News - Page 2367

A GLOOMY outlook is predicted for the UK's retail motor trade as outlets close and profitability is hit. However, while independent dealers are being hit the hardest, major dealership groups are diversifying into areas such as car leasing, car rental and aftermarket operations in a bid to boost profits.

DISILLUSIONED motorists are turning their backs on dealer servicing and taking their business elsewhere, according to used car experts at CAP Motor Research. Editorial director Andrew Wilkinson said main dealers are losing out on profits today and tomorrow by not delivering the sort of aftersales service customers want.

ESSEX Constabulary has taken delivery of six Jeep Cherokees for use as traffic patrol vehicles. The county joins Cumbria, Warwickshire, West Yorkshire and Wiltshire - who each use a single Jeep.

AN air conditioned SEAT Toledo 1.6 SE has gone on trial with the Thames Valley Police. The loan car is fully equipped with blue beacon, siren, reflective livery and radio while safety is enhanced by twin airbags and front seatbelt pretensioners.

SsangYong's latest off-roader due to go on sale in the UK next year, will be called the Stampede. The vehicle is based on a shortened chassis taken from the Musso and has a strong Jeep look about it. Key features are a spacious three door body with five seats and a sensible luggage space. Target buyers are serious off-roaders and owners of 'fashion' 4x4s.

SSANGYONG has held the price of its Musso 2.9 diesel models despite improvements in performance and trim. In addition, stock shortages have prompted the importers to bring forward customer deliveries from this autumn to next month June) but the new 118 mph 3.2 litre petrol engined GX220 is still set to arrive in time for August with a price around £25,000.

A NATIONAL Health Service Trust has gone into the daily rental business with six Vauxhall Astras in what is believed to be the first fleet contract of its kind. The South Kent Community Health Care NHS Trust has taken delivery of the 1.4 litre five door models in order to launch a pool car operation.

TOYOTA plans to challenge both the Land Rover Discovery and the Mitsubishi Shogun with an all new mid-sized Landcruiser to be launched this autumn. The three and five door vehicles will replace the Landcruiser II and 4Runner models.

HUNDREDS of thousands of company drivers could have been wrongly convicted of speeding on evidence from Gatso cameras, the RAC has claimed. After a Surrey businessman was found not guilty and awarded costs by Uxbridge magistrates, it looked as though all these drivers had grounds to ask for a pardon. The driver had been accused of driving at 70mph on the M25 during a temporary 60 mph limit.

VAUXHALL has announced a special edition version of the Calibra based on the 2.0 litre eight valve engined car. It will be called the SE6 - because it is the sixth in a series of special editions - and adds air conditioning, leather trim and alloy wheels to the standard car. Just one colour is available - Iceland blue.

RENAULT'S Clio supermini has been given front end surgery and a new engine to keep it going until the new model makes its debut in 1998 - but prices in many cases have been cut. There's a new 1.2 litre engine, extra equipment, new trim, a strengthened shell and improved refinement. Sales in the UK topped 50,000 units last year.

FLEET market leader Ford has announced a £213 million pre-tax loss on a turnover of £6,401 million in Britain last year. The company blamed the loss on adverse currency, exchange rates, expenditure relating to the introduction of three major new models - Fiesta, Escort and Galaxy - and the intensely competitive market all of which impacted on the company's performance.

FORD is expanding its Escort Cabriolet range with the introduction of a new Ghia model and the permanent addition of the Calypso version. Power is down and specification up as the 115 PS 1.8 litre Ghia Cabriolet replaces the previous 130 PS Si Cabriolet with the 90 PS 1.6 litre Calypso being an addition to the line up. A 1.6 litre automatic Ghia is also available for the first time.

CITROEN Relay Specialist Dealers can now offer a Relay 1800 17 seat school minibus and a 15 seat version meeting all relevant current and proposed European safety legislation. The conversion work has been carried out by Advanced Vehicle Builders from Clay Cross in Derbyshire and the vehicle has been tested and certified to M2 safety standards at the Motor Industry Research Association.

