone has pulled around 30,000 units a year out of the sector.

BARCLAYS Bank has renewed its supply contract with Alamo Rent A Car for the fifth year running. Meanwhile, Alamo has opened a new Exeter location to increase its service for the south west.

DEALER group Lookers reported a 27% rise in half-year profits in the six months to March 31. Pre-tax profits increased from £3.16 million to £4 million on turnover up from £213 million to £301 million.

LEXUS has doubled the size of its executive GS300 range with the launch of two new models - a lead-in Legato model and a high-spec SE version. The UK accounts for more than 60% of European Lexus sales and the GS300 Legato costing £30,385 on the road with velour trim or £31,499 on the road with leather upholstery is the most affordable Lexus yet produced. Specification includes climate control air conditioning, alloy wheels, electric front seats and cruise control.

FLEET diesel sales were almost unchanged last month with sales down just nine units (0.05%) at 16,753 from 16,762 in May last year in a total diesel market down 3.9% at 28,069 (May 1996: 29,197). Sales this year are down 2.32% year-on-year at 91,039 (93,199) in a total fleet diesel market down 4.07% at 152,920 (1996: 159,406).

VAN sales continued their steady recovery this year with further rises in both the under 1.8 tonnes and 1.8-3.5 tonne sectors last month. Sales of under 1.8 tonne vans totalled 7,082 last month (May 1996: 6,638) to take total sales in the sector for the first five months of 1997 to 34,550 (1996: 31,442).

NATWEST has introduced a cash for car system for its company drivers in a bid to offer employees more choice and encourage the use of smaller cars. Called 'Select', the scheme offers qualifying staff three choices: stay with the existing company car; pocket the cash; or take the cash and source a car through NatWest's own fleet department.