Category : Opinions
Going spare
It’s those round black things which are vexing me again, or rather the lack of them. In recent years, it has become the trend for many … Read More »
Birthday wishes
Pendragon Contracts is celebrating its 30th birthday this year, having battled through the credit crunch, realigned its business and is now looking to grow its fleet … Read More »
Covering all bases
The new car market has been a tough place to operate for most car brands since the onset of the economic downturn. Old ways of doing … Read More »
Whiskey on wheels
LH What’s the composition of Chivas fleet? TC Chivas Brothers is part of the Pernod Ricard Group, and we produce whisky brands such as Chivas Regal, … Read More »
The downtime dilemma
Recently, Vauxhall loaned us an Ampera for evaluation. And a very good car it is too. It’s also a long time since I drove a car … Read More »
Growing pains?
As most mainstream car manufacturers scrabble about trying to retain market share, Kia Motors (UK) president and CEO Paul Philpott has a different kind of problem: … Read More »
Cream of the crop
One the mostly fiercely contested parts of the fleet market is the premium sector. Here sales have remained strong throughout the recession, with models such as … Read More »
The Sky isn’t the limit
As you might have seen earlier in this issue, Mazda is at a watershed: its range is almost about to be replaced in its entirety over … Read More »
Spoilt for choice?
Businesses are tightening up choice lists in a way that has not been seen for a while. The move is often cyclical with companies tending to … Read More »
The Insider: What goes on tour…
As summer draws to a close, I reflect on another season of company drivers taking touring holidays abroad, and bringing their cars safely home again. In … Read More »
At your service?
Service, maintenance and repair are expensive elements in the company car equation, but that does not mean they cannot be regularly reviewed by fleets seeking to … Read More »
Getting to know you
The new car registration figures for the first six months of the year highlighted some interesting trends impacting fleets and their choice of vehicles. While Ford's … Read More »
Moved by motor show and safety demos
The Moving Motor Show, precursor to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, enabled me to fulfil an ambition to drive up the famous hill climb course. I … Read More »
Skoda bares its teeth
Nice, cheery Skoda. Never too aggressive with their strategies, with inoffensive cars, and friendly, not too pushy, staff. Yeah, right. Skoda is a brand on the … Read More »
The Master Plan – James Taylor Vauxhall Motors
On the face of it, it doesn’t look like it’s been a good year so far for Vauxhall, with fleet market share showing a steep decline. … Read More »
Rental is driving me mental
Recently we discovered our drivers squeezing into smaller rental cars than due, within our specified grade. Used to a 1.6-litre hatchback, we are now seeing 1.2-litre … Read More »
Joined up thinking
Volkswagen has launched a new leasing programme aimed at local fleets. What surprised me was not how groundbreaking the initiative is, it isn’t, but the fact … Read More »
Camels, cars and CO2
In the old days, one’s wealth was dictated by the number of cows or camels one owned. Today’s drivers still focus on the perceived number of … Read More »
Independents’ day?
One of the few positives to emerge from the economic downturn is a greater appreciation of value for money. Rewind four years and, with the possible … Read More »
Tough choices
As one of those high-flying global executives US car firms are so good at creating, Mark Ovenden is ideally situated to give a view on how … Read More »
Nissan is on a steep learning curve
Nissan broke new ground last year when it brought its first electric vehicle, the LEAF, to the UK. Though rivals were already offering electric cars, the … Read More »
Gold rush
You don’t have to go back much more than a decade, and BMW was fairly cool about the corporate market. Previously a retail-heavy manufacturer of sporty … Read More »
Sometimes, sexism is a good thing
Car insurance costs are set to be studied by the Competition Commission after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said the market was ”dysfunctional”, blaming credit … Read More »
A new fleet funding option?
One of the few positives of the economic downturn is the availability of low interest finance. In theory there’s never been a better time to buy … Read More »
Self-registrations and you
A casual look at the new car market appears to show a sector in rude health, having been through the ravages of the recession and now … Read More »