The weekly round up of fleet news. This week featuring GE, Lombard, Fleet Logistics and Fulcrum. By Jonathan Minter
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Fleet Logistics to launch driver app
European independent fleet management provider Fleet Logistics is launching a free driver app to provide fleet drivers with access to vehicle details, mileage data, support services and other information.
The app allows drivers to communicate with the firm, as well as keep mileage records up to date and find answers to some frequently asked questions.
The app will first be added to the Windows app store, and is due to be added to the IOS and Android equivalent by the end of the year, the company said.
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By GlobalDataRBS and Lombard fund Cambridge start-up
UK bank RBS and its asset finance subsidiary Lombard have provided Cambridgeshire based SOS Leak Detection with a funding facility, which has enabled the company to more than double its fleet of vans from seven to 15.
As well as allowing the company to add to its fleet, RBS said the facility had been put in place to assist with cash flow.
SOS formed at the end of the 2013 by Nik Day, who said; "We reached a point where we needed to inject further capital into the business to meet the demand from our customers and support our increasing turnover."
Fulcrum finds its platform
Fleet daily rental company Fulcrum Automotive Solutions has signed up to use fleet software provider epyx’s 1link Hire Network vehicle rental e-commerce platform.
Based in Leicester, Fulcrum acts as a rental provider to fleets by providing a choice of suppliers to meet a rental need, charging a transaction fee for the service.
Fulcrum director Russell Allen said he expected the 1link hire network to integrate well into the company’s existing structure.
GE Capital: CO2 emissions tops fleet concerns
C02 emissions limit is still the deciding factor for choosing company cars, according to a poll conducted by GE Capital Fleet Services.
From a "wide-range" of GE Capital respondents, 62% selected C02 emissions as a criteria for an employee’s choice of car, down from 67% 12 months ago. Fitness for purpose was the second most selected answer, despite also dropping, from 59% to 52%.
Maximum monthly rental or cost was the selected by just over half, 51%, of respondents, a 1% increase on 2013’s equivalent poll.
Gary Killeen, head of Fleet Services Commercial, GE Capital UK, said; "We may be heading towards better economic conditions but the fleet industries general mind set shows no signs of significantly changing."
However he suggested this could be beginning to change, and said: "It may be noteworthy that the top two factors – ‘CO2 emissions’ and ‘fitness for purpose’ – have both fallen in popularity in percentage terms compared to the Company Car Trends research undertaken at the same point in 2013. This could indicate that organisations are perhaps loosening policy requirements a little."
