News - Page 2335

CITROEN launched a driver training initiative with defensive driving specialist DriveTech at the Fleet Motor Show. The one-day Driver Awareness Course aims to help fleets improve their safety records by cutting accident numbers and reducing insurance and administration costs.

FLEET Motor Show visitors were given a glimpse of the road ahead on the Ryland Multifleet stand where two concept car models were on display.

HONDA is to launch a special tyre programme for major leasing companies designed to ensure business is retained within its dealership network and not lost to fast-fit companies. Last week Honda announced fixed price servicing for leasing companies after identifying significant variations on service costs within its dealerships.

HYUNDAI could become the next major far eastern manufacturer to build a UK factory, in a move which would dramatically increase its fleet presence. The South Korean conglomerate's chairman Chung Mong-Gyu is reported to have said he was looking to build a European factory around the year 2000 - and he currently favoured the UK as a base. The plant could produce around 100,000 Escort-sized cars a year.

ALFA Romeo's new upper medium saloon - the 156 - is expected to appear in the UK next spring. The engine line-up features 144bhp 1.8 and 155bhp 2.0 16-valve engines and a 190bhp 24-valve V6.

VAUXHALL is offering bonuses of up to £1,000 on Vectra, £1,500 on Omega and £1,800 on Astra diesel in reponse to Ford's recently unveiled bonus programme. The offers apply to smaller fleets on pre-97 model year cars.

CAR dealers are optimistic about the future regardless of the outcome of yesterday's general election. In a survey of 251 dealers conducted by the Retail Motor Industry Federation, the majority of dealers said they had received more sales enquiries, sold more new cars this year than last year and were more confident than last year. Exactly half said used car sales were up and a third of those questioned said they intended to expand their businesses and increase staff training.

NISSAN has introduced a high-spec SEL version of the QX executive saloon with the highly acclaimed lightweight 24-valve 2.0 V6. The £23,495 asking price buys electric seats, air conditioning, four-speed autobox, 10-disc CD autochanger along with 140PS and 130lb ft of torque.

AUTOLEASE, which operates a fleet of 25,000 vehicles, has renewed its contract with the RAC to provide roadside rescue and recovery across the UK and Europe. The two-year deal was officially signed on Tuesday - the opening day of the 1997 Fleet Motor Show - and the contract sees the RAC providing Autolease company car drivers with a one-stop one-call 'travel shop' for help when they travel to the continent.

DAEWOO has underlined its pursuit of fleet business with the appointment of Stewart Wright as its first national fleet and special sales manager. Wright (48) has more than 28 years' motor industry sales experience including 18 years as a manager with Renault UK, 10 of which he spent in fleet and special sales roles.

STALLING car sales have been blamed on pre-general election jitters, according to the quarterly Autoglass Car Confidence Index. Just a week after March new car sales figures were published which revealed a year-on-year decline of 0.23% with fleet sales down 3.4%, the survey reveals that the number of people planning to buy cars has crashed by a fifth.

THE RAC is to launch a 'stress-buster' guide for company car drivers and fleet operators at next week's Fleet Motor Show at Silverstone. Publication of the guide follows the results of a new RAC survey which revealed that high mileage business drivers were most likely to bear the brunt of the strains and frustrations of 1990s motoring.

A CAMPAIGN to turn scores of old Skoda jokes into a sales advantage will get under way when the Fleet Motor Show opens on Tuesday (April 29). For the premium Silverstone business event is to be used by the revitalised Czech company's British importer to lay the foundations of a new marketing strategy aimed at paving the way for the arrival of its upmarket medium-size model range.

THE Vauxhall Vectra is the cheapest upper medium sector car to repair after a crash, according to a survey by VELO Motor Accident Management. The survey of nine leading upper medium fleet cars reveals the average cost of repair of the vehicles following a 'moving' incident varies by more than £300.

A PROTOTYPE 3.0-litre high speed direct injection V6 diesel engine, aimed at the executive car, mini-van, MPV and sports utility vehicle market, has been unveiled by Perkins Technology, the engineering consultancy arm of diesel engine manufacturer VarityPerkins.

