Driving Business Spring 2016

DRIVING

Issue 15 Spring 2016 £4.50

Helping you make better decisions

PURE DRIVING PLEASURE AND JUST 5% BIK TAX. A PERFECT HYBRID.

BMW Business Partnership

THE NEW BMW 330e SALOON.

PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Combining the reduced emissions and instant performance of eDrive with the aesthetics of the BMW 3 Series Saloon, the new BMW 330e Saloon offers the best of both worlds. Designed with fleets in mind, it boasts a generous standard specification that includes BMW Business Navigation, 17" alloy wheels and a Sport leather steering wheel, along with offering an attractive BIK rate of 5%. And, with tailored driving modes and an 8-speed automatic transmission, this model represents the ultimate combination of fuel efficiency and driving pleasure.

BMW eDrive is the name given to our state-of-the-art electric motor technology. The PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) range takes BMW’s most popular models and incorporates an electric motor, which dramatically reduces emissions and fuel consumption. This comes without compromising any of the car’s dynamic performance, outstanding practicality and premium feel.

A PETROL ENGINE AND ELECTRIC MOTOR COMBINATION ELIMINATES RANGE ANXIETY.

BMW eDRIVE TECHNOLOGY CUTS CO2 EMISSIONS SIGNIFICANTLY, REDUCING TAX.

CHARGING CABLE CAN BE PLUGGED INTO A CONVENTIONAL SOCKET, CUTTING INVESTMENT.

ELECTRIC POWER BENEFITS BOTH EFFICIENCY AND PERFORMANCE.

To find out more about the BMW PHEV range, please visit bmwbusinesspartnership.co.uk/phev

DRIVING

Issue 15 Spring 2016 £4.50

Helping you make better decisions

VEHICLE LAUNCH GUIDE 2016

PARKING SPEEDING

Alfa Romeo Fiat Jeep Lexus Renault Toyota Volvo

FINES AND CHARGES

THE PENALTY CHARGE NIGHTMARE How to minimise the cost and administrative horror of parking and speeding fines

GINSTERS Andrew Gibbons on how changing driver behaviour has saved the firm £500,000

Do you know the Total Cost of Ownership?

A ‘one size fits all’ vehicle funding principle is rarely cost effective, efficient or attractive to either the employer or employee. Our vehicle funding experts will help you through the complex maze of financing options and provide you with the tools to implement the optimum solution, whatever your circumstances.

Security may be required and product fees may apply.

www.lombardvehiclesolutions.com enquiries@lombardvehiclesolutions.com

Tel.: 0844 600 9012

Lombard Vehicle Solutions is a contract hire and fleet management product provided by ALD Automotive Ltd, trading as Lombard Vehicle Solutions, Oakwood Park, Lodge Causeway, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3JA. ALD Automotive is registered in England No. 987418.

Contents

ISSUE 15 Spring 2016

FRONT END

7

Pool car warning HMRC has warned employers they could be fined up to £3,000 per employee for improper use of pool vehicles.

8 SME private vehicle poll Almost a third of UK businesses said they could not operate their business without private transport.

11

Opinion Businesses need a policy on employees using their own cars, writes Simon Hill, managing director, Total Motion.

BROADER VIEW

14 Ginsters

14 Ginsters Changing how our drivers treat their vans has saved us £500,000, says Andrew Gibbons of Ginsters Van Sales.

FINES AND CHARGES

18 Penalty charge notices How businesses and their drivers can avoid parking and speeding fines becoming a legal, financial and HR horror story.

PARKING SPEEDING

2016 VEHICLE LAUNCH GUIDE

22 PCN prevention beats cure The data produced by penalty charge notices gives businesses the ability to address their root causes with driver training.

23 Dart Charge Business drivers left frustrated by Dartford Crossing charging scheme.

CARS

18 Fines and charges

25 

11

Grey Fleet

25 Vehicle launch guide 2016 A selection of cars and vans worth considering for your business. mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 3

PURELY BENEFICIAL The Volvo V60 isn’t simply designed for your business, but for the people within it, too. For instance, its Air Quality System recognises when outside air is contaminated and closes the intake, so the cleaner interior air is recirculated. Clean air is understood to not only improve driver alertness, but also reduce the effects of allergies. And when coupled with the Business Edition benefits below, everyone can breathe easy.

• 98g/km CO 2 • 17% BIK • Up to 76.3mpg (combined) • City Safety system • Sensus Connect with Navigation HUMAN MADE FOR BUSINESS DISCOVER MORE VISIT VOLVOCARS.CO.UK /V60AIR

The Volvo V60 D2 Business Edition. From only £209* per month + VAT on Business Contract Hire.

• Initial rental of £1,254 + VAT • 36-month agreement • 10,000 miles per annum • VAT payable at 20% • Excess mileage charges apply Official fuel consumption for the Volvo V60 D2 Business Edition manual in MPG (l/100km): Urban 67.3 (4.2), Extra Urban 80.7 (3.5), Combined 76.3 (3.7). CO2 emissions 98g/km. MPG figures are obtained from laboratory testing intended for comparisons between vehicles and may not reflect real driving results. *Important information: Business users only. Subject to status. You will not own the vehicle. Vehicle must be returned in good condition to avoid further charges. Excess mileage of 10.20p + VAT per mile.

Subject to availability at participating dealers for vehicles registered 01/01/2016 to 31/03/2016. Not available with other promotions. Provided by Lex Autolease Ltd trading as Volvo Car Leasing, SK3 9RB.

DRIVING

Helping you make better decisions

Contact us Driving Business, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA. If you or someone you know is aged between 16 and 24 and is interested in work experience opportunities at Bauer Media, visit: gothinkbig.co.uk Editorial Editor-in-chief Stephen Briers 01733 468024 stephen.briers@bauermedia.co.uk Editor Sarah Tooze 01733 468901 sarah.tooze@bauermedia.co.uk News editor Gareth Roberts 01733 468314 gareth.roberts@bauermedia.co.uk Features editor Andrew Ryan 01733 468308 andrew.ryan@bauermedia.co.uk Web producer Christopher Smith 01733 468655 christopher.smith@bauermedia.co.uk Contributors Simon Hill, John Charles Production Head of publishing Luke Neal 01733 468262 Designer Erika Small 01733 468312 Production editors Richard Davis 01733 468310 Finbarr O’Reilly 01733 468267 Head of project management Leanne Patterson 01733 468332 Project managers Lucy Peacock 01733 468338 Angela Price 01733 468253 Kerry Unwin 01733 468327 Advertising Commercial director Sarah Crown 01733 366466 Group advertisement manager Sheryl Graham 01733 366467 Account managers Wendy Cowell 01733 366472 Lucy Herbert 01733 366469 Lisa Turner 01733 366471 Stuart Wakeling 01733 366470 Marcus Woods 01733 366468 Publishing Managing director Tim Lucas 01733 468340 Group marketing manager Bev Mason 01733 468295 Office manager Vicky Meadows 01733 468319 Group managing director Rob Munro-Hall Chief executive officer Paul Keenan Subscriptions: subscription@mydrivingbusiness.co.uk Printing: PCP, Telford. © 2016 Bauer Media No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. You can purchase words or pictures for your own publications.

Phone 01733 465982 or email syndication@bauermedia.co.uk.

Driving Business will not accept responsibility for unsolicited material.

Welcome Parking fines may seem like an inevitable part of running a business – particularly if you are a London-based SME with drivers doing deliveries and collections.

However, simply paying the fine – rather than investigating why it was issued and then appealing it – could mean you are wasting money.

Of the 6,649 fines that the Freight Transport Association’s PCN Administration Service appealed last year, nearly three quarters (72%) were successful.

The FTA charges a fee for this service, so you may prefer to appeal yourself. It may not be as time-consuming as you think – the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) for England and Wales has a new online service which all 310 authorities should be signed up to by the end of 2016.

Instead of completing a paper form and posting it to the authority, you create an account, fill in an online form and upload evidence to support your appeal. This can be done via smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. The TPT says decisions are being made in as little as 13 minutes in some instances.

However, rather than taking a blanket approach, you should still be selective about what you appeal.

Find out if drivers are at fault because they are unclear on parking rules and restrictions. If they are, a simple email setting out the rules could make a difference.

To help you, we’ve put together a fines and charges guide (see pages 18-23), which covers not just parking fines, but speeding fines and the Dart Charge too.

This is the first of our two-part special report on fines and charges. Next time we take a look at the end of contract charges you can face if you choose to contract hire your vehicles.

I hope both guides will prove useful.

Sarah Tooze Editor, Driving Business Complaints: Bauer Consumer Media Limited is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (www.ipso.co.uk) and endeavours to respond to and resolve your concerns quickly. Our Editorial Complaints Policy (including full details of how to contact us about editorial complaints and IPSO’s contact details) can be found at www.bauermediacomplaints.co.uk. Our email address for editorial complaints covered by the Editorial Complaints Policy is complaints@bauermedia.co.uk.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 5

We deliver, so you deliver

The complete fleet package from the AA When it comes to business, you’ll want a service you can rely on. Cue the AA. From lost keys to accident management, whatever the problem, we can handle it.

As Britain’s largest breakdown provider* we can get your business back on the road fast.

So you can keep delivering a top-notch service to your customers.

For AA Business Breakdown Cover call 0800 294 2994 quoting 0771 or visit theAA.com/business

AA Business Breakdown Cover 0800 294 2994 quoting 0771 theAA.com/business

AA Tyres 0800 810 0980 tyres.theAA.com

Fleet Risk Management from AA DriveTech e: TellMeMore@AAdrivetech.com

AA Fuel Assist e: FuelAssistEnquiries@theAA.com 0800 072 6870

AA Key Assist e: Fleet.Enquiries@theAA.com

AA Accident Management e: AAAccidentManagement @theAA.com

*Source: Mintel – UK vehicle recovery report, September 2015.

Automobile Association Insurance Services Limited is an insurance intermediary authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Fanum House, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 4EA. Registered in England and Wales number 2414212.

■ FRONT END

w w w.mydrivingbusiness.co.uk mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

One in three SMEs in transport sector expect 2016 growth One third (31%) of UK SMEs in the transport sector, or 85,200 businesses, are expecting to expand this year, according to the Close Brothers Business Barometer.

More than half (52%), or 142,916 businesses, are expecting performance to stay the same.

