NEWS

COMPANY cars account for half of all new cars sold in the UK every year and the PBR has pleased some buyers… But not all! Richard Lawton markets fleet car website fleetdirectory.co.uk. He described the Chancellor’s green company car move as ‘unusable, nothing more than an easier headline grabber from the Chancellor. ‘If the Government [...]

MAZDA is selling more cars to fleets, as businesses respond to list price increases from many manufacturers. The firm says its ability to manage price rises through 2009 has seen it win a big boost in fleet forward orders. These are up 19 percent, compared to an 11 percent decline across all car makers. ‘The [...]

LEX Autolease has released figures showing that average company car emissions already beat next April’s key CO2 figure. The firm’s fleet average for 2008 was 158g/km – easily under the 161g/km benchmark taxbreak figure which comes into force in April 2010. Cars emitting less than this will be eligible for higher allowances on corporation tax. [...]

FLEET operators have said their ‘worst fears’ have been realised with the latest SMMT car sales figures. These show a massive fall in fleet and business sales. This has led fleet industry representative ACFO to condemn scrappage as a failure, for the businesses buying at least 60 percent of all new cars – and almost [...]

VAUXHALL will launch the all-new Astra this winter, after announcing prices at next week’s Frankfurt Motor Show. But, to promote the firm’s GM Special Vehicles service, it’s already made the latest one available to cops! Vauxhall wants car dealers and customers to be more aware of the Special Vehicles service, which can lead to profitable [...]

TOYOTA GB has appointed Mark Roden as its new head of fleet and vehicle remarketing for both Toyota and Lexus. The 45 year old has been given the job of helping Toyota GB recover in a very tough marketplace. Already, he has decided a green approach will help take the company forward. He is going [...]

OXFORD smart has delivered an brace of smarts to an interesting customer – the City’s local taxi firm! Thame’s Solocar is promising faregoers a one-fifth saving per journey, thanks to the low running costs of the city two-seater. Boss George Raithby is the man behind the four-car deal for smart Oxford, after finally convincing the [...]

KIA dealers now have enhanced opportunities in the fleet sales sector, thanks to a new partnership. The company has teamed up with ALD Automotive, to offer a new dealer-based contract hire service. This will help Kia’s 134 car dealers target fleet and corporate sales. Every Kia car dealer in the country can now access ALD’s [...]

ACFO chairman Julie Jenner says the fleet body is disappointed by the new car scrappage scheme. It had wanted to see the scheme extend to cars up to four years old, not just brand-new ones. What’s more, it had also aimed for a CO2 emissions cap of 165g/km or less – again, something that hasn’t [...]

RECESSIONARY pressures are causing company car fleets to reassess their policies – with many making big changes. The popularity of ‘user chooser’ fleets is diminishing, as fleet managers look to cut costs and increase safety levels. GE Fleet Services reports that such expensive to run flexible fleet policies are on the decrease, with fleets ‘suddenly’ [...]

SCRAPPAGE incentives for new cars must be extended to the used car market too, says the country’s car fleet representative. The Association of Chief Fleet Operators says that used cars up to four years old, with CO2 emissions of 165g/km or less, should also be covered by the scrap scheme. This could be a sliding [...]

1LINK Disposal Network has been further boosted by the addition of three major fleet companies. CLM Fleet Management, Inchcape Fleet Solutions and Volkswagen Financial Services have all signed up this month, vastly increasing the sales platform’s reach. It allows all the major fleets to deal their old stock directly to car dealers. Owners epyx are [...]