Fleet Business
The results of the NFDA Consumer Attitude Survey Spring 2017 were published today, Thursday 6 April 2017. The survey is designed to research market opinion and explore perceptions towards franchised dealers amongst car owners in the aftersales sector.
The Openfield co-operative that helps harvest, store, and market crops for more than 3,500 farmers across the UK has appointed Michelin solutions to manage its tyres. The three-year, price-per-kilometre Effitires deal replaces a transactional agreement with a competing premium tyre brand, and covers Openfield’s 36 Scania and Volvo trucks, plus a mixed fleet of 46 bulk tipper trailers.
WEX Europe Services’ presence at Transpotec Logitec 2017 in Italy allowed it to reaffirm relationships with existing customers and introduce new contacts interested in its fuel cards and telematics systems, the company stated. Held at Veronafiere, the exhibition for fleet owners and distributors attracted more than 84,000 visitors, from 86 countries, in four days. With this visitor base, WEX Europe Services, owner of the Esso Card fuel card portfolio, said the exhibition was the perfect platform to illustrate the benefits the card can provide fleets in Italy.
The UK new car market remained steady in February, dipping just -0.3 per cent, according to figures released by SMMT. 83,115 vehicles were registered in traditionally one of the quietest months of the year ahead of the number plate change in March. Fleets drove the market, with 45,699 cars registered, up 3.3 per cent, while private demand fell -4.4 per cent to 36,018 units and business registrations declined -5.3 per cent to 1,398.
The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust has fit Michelin’s CrossClimate+ to its 160-strong rapid response paramedic fleet of Škoda Octavias and Volkswagen Passats. The tyre is designed to match high performance summer competitors, but with winter capabilities, enhancing safety, longevity and durability.
McGill’s Buses has signed a five-year extension to its Michelin solutions tyre management programme. The fleet operator said Michelin solutions’ “fantastic support” was a key factor in its decision to renew. The Effitires contract covers the operator’s 400-plus single and double-decker buses, and will see Michelin solutions supply, fit and service the operator’s Michelin tyres.
Leicester-based bulk aggregate haulier BMD Transport claims to have cut its monthly tyre bill by 25 per cent after switching to a Michelin policy. The family-run company reported the savings soon after switching its entire fleet to the premium fitments, and expects to see further reductions in running costs as it takes advantage of the tyres’ multiple lives.
ATS Euromaster has secured its position as primary tyre supplier to major vehicle leasing and fleet management company Arval, which leases more than 150,000 cars and vans in the UK.
Vacu-Lug has upgraded its VMS management system, adding a self-authorisation function to allow customers to validate and authorise work carried out on their vehicles from their own computer. Customers using the added function are also able to accept or reject their own pending authorisations and query transactions if necessary. Vacu-Lug states that VMS provides complete transparency and takes away the hassle of having to deal with suppliers directly.
Scottish bus and coach operator Whitelaws Coaches has implemented a Continental tyres only policy on its fleet following tests against its previous tyre choice. George Whitelaw said, “We had been running other premium tyres for a great many years, but when we were offered the chance to trial Continental’s equivalent product on two of our hard-working bus fleet, we thought it would be good get some sort of measure on how well our policy had been serving us. We were very pleasantly surprised to discover Continental’s Urban HA3 M+S tyres significantly outperformed the tyres we had been using.”
Co-op Funeralcare has reported record high mileage on a Michelin Agilis tyre fitted to one of its Volkswagen Transporter Highline T5 vans, which clocked up 103,000 miles in service before replacement. The funeral director selected a set of the long-lasting fitments for the Glasgow-based van two years ago, replacing the vehicle’s original set of competing premium tyres, which were removed after 36,000 miles.
Pirelli is currently trialling the latest tyre in its Carrier range of van tyres with certain UK fleets – and with its all-season performance characteristics, the fitment could be a good solution to keeping UK fleets on the road in the country’s inclement winter weather without the need for the downtime of a tyre change. The Carrier All Season is designed to work equally well throughout the year, and also benefits from Pirelli’s Seal Inside technology, further extending valuable mobility.
While its latest US acquisition gives an indication of Conti’s future fleet strategy, the manufacturer has also been boosted by recent European endorsements. Scottish quarrying and supply company, Tillicoultry Quarries, implemented a Continental construction tyres only policy following several months of practical on-the-job testing. Speaking from its company’s Kincardine site in Fife, Craig Wilson, site & transport manager, said: “For a long time we had run a combination of remoulds and ‘budget’ tyres. We were experiencing significant downtime however, as well as the added costs of driver waiting, mechanic call outs and delayed deliveries, so we implemented a thorough review of our tyre policy. At about that time, our latest batch of Scanias came in with Continental construction tyres fitted, which allowed us to monitor those particularly closely.”
ATS Euromaster claims to have reduced tyre-related breakdowns for Rotherham-based logistics specialist the Green Group by more than 30 per cent since it took on the contract two years ago. The fleet service provider says this has been achieved thanks to its proactive Mastercare fleet inspections.
The East European market will grow by over 6 per cent in 2016 and by almost 5 per cent in 2017, according to a Clear International analysis. But there have been considerable changes. The figure for 2016 is considerably lower than was anticipated at the beginning of the year and the difference is mostly attributable to developments in Turkey. Political instability had already undermined business confidence in early 2016 and then in mid-year there was an attempted military coup. This has had a dire and worsening effect on business investment resulting in 10,000 trailers being wiped from the forecast.
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