The quarterly survey of UK SME owners and senior management from a range of sectors also revealed that one fifth (19%) of SMEs in the transport sector believe their business is prospering in the current economy.

When describing their current economic outlook, just two fifths (40%) of SMEs in the transport sector believe the worst is behind them and are confident about the steady recovery of the economy.

‘No private use of the vehicle is allowed by employees,’ said HMRC

Employers face fines for private use of pool cars Employers could be fined up to £3,000 per annum, per employee if they don’t follow rules around private use of pool cars, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned.

Benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax should be paid on any company car or van if it fails to satisfy five conditions.

No private use is key, but equally the vehicle must be used by more than one employee, not to the exclusion of others, and must be made available to employees through the course of their work. The vehicle cannot also be kept near the employee’s home at night.

An internal manual from HMRC states: “You will sometimes see it argued that a car or van that would otherwise qualify as a pooled car or van is only taken home at night by an employee because there are inadequate car parking facilities at the employer’s premises, or if the car or van were left overnight at the employer’s premises it might well be damaged by vandals.

“Apart from the exception for chauffeurs, do not admit such a claim or offer any concession.”

Regular checks and accurate records of both driver and journey are essential to help businesses avoid falling foul of the rules.

“Employers should keep records such as mileage records, including origin and destination [and driver], in order to show that the journey was a business journey,” said an HMRC spokesman.

If employers are not clear about which records

they should keep, they should contact their HMRC customer relationship manager (if they have one), contact HMRC directly or consult a tax adviser.

The spokesman said: “No private use of the vehicle is allowed by employees. Any private use has to be incidental, in the context of the business journey as a whole.”

One example may be where an employee is required to make a long business journey.

“In order for the employee to be able to make an early morning start, he or she is allowed to take a pooled car home the previous evening,” the spokesman explained.

“If this is considered in isolation, the office to home journey is private use, but in these circumstances it is plainly incidental to the business journey undertaken the next day.”

Get it wrong and HMRC can levy a fine of up to £3,000 per annum, per employee, for an incorrect tax return.

Inspectors can also determine whether the inaccuracy was careless, deliberate but not concealed, or deliberate and concealed, and will link a penalty for each offence as a percentage of ‘potential lost revenue’ – up to 30%; from 20% to 70%; and from 30% to 100% respectively.

That could involve unpaid tax going back four years, unpaid national insurance going back six years and lost interest on those sums, as well as a late payment penalty.

Guide outlines 22 ways businesses can save fuel Fuel Card Services has launched a free flipbook featuring 22 measures businesses can implement to cut fuel usage.

The guide, the latest in the Fleet Matters series, shows how fuel consumption can be reduced through action in three areas: vehicle care, journey preparation and eco-driving, and is available from the Fuel Card Services website.

..................................................

Best practice in fleet management Issue 01 ..................................................

In this Fleet Matters: DRIVERS – PROTECTING YOUR ASSETS Who are your drivers?

What licences do your drivers need?

Do your drivers need training?

What help is available? .........................................................

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 7

■ FRONT END

w w w.mydrivingbusiness.co.uk mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Two thirds of SMEs prefer to use private vehicles for business travel More than three quarters of SMEs depend on private vehicles for business travel, with just 26% saying public transport provides a convenient option, according to a study by YouGov. The poll of more than a thousand UK SMEs, on behalf of Lex Autolease, found that vehicles are crucial for a high proportion of companies, with almost half (49%) saying private transport is important to running their businesses and more than a quarter (29%) saying they could not operate without them.

More than one in five SMEs (22%) said their business locations are poorly served by public transport links.

When asked what would happen if they were forced to rely on public transport for day-to-day business travel, 44% said they would be less efficient and 31% said it would cost them more money.

The notable exception is London-based firms, two thirds (66%) of which said public transport was a convenient option for business travel, in comparison with just 19% of firms in the North and 12% of companies based in the Midlands. According to the research, being able to work on the move is seen as the main benefit of public transport, cited by 55% of the businesses who said they preferred using it to private vehicles.

Cars and vans remain the clear preference for many SMEs, with more than two thirds (67%) stating that, if given the choice, they would rather use vehicles than public transport. Greater convenience (74%) and reliability (50%) were the most popular reasons for this.

This importance is reinforced by the fact that

Two thirds of London businesses said public transport was convenient, but the ratio is much lower in the rest of the country

driving remains a key skill in the eyes of a high proportion of British businesses when recruiting new staff. According to the findings, 59% of firms said holding a valid driving licence was an important attribute they looked for in new employees.

Simon Barter, head of SME Direct at Lex Autolease, said: “Although an increasing amount of company activity can now be done remotely, travel remains a key part of business life, whether that’s to build key relationships through face-to-face client meetings, visiting customers or conducting site visits.

“Firms need a reliable, convenient mode of travel to handle those day-to-day demands and keep their

workforce mobile. While public transport provides a suitable alternative to driving for London-based firms, who benefit from the country’s most sophisticated transport network, the majority of UK small businesses depend on their vehicles.

“It’s no surprise that, with a high proportion of SMEs preferring to use vehicles for business travel, we’re seeing a rise in the number of firms leasing their cars and vans rather than purchasing outright.

By opting to lease, companies can drive away with vehicles they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise afford without having to pay a lump sum, freeing up funds to invest in growing the business.”

Fuelmate launches pre-pay fuel card

One in five business drivers fail to take breaks when driving long distances

Fuelmate has launched a new pre-pay fuel card aimed at businesses with a limited credit history.

Fuelmate’s Flexi-pay enables new companies without a credit history, or existing companies with a poor credit history, to access the benefits of a traditional fuel card, including a fixed weekly diesel price, which can be lower than pump prices.

Available to businesses that spend more than £500 a month on diesel, it enables firms to budget and track their fuel spend more precisely than using cash, as well as providing a single invoice detailing all transactions, meaning drivers don’t have to collect and submit fuel receipts.

The card allows companies to load a set number of litres on to an

One in five business drivers do not stop for a break when driving long distances, according to a survey.

This is despite the Highway Code recommending that drivers take a 15-minute break every two hours.

Masternaut surveyed 2,000 UK employees who drive as part of their job, to highlight potential risks for drivers travelling over long distances.

It found 18% of respondents failed to take sufficient rest and some business drivers were taking extreme measures to stay alert when driving, with 7% slapping themselves.

Almost a third (31%) listen to loud music and 2% would do maths out loud to keep refreshed.

More conventional methods of keeping alert while driving included winding down the window (50%), drinking strong coffee or tea (49%) and turning the temperature down (30%).

Steve Towe, chief commercial officer and UK managing director of Masternaut, said: “It’s vitally important that drivers are alert at all times and get home safely and employers play a role from a duty-of-care perspective to ensure that this happens.”

8 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

account and top up via phone or direct debit when the credit is running low.

The Flexi-pay card can also be made driver- or vehicle-specific, giving business owners control over how the card is used, and set spending limits.

The card uses the Keyfuels network, meaning Flexi-pay is accepted at more than 1,600 forecourts and supermarkets across the UK. Customers are notified by text or email when the account balance drops to 25%, 15% and 5% of their estimated weekly volume.

Fuelmate said once companies have used Flexi-pay for 12 months or so, they could become eligible for a more traditional fuel card.

■ F RO N T E N D

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

O PI NIO N

GRE Y FLEE T

“

A staggering 25% of businesses don’t have a policy on employees using their own cars

”

REMOVE THE GREY AREAS TO REDUCE RISK

D ■ SIM O N HI L L , M A N AGIN G D IR EC TO R , TOTA L M OT I O N

o you or your employees use a personal vehicle for business purposes? There are thousands of people in the UK who do. They are known as grey fleet drivers, but what are the risks?

Since 2014, Total Motion has surveyed more than 1,500 businesses – 60,000 employees – to see how companies are managing grey fleet usage and if they are fully conversant with both the legal and ethical obligations these fleets bring.

Our results show a staggering 25% of businesses do not have a grey fleet policy, despite employees using their vehicles for business. For

those businesses that do have such a policy, fewer than 50% carry out annual, or more frequent, checks on key compliance items: more than 30% don’t check the validity of insurance policies and more than 44% don’t check for MOTs. The list goes on. I think this information could provide an opportunity for businesses to start to protect themselves, their employees and other road users.

Implementing a simple set of policies and completing an annual compliance check would make a real difference. If company owners and directors are made fully aware of these risks then they will act to protect their business and their employees.

The solution doesn’t need to be costly or resource-heavy.

Basic checks, such as insurance, MOT, service histories, even eyesight, could reduce risk significantly and swiftly, and help the company meet its duty of care requirements.

However, it’s not all about risk and compliance.

You could be losing money by not monitoring and controlling your grey fleet.

Our survey found only 12% of companies know the actual mileage travelled by their grey fleet drivers, despite estimates that the annual total in the UK could be more than four billion miles.

Employees could be overclaiming or miscalculating mileage without the company realising.

A business can also suffer indirect costs through lost working hours if a poorly maintained grey fleet vehicle is off the road.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 11

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■ BROADER VIE W

GINSTERS VAN SALES

‘Changing how our drivers treat their vans saved us £500,000’ Retraining drivers, vehicle telematics and better route planning have delivered significant savings for Andrew Gibbons at Ginsters Van Sales, he tells John Charles

U

pon hearing a job title containing the words “continuous improvement manager”, most people would be forgiven for thinking of kaizen, the Japanese management philosophy popularised by Toyota. Few, however, think of Cornish pasties.

“It’s a company thing,” says Andrew Gibbons, who has been in charge of Ginsters Van Sales’ fleet of 150 light commercial vehicles for more than three years. “Everyone is tasked with looking for continuous improvements within their role.

“Each time I’ve come with a well thought-out proposal or suggestion to modify or change the way we manage our vehicles, I’ve had the full support of the board and 100% engagement from my peers and their managers.”

Gibbons acknowledged that there were “a number of challenges” to address when he took the job, but in the past 12 months he has reduced operating costs by more than £500,000, including a 20% fuel saving, reduced maintenance costs and accident rates, and a carbon footprint reduction of 27%. These achievements led to the company being named Most Improved Fleet of the Year at the 2015 Commercial Fleet awards.

Gibbons described the preceding two-and-a-half-years of change as “evolution not revolution, although it probably felt like revolution”.