SANDERSON FCS has won more than £250,000 of new orders for its fleet management software in the first two months since it was acquired by the Birmingham-based Sanderson Electronics group.

OVER 60 different cars including a dozen top-notch exotics were provided for CLM Fleet Management's test day for clients. The Newport Pagnell company played host to 40 customers who drove the cars on a road route. Cars ranged from the Aston Martin V8 Coupe and the Ferrari 355 to the diminutive Fiat Cinquecento Sporting.

MERCEDES-Benz is adding three exclusive cars to its UK line-up and improving both safety and specification on other models. From June, the 3.6 litre E36 AMG becomes the sporting flagship of the E-class range. Just 10 cars will be available each month at a price of £53,500.

HOPES of a £200 million cash bonanza for British industry if the fuel price war declared by the major retailers earlier this year was sustained for a year have been destroyed.

THE closing date for applications for the first series of Hertz Leasing-sponsored Institute of Car Fleet Management bursary awards is Monday, June 10. The scheme was officially launched at last month's Fleet Show and a 'significant' level of interest has been shown, according to Hertz Leasing.

FORD is to offer Scorpios from next month (June) with a new British built 2.3 litre 16 valve engine. The engine will be available with both manual and automatic transmission and as a saloon and an estate. The price premium is £430 above the existing 2.0 litre 16 valve unit. Saloons and estates are the same price and on top models, manuals and automatic cost the same.

FLEETS can benefit by almost £1,000 with the introduction of a special launch offer on Citroen's Saxo supermini. The car went on sale on May 17 and the launch promotion, which runs until the end of August, gives a free on the road package including delivery (worth £480), six months road tax (£77), three year warranty (£325) and three year roadside assistance with National Breakdown Green Flag (£60).

EMAP Automotive, publishers of Fleet News, has appointed the UK's leading motor industry academic, professor Garel Rhys, as a non-executive director. Rhys holds the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chair in motor industry economics at the Cardiff Business School and is also director of the Centre for Automotive Research at Cardiff University. He is also a regular contributor to radio and television on the motor industry.

AUDI'S all-new A3 - the German manufacturer's prestige sports hatch - is to go on sale in the UK in October. Audi expects to sell around 5,000 A3s during its first full year on sale in the UK and a significant proportion are expected to go to young company executives who would perhaps have previously chosen a BMW Compact under their company's fleet policy.

ROVER has increased prices across its 200 range. Most models are subject to a £300 increase but the entry level 214i list price goes up by £400 to £10,395 for the three-door and £10,895 for the five-door.

FIAT'S new Marea and Marea Weekend - replacements for the Tempra saloon and Station Wagon go on sale throughout mainland Europe in September, but will not be available in the UK until early 1997.

FLEET operators are being hit by massive tyre bills as both manufacturers and employers cave in to the wishes of drivers. The reason, according to British Car Contracts, is that more and more cars are being fitted with low profile tyres which, while they are a favourite with drivers and improve performance and handling, are costing the fleet industry hundreds of thousands of pounds every year.

BUSINESS is booming for Vauxhall's Business User Support Centres celebrating their first anniversary of focusing on sub-100 vehicle fleets.

FORD has this week launched an improved free mobile phone initiative which applies to the fleet as well as the retail market. Ford Call II is the follow-up to the original Ford Call, which was launched in autumn 1994 with a free mobile phone being offered with every new Ford.

ONE of Britain's most famous high street retailers has called on its company car drivers to remove metal bull bars from vehicles. The request from Marks & Spencer comes in the same week as four out of five British motorists have condemned the fitting of bull bars to vehicles, according to a survey by Cowie Interleasing of 300 company car and private motorists.

BLUE Circle Industries - with an 820-strong company fleet - has swapped its fleet management company and brought its car purchase and disposal operation in-house. Dial Contracts has won the three year deal to look after the fleet maintenance and to provide accident management services. The company will be managing a spend of £2.7 million spread over the next three years.