A weekly roundup of UK fleet news including appointments at Ford and Audi, Vauxhall’s leasing rates, Thrifty finance, LCV auction prices, and October’s figures from the SMMT and FLA.
LCV auction values up 5.2%, new fleet record
The average used LCV price at auction in the UK hit £4,447 in October, up 5.2% month-on-month and 3.3% year-on-year, and just shy of the two-year high of £4,483 reached in January this year, according to the latest report by British Car Auctions.
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Although values were up in all sectors, ex-fleet and lease values hit a record high of £5,201, up 3.2% month-on-month and 1.7% year-on-year.
Retained value against Manufacturer Recommended Price was up by a point on September to 32.6%.
The October average age of fleet and lease vans at auction was 45.24 months; average mileage was 72,352, and sale against CAP Clean was 101.52%.
SMMT / FLA October fleet figures
New fleet registrations for October were up 4.5% year-on-year at 77,741 units, although market share reduced by 3.7 points to 51.4%. Business registrations were down 3.3% to 5,320 units, with market share down by 0.6 points to 3.5%, according to latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
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By GlobalDataYear-to-date, new fleet registrations were up by 0.4% to 881,182 units, again with a drop in market share, by 2.3 points, to 49.7%; business registrations were down 11.1% to 77,540, with a fall in market share of 0.8 points to 4.4%.
The growth in retail car sales has, however, prompted the SMMT to raise its forecast for total new registrations for the year to over two million units.
Meanwhile, figures for the month from the Finance & Leasing Association have shown a drop in the volume of cars, new and used, bought on finance by business.
New cars were down by 5% year-on-year, to 34,871 units, with used cars down 4% to 3,149. Over the past 12 months, however, new cars were up 6% on the previous 12 months to 393,939 units while used cars were up by 36% to 57,487 units.
Appointments at top of Audi and Ford fleets
James Douglas has joined Audi UK from Nissan Motor GB as head of fleet sales, part of a refit at the top of Audi.
Further moves include John Bower joining from koda UK as head of service and parts operations, and Jason Cranswick joining from Seat UK as head of customer quality and network development.
The two roles replace the previous position at Audi of head of aftersales and service. The manufacturer has said the changes, plus the appointment of Andy Williams to the new head of planning role, are part of a focus on customer satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Phil Hollins will take over from Kevin Griffin as director of fleet operations at Ford of Britain as of 1 January 2013, when Griffin begins as director of commercial vehicles at the company.
Thrifty funding deal
The Scot Group, the Exeter-based operator of Thrifty Car & Van Rental in the UK, has acquired funding from Santander Corporate Banking to expand its fleet.
The finance facility will also allow investment in sites additional to the 90 locations currently operated by the Group, which has plans for expansion in 2013.
Peter Abel, relationship director at Santander Corporate Banking, said the bank had "been impressed with [Scot Group’s] strong knowledge of their market and controls within the business."
Vauxhall announces leasing rates
Vauxhall has unveiled new contract hire deals across the Corsavan, Astravan, New Combo, Vivaro and Movano.
The deals will be supported by Vauxhall’s dealer network and include £161.99 a month for the Astravan Sportive, £166.99 a month for the Combo Van, and £199.99 a month for the Vivaro.
Vauxhall is hoping to attract custom with the lower rates which also include roadside assistance and vehicle excise duty for the duration of the contract.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
