News - Page 2113

WELL-known fleet industry figure Ken Forbes is to join Fleet NewsNet's parent company Emap Automotive as managing director of its motoring businesses. The move is part of a restructuring at the company aimed at devoting more resources to coverage of the motor industry.

THRIFTY Car Rental and Ford have signed a supply agreement that will see Thrifty take 4,500 new Ford vehicles in a deal worth £50 million at showroom prices - the largest Ford fleet deal Thrifty has signed. Ford has been the key supplier of vehicles to the Thrifty fleet for the last 10 years and the new deal means Ford vehicles will become 50% of Thrifty's planned 2001 acquisitions.

BMW will expand its portfolio in 2004 with the launch of both 1-series and 6-series ranges. The company admits the expansion of its range, which from July 7 will include new MINI and from January 1 2003, Rolls-Royce, has been made possible by the sale of Rover and Land Rover.

THE new BMW 3-series Compact will go on sale in the UK in August following its world debut in Geneva. With prices starting at about £16,500 for the entry-level 316ti, the range will also include a 192bhp 325ti.

THE entry-level to the all-new MINI brand - the MINI One - made its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The MINI will go on sale in the UK on July 7 with two versions - the 1.6-litre 90bhp MINI One and the MINI Cooper powered by the same 1.6-litre 16v engine but tuned to 115bhp.

TOYOTA hopes its latest product - the Avensis Verso - will help the company reach its target of a 5% share of the European car market by 2005. The car replaces the Picnic compact MPV and will go on sale in the UK this summer, giving drivers the choice of six or seven-seat versions.

ALFA Romeo is confident that an extra version of its 147 will be a smash hit. The company believes a high-value derivative model will soon account for 60% of sales of the sporty three-door car.

BRITISH Car Auctions has broken the record for the highest auction turnover and most vehicles sold in a single sale during an event at its Nottingham site on behalf of BMW Financial Services Group. All 513 cars offered from BMW FSG were bought, selling for £5.1 million.

CHRYSLER JEEP saw prices soar during a closed sale at Manheim Coventry, which achieved a 100% conversion rate. All 92 vehicles sold at the event, attended by 51 dealers, which saw a 2000 W-reg Jeep Grand Cherokee push up its used book value by £1,500, making £26,300, compared to prices of £24,800 last year.

FIRST National Motor Finance has signed a three-year £2.5 million contract to dispose of vehicles through Manheim Auctions. FNMF will exclusively remarket its vehicles through Manheim's UK network and through Premier Motorauctions Leeds.

CASH, passports, credit cards, an air gun and a dead mouse were among the personal belongings recovered from the 14,000 leased company cars returned to Interleasing for refurbishment last year. The £100,000 haul, which also included sunglasses, CDs and a child's seat, has led to Britain's company car drivers being dubbed 'forgetful and careless'.

THE fear of the unknown remains a hurdle for firms trying to tempt fleets into buying over the internet, with them opting for traditional sources despite investigating electronic purchasing. Disposing of vehicles over the web is also posing new problems that fleet managers need to understand when moving away from physical sales, according to a recent report.

FLEET managers will be key players in bringing in technology to reduce congestion on the roads over the next 10 years. The Government is backing new developments to give drivers the latest information on road conditions, improving warnings and understanding the reasons behind congestion.

MG Rover is sending out a strong message that people buying its products are buying British. At a time when most fleet cars are built outside the UK, MG Rover has decided to emphasise the fact that its cars are made in Britain with a Union Flag badge on the boot lid.

BRITAIN'S importer of Mazda cars has denied that its long-standing links with the Japanese manufacturer are about to be severed. Press reports speculating that British market distribution rights will soon be withdrawn from Mazda Cars UK Ltd were incorrect, managing director Tim Tozer insisted at the Geneva Motor Show.

RENAULT wants non-conformist business motorists to help turn its radical new luxury car into a showroom success across Europe. The French company believes there are sufficient executives with outgoing personalities to make its Vel Satis model a hit against traditional corporate-sector prestige cars like the Mercedes-Benz E-class and the BMW 5-series.

CORPORATE sales by Volvo are expected to surge ahead across world markets in future - thanks to a little help from Britain. Expertise gained in the British fleet market is poised to play a significant role in the growth of the company, Volvo UK managing director Gerry Keaney told Fleet NewsNet at the Geneva Motor Show.

BRITISH fleet drivers are to get their own version of a new king-size estate car from Citroen. After negotiating special LX derivatives of the C5 saloon to be launched next month, Citroen UK executives have also now secured supplies of a unique-to-Britain version of the load-carrier model revealed at the Geneva Motor Show.

FIAT is poised to package luxury car equipment and features into a new kind of family car when it introduces the Stilo range later this year. The three and five-door hatchback models will boast pacesetting technology in packages that have distinctly different driving characteristics, claims Fiat Auto marketing chief Juan Jose Diaz Ruiz.

THE diesel car market in the UK is predicted to double in size in the next four years - due mainly to 2002 company car tax changes - and two Japanese car giants are preparing to take full advantage. Toyota is currently introducing common rail diesels across its range and will bring in even cleaner diesels in 2003, while Honda will be introducing diesel for the first time in 2002 - both moves aimed at winning more company car business.

HONDA launched a Civic-based compact MPV at the Geneva Motor Show. The Stream will go on sale in the UK in late spring to replace the Shuttle MPV, and is the same length as the Accord.

RANGE-topping performance versions of the Ford Focus and Mondeo will go on sale late this year with user-chooser company car drivers among the targets. And the autumn arrival of both the 200bhp-plus Focus RS and Mondeo ST220 will ultimately pave the way for the return in two to three years of the Cosworth name to Ford cars.

CLASS-leading safety features available as standard on every model which will be launched with highly competitive prices are expected to be the key attributes in the Peugeot 307 winning both fleet and retail success. Claiming the all-new 307 will have unprecendented levels of safety equipment for the segment, Peugeot UK managing director Tod Evans believes new car sales could eclipse those of the 306 - the car it replaces and the best-selling Peugeot of all-time in the UK.

THE first fruits of Ford's diesel engine agreement with PSA Peugeot Citroen will be seen with the launch of the new Fiesta in the autumn. A combination of Ford's agreement with PSA and the transformation of its Dagenham operation into a global centre of diesel production producing one million units a year from 2004 will meet UK and European diesel demand in the future.

A FLEET of 50 Ford fuel cell vehicles will go on trial with customers in the United States of America by 2004. And the manufacturer is currently discussing whether fuel cell vehicles could also be test driven in the UK and Europe.

BRITAIN'S new company car benefit-in-kind tax rules are set to fuel a fleet market bonanza for Audi, it was claimed at the Geneva Motor Show. A spokesman said: 'Manufacturers who back their products with a wide choice of options are well placed to sell more cars.

PLANS for a new British sports car to challenge the successful Porsche Boxster model are expected to get the green light this autumn. Executives at Aston Martin are confident of winning approval for the challenge by September, it was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show.