HONDA has set a nationwide fixed price servicing rate for companies leasing Civic five-door hatchbacks and Accord saloons through the UK's top leasing companies in a bid to cut operating costs. So far the package has been launched to the top ten leasing companies, including Lex Vehicle Leasing, Swan National, Hertz Leasing, Avis Fleet Services and PHH Vehicle Management Services, but it will be expanded to include the top 40 leasing firms by the end of the year.

BRITAIN'S fast-fit market is booming with aggressive expansion plans being pursued by the leading players and vehicle manufacturers establishing their own fast-fit networks to protect their dealership service and repair revenues.

PHH Vehicle Management Services will launch Autonet at next week's Fleet Motor Show, a new nationwide service, maintenance and repair network which it claims will reduce fleet SMR expenditure by 25%. The savings stem from discounts on both parts and labour, which should axe £10,000 a year from a 100-strong car fleet's SMR bills, according to PHH.

COMPANIES believe new transport taxes including motorway tolls, VED grading according to car engine size and taxing inner-city office parking spaces will have little impact on their environmental performance. The 1997 UK Business & The Environment Trends Survey, carried out among the top 1,000 UK companies and 50 leading opinion formers on business and environmental issues, was sponsored by environmental consultancy Entec in association with The Green Alliance, an environmental pressure group.

DISPOSAL specialists are warning of a growing gap between the residual values of normally aspirated and turbocharged diesel cars. As more and more diesels flood back to the market following the diesel boom of the early '90s, used car buyers are becoming increasingly discriminating. With more choice available, three to four-year-old high mileage oil-burners are being overlooked in favour of the improved performance offered by turbodiesels.

A RECORD total of more than 26,000 fleet managers and fleet decision makers have pre-registered to attend the 1997 Fleet Motor Show at Silverstone which opens on Tuesday (April 29) for four days. A total of 150 companies - 127 service companies and 23 vehicle makers - are exhibiting at the 15th show which will be opened on the first day at 10.45am on the Renault stand by Peter Agar, deputy director general of the Confederation of British Industry.

ROVER will launch an attack on the executive market when it replaces the 600 and 800 ranges with a new model early in 1999 - just a few months after Jaguar's new small car makes its debut. The upmarket saloon - the first Rover to be developed completely under the ownership of BMW - will be followed by an estate model.

ESSO has linked up with Fleet Support Group to launch a one-stop-shop fleet card incorporating vehicle acquisition, management and disposal. At next week's Fleet Motor Show the oil giant will unveil the Esso Card, which offers fleets access to an all-inclusive service in addition to the purchase of fuel, and replaces existing Esso fuel cards.

SOUTH Yorkshire Ambulance Service has taken on a £100,000 purpose-built mobile paediatric intensive care unit. The vehicle, one of only four in the country, was built by UVG, and funded by donations from the public and businesses. It will be used to take children from all over the north of England to Sheffield's famous Children's Hospital.

THE power of the fleet sector in the UK car market would help ensure price differences remain under a single currency, a major new survey from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has revealed. The survey of SMMT members - including car manufacturers, dealer groups and industry service companies - predicts 'significant differences would persist in terms of market structures and market requirements'.

THE RAC has revealed a new image geared to take the organisation into the 21st century with the aim of extending its services beyond the motoring arena it has served for 100 years. As a result the RAC has relaunched itself with a new logo which has been designed to reflect a 'classic, dynamic and futuristic organisation' and by unveiling a bicycle scheme which sees the RAC putting a fleet of bikes on the road.

ROBIN August, Ford's new commercial vehicle chief, has spoken for the first time of his determination to fight off threats to his company's market domination. August officially takes over the post on May 1, but he has revealed how he plans to strengthen Ford's position by linking the commercial sales and marketing teams.

BRITISH Car Contracts has supplied three specially-liveried Land Rover Discoveries to the RAF Falcons display team. The Falcons, based at RAF Brize Norton, will use the vehicles to investigate suitable drop zones and to collect the team after displays. The sponsorship is initially for 12 months.

A CONSORTIUM of companies from the insurance claims and vehicle repair industries are behind a specialist new company Motor Claims Options. This is controlled centrally by Fleet Claims Administration in association with Lidford & Reid Assessors, Universal Salvage, Auto Windscreens, Access Computers, the Motor Vehicle Repairers Association and Freephone Claims.

STOLEN vehicle recovery system Tracker has launched a new 24-hour monitor system featuring cutting edge radio technology designed to speed up car theft warnings to vehicle owners.