News - Page 2368

DIESEL cars are still in favour with fleet managers according to a survey by the UK's largest contract hire company. Lex Vehicle Leasing, which has more than 70,000 vehicles on contract hire, has bought almost 10% more diesel cars in the first four months of 1996 than in the same period in 1995.

THREE new sale and leaseback agreements have been signed by two of GE Capital Fleet Services' member businesses - Leasecontracts and Avis Fleet Services.

FLEET drivers feel more vulnerable at the wheel than ever before, according to a survey of 5,500 business drivers and 400 business vehicle operators. A massive 82% perceive themselves to be vulnerable in traffic, attributing this to road rage, overcrowded roads and declining standards of driving.

TWO of Britain's largest contract hire and fleet management companies - Dial Contracts and British Car Contracts - have delivered a 'hands off the company car' message to the Labour Party. have both hit out.

NATIONAL newspaper claims that a future Labour government would launch a tax blitz against company cars have been dismissed by shadow transport spokeswoman Clare Short, who said the importance of the company car to UK plc would be recognised within a co-ordinated transport strategy under a future Labour Government.

ABBEY National has signed a two-year dual badge deal with Vauxhall and Rover which marks the end of the previous Rover solus contract. Milton Keynes-based Abbey National operates 2,200 vehicles and Vauxhall and Rover won the contract following a lengthy tender process involving seven manufacturers.

POLICE constables at Essex Police Traffic Investigation Unit have offered three key pieces of advice to fleet drivers. Firstly, be aware of your speed, particularly in urban areas. Secondly, if you are late for an appointment be late. Don't make yourself or anyone else early for the next life. And thirdly, if you have got a seat belt fitted, wear it.

A leading personal injuries lawyer has predicted a raft of legal cases brought by drivers forced to work excessive hours. John Hesketh is a specialist personal injury lawyer with Colemans Solicitors, and works to bring justice to the victims of road traffic accidents.

RYLAND Multifleet has landed its second million miles contract for LDV minibuses with a Manchester-based travel agency. Peerless Travel, which operates a fleet of 25 vehicles for transporting passengers to and from major airports, signed up for a further six minibuses with the Stoke-on-Trent-based leasing company at last month's Fleet Show at Silverstone.

COMPANY cars supplied to customers of Perry Contract Hire are now being offered to their drivers at a discount price as part of a new favoured purchase scheme. As a result, at the end of a contract, the driver will be able to buy their company vehicle, complete with mileage and service history, at a price lower than they would expect to pay on a dealer forecourt.

MULTI-POINT 1.4 litre engines feature alongside improved specification for the new 1996 model SEAT Ibizas with prices starting at £8,195 on the road. All models also feature a high level rear brake light and front seatbelt pretensioners along with new trim materials, a five speed gearbox and a six speaker RDS radio cassette system.

THE European car leasing market is set for strong growth according to research company MarketLine International. In its latest survey 'European Car Leasing: Future Prospects & Challenges 1996-2000', MarketLine said the recession had prompted many larger companies to reconsider their acquisition methods.

BMW has revved up the Compact and 3 Series Coupe with the offer of a sparkling new 1.9 litre multi-valve engine. The engine is the same as the one which will appear in the Z3 Roadster when it comes to Britain at the end of the year. It offers more torque and improved refinement than the outgoing 1.8 litre unit.

FLEXIBLE rental specialist Global Self Drive has relocated to new premises in Peterborough as part of a new drive for expansion in East Anglia and the East Midlands.

A £250,000 deal will put the whole national Surridge Dawson van fleet under the watchful eye of the Securicor TrakBak security system. The vehicle tracking system is to be fitted to all Surridge Dawson's 320-strong fleet.

TOUGH new guidelines have been issued to car makers by the Government in a new bid to crack down on car crime.The Home Office this week issued new guidelines encouraging car manufacturers to cover all aspects of vehicle security and allow 'attack testing' to see how long it takes to break into vehicles. New guidelines include:

DAEWOO has added air conditioning as standard to every car in its line-up starting with the entry-level £8,795 Nexia GLi three-door without increasing prices. At the same time the company, which following its launch in the UK last year has expanded to take a 1% slice of the total new car market, has also announced the addition of a six-disc CD autochanger to the range-topping £12,995 Espero 2.0 CDXi at no extra cost.

A YEAR after being appointed supplier of contract hire and related fleet management services to Sussex-based Fisher Rosemount, Automotive Leasing has delivered the 100th vehicle to be supplied on contract hire. Fisher Rosemount, part of Emerson Electric, design, manufacture and market control valves, instrumentation and digital control systems.

NEWCASTLE-based Home Housing Association has switched its 120-strong fleet to contract hire from outright purchase following the August 1, 1995 VAT changes which cut the cost of leasing.

NEW motor finance figures reveal a further shift away from hire purchase towards leasing in the business sector. Figures for March from the Finance & Leasing Association reveal that in the first quarter of 1996 demand for hire purchase dropped 10% to £771 million while leasing rose 25% to £867 million on the strength of last August's VAT changes.

ROVER is recalling 21,634 Rover 600 Series cars built between December 1994 and December 1995 to check a potential steering rack fault. The manufacturer has identified a few incidences of the rack mounting bolts working themselves loose leading to a rattle and a feeling of imprecision in the steering.

NISSAN has announced price increases on its Almera three and five-door models, Primera, QX and 200SX ranges. Almera prices have increased by 1.7% across the range, although prices of the recently launched four-door model remain unchanged. At the same time alloy wheels become standard on SLX and SRi models.

FLEET operators can still save thousands of pounds per vehicle by operating diesel cars as the dispute over diesel residual values intensifies. British Car Contracts stepped into the debate this week claiming that a company operating 750 Rover 600 diesel cars could save more than £1.5 million a year on a one-year contract against their petrol-engined equivalents.

THE Association of Car Fleet Operators' campaign against car delivery charges could succeed before the autumn. This has been one of the best planned and best resourced ACFO campaigns, and manufacturers have paid close attention.

VAN sales are up slightly year-on-year, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The drop in sales of vans up to 1.8 tonnes - down from 25,565 in the first four months of 1995 to 24,804 this year - is compensated by a rise in sales of 1.8-3.5 tonne vans to 41,537 (39,999).

THE April sales boom was reflected in the fleet diesel market, which recovered from a period of year-on-year sales reductions, to increase by 12.5%. Fleet diesel sales last month were 17,659 compared with 15,701 in April last year in a total diesel market up 3.7% at 29,992 (28,933).

THE April fleet market was up 17.7% at 82,135 from 69,793 in April last year. For the year to date fleet sales stand at 345,326 - up 7.9% from 320,174 in the first four months of 1995.

VAUXHALL is hoping to woo company car user-choosers into the Vectra after more than 18,000 people drove the car during a series of 10 driving days in April.

THIRTEEN company car drivers were responsible for 99 insurance claims in 12 months, highlighting the importance of concentrated driver training, according to VELO Insurance Services.

THE most popular method of obtaining company cars is contract hire, which has risen dramatically in the past year at the expense of outright purchase, according to the new Company Car Survey Report from Monmouth-based Alan Jones & Associates.