“The single biggest challenge I faced when joining the business was changing our drivers’ attitudes towards the care of their vans. This was having a material impact on our operating costs and changes needed to be made. We are continuing to deliver the same service excellence, but at a lower cost,” he says.

Ginsters’ snacks are sold nationwide, through garage forecourts and motorway service stations as well as food service outlets and all major retailers.

14 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

20% Ginsters Van Sales’ reduction in fuel costs over the past 12 months

27% The reduction in its carbon footprint over the same period

“ ”

The real challenge was getting drivers to understand the financial impact they were having on the business because of the way they drove

The business was launched by a family of Cornish farmers in the late 1960s, initially producing and selling Cornish pasties. It was acquired by Leicestershire-based Samworth Brothers, a fourth-generation family company with 16 separate food businesses, almost 40 years ago and has since expanded to launch a range of savoury foods.

With its headquarters still in the small town of Callington, Cornwall, Ginsters Van Sales operates 24/7 across the UK. More than 200 people are employed to drive the company’s vehicles as a part of their role across all depots – known as sales offices.

Based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, the chassis cab is

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Andrew Gibbons, fleet continuous improvement manager, Ginsters Van Sales

150 The number of light commercial vehicles operated by Ginsters Van Sales

partners to secure best value and high returns for our business and work together to ensure we are reviewing new technologies and ways of working as soon as they come onto the market.”

Van drivers – Ginsters refers to them as van sales reps – visit up to 40 stores/customers daily. They are also responsible for managing the fixtures allocated to Ginsters’ products within outlets.

This dual role, where the van sales reps “saw driving as a side issue to what they considered their main job role – selling Ginsters’ products” lay at the heart of attempts to improve driver behaviour. Gibbons says: “We needed to

▲

fitted with a purpose-built refrigerated unit. Each van averages about 48,000 miles a year for a combined annual total of 6.7 million miles.

Vehicles are operated on a four-year replacement cycle and historically were purchased outright. However, a funding review highlighted the savings possible via contract hire and 90% of vehicles are now leased through Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, which also maintains the company’s vehicles and takes care of accident management.

Ginsters Van Sales has a five-year agreement with Hitachi.

Gibbons says: “We have a strong customer-supplier relationship. We work positively with all our suppliers and

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 15

GINSTERS VAN SA LES

▲

■ BROADER VIE W

take action to both assess the problem and facilitate lasting behavioural change in our drivers. The goals were to improve their safety and that of other road users, through reduced accidents, and to benefit from reduced costs.”

The company designed a strategy that saw it work with van sales reps to improve driver behaviour, while simultaneously delivering a string of benefits to them and the business: improvements in driver safety, reduced road traffic accidents, improved fuel economy, reductions in avoidable maintenance costs and CO2 emission savings.

The company’s incident rate reduced for the third consecutive year to 53% in 2014/15. Year-to-date so far, the incident rate has dropped again to 46% and is on a continually improving curve.

Major incident rates invariably highlight work schedules as a fundamental issue, but too frequently companies fail to tackle the core problem. However, as part of the company’s focus on improving driving behaviour, Ginsters Van Sales introduced a change of rota working patterns in 2014, which resulted in more frequent, but shorter, rests for all drivers.

Vans sales reps’ rotas were changed to more closely match customer demand and measures were introduced to review driving styles daily on return to sales offices.

“Previously, the number of journeys was constant across the week despite variable customer demand,” says Gibbons.

“Now we can vary the number of journeys to match our customer and volume requirements by day.

“We needed to change the culture so that van sales reps cared about the vans and looked after them. The real challenge was getting them to understand the financial impact they were having on the business because of the way they drove.

“We have 16 sales offices across the UK and these are managed by regional general managers Phil Burton and Mark Smith. They have successfully ensured that all drivers were fully involved and engaged in the changes introduced across the business.”

The introduction of Quartix telematics into all vehicles has enabled Ginsters to target van sales reps on mpg and safe driving scores, as well as sales, waste and service.

Telematics, says Gibbons, “has yielded the greatest effect” due to live tracking data, route-planning information and van sales reps being scored daily on their driving style.

The drivers’ scores, out of 100, are system-generated and aggregated by driving hours, miles driven and the number of harsh accelerations or braking incidents. Based on three months’ worth of trial data and discussions with the supplier, a minimum acceptable score of 61 out of 100 was

Ginsters Van Sales’ 150 vans are based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, with a purpose-built refrigerated unit in the rear

11% The reduction in miles driven since Ginsters Van Sales improved its route planning with telematics

set – 51 out of 100 is viewed as aggressive driving.

Today, 98.5% of journeys made by drivers meet the minimum required driving style score, up from 45% at the start of 2014, while just under a quarter (24%) of drivers are in the ‘excellent’ category. Van sales reps’ scores are reviewed daily by managers and those struggling to hit targets are offered further training and support and, in a few instances, more formal action is taken.

■ HOW BE T TER UTILISATION BROUGHT SAVINGS TO GINSTERS Managing liveried ‘mobile shops’ delivering chilled food to customers nationally means it is extremely difficult to go to a rental company and spot hire a van due to the build requirement of fridge boxes.

Consequently, Ginsters Van Sales retains a ‘spare fleet’ of about 10 vans.

Detailed analysis by Andrew Gibbons, in conjunction with partner Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, means that total has been cut by 25 vans since 2014.

Overall vehicle availability has been improved by: ■ Improved management of van maintenance events – 95% of all fridge repairs are now completed out-of-hours on-site to cut downtime.

■ Improved driver behaviour, which has reduced the number of unplanned events resulting

16 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

in vehicle off-road time.

■ Improved service and support from franchised dealers and other suppliers.

■ Scheduling all planned service, maintenance and repair (SMR) events for the three quietest days of the week.

Additionally, outsourcing accident repairs to Hitachi has not only secured more competitive rates, but reduced average downtime from 3.5 days to 1.2 with all planned work again moving to “quieter” fleet operating days.

“Our service-level agreements are very exacting and we want our providers to treat our vans as though they are their own,” says Gibbons.

“We have worked really hard with Hitachi, Mercedes-Benz and our supply network to ensure

vehicles are collected and returned, with SMR work having been carried out in one day or, ideally, overnight. As a result, we have been able to reduce our overall fleet size from 180 to 150 vehicles without any impact on customer service.”

As Ginsters seeks to expand its sales, there is, says Gibbons, “room to accommodate growth” within the existing fleet.

Having set the twin targets of further improving fleet utilisation and reducing food waste to zero in 2016, Gibbons is reviewing the company’s routeplanning tools to better identify customers with key delivery requirements. A pilot initiative highlighted potential mileage savings and analysis to determine if key delivery times can be met is now being undertaken ahead of a live trial.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

“ ”

It’s vital to spend time with the drivers. They spend more than 40 hours a week in their vans

A target has been set for all drivers to achieve an average of 80 out of 100, with weekly league tables and regular prize draws offered to incentivise driving excellence. ÒBy monitoring our telematics driving style scores we have been able to take a targeted approach to mpg improvement,Ó says Gibbons. ÒThe information provided by the technology has enabled us to improve our scheduling and route planning, which in turn has helped to reduce our annual mileage.Ó Simultaneously, a series of new driver training initiatives were introduced, with all drivers completing a biannual online assessment, which can trigger a requirement to complete online training modules. Drivers considered high risk receive a dayÕs in-cab training.

Additionally, all new starters complete the same online assessment prior to a job offer being made and all recruits receive an in-cab training session within their first six weeks of employment.

Telematics has also enabled route planning improvements that have seen an 11% cut in miles driven, a 27% reduction in CO2 emissions (974 tonnes) and a fuel consumption saving of 20% due to an improvement in average van fuel efficiency.

Savings are continuing to accrue and the overall mpg has improved by a further 5.5% versus 2014.

While cutting the companyÕs fuel bill has delivered the largest financial savings, tens of thousands of pounds a year have been saved as a consequence of van sales reps adopting a more sympathetic driving style. This has delivered cuts in own-fault accident repairs and service,

maintenance and repair cost benefits including improved tyre wear.

Other improvement measures have seen Ginsters: ■ Implement vehicle design changes, including redesigning steps to the rear of a van so they now sit inside the vehicle thus reducing the risk of van sales reps slipping on external steps; and redesigning the van body to a more streamlined shape to reduce drag, delivering a 5% fuel saving.

■ Sign a two-year sole supply agreement on new vans with Mercedes-Benz.

■ Benefit from a 5% cost reduction by establishing a central supply for ordering van consumables, including oil and bulbs.

■ Establish a national price for fuel purchasing linked to wholesale prices.

Gibbons, who joined Ginsters following a 29-year career at Dairy Crest where he held a number of posts that involved overall fleet responsibility, is looking to join the Freight Transport AssociationÕs Van Excellence initiative.

He views spending time with drivers as essential. ÒIt is vital to spend time with the drivers. Ours work 4.30am-2.30pm and I spend time with them, go out with them and see life from the shopfloor perspective. They spend more than 40 hours a week in their vans so they want them to be fit for purpose, safe and comfortable. ÒThe van sales reps live with the vehicles. Understanding their issues enables me to go to our suppliers and look to implement change. Ultimately, suppliers will deliver what we want, so my job is to obtain best value, manage the requirement and tune into the drivers.Ó

Andrew Gibbons (centre) with Phil Burton and Mark Smith (right) regional general managers, Ginsters Van Sales

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 17

■ FINES AND CHARGES

P CNs

BEWARE

NIG

18 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

THE PENALTY CHARGE

GHTMARE Penalty charge notices can be costly and timeconsuming to deal with. Don’t let them become your personal horror story, says John Charles

M

72%

Proportion of London parking fine appeals that are successful, according to FTA survey

8m

Number of parkingrelated PCNs issued annually

56

Formal challenge period (days) for PCNs issued for offences on public land

PARKING TICKETS ON PUBLIC LAND In most parts of the country, including the whole of London, PCNs are issued by civil enforcement officers, also known as traffic wardens.

In areas where a local authority does not have civil parking enforcement powers, parking is enforced

▲

anaging fines related to parking offences can prove to be a legal, financial and HR administration nightmare for businesses and their drivers.

The system is complex and confusing, while the issuing of penalty/parking charge notices (PCNs) and any subsequent appeal process involves many different organisations.

“The whole system is a mess,” says John Pryor, chairman of ACFO and fleet and travel manager at Arcadia.

