By Grant Collinson, Peter Johnstone and Richard Irvine-Brown

A weekly round-up of the week’s continental and UK fleet news featuring a guide to European tax from PwC, latest VW offers, a BMW-Arval agreement, LeasePlan’s public sector contract, Hitachi’s take-up of Lombard vehicles and initiatives from the BVRLA.

PwC guide to European fleet tax

Professional services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has released the seventh edition of its European Taxation Guide to identify fleet cost-saving potential across Europe.

Highlights from the edition, sponsored by Opel and ARI Fleet, include the prevalence of European nations switching to emissions-based company car tax systems, the savings potential in lowering CO2 thresholds and the reduced guarantee of savings from running diesel-engine fleets. For instance, 20 EU member states now link company cars to emissions taxation while 15 member states incentivise the use of hybrid vehicles.

The guide covers 23 continental markets in print and 29 in its digital format.

Lombard winds up fleet with 9,000 car sale to Hitachi

Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions has acquired a fleet of around 9,000 vehicles from Lombard Vehicle Management (LVM).

The transfer, of mostly cars and light commercial vehicles run by smaller fleets and SMEs, took place on 2 April, and adds to the 70,000 vehicles currently run by Hitachi Capital.

The company said its focus was on "integrating these new customers and their drivers into the Hitachi business", adding it had "set up a dedicated team to ensure a smooth transition."

The purchase marks the final step in Lombard’s closure of LVM, as it launches its new contract hire service Lombard Vehicle Solutions through ALD Automotive, which the company says is "capable of growing to a fleet of 30,000 units."

A Lombard spokesman said the decision to close was "a difficult one" but was necessary to "de-risk and re-focus" the business of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, within which Lombard operates, adding Lombard’s core asset finance business would not be affected.

Arval takes charge of electric BMW

BMW has provided fleet and leasing company Arval with a BMW ActiveE electric sports coupé for a six-month period.

The car, one of those used during the London 2012 Olympics, will form part of Arval’s 2013 fleet, as well as giving employees and customers the opportunity to experience driving a fully electric vehicle (EV).

The ActiveE, of which around 1,000 have been produced, is based on BMW’s 1-Series. The manufacturer claims acceleration of 0-62mph in nine seconds, a top speed of 90mph, and a range of up to 100 miles.

David Bushnell, fleet consultant at Arval, said: "Having driven the ActiveE it’s a really refined electric car. We are regularly asked about new technologies by our customers so it’s crucial to have access to these vehicles so that we can make customers aware of the benefits and practicalities involved and can also take an educated view on how it could be successfully incorporated into their fleet."

VW UK Q2 deals

Volkswagen has announced a spree of second-quarter finance offers for commercial vehicles in the UK including van rental starting at £199 a month, deposit contributions up to £2,000 and servicing deals for Crafter models and used vans.

Contract hire and finance lease rates include £199 a month for the standard Caddy, plus £1,000 deposit contribution, rising to £215 a month for the Caddy Trendline and £229 a month for the Caddy Highline. The VW Transporter starts at £239 a month, £259 for the Trendline version and £269 for the Highline, with a £500 deposit contribution. Rates on the Crafter have been reduced by £10 a month to £299, and now include the tipper and dropside variants, with a £1,000 deposit contribution or £2,000 if financed on lease purchase or hire purchase.

The Caravelle people carrier is available from £449 a month with a £1,500 deposit contribution and the Amarok pick-up truck at £259 a month when bought on the Volkswagen Solutions branded PCP.

LeasePlan wins ‘first rank’ in UK public sector tender

Automotive Leasing, the public sector division of LeasePlan in the UK, has been named "first ranked" supplier for Vehicle Lease, Contract Hire & Associated Products & Service on the Government’s Procurement for Housing framework agreement.

As such, clients under the social housing framework, which include housing associations, local authorities, social landlords, social housing management organisations and other related public sector departments, can offer a direct award to Automotive Leasing rather than having to conduct any further tendering.

Automotive Leasing was awarded the status, with the potential to provide services to up to 800 members served by the Procurement for Housing consortium, with particular acclaim for the firm’s "quality, technical merit and customer service".

Tim Meadows, brand director for Automotive Leasing, described the award as an "unprecedented achievement" and "testament to the hard work of our team and the strong delivery in previous years."

Kia and Carillion join BVRLA safety recall system

Kia Motors and Carillion Fleet Management are the latest companies to sign up to the free-to-use ReCare safety recall system operated by the British Vehicles Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).

The two firms join manufacturers Ford and Volvo and five major fleet operators – ALD Automotive, Alphabet, Arval, LeasePlan, Lex Autolease and Tusker – in participating in the safety recall system, which was developed for the BVRLA by software firm Ebbon-Dacs.

The ReCare scheme, which went live at the end of last year, is open to fleet operators and fleet management companies which are BVRLA members to retrieve recall information by inputting their own fleet data for comparison purposes.

John Lewis BVRLA chief executive said: "Obviously, we would still like to see more vehicle manufactures sign up to ReCare as soon as possible. The system becomes increasingly viable and relevant once we achieve critical mass."

Steve Molyneux, head of commercial at Ebbon-Dacs and responsible for managing the project, said discussions were on-going with a number of major fleet industry players he expects to be able to make further announcements soon.

CBVC appoints Noble

UK independent fleet management service provider CBVC has appointed Kim Noble director of customer service as the company aims to increase its market presence.

Noble joins following 20 years with Birmingham-based fleet lessor Leasedrive.

Noble will evaluate the CBVC’s customer service platforms and resources and manage and look to grow the company’s client base.

Cenex to present at Fleet Show 2013

Cenex, the UK centre of excellence for low-carbon vehicles, is set to make its first presentation at the Fleet Show.

Rob Anderson, programme and communications manager at Cenex, will speak about developments in low-carbon vehicle technology, including trials the centre has run on electric vehicles, before joining a panel debate later in the day on fleet.

The Fleet Show 2013 takes place at Silverstone, Northamptonshire, on 24 April.

BVRLA welcomes low carbon vehicle report

Meanwhile, the BVRLA has welcomed an independent report which has called on the UK government to immediately reinstate the 100% first year capital allowances for leasing and rental companies funding ultra-low carbon and electric vehicles (ULEV).

The allowance was removed in the 2012 budget and the report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said the change has had "a serious impact on the fiscal incentives available to support ULEV uptake, particularly by public sector bodies".

The report quoted data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders which showed 58% of new vehicle registrations were made by businesses, and of these registrations over 90 per cent were part of a fleet of 25 vehicles or more and said many interviewees argued "the key to promoting ULEV uptake lay in supporting leasing and rental companies, partly as a means of allowing the public to gain experience of ULEVs."
The BVRLA’s John Lewis said the organisation was delighted the report had the vital importance of the vehicle rental and leasing industry in driving the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, which "the government has chosen to ignore".

Tusker to tackle Tough-Mudder

A group of 20 employees at salary sacrifice company Tusker is attempting to raise £2,000 for a children’s cancer charity by participating in the Tough Mudder adventure challenge.

The team, led by chief executive David Hosking and including all of the company’s senior management, will be running for the Teenage Cancer Trust on 4 May, through 12 miles of muddy fields in Northamptonshire.

peter.johnstone@timetric.com

grant.collinson@timetric.com

richard.brown@timetric.com