News - Page 2408

FIRST National Bank, consumer finance subsidiary of Abbey National, has bought contract hire company Elton Holdings for £9.9 million.

NISSAN tops the upper and lower medium fleet sector operating costs tables in the latest edition of Cowie Interleasing's Company Car Comparisons booklet.

ROVER has come under attack as the 'European volume manufacturer with most work to accomplish to reach industry standards' in a report on the European motor industry from investment bankers Salomon Brothers.

VOLUME car residuals have risen significantly following manufacturers' recent attempts to cut daily rental business, according to Glass's Guide.

THE British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has warned the contract hire industry of allegations of tax evasion to gain competitive advantage.

N0RSK Data fleet manager Peter Carson favoured quarterly change. "It is bizarre that we conduct all the business in the car trade when everyone is on holiday. It needs to be shifted. I hope the new letters won't have any significance but no doubt the price guides will think of something. What I do hope is that we see a properly considered change rather than something half-hearted that will need tweaking every year.'

CAP'S chief economist Mark Cowling favoured a single plate change in June while Glass's Guide backed the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association's idea of a bi-annual change, in January and July.

A COWIE spokesman said: 'We want the August distortion removed. If nothing is done, by the end of the decade 30% of car sales will be concentrated in August. The main stumbling block is the police and that's why we want number plates based on local post codes. People would remember them. A change would encourage fleets to buy when they needed cars rather than waiting for a new letter. If the RMIF finds a system that looks remotely workable we will back it.'

DSS departmental transport officer, Gwilym Anthony was all for splitting the country into areas and running trials of all the suggested changes to see which works best. He said: 'In fleet management you run a pilot and if it works you try to take it up.'

EURODOLLAR fleet director David Willsher said his company was lobbying for its preferred scheme - letter changes in January and July.

THE RMIF's new chief executive, Christopher Macgowan said: 'People have latched on to four quarterly changes but that is only one choice. The police want a letter identifier because in a crime nine out of ten witnesses remember it If we cant get agreement the government might do nothing and an opportunity could be missed.'

THE Association of Car Fleet Operators has no official preference but director and membership secretary Stewart Whyte said an ACFO poll at the 1995 Fleet Show had a majority of 600 voters wanting a single letter change - either in April or January. Whyte said: 'January aligns with the calendar and April aligns with the fiscal year. If I hadn't tackled the Department of Transport over this we wouldn't even be getting a consultative document. They were going to go with a quarterly change starting with R in November, S in February and so on. Now they are talking about an interim short term situation with a new system for the millennium.'

THREE weeks after P-plate day and the belief that the annual August 1 race for a new car with a new registration plate was coming to an end, it emerged that there may be R-plate day on August 1, 1997 and changing the system could be put on hold pending a general election.

FIAT'S new 815kg payload panel van - the Scudo - goes on sale in the UK from September in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged diesel guise.

PUBLIC sector fleet specialist Automotive Leasing has won one of its largest ever contracts with a potential 6,500 commercial vehicles.

PEUGEOT has revealed ambitious plans to double its sales of commercial vehicles in the UK over the next 12 months and boost its number of dedicated van centres to over 100.

FORD has launched a special edition Transit '96 aimed at attracting the small-business buyer.

THE RAC has joined forces with Ford to road test the company's satellite navigation system prior to its planned sale date next year.

DELICE de France has signed a five-year contract hire deal worth £500,000 to obtain a temperature-controlled fleet. The contract has gone to TDG's vehicle rental specialist, Swift.

AMBULANCE versions of the LDV Convoy have gone on sale after their debut at the Ambex International Show in Harrogate.

TOYOTA Motor Manufacturing (UK)'s bid to keep a grip on fuel and oil costs led it to opt for Fleet Cost Management's fleet card for the 40 cars and light commercials on its pool fleet.

SPECIALIST vehicle finance company Barr & Barr has purchased a fleet of six Toyota RAV4s for its staff.

LUXURY cars must be specified with air conditioning if fleets are to obtain top residual values at auction, it was claimed.

MONTINEX - the holding company for the fast-fit group comprising Charlie Browns Autocentres, Chessington and Fleet and Malvern Tyres - has bought the Albany Tyre and Exhaust Group, which has outlets in Bridgwater, Epsom, Sandhurst, Weston-Super-Mare and Wokingham, for an undisclosed sum.

NISSAN is to launch a side airbag system in its flagship QX model range in Europe next autumn and across volume passenger models by the end of 1998.

DIAL has entered into a new partnership agreement with Hermes Technical Consultants to improve its Dial Assure accident management service.

BODYSHOPS awaiting payments for repairs carried out following the collapse of insurance company Paramount are likely to receive the majority of outstanding amounts, the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association said this week.

THE AA is asking fleet managers to help stop car clockers by including mileage on vehicle registration documents when de-fleeting company cars.

NORTH Yorkshire police has acquired 20 new Ford police cars on contract hire from Ford Contract Motoring - the first such contract of its kind.

EVIDENCE that MPVs and not 4x4s are the trendy fleet vehicle has emerged from Britain's largest fleet management company.