“Regulations and the bodies involved are very different, in respect of PCNs issued by local authorities, or as a consequence of a parking offence being committed in a private car park. Legal action always provokes worries.

“Fines must be taken seriously, but the processes involved are both confusing and complicated, and deadlines apply to the process of identifying drivers in company vehicles and paying or appealing a fine.”

A PCN is issued to a vehicle’s owner, who is legally responsible for paying the fine, although there are special rules for short-term hire vehicles: the hirer will usually be asked to sign a statement of liability for PCNs. In respect of a company vehicle, the PCN will be issued to the registered keeper of the vehicle after information has been obtained from the DVLA by the local authority or company managing the private car park.

Businesses generally have one of two choices if they are leasing vehicles: either instruct the leasing company to automatically pay the fine, which reduces the admin burden but removes the option to appeal (potentially costing them thousands of pounds in unnecessary fines and admin charges), or have them transfer liability to the company (depending on the type of offence), which gives them the opportunity to appeal or pass the fine onto the driver, but increases the admin burden.

Being able to appeal certain PCNs can make financial sense if the company receives a large number of parking fines. About eight million parking-related PCNs are issued a year, split equally between London and the rest of the country. The majority (72%) of the 6,649 fines that the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA) PCN

administration service appealed on behalf of its members in London last year were successful. In total, 32,600 fines were issued to FTA members last year, but the FTA is selective about which ones it appeals as some are correct and it doesn’t want to “lose credibility” with local authorities by appealing every PCN, according to Natalie Chapman, the FTA’s head of policy for London.

In relation to parking on private land, 550 to 600 appeals are lodged per week across England and Wales with about half won.

BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney says: “We know that the vehicle rental and leasing industry has to deal with fines and charges issued by a huge variety of private, national and regional organisations.

“Nearly all of them take a different approach to the way in which penalties are issued, payments are made or appeals are handled, which puts a major administrative and cost burden on our members and their customers.”

He adds: “The BVRLA continues to call for a standardised approach to fines and penalties that would see a single, streamlined process for paying or appealing against fines.

“We also don’t believe it is fair that a person appealing against a fine should automatically forfeit the ability to pay that fine at the discounted rate.”

Rebecca Lynch, partner in the employment team at law and professional services firm Gordon Dadds, says correctly worded contracts of employment are critical, to enable employers to identify company vehicle drivers as responsible for a fine and then take action to recoup the cost and potentially take disciplinary action.

“If employers give staff a contract of employment with the right flexibility then they should not have a problem in identifying the driver responsible for the PCN and enforcing their payment of the fine, which would normally be deducted from their pay, either in one lump sum or perhaps over time if the payment is large,” she says.

Here we outline the system for parking fines issued by local authorities and companies managing private car parks and the appeal process for each.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 19

■ FINES AND CHARGES

P CNs

“LEGAL ACTION ALWAYS PROVOKES WORRIES. FINES MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, BUT THE PROCESSES INVOLVED ARE BOTH CONFUSING AND COMPLICATED” ▲

JOHN PRYOR, ACFO by the police or police-employed traffic wardens.

PCNs can be issued for many reasons, including: parking on yellow lines, in a permit-only zone without a clearly displayed valid permit, in a council-owned car park or on a metered space if the correct charge has not been paid or parking ticket not displayed and where parking is banned, for example, on white zig-zag lines or on the pavement.

Employers have a choice of paying the parking fine or identifying the driver to the local authority and transferring liability. In the latter case, ACFO recommends giving advice to the driver on paying the penalty or disputing the fine.

A PCN is a civil offence and can be issued by post, by hand or applied to a vehicle windscreen. By law, the PCN must be issued within 28 days of when the traffic warden saw the parking rule was broken or it was caught on camera.

Drivers can challenge the fine or have 28 days to pay: a discount of 50% is available for payment within 14 days (21 days if vehicle is caught on camera and the PCN is posted).

Since April 2015, drivers have a 10-minute ‘grace’ period during which they cannot receive a fine if they slightly over-stay their time limit. However, it doesn’t apply to parking on yellow lines or in permit bays.

If a driver does not believe the PCN should have been issued, an appeal must be lodged with the council within 28 days of the date of issue. The ‘informal challenge’ should be made in writing and include evidence for the appeal. If that is rejected, the next step is a ‘formal challenge’, which the council has 56 days to consider.

If the appeal is dismissed, a notice of rejection will be received, detailing the next stage of the process. Outside London, that is to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) for England and Wales; in the capital, it’s the London Tribunals. Appeals must be lodged within 28 days.

Appeals to the TPT can be made in three ways – in writing, online or by telephone – and there are three types of hearing: e-decision (includes postal decision/without a hearing), telephone hearing or face-to-face hearing.

London Tribunals conducts appeals in person or by post. The Tribunal adjudicator will gather evidence from both parties and then issue their decision, with the full charge due if the appeal is lost.

After the review decision, either side may apply to the High Court for a judicial review, but only if they think the adjudicator has made a mistake of law.

Appeals in Northern Ireland are heard by the Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal and in Scotland by the Scottish parking appeals service.

PARKING TICKETS ISSUED BY THE POLICE Parking tickets issued by the police are called fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and handled under the criminal 20 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

711,700 Number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding in 2013

£1,000 Maximum fine for a company that fails to provide speeding driver’s details

justice system. Police forces do not have the power to make offenders pay fines on the spot. Penalty notices are enforced through the local magistrates court.

If committing a parking offence, a police officer or traffic warden will fix an FPN to the vehicle. Details of the offence will be on the notice.

If payment is not made, a Notice to Owner will be issued – after their details are obtained from the DVLA – reminding the recipient of the payment due or offering a magistrates’ court hearing.

If further ignored, the penalty will be registered as a fine and the driver ordered to pay one-and-a-half times the original charge.

If the driver does not agree that a parking offence has been committed, they can object informally by sending a letter to the central ticket office in the area where the notice was issued. In the case of rejection, a further hearing can be asked for which will result in a summons to attend a magistrates’ court.

PARKING TICKETS ON PRIVATE LAND A ticket for illegal parking on private land, for example in a shopping centre, retail park, hospital or other privately-owned car park, can be left on the vehicle’s windscreen or sent through the post to the registered keeper.

Parking tickets issued on private land can be issued for non-payment, staying longer than the time paid for or parking in the wrong place.

If the parking rules are broken, private landowners can issue a PCN and recover the losses they’ve suffered.

Most parking enforcement companies are members of an accredited trade association, usually the British Parking Association or Independent Parking Committee, and are obliged to follow strict rules introduced in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

If a vehicle is captured on CCTV, an accredited parking company must, by law, send a parking ticket to the vehicle’s owner within 14 days, starting from the day after the parking incident took place. The company responsible for managing the car park is legally entitled to obtain details of the vehicle’s owner from the DVLA. It can pursue the vehicle’s owner for non-payment, although, as with local authority parking, liability can be transferred to the driver by supplying the car park operator with their details.

When the parking company contacts the registered keeper, it issues a parking ticket called a ‘notice to keeper’ – whereas a parking ticket received by a driver face-to-face is called a ‘notice to driver’.

In the notice to keeper, the keeper is asked to name the driver or pay the parking charge.

If the keeper doesn’t respond within 28 days of getting the notice, the parking company can recover

the unpaid amount by taking the keeper to court. PCNs should be paid within 28 days, with a discount of at least 40% if paid within 14 days.

If appealing against a PCN, drivers should initially write to the parking company, if it is a member of an accredited trade association, stating reasons why payment is not due, such as poor signage.

If unsuccessful, a formal appeal can be made to Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA), if the parking company is a member of the British Parking Association.

An appeal to POPLA should be lodged within 28 days of the operator’s notice of rejection. Evidence from both parties will be examined by an assessor. If the appeal is lost, the full parking charge is due within 14 days.

If the parking company is a member of the Independent Parking Committee, an appeal can be lodged with the Independent Appeals Service.

Appeals must be lodged within 21 days of the operator rejecting the initial appeal. If the appeal is lost, the full parking charge is due.

If in possession of a ticket in a car park from a parking company that is not a member of an accredited trade association, drivers can write to the organisation stating their reasons as to why the ticket is unfair.

However, a non-accredited trade association parking company is not allowed to obtain details of the registered keeper from the DVLA, will not have contact details and can’t take a driver to court – unless contact details are included in any correspondence, in which case the parking company could take court action.

■ TO P T IP S FO R H A N D L IN G PA R KIN G F IN E S Keep track Retain a record of all correspondence, in case the authority or private operator claims they have not received a response.

to declare that the mail was sent.

Act quickly Always act immediately, especially within 14 days in order to reduce the parking penalty, if the fine is accepted.

Be wise Remember closed circuit television cameras are increasingly used in the industry for both moving traffic and car parks. Do not assume that drivers will get away with a contravention just because the warden/police are not around.

Recorded delivery Send all correspondence via recorded delivery to cover the company. If that is not possible, send all private operator mail via recorded delivery as, unlike councils, they do not allow a statutory declaration to be made. This enables the registered keeper

Prioritise Treat fines requiring a response within seven days of posting with urgency.

Pay or appeal Do not assume that the driver is at fault. Immediately speak to the driver and find out the circumstances, then make a decision.

Source: ACFO in conjunction with fine management company SAFO Europe

14

days – the period within which most fines are discounted.

From 14 to 28 days, they can double

SPEEDING FINES Police forces in England and Wales issued 743,100 fixed penalty notices for speeding in 2014, the most recent year for which official records are available.

If an employee is caught speeding in a company vehicle, the registered keeper will receive a notice of intended prosecution (NIP). It is their responsibility to provide details of who was driving at the time of the alleged offence. Failure to provide the information could lead to the company being prosecuted with a possible fine of up to £1,000. In some cases, a director or the company secretary can also find themselves in the dock, where it can be shown that the company’s failure to respond was due to their consent or connivance.

Philip Somarakis, partner and specialist road traffic and regulatory lawyer at law and professional services firm Gordon Dadds and company secretary of ACFO, says businesses “must exercise reasonable diligence in identifying drivers through checking records: phone calls, emails and receipts, for example”.

If a business is unable to instantly identify a driver, he

says, “then they must turn detective”. If they cannot identify a driver, “they must be able to satisfy a court that it was reasonable not to have a record of who was driving that vehicle at that specific time”.

