Today in Fleet – Monday 19 June
All the key news in fleet…
The latest smart electric drive models are available to order now in three body styles with up to a 100-mile range.
Order books open for latest smart electric models
Smart has announced pricing for its latest-generation fortwo and forfour models, which are now on sale.
Starting customer deliveries from July, the fortwo electric drive is priced from £16,420 including the OLEV grant (£20,920 excluding grant), with the forfour electric drive starting at £16,915 (£21,415 excluding grant) and the fortwo cabriolet electric drive starting at £18,650 (£23,060 excluding grant).
All models feature an 80bhp electric motor powering the rear wheels via a single-speed gearbox, with a range of up to 100 miles, a top speed of 81mph and 0-62mph time of 11.5 seconds.
A full charge takes 2.5 hours using a dedicated wallbox, or six hours via a standard three-pin household socket (20% to 100%). Drivers can also use the smart control app, which allows them to view the vehicle’s charging status, and pre-set the climate control via a smartphone.
France, Germany, Spain and Italy all recorded car registration rises in May and the year to date, with only the UK seeing declines.
EU car registrations close to pre-economic crisis levels
Car registrations in the EU saw continued growth in May, with the market almost back to May 2007 levels prior to the economic crisis.
ACEA figures for May show that registrations across the EU increased by 7.6% to 1,386,818 units. Germany (+12.9%) and Spain (+11.2%) posted the highest percentage gains, followed by France (+8.9%) and Italy (+8.2%), with the UK down -8.5%.
Year to date, car registrations were up +5.3% to 6,719,209 units, with Italy (+8.1%), Spain (+7.3%), Germany (+4.7%) and France (+3.3%) all recording growth while the UK saw a slight decline (-0.6%).
This year’s Brake fleet safety survey will focus on the issue of driver distraction.
Annual Brake survey to provide fleet safety benchmarking opportunity
Fleets are being invited to take part in Brake’s annual fleet safety survey to provide an opportunity to benchmark themselves against industry safety standards.
The survey will focus on policies and procedures on managing driver distraction caused by mobile phones and other technology in the fleet and takes around 15 minutes to complete.
All organisations that take part will receive a free copy of the results after the survey closes on Friday 18 August 2017.
Zariaat Masood, professional engagement officer at Brake, said: “The survey is a great way for organisations to review their current fleet safety standing, and I’d encourage any organisation with at-work drivers to complete the survey.”
The latest update to the YourParkingSpace app enables users to adjust the end time if they’re running late.
Car parking app updated to enable time adjustments
YourParkingSpace.co.uk has updated its parking app with a new feature that enables customers to adjust their end time if they are running late.
Available on iOS and Android devices, the free-to-download app enables drivers to search and compare over 250,000 private and commercial parking spaces across the country.
The new functionality means users no longer have to guess beforehand how much time they might need and could also help avoid fines.
Other notable additions include a book and pay feature and a one-click re-booking functionality while a further app update planned for later this year will include a parking listing function, making it quicker for people with spare parking spaces or driveways to rent them out.
The Body Damage Quote solution provides fleets with a tool to assess damage both during, and at the end of, the contract.
New repair estimation tool launches with Thatcham data
An Oxfordshire-based technology start-up has launched a new vehicle damage calculator powered with data from Thatcham Research.
Ridgeway Technologies has developed the Body Damage Quote solution to provide fleet operators with a tool to assess damage both during and at the end of the contract.
The technology is backed by a number of key industry investors – Paul Jarvis (former MD of Glass’s), Rob Whalley (former MD of Experian Automotive and Hitachi Capital), David Murby (former group bodyshop and insurance product director at Glass’s and former COO at Audatex) and Ian Bowen (former sales director at Innovation Group).
Chris McClellan, CEO and co-founder of RAM Tracking
RAM partners up with the ECA (Electrical Contractors’ Association)
RAM Tracking has been named as an associate member of the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA).
The company said the move will enable it to learn more about the electrical industry and how it operates.
Chris McClellan, CEO of RAM Tracking, added: “Being the customer-centric business that we are, this will allow us to develop our system even further to cater for the electrical engineering industry and bring even more value to our customers which is a real positive for us.”
ACEABrakeRAM TrackingRidgeways TechnologiesSmartYourparkingspace.co.uk
Natalie Middleton
Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.
