By Richard Irvine-Brown, Peter Johnstone & Steffen Müller
The weekly round-up of fleet news goes 100% German, including fleet figures, green vehicle deal, and an EV prototype for the car-share market.
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Germany: Car rentals up as fleet declines
German fleet, construction and trade vehicles all recorded a year-on-year drop in registrations in February, while rental car registrations increased, according to Frankfurt-based business information provider Dataforce.
Year-on-year, fleet registrations fell 12.44% to 44,846 units for the month, construction vehicle registrations fell 9.96% to 18,710 units, trade vehicle registrations fell 3.42% to 46,907 units and car rental company registrations rose 11.07% to 22,182 units.
Dataforce ascribed the decline to the low level of GDP in Germany in Q4 2012 and uncertainty of demand from neighbouring European nations but added some fleet managers were planning to expand their fleet, according to surveys conducted by the company.
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Mobility Concept helps Dachser to greener fleet
German logistics firm Dachser has leased 25 reduced-CO2 koda Octavia Combis from fleet lessor Mobility Concept as it transfers its fleet from a purchase to a lease model.
Mobility Concept, part of the UniCredit group, signed an exclusive four-year deal to handle Dachser’s 700-vehicle fleet in late 2012.
According to the lessor, Dachser’s fleet philosophy has been moving "in a green direction" for some years and this latest deal, as well as the recent switch from buying to leasing, is part of this strategy.
German firm targets car-share market with single-seater EV
German company Innovative Mobility Automobile (IMA) said it is targeting 500,000 German business-to-business customers, including car-sharing providers, delivery and mobile nursing services, with its electric one-seater Colibri.
The car, the first prototype of which was unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show, with production due to start in late 2014, is powered by a lithium-iron-phosphate battery, giving it a range of up to 110km.
IMA envisages a mid-term production of 17,000 cars per year, priced under 10,000 with an additional battery lease.
Thomas delos Santos, chief executive of IMA, said the company wanted "to construct an electric vehicle suitable for daily urban use," which was "economic, ecologic, and easy to combine with other modes of transportation."
