News - Page 2156

SPECULATION that Rover's used car disposal strategy was in disarray after the cancellation of two BCA single badge auctions in May has been dashed by leading industry observers.

IAM Fleet Training's chief executive Christopher Bullock has accused companies which do not include fleet training within their fleet management strategy as 'irresponsible'.

FORMER Longbridge plant managing director Kevin Howe has been appointed Rover Cars chief executive by the Phoenix Consortium. He is joined on the board by other Rover veterans, among them past fleet sales manager John Parkinson, who takes on the role of sales and marketing director.

FLEET managers have been urged to consider the threatened abolition of recommended retail prices as an incentive to prepare now for the 2002 introduction of benefit-in-kind company car tax based on carbon dioxide.

SMART repair centre chain Scuffs, co-founded by former BCH Vehicle Management chief executive Richard Pepper, is to open eight new sites in Britain this year after securing £7.8 million in venture capital.

DOUG Sawers, managing director of Budget Car and Van Rental in the UK for 18 months, has left the company.

FURTHER signs of consolidation in the turbulent contract hire sector emerged today after Standard Chartered announced the possible sale of Chartered Trust and its vehicle leasing subsidiaries ACL autolease and Motorent.

A DAMNING attack on the maintenance standards of the Metropolitan Police fleet was launched after it was revealed up to a quarter of its vehicles are off the road for repairs every day. Police Minister Charles Clarke revealed in the House of Commons that during April, 864 of the force's 3,991 vehicles were off the road for maintenance each day. This has been blamed on a recall of the entire front-line fleet following fears over safety standards, but in January there were 532 vehicles off the road each day, 427 in February and 405 in March.

THE Competition Commission has cast a shadow over the new and used car industry which may only be lifted by radical action from manufacturers, Glass's Guide has warned.

APATHY and perceived pressures of work have resulted in the failure of a drive by the Association of Car Fleet Operators to have a 2,000-strong membership by the start of the new millennium.

THE British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association wants urgent action by police to radically alter a stolen vehicle recovery process which hits member firms with hundreds of pounds in fees.

FLEETS and police forces are in dispute over the recovery of broken down company vehicles.

FLEET managers should not see Renault's decision to cut back on the number of its dealerships and those operated by its part-owned subsidiary Nissan as a pre-emptive move to reduce servicing outlets by all manufacturers.

FORD is aiming to boost sales of Land Rover sport utility vehicles by 40% over the next few years, following the completion of the $2.7 billion (£1.8 billion) acquisition of Land Rover from BMW, it has been claimed.

THE fleet industry needs to work with dealers and manufacturers to create a united front in the battle to defend block exemption in order to maintain a robust and reliable car buying and servicing infrastructure.

LEADING industry experts have clashed over predictions that residual values of light commercial vehicles are unsustainable and are set to fall. The market is split between those who predict prices will remain stable and those who feel there is a risk of a sharp downturn over the next few months.

MANHEIM Europe, the new corporate identity for all Manheim Auctions and technology firms throughout Europe, has signalled ambitious expansion plans in the high tech arena with the appointment of Jonathan Holland as director of Manheim Interactive Services.

GOVERNMENT subsidies are to be introduced within the next two months which will cut the cost of hybrid motoring for fleets in Britain by up to £2,000 per vehicle.

SIX of Britain's best known fleets are set to be founder members of a ground-breaking Government scheme to slash company fuel costs and clean up the environment.

BEING easy looks set to become a lot harder in the daily rental industry as a host of companies lock horns in the courts over who can use the name.

FORD of Britain recorded a pre-tax loss of £119 million on turnover of £6,292 million last year, according to figures released by the company on Friday.

FUEL prices are set to rise by 13.6p-22.7p a gallon (3p-5p a litre) over the summer as oil companies look to cash in on the annual surge in fine weather motoring, it was claimed this week.