News - Page 2344

NATIONAL coverage proved a major factor in Fleet Cost Management winning a new fuel card deal with Eastern Electricity Contracting. Electricity industry changes mean Eastern now has contracts in areas far from its east of England base. It chose FCM following a tendering process involving half a dozen oil company and multi-brand fuel cards.

BODYSHOP staff are 'burning out' due to stress caused by work volumes, according to the Retail Motor Industry Federation. The organisation says many employees are taking time off sick, leaving the industry to find jobs with better pay and conditions or moving to non-approved bodyshops which are not subject to the pressures of insurance company approval programmes.

NATIONAL Tyres and Autocare's regional accounts team won 87 new contracts during December and January - a 36% increase on the same period last year.

FLEET Cost Management has signed a deal to supply 700 fuel cards to Warwickshire County Council. The local authority has a fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles, including plant equipment and heavy goods vehicles, and drivers previously used a range of methods to buy fuel.

BCH Vehicle Management has been appointed to manage animal feed and farming product company WMF's 90-strong fleet of vehicles.

TLS Auto Rentals, the contract hire division of rental and contract hire company TLS, has been chosen as one of the companies supplying vehicles for BICC Cables' Communications Installations Unit.

HELPHIRE is planning to float on the Stock Exchange. The company is seeking a full listing, aiming to raise £6 million via a placing which will value the business at around £15 million.

FLEET chiefs have dismissed suggestions that companies using the roads for business should be taxed to fund public transport improvements.

BSM chief executive Paul Massey has left the company after it decided to streamline its senior management - leaving managing director Richard Glover in the driving seat.

MOTORING MP Iain Mills died from acute alcohol intoxication, an inquest has revealed.

HONDA has launched a new initiative to cut car theft and the thriving trade in bogus vehicle identification number (VIN) plates. The company has set up a new procedure for recording plate changes. It means a replacement VIN, which is riveted to the bulkhead, can be supplied only when there is a legitimate need to replace the original - such as if it is damaged. Details of any Honda which has a replacement plate fitted will be added to the company's database.

THE leasing industry is being urged to help stamp out illegal clocking by making details of disposed cars available to the public. Speaking at the launch of BCH Vehicle Management's Used Car Buyer's Guide on Tuesday, managing director Richard Pepper said leasing companies had a role to play in protecting future buyers.

FTM Tyrefit's network of 830 fast fit centres is being offered a special leasing package for mobile tyre fitting vans. There are currently 150 vans within the network, but FTM Tyrefit is hoping the figure will rise as a result of the package with Hartwell Leasing.

NATIONAL Tyres and Autocare has been reappointed by South Western Electricity (SWEB) to provide tyre support for its fleet.

THE Confederation of British Industry has issued a two-page statement on climate change in which it calls for a close and continuing dialogue with the Government to identify actions to combat the long term threat of climate change which take account of the needs of businesses competing in the global market.

BRITAIN'S largest independent fast fit retailer Montinex has expanded its London presence by purchasing the Northway tyre company. The six Northway centres, in Colindale, Finchley, Hendon, Park Royal, Watford and Whetstone, bring the total number of centres in the Montinex Group to 141.

VAUXHALL has given its entry-level Sintra people carrier - which goes on sale on Friday - a sub-£20,000 price tag. The competitive price reflects the increasingly crowded marketplace which Vauxhall is entering as brand new models from Renault and Chrysler also enter the fray.

PHH Vehicle Management Services has been contracted to provide a range of fleet management services for the London Stock Exchange. The fleet and fuel management company will handle maintenance, accident management, acquisition and disposal of the London Stock Exchange's fleet of under 100 owned vehicles.

VOLKSWAGEN increased prices of the Polo, Golf, Vento and Sharan models by an average 0.85% on Monday. At the same time VW has added a 1.9-litre TDI 110bhp powered model in CL, GL and Carat trim levels to the Sharan range and made air conditioning standard on all GL and Carat versions.

COMPANY car operators are increasingly using mixed funding methods to acquire more expensive cars which they replace more quickly as the company car market remains buoyant, according to the latest Monks Partnership survey of company car schemes.

FIAT has released prices of the new Marea and Marea Weekend which go on sale in the UK on March 15. Prices for the 18-vehicle model line-up, which encompasses a choice of three petrol and three turbo diesel-engined models and three trim levels, start at £12,358 for the 1.6 SX saloon.

MERCEDES' new UK supremo Paul Halata is predicting another year of record sales as the car-maker's new supermini makes its show debut at Geneva. The new UK managing director, who took over from Hans Tauscher at the beginning of the year, said both car and truck sales would grow dramatically over the next couple of years.

NEARLY 40% of people want companies who use the roads for business to be taxed in order to fund improvements to public transport, according to a survey by Autoglass.

WOODCHESTER Investments looks likely to be the next takeover target for financial institutions looking to buy into the car leasing industry. The subsidiary of French Bank Credit Lyonnais is to be sold as a condition of its troubled parent company receiving financial assistance from the French Government.

FLEET demand for air conditioning in company cars has hidden cost implications, the RAC claimed this week, as it formed a new business partnership to launch a nationwide vehicle technician's training programme to counter a 'black hole' in the automotive service industry.

DUN & Bradstreet's in-house fleet team is to sell its services to other companies on a contract fleet management basis. The company, which specialises in business information systems, has its own fleet team handling around 1,100 vehicles.

FORD and Rover are the winners of the 1997 British Vehicle Security Awards, sponsored by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association. The two manufacturers beat off fierce opposition from the world's leading motor manufacturers to scoop the awards, which are made annually to motor manufacturers which have made the greatest commitment to defeating vehicle crime in the past year.

THOUSANDS of company car drivers are being asked their views on company car taxation as part of an environmental research project. Businesses have been sent 12,000 questionnaires to distribute to drivers, asking for their opinions on possible options for changing the taxation system. So far 3,000 have responded.

THE 1997 Fleet News Awards is a sell-out with more than 1,000 people from the fleet industry scheduled to attend the fleet night of the year on March 26 at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

INTERNATIONAL merchant bank Hambros has become the latest major financial institution to enter the leasing and fleet management market, via a joint venture with Zenith Vehicle Contracts. The two companies have this week established Hambros Vehicle Solutions, in which Hambros has a 70% shareholding, and Zenith 30%.