The NIP must be served on the driver or registered keeper within 14 days of the offence, otherwise the offence cannot proceed at court.

Having received the NIP, the Section 172 notice must be returned, providing driver details at the time of the alleged offence, within 28 days (21 days in Northern Ireland). If the police are going to send a conditional offer of a fixed penalty notice, they will normally do so shortly after the Section 172 notice is returned.

The offending driver must either pay the fine or formally contest the speeding offence in court. Conditional offers have no official system for appeals, though some police forces do accept informal letters of appeal, especially if the speeding ticket has been issued in error.

If an employee is caught speeding, action taken will depend on the circumstances, but mostly on how far the speed limit was exceeded. In most cases, a fixed penalty notice with a fine of £100 and three penalty points will be the result, but in the most severe cases a driver will be prosecuted in court and face a fine of £1,000 (£2,500 for motorway), between three and six penalty points, and possible disqualification.

Everything you need to know about parking fines at: fleetnews.co.uk/parkingfines

“IF A BUSINESS IS UNABLE TO INSTANTLY IDENTIFY A DRIVER, PERHAPS IF THEY WERE AT THE WHEEL OF A POOL VEHICLE, THEN THEY MUST TURN DETECTIVE” PHILIP SOMARAKIS, ACFO

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 21

■ FINES AND CHARGES

P CNs

DON T LET FINES KEEP YOU

AWAKE

AT NIGHT Data analysis and driver education will address the root causes of PCNs, keeping those nightmares at bay. Andrew Ryan reports

I

ncurring penalty charge notices (PCNs) can be expensive and time-consuming, but the information they produce is a vital weapon in tackling the problem.

“It’s all about the data,” says Natalie Chapman, head of policy at the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

“You can get a lot of information from a parking ticket: you get the reason it was issued, the vehicle registration, the time and the location, and you can put all of that information into a spreadsheet.

“If you analyse this you can find out whether it’s a driver issue, whether it’s a scheduling issue – for example, if a van driver is making a delivery in a prohibited time – or something else.”

Analysis of penalty charge data allowed food service delivery company 3663 First for Foodservice to reduce its annual PCN costs by between £150,000 and £200,000 a year.

However, making use of information from parking fines is often overlooked by businesses.

“More often than not their data is a bit of a mess,” says Chapman. “The company may be using spreadsheets to help process parking fines to find out which ones they’ve paid and appealed, but it is not actually pulling off any kind of management information from it.

“This means they are fighting the fire, but are not actually addressing the root cause, because they don’t understand why they got the PCNs in the first place.”

Using this management information is also key to how leasing company Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions aims to reduce the number of PCNs incurred by its customers.

Data is reported in monthly management packs and is used to identify trends that could help to prevent PCNs. “In some cases, PCNs can be the result of a simple misunderstanding. But if you are going to avoid them, they must be addressed and not ignored,” says Ann Morrison, fleet compliance manager at Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions.

“It’s key to understanding why this is happening: is it because of a lack of driver understanding and regard (which can be addressed with training), or is it due to business pressure? ” Fleet management company CLM, which has seen a 22 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

58%

Increase in PCNs seen by CLM in past five years

For more on how your company can deal with penalty charge notices, visit Driving Business’s sister website: fleetnews.co.uk/PCN

58% increase in the number of PCNs processed over the past five years, including penalties for parking, speeding and tolls, such as the Dartford Crossing (see right), says the best way to reduce PCNs is through improved driver communication and regular client review meetings.

During these meetings, managers are made aware of the level of PCNs their drivers are incurring, as well as identifying those drivers most at risk.

The FTA also advises that education and training for drivers is the best way to avoid parking fines.

“For example, the rules for loading and unloading are not the same as parking: you can stop and make deliveries in places that you can’t park, but equally there are places where you can’t,” says Chapman. It’s in the Highway Code, but a lot of drivers don’t understand where you can and can’t stop.”

Some businesses, such as Gamestec, plan deliveries to ensure they fall within the hours when loading and unloading is permitted. The company has updated its driver handbook on what not to do, the issues drivers need to be aware of and what the parking fine process is.

Technology such as telematics can also help businesses to understand why they are receiving PCNs for speeding, and identify any training needs.

“Telematics systems are now advanced enough to provide detailed, personalised data that allows managers to identify persistent offenders so that effective intervention can take place,” says Nick Walker, managing director of RAC Telematics.

■ PA SSIN G PA R KIN G F IN E S TO D RI V ER S C A N B E A ‘S O B ERIN G’ E XP ERIEN CE Many businesses find an effective way to reduce the cost of penalty charge notices is to pass fines to the drivers responsible.

However, discretion is urged if adopting this policy.

“Our members tend to charge the drivers the cost of fines, which can be sobering to the employee,” says Paul Hollick, chairman of the Institute of Car Fleet Management.

“They also rank employees as, if an employee has lots of parking fines, there are usually accompanying poor driving behaviours.”

Natalie Chapman, of the FTA, says making drivers pay fines can act as a deterrent, but care should be taken when considering making this a blanket policy.

“Some PCNs are just unfortunate or the driver is just trying to do their job,” she says.

“There should be room for discretion as there may be a very good reason why a driver has stopped where he has; for example, the vehicle might have broken down.

“Companies need to treat drivers fairly and equally, but also show discretion where that discretion is warranted as well.”

DART CHARGE ADDS TO ADMIN BURDEN Drivers face flurry of fines after toll booths removed. John Charles reports

M

ore than a year on from the launch of a new payment scheme at the Dartford Crossing, businesses and their drivers are still feeling frustrated.

Dart Charge was launched in November 2014 to speed up journeys at the Dartford Crossing, and give drivers more flexibility about how and when they pay the crossing charge. Toll booths were removed and drivers are instead expected to pay online, by phone or at one of the nationwide network of retail outlets.

Early indications show that average travel times have improved, according to Highways England, with journeys more than nine minutes quicker southbound and more than four minutes quicker northbound.

However, 1.8 million fines have been issued since the scheme was introduced. Businesses have reported problems with roadside warning signs, the Dart Charge website and an increase in administration dealing with fees and fines. While the issue is greatest for companies

£35

Fine for non-payment of Dart Charge

“IT APPEARS THAT THE NEW PAYMENT PROCESS HAS NOT BEEN MA DE CLEAR TO DRIVERS” SUE MOSLEY, C&J CLARK INTERNATIONA L

with thousands of vehicles, Dart Charge affects all.

Sue Mosley, global fleet coordinator at C&J Clark International, says she has been hit with “a flurry of Dart Charge fines”, with fine notices often taking more than two months to be received. Operating a leased fleet of 250 company cars, the fines are paid by the employer’s vehicle provider. However, the £35 fine, plus the original £2.50 charge and a £30+VAT administration fee are passed on to offending drivers. One driver has so far received four fines.

Mosley explains: “This is of considerable concern to drivers, particularly when some have had more than one fine in a week. It appears that the new payment process has not been made clear to drivers, so they are unaware until the fine comes through. We encourage drivers to self-manage, but we want to support them as much as possible.”

A message has been sent to drivers making them aware of the new payment regime.

Andrew Houston, head of information and communication technology and fleet at Letchworthbased The Altro Group, says account details need to be easier to change, particularly when an employee leaves and a vehicle is reallocated.

“If an individual employee takes out an account in their own name – even if the Dart Charge fee is recharged to the employer for a company owned or operated vehicle – and they leave, beware, the registration number is locked to that account,” he says.

“Even if you have access to the account, you cannot remove the vehicle as there has to be one left on the account. This means, if the vehicle is re-allocated to another employee, you cannot raise a company account nor top up the original account. Even supplying proof of ownership or operating will not enable access to the account.”

Houston eventually resolved the issue, saying it “took several hours of my time and accounts department time”.

In the interim, the employee who had been reallocated the company car and was a frequent Dartford Crossing user had to remember to pay the fee by midnight on the day after using the Crossing to avoid incurring a penalty charge.

Highways England says it is making improvements, and motorists fined for the first time will have two weeks to pay the road user charge of £2.50 per car, instead of the fine. ● The Government is being urged to forge ahead with a new tunnel to alleviate pressure on the Dartford Crossing.

Highways England is recommending building a new road from the end of the M2, which will go under the Thames just east of Gravesend and Tilbury and join the M25 between junctions 29 and 30.

Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said: “There is a desperate need to increase capacity on this route.”

The earliest anticipated opening date of a tunnel would be in 2025. mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 23

Advertisement feature

Full speed ahead for contract hire Why the new lease accounting standard won’t erode the appeal of the number one acquisition method for company cars in the UK

W

hen it comes to assessing the right funding method for your business, there are a large number of parameters to consider, but for many companies, tax efficiency, fixed budgeting and protection from fluctuating vehicle values are key requirements.

In fact, these are just three of the reasons why contract hire – arguably the most tax-efficient and risk-free way of funding a vehicle – is the most popular form of funding used by UK companies to fund their vehicle fleet.

They are also three of the reasons why the vast majority of industry specialists concur that the publication of a new lease accounting standard by the International Accounting Standards Board will have negligible impact on the take-up of contract hire.

Under the current rules, leases are split into two categories – finance leases and operating leases (contract hire) – and only the assets and liabilities arising from finance leases have to be recognised on the balance sheet.

The new standard becomes mandatory from January 1, 2019, and means all assets and liabilities arising under lease contracts – including contract hire – must be recognised on the balance sheet to give greater transparency around the financial situation of a firm.

The new standard will only initially apply to public sector organisations and firms that report to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). With most UK firms reporting to the UK’s Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), they will be unaffected until such time these converge with IFRS standard.

However, even when all businesses are affected, contract hire will still offer a host of leading reasons to select it as your funding method.

From a tax efficiency point of view, this includes VAT reclaim. VAT-registered

“Contract hire presents an appealing package of measures to address all of the major issues facing fleets today” businesses can claim back 50% of the VAT on the finance rental where there is an element of private use or 100% if it is used exclusively for work purposes.

Meanwhile, rentals paid on vehicles with CO2 emissions of up to 130g/km can also be fully deducted against corporation tax – this drops to 85% for vehicles with higher emissions.

