All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Director of asset and motor finance at Lloyds Banking Group named
The integration of the commercial banking activities of Lloyds TSB and HBOS is starting to gather pace, with the announcement that David Oldfield will take the reins at the asset and motor finance division of newly-created Lloyds Banking Group (LBG).
New accounting standard could hurt lessors
Leaseurope has warned that a proposed new lease accounting standard could lead to increased complexity in financial reporting.
Dealers forsake 4x4s as value plummet continues
Dealers forsake 4x4s as value plummet continues Car price guide Parkers has reported no demand among used car buyers for petrol 4x4s, especially with V8 engines Owners of 4x4s are said to be having difficulty entering part exchange schemes, dealers being unwilling to take on the fuel-hungry vehicles as their devaluation continues. Kieren Puffett, editor of Parkers, predicted that the 4×4 market would stabilise, but added that when it did, large 4x4s with petrol engines will be worth substantially less
Hybrids: Lessor urges fleet caution
Hybrids: Lessor urges fleet caution Hybrids may be the flavour of the moment among celebrities – but fleets should exercise caution before adding large numbers of the fuel-efficient vehicles to their books. Dean Bowkett, head of pricing at fleet lessor Masterlease, has underlined the need for fleet managers to do the maths and measure financial realities against star-fuelled hype when evaluating the use of hybrid vehicles. In the face of endorsements of the Toyota Prius by actors such as Harrison Ford and Gwyneth Paltrow, Bowkett stressed that Hollywood affections were no substitute for level-headed economic consideration in discussions over hybrid use.
SsangYong names B2B finance provider
SsangYong names B2B finance provider Koelliker UK Limited, the distributor of Chinese manufacturer SsangYong’s vehicles in the UK, has appointed Siemens Motor Contracts (SMC) as sole provider of finance to business customers for its 30 dealerships nationwide. Peter Austin, the newly-appointed general manager for SMC, said he believed this partnership to be promising: We believe that with our finance, the SsangYong range will prove popular with fleet managers and business users alike.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
August statistics paint a grim scene for retailers
The month of August saw the lowest number of new car sales since 1966, according to data released by the SMMT