This week’s top fleet industry stories…

Mazda said its 2019 Skyactiv-X petrol could bring better fuel efficiency than the current Skyactiv-D diesel.

Ultra-efficient Mazda petrol could beat diesels on fuel economy

Mazda is to launch a new petrol engine using compression ignition to bring similar or better fuel efficiency than its current diesels.

Skyactiv-X uses compression and spark ignition, and the engines’ performance is boosted by a supercharger. Mazda is claiming a 10-30% increase in torque and 20-30% increase in engine efficiency over the current Skyactiv-G petrols, but said it also can also equal or exceed the current Skyactiv-D diesels for fuel efficiency.

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The new guidance is intended to ensure carmakers design out cyber security threats as part of their development.

DfT to enforce anti-hacking measures for connected cars

New generations of connected cars will offer better protection against the threat of hacking under latest Department for Transport measures.

Responding to increasing concerns that hackers can steal connected car data or even the vehicles themselves, the new guidance issued this week means carmakers will need to design out cyber security threats as part of their development work.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: “A consistent set of guidelines is an important step towards ensuring the UK can be among the first – and safest – of international markets to grasp the benefits of this exciting new technology.”

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The new Volkswagen Arteon in R-Line trim.

Prices and specs announced for Volkswagen Arteon

Volkswagen has revealed pricing and specifications for its new Arteon sports saloon as order books open.

Priced from £34,305 and starting deliveries from next month, the new flagship model – which sits above the Passat – will initially offer three turbo charged direct injection engines: a 276bhp 2.0 TSI petrol and a 2.0 TDI engines with either 148bhp or 237bhp and seven-speed DSG boxes.

These will be joined later by the 148bhp 2.0 TDI with six-speed manual box as well as Volkswagen’s newly designed 148bhp 1.5 TSI petrol with cylinder deactivation technology and a 187bhp 2.0 TSI petrol.

Two trim levels will be offered – the luxury-orientated ‘Elegance’ or more sporty ‘R-Line’.

For more details, click here.

BMW’s Lower Emissions Allowance provides a trade-in discount of £2,000 on all new BMW and MINI vehicles with emissions of 130g/km and below.

BMW to run Euro 4 diesel scrappage scheme as VW Group mulls benefits

BMW is to run a scrappage scheme targeting diesel-powered Euro 4 and older vehicles from any brand in the UK.

The announcement follows the news last week of a similar scheme in Germany, agreed at a Diesel Forum meeting by German government officials and the country’s car industry that also saw BMW, along with Daimler, Opel and Volkswagen, agree to offer free NOx-reducing software updates for cars in Germany.

The VW Group has also said it’s considering the benefits of a scrappage scheme in the UK.

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Russell Olive, Hubio Fleet’s general manager, said the new solution provides a range of tracking services with video imagery and is also quick and easy to install.

Hubio launches integrated 3G camera and tracking unit

Hubio Fleet has launched an integrated 3G camera and telematics tracking solution aimed at providing car, van and truck fleets with quick access to high-quality footage.

The launch of the solution coincides with a complete upgrade of Hubio’s Fleet Manager platform, which brings increased functionality including driver coaching tools to help address persistent offenders and a mobile app that enables fleet managers to keep an eye on vehicles while they are away from the office.

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The survey results cover fleet industry topics including alternative fuels, future mobility and the ever-changing role of the fleet manager.

Shell Future of fleet survey – the results

Shell and International Fleet World have released results from the first in a series of exclusive surveys of fleet operators.

The research saw 231 fleet executives questioned about their attitudes to a host of fleet industry topics including alternative fuels, future mobility and the ever-changing role of the fleet manager.

To read the findings, click here.

According to Arval’s CVO research, just under half of UK fleets are unaware of the cash or car changes despite the implications for employees.

‘Troubling’ lack of fleet awareness of cash or car changes

Nearly half of UK fleets (46%) are unaware of changes to cash or car taxation introduced by the Government in April, with smaller fleets particularly in the dark.

According to analysis by Arval’s Corporate Vehicle Observatory, only (54%) of the 3,847 fleets surveyed said they knew about the tax changes, with awareness very much dependent on fleet size. While 77% of larger fleets (more than 50 vehicles) said they were aware, this drops to 44% of medium fleets (10-49 vehicles) and 35% of smaller fleets (1-9 vehicles).

This is despite the fact that more than one in 10 (14%) of all fleets offer a cash allowance option to all drivers according to the research while a further 21% offer it to some.

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