Businesses using contract hire also benefit from improved cash flow by not having to tie up their funds in company cars, while also gaining from budgeting

To find out more, contact Lombard Vehicle Solutions on 0117 908 6490 or visit www.lombardvehiclesolutions.co.uk Lombard Vehicle Solutions is the contract hire and fleet management product provided by ALD Automotive. Registered address: Oakwood Park, Lodge Causeway, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3JA

advantages through the provision of fixed monthly payments with no nasty surprises.

Talking of no nasty surprises, fleets using contract hire also benefit when it comes to vehicle disposal by being able to hand the vehicle back without concerns over how it will be remarketed or how the used car market is faring.

There are also wide operational benefits to using contract hire, including the option to augment your agreement with a maintenance deal that takes care of any day-to-day repairs and servicing for you.

Other services available include road risk management and licence-checking, helping to address health and safety – a further key issue for fleet managers.

All in all, contract hire presents an appealing package of measures to address all of the major issues facing fleets today.

So will the contract hire market be undermined by the new lease accounting standard? Not a chance.

2016 VEHICLE

LAUNCH GUIDE Get the low-down on a selection of new cars and vans worth considering for your fleet this year

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2 016 L AUNCH GUIDE: F I AT CHR Y SL ER AU TOMOBIL E S

ALFA ROMEO GIULIA

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Alfa Romeo’s long-awaited D-sector challenger was unveiled in June 2015. It’s an important car for the brand – its first new mainstream car since 2010, and the one with which Alfa will be re-introduced into North America.

So far, we’ve only seen a high-performance version of the Giulia – a V6 turbo producing 510hp – but at the Geneva motor show in March, Alfa should be confirming the four-cylinder petrol and diesel powertrains that will help determine whether or not the car will be a success.

It will be competing with the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the Jaguar XE, as well as trying to lure user-choosers away from the likes of Ford, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

FIAT 124 SPIDER

AVA IL A B L E S U M M E R P R I C E £ 2 0 , 0 0 0 ( E S T I M AT E D) C O 2 14 0 G / K M ( E S T I M AT E D)

The new Fiat 124 Spider is the result of a partnership with Mazda, taking advantage of the Japanese manufacturer’s fourth-generation MX-5, with an Italian accent to the styling and a turbocharged Fiat engine.

The two-seat roadster will be due in the second half of the year, and there are also rumours of a more powerful Abarth version in 2017.

For now, the 124 Spider will use a 140hp 1.4-litre engine found in other Fiat models.

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We know little about Jeep’s new rival to the Nissan Qashqai, but if the success of the latest Cherokee and the Renegade, launched in 2015, are any indication, the new model should be warmly received.

The name of the new model hasn’t been revealed yet, but it will effectively be a replacement for the Jeep Compass of a few years ago. This name might well be retained.

We can expect engines from the current Jeep line-up to be deployed in the new model, so expect diesel engines ranging from 120hp to 170hp, as well as 140hp and 170hp petrol variants, with four-wheel drive optional.

FIAT FULLBACK

AVA IL A B L E S U M M E R P R I C E F R O M £ 2 0 , 0 0 0 E XC L U D I N G VAT ( E S T I M AT E D) C O 2 169 G / K M ( E S T I M AT E D)

Fiat will be entering the pick-up truck sector in 2016 thanks to a partnership with Mitsubishi.

The Fiat Fullback is based on the successful Mitsubishi L200, and will share its engine and sophisticated fourwheel drive technology.

Measuring up to 1,780mm in height, 1,815 mm in width and 5,285mm in length, with a wheelbase of 3,000mm, the Fullback will offer a payload of 1,045kg and will be powered by a 2.4-litre diesel engine with a power output of either 150hp or 180hp. Two transmissions will be available, a six-speed manual gearbox or a five-speed automatic transmission with sports mode, and both will be combined with full four-wheel drive systems.

We expect Fiat will focus on the more lucrative double-cab part of the sector rather than the smaller workhorse single and club-cabs, which make

26 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

up a fraction of the pick-up market.

From what we know of the L200, the Fullback should combine comfort and capability in a way that was unimaginable in a truck a generation ago, as well as a range of safety features that we’re more used to seeing in SUVs.

FIAT SCUDO

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Images and specification of the new Scudo have not yet been published, but the new van will have a lot in common with the Renault Trafic and Vauxhall Vivaro.

The Scudo used to be produced in partnership with Peugeot and Citroën, and in fact was built at PSA’s factory in France.

While the two companies continue in partnership for large panel vans and compact cube vans, Toyota has now joined with PSA on the medium panel van, while Fiat has teamed up with Renault.

So we can expect the Scudo range to offer similar engine choices to the Trafic as well as equipment grades that reflect the options with Renault.

FIAT TIPO

AVA IL A B L E AU T U M N P R I C E F R O M £14 , 0 0 0 ( E S T I M AT E D) C O 2 F R O M 11 0 G / K M ( E S T I M A T E D )

Fiat will return to the mainstream lower-medium sector later this year with the new Tipo.

Already available as a saloon in some European markets, the UK is only likely to have a hatchback at launch and an estate shortly after.

The Tipo’s predecessor, the Bravo, struggled for recognition in a crowded sector with plenty of excellent cars to choose from.

Sharing a platform with the 500L, Fiat will be hoping the Tipo’s roominess, high level of standard equipment and value for money will help it stand out.

We’re told there will be a choice of four engines, and we can expect the 1.6-litre diesel (likely to be available in 105 and 120hp outputs) to be of most interest to fleets.

FIAT FIORINO

AVA IL A B L E AU T U M N P R I C E F R O M £ 11 , 0 0 0 E X C L U D I N G V A T ( E S T I M AT E D) C O 2 F R O M 11 0 G / K M ( E S T I M A T E D )

The Fiorino is the oldest vehicle in the Fiat Professional line-up, so we’re speculating that there will be a major refresh during 2016, bringing the van up-to-date.

Therefore, we can expect some improvements in fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions, as well as revised styling and new technology.

CARMAKER’S COMMENT Francis Bleasdale, Fleet & Remarketing Director, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles UK Ltd 2015 proved to be another year of growth for both the fleet industry and for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles UK, where we had a record year of fleet growth of 23%.

With the Fiat 500X and the Jeep Renegade we have greatly expanded our current product offering to fleet customers. 2016 will see five brand new models being launched across all of our Brands. This will include the Alfa Romeo Giulia, recipient of the What Car most eagerly-anticipated new car of 2016 award. Already widely praised for its outstanding style and performance, the new Alfa Giulia will provide an exciting alternative for fleets and userchoosers in the premium saloon sector.

“We will further strengthen our team to cater for the individual needs of all our customers” This year Fiat returns to the C Segment with the all new Tipo, available as either hatchback or estate.

With the new 124 Spider, it means that Fiat continues to expand its range with even more exciting and stylish cars.

Our Fiat Professional commercial vehicle range will also be extended, as we enter the pick-up market for the first time with the new Fullback and strengthen our medium van offering with the all new Scudo. There are also planned changes to both the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Mito, providing UK fleet customers with one of the widest and most diverse ranges of vehicles available.

The next steps will include further expansion of our dealer fleet specialist network, extended aftersales fleet support and the launch of an all new approved used car programme across all our brands. We will also continue to further strengthen our team of fleet specialists in order to cater for the individual needs of all our customers, from a small local business to the largest corporate, contract hire and public sector fleets.

These initiatives will help us continue to grow our UK fleet market share, but our main focus will remain the same: delivering outstanding customer service.

For more information contact our Business Centre on 01753 519442

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 27

2 016 L AUNCH GUIDE: REN AULT

Renault mÉgane HatcHback ava il a b l e SP R in g

P R i c e F R o m £ 1 7, 0 0 0 ( e S t i m a t e d )

Renault is undergoing a process of rebuilding its presence in the UK, and the new Mégane will be key in maintaining its progress.

Bold styling makes the car stand out in a crowded sector, and the new Mégane is also packed with technology.

The Mégane has a longer wheelbase and a wider stance than its predecessor, giving it greater on-road presence, as well as improved ride and handling characteristics.

Most engines are carried over from the previous model, but this is no bad thing. It means CO2 as low as 86g/km is available from the 1.5-litre diesel, while the 130hp 1.6-litre diesel weighs in at 104g/km. There will

Renault mÉgane SPoRt touReR

ava il a b l e S u m m e R P R i c e F R o m £18 , 0 0 0 ( e S t i m at e d) c o 2 F R o m 8 6 g / k m ( e S t i m at e d)

We’ve seen no images of the Mégane Sport Tourer to date, and we expect it to be shown for the first time in public at the Geneva motor show in March.

We think the new look Mégane styling will suite the estate silhouette very well, and previous wagon versions of Renault’s lower-medium car (pictured below) have been exceptional load-luggers, with greater cargo volume than some estate cars in the sector above.

The Sport Tourer will share engines with the hatchback, so 100hp and 130hp 1.2-litre petrol engines are likely, alongside 1.5-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesels.

CO2 emissions should be similar to that of the hatchback, if not identical, so there should ba a choice of 1.5-litre dCi variants below 100g/ km, with 1.6-litre dCi versions below 110g/km.

Like the hatchback, the Sport Tourer will look and feel more upmarket than its predecessor, and running costs should be significantly lower, thanks to much improved residual values.

28 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

co2 FRom 86g/km

also be a 2.0-litre diesel with 165hp. The petrol range will feature 100hp and 130hp 1.2-litre turbocharged variants, as well as a higher performance 205hp 1.6-litre turbo GT. The GT will feature a four-wheel steer system for improved agility at lower speeds (up to 50mph) when the rear wheels will turn in the opposite direction to the front wheels, and better stability at higher speeds when the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the front wheels High-specification versions of the Mégane will be available with a tabletstyle interface as an upgrade from the conventional navigation screen, which is claimed to be the largest screen in the lower-medium sector.

dacia Range ReviSionS ava il a b l e S u m m e R

Revisions to the Dacia range will be minor, and will have little impact on the specification and price of the models.

However, we can expect cosmetic changes across the board to help freshen up the Sandero, Duster, and Logan ranges in Renault’s budget brand, boosting the appeal of its nofrills philosophy.

Renault Scenic, gRand Scenic

ava il a b l e au t u m n P R i c e F R o m £18 , 5 0 0 ( e S t i m at e d) c o 2 F R o m 9 9 g / k m ( e S t i m at e d)

The Scenic range will enter its fourth incarnation this autumn, almost 20 years after the Mégane Scenic first appeared.

