Throughout 2022 franchised dealers have reported strong demand for light commercial vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, but the continued restrictions to component supply have frustrated manufacturers in their ability to produce sufficient new vehicles to match orders, said Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association. In 2022, total LCV registrations fell by … [Read more...]
Full autonomy more like assisted driving reality
Fleets should “look beyond” full autonomy at other possible uses of new assisted driver technology, says the Association of Fleet Professionals. Paul Hollick, chair at the industry body, said that it was becoming clear that the promise of entirely self-driving cars was unlikely to materialise in the near future but that other potentially useful – and even transformational – ideas were coming to … [Read more...]
Van fleets attracted to ev models
More than 90% of businesses that try out an electric van using its medium term rental product – Arval Flex EV – are opting to keep them, Arval UK is reporting. Product Manager, Glynn Hopkins, said that many were using medium term rental as a way to operate an electric van on a trial basis and the vast majority were finding them a good fit for their fleet. “There’s obviously a lot of discussion … [Read more...]
EV charging cost soars 50% since May
The cost of rapid charging an electric car has gone up 50% in eight months – but those who do most of their charging at home still get great value RAC and FairCharge again urge Government to cut VAT rate at public chargers to make all charging better value and encourage the take up of evs. The Government has already said it plans to begin introducing roadtax for evs, which is likely to slow the … [Read more...]
Stellantis stuck in shipments row
Stellantis appears to be manipulating the new car market and making buyers pay for it. The trade press has reported the massive PSA/ Fiat/ Vauxhall conglomerate has been making dealers register cars still on their way or in logistics hubs but not on the road in the hands of their buyers. Motorists have also been made to pay for the cars in advance or lose the order and racked up finance … [Read more...]
Fleets must deliver greater value than before
Electrification and the impact of the recession look set to be the key fleet issues of 2023, the Association of Fleet Professionals is predicting. Chair Paul Hollick said that that businesses would be looking to fleet managers to deliver more value than ever, especially when it came to cost control and carbon savings. “Next year is going to be a tough one, no question, and there will be … [Read more...]
Newslines 12 December
Our data shows that without advertising the fact Asda has taken an average of 4.5p off the cost of litre of unleaded across its 320 sites and around 5.5p off diesel, said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams. “While we’re pleased one major supermarket retailer has finally started heeding our calls to pass on the enormous drop in the wholesale prices of both fuels, the fact these price cuts have been … [Read more...]
After the hard winter, more chilling news to come
A massive hike in fuel duties is on the cards next spring after a particularly tough winter of rising costs, said the RAC. RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said, “As things stand, drivers will face an enormous hike in the cost of fuel next Spring due to fuel duty going up. “The Office of Budget Responsibility expects to see 12p added to a litre of fuel, as a result of the current 5p duty … [Read more...]
Vehicle leasing costs rising & more to come
Higher Bank of England interest rates mean that company car and van lease costs are beginning to increase, reports the Association of Fleet Professionals. Denise Lane, board director at the industry body, explained that the increases were not uniform across the market but widely reported by AFP members and especially appeared to be affecting vehicles already on order. She said, “Businesses are … [Read more...]
Grey fleets are showing up as the colour of money
A worrying trend is accelerating with companies and employees' cars. New HMRC data shows a marked fall in company car numbers of up to 80,000 cars and it means that grey fleets are growing quite rapidly and suggests more drivers decided to take a cash option during the pandemic, said Fleet Check managing director Peter Golding (below). If they are now using their own cars for business purposes … [Read more...]