All articles by Jo Tacon
Jo Tacon
Zero percent finance in demand from customers
A survey has found that zero percent finance is the most appealing incentive to potential new car buyers.The research was carried out by RoadTestReports.co.uk and found that 36 percent of respondents said that interest-free finance was the most appealing incentive, other than a large discount on the car’s list price.A free model upgrade was the second-placed choice, with 27 percent of the vote.
An honest return
FREE) It was reported in the press that earlier this month, leading figures from three major religions a priest, a rabbi and an imam walked through the City and handed over copies of their respective holy books to Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The symbolic march from Bevis Marks synagogue to the HQ of RBS represents the three religions opposition to the practice of usury of charging unreasonably high rates of interest on loans. London Citizens, the umbrella group which organised the protest, would like to see interest rates for personal borrowers capped at 8 percent
More help needed, says FLA
(FREE) The Business and Enterprise Select Committees report on government help for the motor sector has criticised the fact that the Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP) has yet to hand over a penny to motor firms.
Kitemark scheme to be extended to dealerships
(FREE) The Finance & Leasing Associations (FLA) kitemark scheme to raise standards in the sale of point-of-sale finance, and to boost consumer awareness of the finance products available within dealerships, will soon be extended to cover whole dealerships, rather than just individual salespeople. The decision to extend Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) will coincide with a relaunch of the website, on 1 August, said marketing and policy advisor Amy Evans.
Industry relieved by likely Block Exemption extension
(FREE) A report by the European Commission (EC) recommending that the Block Exemption rules, covering car distribution and aftersales, should be extended until 2013 has been welcomed with relief by the industry. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: It is important to give the automotive sector, one of the most important sectors in the European Union, legal certainty and predictability as to the future competition law regime
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Any profit in a storm
Jo Tacon talks to Simon Oliphant, CEO of Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, about how to weather the fleet industrys annus horribilis.In its recently-released annual results for the year ending March 2009, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions (HCVS) announced a profit before tax of £3.2 million a big step down from its pre-tax profit the year before, of £10.8 million But given the current market conditions, says chief executive Simon Oliphant, the fact that HCVS managed to stay in the black is testament to the strength of the fleet management and leasing companys strategy for avoiding the pitfalls facing all lessors in the present turmoil.
Car trends under the spotlight
Fleet contract hire is still the favoured funding method for large companies across Europe, new research has found The current state of play in the international fleet management and leasing market is the focus of lessor Arvals Corporate Vehicle Observatory (CVO) report, which looked at 12 countries and the trends which are shaping the uptake of vehicle leasing in each one.
Fleets urged to make their voices heard
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is proposing to change dramatically the rules governing lessee accounting and it wants comments from fleet providers on the outlined framework before 17 July. Under the IASBs outlined new regime for lessees, set out in a recently published discussion paper, Leases: Preliminary Views, it is envisaged that end-users of leasing services will have to account for lease rentals on balance sheets as a liability This will involve moving away from the current system whereby finance leases are shown on balance sheets, but operating leases including contract hire are not, as ownership of the asset is deemed to stay with the lessor (see Motor Finance, March 2009)
GM to shed European operations
Canadian parts manufacturer Magna emerged as an early favourite, and the company which is acting in partnership with Sberbank of Russia signed a letter of intent with Opel Magna is the frontrunner to buy 55 percent of Opel, and the German government has agreed to provide a 1.5 billion (£1.3 billion) bridging loan, on the understanding that Magna would try to limit job losses in Opels German factories.
Vehicle lead times rising
Grosvenor Vehicle Contracts has warned that lead times for cars are growing, with fleet customers having to wait as long as 12 weeks for their vehicles. It used to be the case it was only the niche vehicles that had an eight to 12-week waiting time, but we are now seeing similar timescales from mainstream manufacturers the same ones that used to deliver in seven-to-10 days, said MD Shaun Barritt