News - Page 2339

VEHICLE wholelife costs are in danger of being ignored and could rise as fleets continue to debate whether to demand three-year warranties from major manufacturers. Wholelife costs are crucial to the warranty discussion and Fleet Cost Management claims that introducing three-year warranties could result in increasing list prices with wholelife costs rising as a result.

MORE than 1,000 fleets spending up to £60 million could take advantage of a new initiative by the Energy Saving Trust which is offering funding to businesses and local authorities interested in using alternatively fuelled vehicles.

ONE of Britain's best-known fleet car names is set to be dropped from the next new lower medium model range to be launched by Ford. Fresh badging is believed to be under consideration for the car which is due to take over the mantle of the long-running Escort next year.

THE RAC and Fleet Cost Management are attempting to pin down the major political parties on the UK's crippling traffic congestion problems. Both organisations have approached the big three with questions on how they will tackle congestion set to reach crisis point in key marginal constituencies.

TWO flagship London fleets - Fleet News Environmental Award winner London Electricity and Westminster City Council - are switching to City Diesel in a bid to improve the environmental impact of their vehicles.

TWO more directors have left vehicle technology group Toad, a month after chief executive Charles Parker's departure from the loss-making company. Parker resigned last month after less than six weeks as chief executive.

THE Association of Car Fleet Operators' South West and Wales Region, has donated £1,500 to a new hospice for terminally ill children.

STRONG performance from Toyota (GB), Chrysler and Ferrari in the UK and good performances from some franchise dealers contributed to Inchcape Motors reporting operating profits up 29% to £126.6 million for last year (1995: £97.8 million).

BRITAIN'S total number of franchised dealers fell by 9% last year - the biggest drop for a decade as manufacturers look to increase dealer profitability by reducing their networks.

ISC Computers has taken delivery of 12 Vauxhall Vectra Envoy estates and seven Vectra SRi hatchbacks to replace its fleet of Cavaliers and Astras. The Huntingdon-based computer company has acquired the vehicles through a contract hire agreement with Vauxhall Master Hire from Vauxhall Business Centre, Burton Brothers of Ramsey.

VOLVO has slashed the price of its executive load-lugger by introducing a new entry level 940 estate.

JAGUAR has increased prices of the XK8 Coupe and Convertible by an average of 1.9%. The Coupe now costs £48,950 and the Convertible £55,950 - a rise of £1,000 on each model.

THE AA has become the first breakdown and recovery service to establish an internet site catering specifically for the fleet market. A new addition to the AA's existing internet web site, AA Fleet Services will introduce special features to support customers, as well as encouraging other companies to become members.

VEHICLE rental group TLS has announced record pre-tax profits of £5.8m for 1996 amid continuing buy-out speculation. End-of-year results show pre-tax profits up from £4.2 million in 1995, and a 29% increase in turnover from £40.5 million in 1995 to £52.4 million in 1996. Operating profit was up 40% at £9.4 million.

VAUXHALL is to install black-box type recorders across its entire range of cars from next month to identify the niggles that never show up when you take the car into its dealerships.

SEAT has installed the torquey 100bhp Volkswagen 1.6 engine in the Toledo to replace both the 1.6 and 1.8 versions previously fitted.

THE last Vauxhall Calibra - which has notched up 230,000 sales during its seven year production life - will roll off the production line in Finland in June.

APPLEYARD is shedding a third of its dealerships in a wholesale restructuring designed to weed out low margin and loss-making retail sites after a dramatic slide in profits. The group has given up its Citroen, Volvo, Subaru, Ssangyong and Isuzu franchises, but retained its core interests in the mainstream marques - particularly Volkswagen, Audi and Peugeot.

BMW is to invest £600 million in Rover this year - £130 million more than it invested in its UK car making subsidiary last year.

VAUXHALL has launched a major new initiative to help the UK's car drivers sit comfortably behind the wheel. This is a serious issue, with clinical back pain affecting a massive 60% of drivers who cover more than 10,000 miles per year.

MITSUBISHI is offering a free driver training package with every new Galant it sells as part of a wider campaign to improve standards of driving in the UK. Under the banner 'The Campaign for Galant Driving' the importer has teamed up with RoSPA to provide a free advanced driving course for both customers and their partners.

MERCEDES-Benz has increased prices by an average 3% to coincide with the introduction of enhanced specification - including radios as standard - on the E-class range. Air conditioning becomes standard on the E280 and E320 - which also get the new lightweight V6.

THERE are less than four weeks to go until the 1997 Fleet Motor Show and fleet managers and company car decision makers wanting to attend the event are being urged to ensure they register in advance. The final advance registration form will be published in Fleet News next week (April 11) and anyone who has yet to register is reminded to complete the coupon and return it to the address shown.

STRIKE action has been postponed at Peugeot's Ryton plant after the company increased its pay offer and removed some of the more contentious conditions attached to it.

HELPHIRE is planning to more than double its fleet size and depot network within the next 18 months using cash raised through its stock market flotation this week.

THE AA and CCN Group have launched a new service enabling buyers of used cars to check whether they are unrecovered stolen vehicles, have previously been written off or are owned by a finance company.

TWO of Britain's leading mobile vehicle security installation specialists - Simba Security Systems and Advantage Vehicle Installations - have joined forces to form Simba Advantage.

FAST-FIT specialist Kwik-Fit posted another set of healthy figures after a year of major acquisitions.

RENAULT is aiming to push the image of the Espace MPV further upmarket by setting prices higher and keeping numbers down when it launches the new versions in the UK on June 2.

PEUGEOT is on course for record van sales in 1997 with business 137% up year-on-year and a record-breaking £10 million fleet deal clinched for 1,000 vehicles this year. The solus deal is for 106 vans with newly formed household utility meter reading company AccuRead.