All articles by Verdict Staff

Fleet’s agreement with Northgate for LCV leasing

Fleets agreement with Northgate for LCV leasingLeasePlan UK and Northgate Vehicle Hire have signed a contract, under the terms of which Northgate will provide medium-term leasing and spot hire of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) to LeasePlans customers, through its FlexiVan rental product.The contract renews an existing agreement which has run for the past 20 months, and sees LeasePlan and Northgate extending their partnership until the end of 2009.Just over a quarter (34,000 units) of LeasePlans 130,000-strong fleet is made up of commercial vehicles, which the lessor sees as a major business opportunity in the context of a slowing economy.FlexiVan allows customers to hire vans ranging in size from car-derived vans through to panel vans, Lutons and specialist units, according to Northgate

Residual values plummet as credit squeeze bites

Residual values plummet as credit squeeze bitesUK motor lessors are increasingly alarmed at the fall in used-car values as retail demand continues to drop and second-hand vehicles remain stuck in showrooms.In early August EurotaxGlasss predicted that used-car values will fall by at least 12 per cent between now and Christmas. Adrian Rushmore, managing editor at EurotaxGlasss explained: We anticipate that trade prices will continue to fall at a greater rate, month on month, between now and the end of the year compared to one year ago.

Carrier Letter

Dear Readers,Welcome to the July issue of Motor Finance. This months cover story takes aim at customer relationship management (CRM) for dealers. Many dealers, Brian Rogerson finds, have invested in shiny CRM IT systems in order to make the most of their existing customer base, but poor implementation in many cases means the investment is a waste of time – and finance and insurance sales have suffered as a result. See How not to lose that loving feeling for a wide range of views and opinions on the subject, and ways forward for both financiers and their dealer partners.

Fleet and rental company link-up

Lenders face huge losses from gas guzzler glut

Captive grows H1 revenues 4 per cent

Green helping hand needed for smaller fleets

Uncertainty on VTs and cooling-off

Jaguar Land Rover appoints Fiat Financial Services as PoS finance partner

Jaguar Land Rover appoints Fiat Financial Services as PoS finance partner Fiat Group Automobiles Financial Services (FGAFS) is to provide point-of-sale finance to buyers of Jaguar and Land Rover cars in Europe from the middle of next year, when the contract with current PoS finance provider Ford Motor Credit expires.

Editor’s Letter

Sometimes, a press release can be every bit as amusing as the latest episode of Channel 4s Peep Show and just as comically inappropriate, too