All articles by MF Editorial
MF Editorial
BER report: The F&I implications
BER report: The F&I implications The European Commissions evaluation report on the Block Exemption Regulation 2002 (BER) observes that customers are enjoying much higher levels of competition within the new car sector than they were when the last BER was drafted, but that this is result more of market forces than the Commissions intervention. In fact, the report goes on to point out several instances where the Commissions objectives in drafting the 2002 BER such as encouraging higher levels of autonomy from franchised dealers just havent happened.
Online management portal launched
Online management portal launched GM UK Fleet has launched an online hub, located at http:www.gmukfleethub.co.uk, which it describes as a one-stop interactive online portal which provides the ability to view the whole range of vehicles and services offered to the fleet industry by all of the General Motors UK brands.
Looking beyond ‘bread and butter’ contract hire
Of course, for companies which have outsourced their contract hire company car schemes to an external provider, the headache of catering to all of these competing demands is mostly someone elses problem; all they need to do is review their contract every so often to ensure they are still getting best value for money.
New end-of-life service
New end-of-life service To help with the recovery of end-of-contract damage costs and excess mileage liabilities, Manheim DeFleet Services has launched what it described as an innovative vehicle inspection and damage collection service, in partnership with Close Credit Management
Captive reports higher net sales in Q1
Captive reports higher net sales in Q1 Banque PSA Finance, the financial services division of PSA Peugeot Citron reported a 10.3 per cent rise in net sales to 524m (£413m) in the first quarter ended March compared with the same period a year ago The division posted the highest year-on-year growth in net sales for the group which reported total sales of 15.2bn (£12bn) against 14.9bn (£11.8bn) the year before
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Pre-contract hybrid fleet from lessor
Venson Automotive Solutions has launched a seven-car fleet of hybrids for pre-contract use, replacing a fleet of diesel vehicles The pre-contract cars – four Honda Civic hybrids and three Toyota Prius hybrids – are for use by Venson customers when a short-term need for an additional fleet vehicle arises, for example when an employee is seconded from abroad or as a stop-gap measure for the period between disposal of an old vehicle and delivery of a new company car. Sales director at Venson, Simon Staton said: We believe that hybrid vehicles have a growing role to play in fleet policies, but it is only by experiencing their attributes from behind the wheel that employees can truly appreciate their performance and environmental credentials.
Pick-ups
The pick-up sector has enjoyed relative volume growth in recent years thanks to the lenient Benefit-in-Kind taxation for company car drivers This fuelled the demand for hi-spec double-cab pick-ups that effectively acted as the family car at weekends As a result, this sector has been a consistent performer at auction, but with pick-ups now subject to the same BIK rules that cover cars, and also with higher VED costs due to emissions some may have expected the interest to falter and demand patterns to change
Ringways gets £15m funding from Bank of Scotland Dealer Finance
Independent Ford main dealership group Ringways has received £15m in new funding from Bank of Scotland Dealer Finance (BoSDF), it was announced, as part of a restructuring of its funding package.
Lookers to make foray into contract hire business
Lookers plc may add a contract hire operation to its vast motor retailing business, chief executive Ken Surgenor has revealed.
Budget 2008: Bad news on capital allowances
The changes from April 2009 in capital allowances (CAs) and other business expenditure on cars will have big effects on contract hire and leasing. Cars above the 165gkm emission limit will attract very low CAs at 10 per cent per annum. Even most other cars will only attract 20 per cent CAs, compared with 25 per cent up to now.