There will be the five-seat Scenic and seven-seat Grand Scenic as before, and engines and technology will be shared with the new Mégane range.

We can expect better fuel efficiency with CO2 emissions perhaps dipping below 100g/km for the first time and official fuel economy on the combined cycle exceeding 70mpg.

It’s likely that we’ll see a version of the Megane’s tabletstyle touch-screen interface offered on the Scenic and Grand Scenic.

Renault could also offer the Scenic with a four-wheel steering option, as the 4Control system, fitted as standard to the Mégane GT, is offered as an option on the Espace (not sold in the UK), which would improve agility at low speeds along with stability at high speeds.

CARMAKER’S COMMENT darren Payne, sales director, group Renault uk

Renault twingo gt ava il a b l e S u m m e R P R i c e £14 , 5 0 0 ( e S t i m at e d) c o 2 11 0 g / k m ( e S t i m a t e d )

The rear-engined Twingo is a joint project between Renault and Smart, with the German manufacturer’s Fortwo and Forfour models developed in the same programme.

The Twingo has been around for a little more than a year, and during 2016 we should see the introduction of a racier version, wearing a GT badge.

With 110bhp, it’ll fall short of some of the more powerful hot-hatch city cars such as the Vauxhall Adam S and Abarth 500.

But for many in this market, it’ll be quick enough, and with a more modest power output it’ll mean running costs will be lower. We expect the price to be significantly lower than the more powerful cars of this size too.

Currently the Twingo is available with a choice of a normally aspirated 1.0-litre producing 71hp, or a turbocharged 0.9-litre engine with 90hp.

The extra performance from the new 110hp variant should be noticeable and inject even more fun into this quirky small car.

Although the current engines offer CO2 emissions below 100g/km, we doubt whether the more powerful GT would be able to achieve that.

At Group Renault UK we’ve continued our passion for life in 2015 – our overall sales accelerated by 17% year-on-year, outpacing the market growth by 2:1. Our van range also retained its leadership position in Europe for the 18th consecutive year in 2015. The Group’s innovative fleet customer proposition also continued to strengthen with the launch of All-New Kadjar. Kadjar, our new C-segment crossover, joined the Renault range to critical acclaim thanks to its class-leading total cost of ownership, with the ENERGY dCi 110 engine delivering best-in-class CO2 figures. Kadjar is a great-looking car that offers high value in a fiercely competitive market segment.

Aligned to our success and our future growth plans, we’ve dramatically boosted the number of dedicated local car and van fleet specialists in our dealer network to offer fleet customers a more personalised and tailored experience.

“We’ve dramatically boosted dedicated local fleet specialists in our dealer network” To accompany this, we’ve also invested in both our Corporate Sales team and Business Hub, boosting staff levels by a third. Renault’s dedicated Business Hub manages all inbound and outbound enquiries from our fleet customers, making it easier to do business with us. Renault’s Business Quality Commitment continues to provide our customers with marketleading levels of customer service for both cars and vans, giving confidence in the quality of our range with four years of guaranteed mobility and hassle-free business motoring. These innovations and investments continue to positively impact on sales, with Renault Group’s performance significantly outpacing the UK market for the last three consecutive years. We’ll continue to renew our car offer in 2016. Joining Kadjar in the summer will be All-New Mégane while the All-New Scénic – the car that invented the C-MPV segment – arrives at the end of the year, giving Renault five new products and the most up-to-date C-segment offering in the market in addition to the fantastic B-segment offering from Captur and Clio.

And of course, the leading van range in Europe will continue to win more customers in the UK.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 29

2 016 l aunch guide: toyota l e x us

PRiuS

ava il a b l e n o w PRice FRom £23,295 co2 FRom 70g/km

the Prius might not have quite defined all that toyota represents over the past 15 years, but it has possibly come to define what we understand by the word hybrid. the fourth-generation model will arrive in the uK early in 2016, and although the base version (as well as most of the rest of the range) has co2 emissions of 76g/km – itself an improvement over the best performance from its predecessor – one derivative will offer 70g/km. this isn’t a new plug-in variant, either. We have no news yet on when a plug-in will join the new Prius range, but the Business edition Plus with 15-inch alloys rather than the 16-inch wheels on the standard car achieves the lower emissions figure. it will be priced £25,595 (£400 lower than the equivalent grade with larger wheels). the BiK tax for this model is four percentage points lower than others in the range and, under current rules, qualifies for a full discount on the london congestion charge.

Rav4

ava il a b l e n o w PRice FRom £23,695 c o 2 F R o m 11 5 g / k m ( h y b R i d )

although the Rav4 is undergoing a mid-life facelift, there is a significant change to the model line-up with the addition of a new hybrid, as well as new safety equipment. the Business edition Plus is offered only as a front-wheel drive hybrid, using toyota’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine combined with an electric motor, as in the lexus is, gs and nx. co2 emissions for this variant are 115g/km, although choosing a fourwheel drive version results in a modest rise to 118g/km. diesel versions are perhaps more attractively priced, but there are none with co2 below 120g/km.

PRoace

ava il a b l e S u m m e R P R i c e F R o m £18 , 0 0 0 e xc l u d i n g vaT ( e S T i m aT e d) c o 2 n /a

We know very little about the new Proace so far, other than it signifying a strengthening in the partnership between the Japanese manufacturer and French Psa. While toyota was a latecomer to the Psa-built predecessor, it has had some engineering input to the new Proace and the replacements for the citroën dispatch and Peugeot expert, which will also appear in 2016. toyota is already a partner with Psa with the citroën c1 and Peugeot 108 built on the same line as the aygo in the czech Republic.

We expect diesel engines to be supplied by the French manufacturer and a uK public debut at the commercial Vehicle show in april.

hilux

ava il a b l e S u m m e R P R i c e F R o m £18 , 0 0 0 e xc l u d i n g vaT ( e S T i m aT e d) c o 2 F R o m 17 0 g / k m ( e S T i m aT e d)

toyota hasn’t revealed anything about uK versions of the new hilux yet, although it has already gone on sale in some other markets.

We’re promised better fuel efficiency, more space, greater ability as a workhorse and a plusher cabin. it wouldn’t surprise us to see the new model make its debut alongside the new Proace van in april, revitalizing toyota’s commercial vehicle range in 2016.

30 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Rc 200T and 300h ava il a b l e SP R in g P R i c e F R o m £ 3 4 ,9 9 5 c o 2 F R o m 11 3 g / k m

lexus will enter new territory in 2016 with the sleek new Rc coupé. it’s basically the same silhouette as the high-performance Rc F launched in 2015, but this model will have a bit more low-tax appeal for company car user-choosers. offered with a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine producing 245hp and with co2 of 168g/km, there is also a 224hp 300h hybrid variant on offer, with co2 from 113g/km.

Mechanically identical to the is saloon, the Rc is more performance focused in its styling and in the equipment grades offered, with no s or se variants.

Rx

ava il a b l e n o w P R i c e F R o m £ 3 9,9 9 5 c o 2 F R o m 12 0 g / k m

the new Rx began arriving with customers in January, with some big changes for the fourth generation of this model that has been the backbone of lexus sales in europe. unlike its predecessor, there will be two engine variants offered: a 235hp 200t and a 313hp 450h hybrid. the former, with front-wheel drive on entry-level variants, acts as a lower price point to the range and might be of interest to retail customers.

Most fleets will be interested in the hybrid which, in se guise, offers co2 emissions of 120g/km. even choosing higher variants still keeps co2 below 130g/km.

gS

ava il a b l e n o w PRice FRom £ 3 3, 495 c o 2 FRom 10 4 g/k m

the lexus gs range gains some important updates for 2016, including a sharper front end, upgraded multimedia and new safety features. new driver assistance features are included in the lexus safety system+ pack with a pre-crash safety programme and pedestrian detection, lane keeping assistance, adaptive high beam and active cruise control. the 12.3inch display screen (available with the 17-speaker Mark levinson audio system) gains a full-screen map function, plus better voice recognition operation and graphics. the screen may still be split into two sections to display different functions concurrently. ease of operation has been improved with new side-mounted ‘enter’ buttons on the interface controller and a new shortcut menu on the side of the screen.

CARMAKER’S COMMENT

neil broad, general manager, Toyota & lexus Fleet

last year dramatically highlighted the environmental importance of model choices. demand for cleaner, more efficient fleets with lower wholelife costs is undeniable – and reflected in the pioneering petrol full hybrid and hydrogen-powered offers from toyota and lexus in 2016. aside from enhanced fuel economy and reduced emissions, lower maintenance costs continue to make petrol full hybrid attractive. there’s no starter motor, drive belt, alternator or clutch to service and regenerative braking reduces brake wear. toyota Prius hybrid has always offered outstanding efficiency, but our latest model sees another quantum leap – improving driving dynamics while reducing co2

“Toyota Prius hybrid has always offered outstanding efficiency, but our latest model sees another quantum leap – improving driving dynamics while reducing CO2 to 70g/km” emissions to 70g/km, improving fuel efficiency and attracting just 9% benefit-in-kind (BiK) tax.

For suV performance, our new toyota RaV4 hybrid offers two- or all-wheel drive. With a class-leading 57.7mpg it saves on fuel while co2 emissions from 115g/km ensure BiK is only 18%. our new c-hR mini suV crossover arrives later in the year.

2016 also sees the all-new Rx 450h re-engineered for more refined and powerful performance, it achieves 120g/km co2 and 19% BiK. sports enthusiasts, meanwhile, need look no further than the new two-door lexus Rc 300h coupé. as toyota enters its sixth decade in the uK, the Mirai joins uK fleets. the world’s first dedicated hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai’s only emission is water. there’s never been a better time to explore our Business Plus services and compare the financial and environmental savings of switching to petrol hybrids. n For more information call us on 0344 701 6186 or visit toyotalexusfleet.co.uk.

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 31

2 016 L AUNCH GUIDE: V OLV O

S90

AVA il A B l e Se p T e m B e r p r i C e F r o m £ 3 2 , 5 0 0 ( e S T i m AT e d) C o 2 From 4 4 g/K m (H Y Brid); 109g/K m (die Sel )

It’ll be nine months before we see the recently unveiled S90 saloon on sale in the UK, but early indications are that it will be worth the wait.

