All the key news in fleet…

FCA Fleet Services UK’s contract hire business is now being renamed as Leasys UK.

Leasys takes over contract hire business of FCA Fleet Services UK

FCA Fleet Services UK’s contract hire business is to be renamed Leasys UK after being taken over by Leasys SpA, the contract hire and mobility company of FCA Bank..

Leasys UK has a fleet size of more than 9,000 vehicles and will now be headed up by Roberto Bellavia who brings several years of international experience within the contract hire and automotive industry.

Alex Hughes, managing director, FCA Bank Group UK, said: “The launch marks a further step change in the business, broadening its appeal across the UK Fleet Market, from pan-european corporate fleets, to serving the FCA dealer network and supporting businesses across the UK to find the right leasing solution.”

The announcement follows similar moves in France and Spain, with branches also due to open in Belgium by the end of the year and Germany from next summer.

The combined rental fleet will offer over 16,000 vans, trucks, trailers and cars.

TOM Vehicle Rental acquires Transflex Vehicle Rental

TOM Vehicle Rental has acquired Transflex Vehicle Rental for an undisclosed sum, with both brands to continue to operate in the UK market.

Transflex’s rental fleet of 3,500 cars and light commercial vehicles will join TOM’s, creating the UK’s third-largest light commercial, flexible rental business by assets, with a rental fleet of over 16,000 vans, trucks, trailers and cars, according to TOM. It will also offer a UK depot network of 15 sites, comprising six in Scotland, five in the North of England and four in the South.

The latest Department for Transport figures show a rise in the number of serious injuries in drink drive related collisions.

Concerns over new drink driving figures

Motoring and safety organisations have expressed concerns over new DfT figures showing a rise in the number of people seriously injured in drink-drive related collisions in 2015, despite a fall in fatalities.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams commented: “We have seen a stubborn, plateauing of the drink-drive casualty figures since 2010 but this could show the start of a worrying trend in the opposite direction and is further evidence that we can’t afford to be complacent about drink-drive levels in the UK. We call on the Government to review the drink-drive limit in England and Wales and to draw on evidence from Scotland to review the merits of reducing the blood alcohol limit following their experience.”

And Jason Wakeford, director of campaigns for Brake, said “savage cuts to road traffic policing must be reversed and enforcement increased to crack down on dangerous drink drivers”.

25 boroughs have secured charge point funding based on demand and electric vehicle take-up.

London to get up 1,500 EV charging points by end of 2020

London boroughs have won funding to install up to 1,500 standard charging points on residential streets in London by the end of 2020.

Announced by Transport for London (TfL), London Councils and the Greater London Authority (GLA), the funding – worth £4.48m – has been awarded from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ Go Ultra Low City Scheme and follows the recent publication of the mayor’s draft Transport Strategy, which sets out plans for a zero emission zone in central London by 2040 and a London-wide zone by 2050.

A total of 25 boroughs have secured charge point funding based on perceived demand and electric vehicle take-up. TfL added that further funding will be allocated to interested boroughs in 2018/19 as soon as it’s happy on progress being made on the current allocation.

The figures obtained by ingenie following a FOI equest to the DVLA show fixed penalties for mobile use only fell 3% between 2014 and 2016.

More than 70k drivers caught for mobile phone use

Drivers are still not getting the message over mobile phone use, new figures indicate.

Black box car insurance firm ingenie submitted a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA and found the number of CU80 fixed penalty notices given out for mobile phone use only decreased from 72,753 in 2014 to 70,945 in 2016, a reduction of just 3%.

More than half of these were in England (51,990) while just under a quarter were in Scotland (15,973) and only 2,982 in Wales.

Sarah Sillars chief executive officer of IAM RoadSmart

IAM RoadSmart scores ISO 39001 quality rating again

IAM RoadSmart has had its ISO 39001 Road Traffic Safety management accreditation after first achieving the rating back in 2015.

Sarah Sillars, IAM RoadSmart chief executive officer, said: “Getting ISO 39001 is a major achievement for us; it shows we are serious about ensuring quality and high standards in the area of road safety provision and training. It signals what we are to our customers, and shows we are an organisation they can rely on and can be trusted.”