Category : Opinions
What I’ve learnt – Richard Schooling of Alphabet
Car ownership is no longer the be-all and end-all Historically, your car signalled perceived personal status and conferred a degree of authority, ie the more expensive … Read More »
Q&A: FleetCor UK's Callum Gibson on the firm's developments
What were your priorities when you joined Fleetcor? Fleetcor UK has three customer facing brands: Allstar, Keyfuels and The Fuel Card Company. The key driver for … Read More »
Q&A: Leasedrive's Roddy Graham on the HgCapital deal
What does the deal involve? HgCapital has bought the business and all existing shareholders (management and LDC) have reinvested to the value of 20% of the … Read More »
In the dark
I was out running the pavements in the middle of town the other evening and was slightly alarmed to notice how many street lights weren’t working. … Read More »
What I’ve learnt
Mapping the journey In 17 years as a consultant in the fleet industry, I’ve seen a significant shift in the relationship between companies and their fleet … Read More »
Back in contention
Peugeot has sought to reinvent itself in recent years. Once a major volume player, up there behind Ford and Vauxhall, and one of the biggest fleet … Read More »
Fleet on Fleet – Ian Luckett of Lucketts Travel interviewed
Fleet size 109 coaches and minibuses Lucketts is a family-owned, multi-award winning coach and travel company. How did it all start? The company was started … Read More »
Fleet and its role in UK PLC
Gerry Keaney has been surprised. In his first year as chief executive of the BVRLA he’s been able to tour the fleet industry and what … Read More »
Paper trail
I’ve been awaiting with interest the outcome of the debate on whether to scrap the paper motor insurance certificate. Of course, we are now sticking with … Read More »
Let battle commence
There’s long been an unwritten rule adhered to by the bosses of the UK’s two biggest car sellers that they don’t acknowledge each other’s brand … Read More »
100k and counting…
Lex Autolease will grow by 100,000 vehicles in the next five years, and it will do it in some pretty innovative ways, its new managing director … Read More »
No fare alternative
How will we ever persuade employees out of their cars and onto public transport? I’m thinking ahead to a time when workplace parking prevents us from … Read More »
Hyundai gets emotional
Hyundai has been chipping away at the company car market for more than 20 years but now has the product line-up and commitment to finally present … Read More »
Fleet on Fleet – Danny Alborough of Gratte Brothers
Fleet size 200 vehicles What’s the history of Gratte Brothers? From small beginnings as an electrical contractor, started by two brothers in the post war … Read More »
Interview – Benoit Dilly
I meet Benoit Dilly, Arval’s new managing director, on the top floor of the BNP Paribas building in central London, a vast metal and stone … Read More »
What I’ve learnt – Martin Evans of Jaama
Diversity and unbundling continue apace There has been a continuing growth in the diversity of vehicle-related products and services available to fleet managers and a … Read More »
Surveying the horizon
Ever wondered which car dealers are happy to represent the brand displayed over their door and whose teams start every day with a spring in … Read More »
Salary isn’t being sacrificed
Salary sacrifice is back in the news again with its devotees saying business is on the up, and the sceptics suggesting it still isn’t as … Read More »
Q&A – Mercedes-Benz
Q: Where is Mercedes-Benz in the UK today? MB: We are the “new luxury” brand, with Audi and BMW as premium. We have grown by 34% … Read More »
Talk the talk
Carmakers like to talk the talk when it comes to how they deliver customer satisfaction to fleets. I’ve lost count of the number of car … Read More »
On the road: Tipping the limit
If, like me, you have been led by sundry children’s motoring programmes to believe that, when it comes to practicality, flexibility and all-round indestructibility, the Toyota … Read More »
What I’ve learnt – Simon Oliphant of Hitachi Capital
What you’ve learnt in your 20+ years in fleet In March this year I celebrated 25 years at Hitachi Capital. When I started out we had … Read More »
Fleet on fleet: Darren Bell of G4S interviewed
Fleet size 2,000 plus vehicles Tell us a bit about the G4S fleet and the team which runs it. The G4S fleet consists of more … Read More »
A hard habit to break
It’s probably 20 years ago that a colleague passed the comment that someone was leaving the company and she wondered if he would take his pot … Read More »
What I’ve Learnt: LeasePlan's David Brennan
Respect your firm’s heritage It is very important to respect the heritage of a thriving company like LeasePlan, and understand why it is successful. However, at … Read More »
Total recall
Following my comment in last month’s column about VOSA’s lack of interest in pursuing a handbrake recall, I subsequently saw the Which? press release which noted … Read More »
Reputation management
The recent scandal where horse meat was being passed off as more palatable fare drew unfortunate attention to several leading food retailers and their processes. But … Read More »
Taking a lead in Europe
UK fleet bosses may not know it but they have a distinct advantage over their European counterparts when it comes to using main dealers to source … Read More »
On the road: Aiding and abetting
It’s pretty much the norm now that, in an increasingly irascible attempt to assess honest mechanical engineering rather than sly, over-solicitous electronics, I spend a good … Read More »
Top news of the week
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Government must introduce RIDDOR for driving at-work incidents, says GMB
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5-minute EV recharge time proven in first-ever demo
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E10 could address air pollution and fuel duty concerns in short term, APPG report finds
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Pendragon Vehicle Management signs up FMG for incident management
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First Drive: Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 d 4matic
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Road Test: Suzuki Jimny 1.5 SZ5
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Updated Cycle to Work scheme includes e-bikes
On the road: A queue too far
The most recent survey figures I can unearth suggest that, in 2012, traffic congestion cost our economy more than £4.3bn – equating to some £491 per … Read More »