A more elegant car than the S80 it will replace, and with more personality, the S90 has the job of luring company directors away from the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

It will be offered with 190hp D4 and 225hp D5 2.0-litre diesel engines, the latter using a bi-turbo to extract more performance from the fourcylinder engine and only being available as an automatic and allwheel drive variant. CO2 emissions for these models are expected to be 109g/km and 133g/km respectively.

There will also be a T8 plug-in hybrid, using a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor, providing all-wheel drive ability when both power units are running together. CO2 emissions for the plug-in

hybrid will be 44g/km. Other petrol-only versions will be offered outside the UK and Volvo is currently evaluating whether to add them to our price lists.

All new Volvos bring a major safety innovation to market, and the S90 has autonomous emergency braking, which is able to detect large animals in the road ahead and react.

Equipment grades will reflect those of the XC90, with Momentum as the entry-level, Inscription as a higher grade and R-Design (which is expected to take 45% of orders) offering more sporty styling. LED headlamps, leather, navigation, CleanZone air quality system and a nine-inch centre touchscreen will be standard.

Volvo expects to deliver 600 S90s in the UK in 2016, following its September launch, with 2,000 being the typical full year target thereafter.

V40

AVA il A B l e o C T o B e r priCe From £20,000 C o 2 F r o m 8 9 g / K m ( e S T i m AT e d)

There has been nothing official from Volvo regarding the V40, but we feel that, with the new 90 model range completed and possible replacements for the 60 range in 2017, the V40 has a little longer to soldier on and will undergo some revisions for the 2017 model year in the autumn.

Changes will most likely focus on new connectivity features, as well as a restyling to bring the V40 in line with the new Volvo look. The ‘Thor’s hammer’ LED light signature could make an appearance.

32 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

Volvo still relies on old partnerships for some of the engines in the V40, and we know that in some European markets there are versions with CO2 emissions lower than the 94g/km offered by the 1.6-litre D2. These versions with lower equipment levels and smaller wheels have deliberately not been brought into the UK, but we wonder whether they could to help make the V40 more appealing at the lower end of the range, or if Volvo could extract better efficiency from variants currently available.

xC90 T8 Twin engine AVA il A B l e n o w priCe From £60,455 C o 2 49g/K m

The UK finally gets the plug-in hybrid version of the Volvo XC90 early in 2016 and, as previous features in Fleet News show, there is little compromise for having the hi-tech powertrain.

The XC90 T8 produces more than 400hp from its bi-turbo 2.0-litre engine combined with the powerful electric motor. It has CO2 emissions of 49g/km, seven seats and a space-saver spare wheel.

Recent announcements on the future of the plug-in car grant now show that although it would qualify as a hybrid, its price sits above the new cap for the grant.

But there are still significant advantages, thanks to its low CO2, over some rival plug-in SUVs which will make the XC90 eligible for savings in benefit-in-kind tax and employers’ national insurance contributions.

Although Volvo planned to offer a front-wheel drive D4 diesel variant in the UK, that would be ready some time after the car’s launch, there is no confirmation that we will see this in 2016.

CARMAKER’S COMMENT

Selwyn Cooper, head of business sales, Volvo Car UK

2016 will be a big year for Volvo.

Not only will we introduce a groundbreaking plug-in hybrid version of our award-winning XC90, we’re also going to launch a brand new model.

First to arrive, in February, will be UK versions of the XC90 T8. This petrol-electric hybrid SUV combines a powerful yet efficient petrol engine with an electric motor to provide startling performance with seriously low tax and fuel costs. Not only that, there’s room for seven adults inside, and the interior is as classy as it is beautiful.

Then there will be the new S90 executive saloon, which will arrive in the UK in the summer. It mixes

“New S90 will be the first Volvo to benefit from our latest generation Pilot Assist semiautonomous drive technology”

The V90 will replace the V70 (pictured)

V90

AVA il A B l e Se p T e m B e r p r i C e F r o m £ 3 4 , 0 0 0 ( e S T i m AT e d) C o 2 F r o m 4 4 g / K m ( e S T i m AT e d)

We haven’t seen anything of the new V90 yet – it’s earmarked for a public debut at the Geneva motor show in March.

It will be an important car for Volvo, as it will replace the V70, which has, with its predecessors, defined what Volvo represented.

It will of course be related to the S90, which we know a little about, and it will arrive in the UK around the same time in the autumn.

So we can expect it to share powertrains (the D4 and D5 diesels as well as a T8 petrol-electric plug-in hybrid) and equipment grades (Momentum as the standard car, Inscription for luxurious mode features and R-Design for a more sporty feel).

It’s likely to have standard leather seats, LED headlamps and the ‘Thor’s hammer’ daytime running light signature, which has become a characteristic of the XC90 and S90.

striking Scandinavian design with a host of new technologies, including cloud-based apps and services.

It is also the second model (after the XC90) to use Volvo’s own purpose-built Scalable Product Architecture platform, which allows us to offer a variety of power sources and high-tech communication and safety equipment.

Like the XC90, the New S90 will be available with a range of tax-efficient diesel and petrol Drive-E engines, along with the T8 Twin Engine powertrain. Not only that, it will be the first Volvo to benefit from the latest generation of our Pilot Assist semi-autonomous drive technology, along with the world-first application of large animal detection as part of our automatic emergency braking aids. Of course, the New S90 will also offer all the space, quality and sophistication that Volvo is famous for. The New S90 is just the second all-new model in Volvo’s complete product relaunch – expect more news in the coming months and years.

With these exciting products on the horizon, Volvo’s transformation is continuing at an unprecedented pace!

n To find out more, call the Volvo Car Business Centre on: 0345 600 4027

mydrivingbusiness.co.uk ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ 33

2 016 l AUnch gUide: r oUnd Up

also Coming soon...

A look at some of the other vehicles due to hit the UK market this year

ford EdgE

hyundai i20 aCtivE

The Edge has been on sale in North America for some time, but we won’t see European versions in the UK until the autumn.

The flagship SUV will have all-wheel drive and a choice of 180hp or bi-turbo 210hp 2.0-litre diesel engines. The 180hp derivative will have Zetec, Titanium and Sport grades, with the auto-only 210hp offered with Titanium and Sport.

With Ford making the most of its upmarket Vignale model line in the Mondeo and S-Max in 2016, perhaps the Edge would lend itself to a Vignale version in 2017.

Hyundai’s i20 range will gain a more rugged-looking member with the addition of the i20 Active.

Designed to edge the i20 range closer to compact crossover territory, the Active has raised ground clearance by 20mm, added skid plates on the front and rear as well as off-roader styling around the wheel arches.

Hyundai’s new three-cylinder 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine will be available in a 100hp version, tuned to maximise fuel economy, and a 120hp version, developed for more spirited driving.

ava il a b l E au t u m n P r i C E £ 3 2 , 0 0 0 ( E s t i m at E d) C o 2 from 149 g/ k m

jaguar f-PaCE

ava il a b l E t h i s m o n t h P r i C E £15 , 2 2 5 C o 2 11 0 g / k m

mErCEdEs-bEnz E-Class

ava il a b l E sP r in g/ s u m m E r P r i C E f r o m £ 3 4 ,1 7 0 C o 2 f r o m 12 9 g/ k m

ava i l a b l E m ay P r i C E f r o m £ 3 5 ,9 3 5 C o2 from 102g/k m

The F-Pace is Jaguar’s first SUV, and the company is expected to work hard to distinguish it from models in Land Rover’s line-up.

Designed more as an all-round sportscar than as an SUV, it will share engines with the latest XF, which means a great deal of corporate interest in the four-cylinder diesel variant, but the one we really want would be the 300hp six-cylinder 3.0-litre diesel.

The 180hp 2.0-litre diesel will be offered as a rear-wheel drive entry-level variant, with CO2 emissions of 129g/km, or with all-wheel drive. All other variants will be all-wheel drive. The only petrol variant will be a 380hp supercharged 3.0-litre V6.

Big news for business drivers in 2016 will be the introduction of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which was unveiled in Detroit.

For 2016, the E-Class has grown slightly longer overall, but has a 65mm longer wheelbase, increasing space for occupants.

The UK range starts with the E220d, which uses a new 2.0-litre diesel engine, producing 195hp. CO2 emissions are from 102g/km, with fuel efficiency of 72.4mpg on the combined cycle – improvements of 12g/km and 8.2mpg over its predecessor.

All E-Class models will have automatic transmission and LED headlights.

34 ❚ Spring 2016 ❚ mydrivingbusiness.co.uk

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THE NEW BMW 225xe ACTIVE TOURER. FROM:

46g/km

CO2 emissions

UP TO:

5% BIK

141.2

MPG (combined)

Dynamic design, compact dimensions and everyday practicality combined with efficient BMW eDrive technology; meet the new BMW 225xe Active Tourer. In pure electric mode, the car can travel up to 25 miles and reach up to 78mph, emission-free and with zero fuel consumption. For longer journeys and higher speeds, the petrol and electric engines work together to achieve a remarkable 141.2mpg (combined) while emitting as little as 46g/km of CO2.

THE NEW BMW X5 xDRIVE40e.

Every inch a BMW X5, the new model features xDrive, the intelligent BMW four-wheel drive system, plus a lavish and beautifully crafted interior, a high level of standard equipment and versatility on and off the road. The only difference is that the BMW X5 xDrive40e features innovative BMW eDrive hybrid technology, providing up to 85.6mpg (combined) and a pure electric range of 19 miles. This means company car drivers will benefit from a BIK of only 13%, placing them in the attractive VED Band A.

FROM:

77g/km

CO2 emissions

UP TO:

13% 85.6 BIK

MPG (combined)

A BMW WITH JUST 5% BIK TAX. BUSINESS AND PLEASURE IN PERFECT HARMONY.

To find out more about the BMW PHEV range, please visit bmwbusinesspartnership.co.uk/phev Official fuel economy figures for the BMW range: Urban 19.2-72.4mpg (14.7-3.9l/100km).

Extra Urban 31.4-91.1mpg (9.0-3.1l/100km). Combined 25.4-470.8mpg (11.1-0.06l/100km).

CO2 emissions 259-0g/km. Figures may vary depending on driving style and conditions.

BMW (UK) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to its credit broking activities. Company registered number: 01378137. Registered office: Summit ONE, Summit Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 0FB. VAT number: GB584451913. BIK tax 7% from April 2016.

BMW Business Partnership