International Fleet World April 2014

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD All that matters in the world of fleet April 2014

inside Mike Masterson of ALD talks future plans PROFILE Alfa Romeo How to make daily rental work for you

More to come...

Ian Hucker of Opel on why 2014 is shaping up well

internationalfleetworld.com

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD

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contents

INTERNATIONAL

The future fleet stars on display at Geneva.

FLEETW RLD All that matters in the world of fleet

April 2014

inside Mike Masterson of ALD talks future plans PROFILE Alfa Romeo How to make daily rental work for you

More to come...

Ian Hucker of Opel on why 2014 is shaping up well

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Mike Masterson, CEO of ALD International.

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Ian Hucker of Opel talks of the brand’s resurgence in 2014.

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SsangYong looks set on expansion under new owners.

internationalfleetworld.com

Managing Editor Ross Durkin ross@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Publisher Jerry Ramsdale jerry@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Editor John Kendall john@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Deputy Editor Alex Grant alex@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Business Editor Natalie Middleton natalie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

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Features Editor Katie Beck katie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Sales Director Anne Dopson anne@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

How Alfa Romeo intends to bounce back after a tough year...

Sales Executive Darren Brett darren@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Circulation Manager Tracy Howell tracy@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Head of Production Luke Wikner luke@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Designers Tina Ries tina@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Samantha Hargreaves sam@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD Published by

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Stag Publications Ltd, 18 Alban Park, Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL4 0JJ tel +44 (0)1727 739160 fax +44 (0)1727 739169 email ifw@fleetworldgroup.co.uk web internationalfleetworld.com

Renault’s facelifted Megane put to the test

STAG Publications

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Behind the wheel of the new Skoda Yeti

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internationalfleetworld.com / 03

fleetreview This month, editor John Kendall looks at how motor shows are a good barometer of a healthy industry, BMW’s foray into front-wheel drive and the effect of the Crimean crisis...

Show and tell

The Crimea issue...

Motor shows can give a good impression of the overall trends among the manufacturers in terms of how confident the industry is feeling and what is driving the industry forwards. A large part of the latter is legislation – on emissions and safety in particular and then it's for the marketing departments to make us feel that these are not only good for us but will be enjoyable too. So what did The recent Geneva show tell us? Mainly that things are starting to look up. There were perhaps more new production cars than concept models, which suggests that there are buyers for them. On the other hand, the bulk of the new models reflected the engine downsizing trend we have been witnessing for a few years. And many of those new smaller engines were fitted into new smaller cars.

There is some understandable concern about the political problems in the Crimea.

Many manufacturers see Russia as an important part of their strategy to reduce their dependence on European markets.

Several manufacturers and fleet companies have sizeable and growing interests in Russia and the Eastern European region. GM and Renault to name but two manufacturers, while Mike Masterson, CEO of ALD also highlights the importance of the region to the leasing sector on page 18. The industry's concerns may seem of lesser importance to some, but with a fragile recovery under way, such disruption is not what anyone needs.

A BMW with fwd!!

Diesel vs petrol I have suggested for a while that the fleet sector has a problem in that fuel efficiency pushes fleets towards diesel, but diesel does not necessarily meet the needs of the second buyer, while diesel particulate filters are not suited to short distance driving. This is going to be a difficult issue to solve at prices that buyers like, but the cost of ownership equation is not so favourable towards diesel as it used to be. Euro-6 emissions regulations for cars will add around 1,000 Euros to the price of new larger diesels. More efficient petrol engines could be more attractive to more fleet users. Looking more at the total cost of ownership is going to be important.

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Don’t miss out on all the latest daily news!

There has never been a front wheel drive BMW before, so how significant is the new Active Tourer, pictured above? I think it's part of the downsizing trend and also a way for BMW to make more of its MINI investment.

Retro brands have been a success, but they have their limitations. Where can BMW go with MINI, Fiat with the 500 and VW with the Beetle next time? Integrating more MINI thinking in BMW seems to make sense.

visit internationalfleetworld.com to stay informed...

business news

BCA doubles presence in Netherlands with Fleetselect acquisition & new premises

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CA has doubled its capacity in the Netherlands with the acquisition of Fleetselect Online Car Auctions and a move to significantly larger purpose-built premises.

Said to be the Netherland’s largest online remarketing platform, the acquisition of Fleetselect enables BCA to deliver a fully integrated digital sales platform for its customers. Fleetselect delivers a range of online auction services for OEM, corporate and dealer vendors with a professional buying base of nearly 6,000 franchised and specialist used car dealers, traders and car supermarkets.

Meanwhile the new 66,000m2 (16-acre) BCA remarketing centre in Barneveld is said to be the largest in the Netherlands with facilities including fully integrated physical, Live Online and digital sales capability, multiple inspection lanes and imaging bays, vehicle test track, pre-sale preparation facility and extensive vehicle marshalling.

in short Bähr & fess forecasts expands international team Bähr & fess forecasts GmbH has announced two additions to its international team.

Effective immediately, Christiane Engel and Javier Garcia join as business development manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and country manager Spain and Portugal respectively.

European vehicle leasing market up 5.2% in 2013 Leaseurope has released the results of its preliminary survey of the European leasing market for 2013, which shows that new leasing business in Europe increased by 1.9% in 2013.

The vehicle leasing segment continued to support the overall market and grew by 5.2% compared to 2012.

EU carmakers call for greater balance between eco objectives & global competitiveness

EU and US auto industry call for a comprehensive deal under TTIP he European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association (ACEA), the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), T and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) called for a comprehensive automotive deal under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as the fourth round of negotiations took place in Brussels.

The transatlantic auto industry’s top priority in this negotiation is to achieve ‘regulatory convergence’ of existing US and EU auto safety standards, which means that these standards could be recognised as equivalent. In addition, the TTIP should help ensure that EU and US regulatory authorities closely cooperate to avoid future divergence on new regulations. The common goal is to ensure that vehicles and their components could be imported and exported without unnecessary burdens and costs.

The CEOs of Europe’s 15 major vehicle manufacturers have called for greater balance between climate objectives and global competitiveness, as well as a level playing field across industries.

The suggestions have been put forward in an open letter to European Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

Massimo Marsili appointed president of Zipcar Europe Massimo Marsili has been appointed president of the European operations of Zipcar.

He will be responsible for driving Zipcar’s European expansion, bringing the car sharing concept to new markets and accelerating the company’s growth in this key territory.

internationalfleetworld.com / 05

manufacturer news

Peugeot 308 is COTY 2014 Peugeot 308 has been named the Car of the TLastheYearbestowed 2014. with the award in 2002 in its 307 guise, the 308 received 307 points from the 58 jury members, gaining top points from 22 jurors.

Peugeot’s compact car beat off rivals including electric cars, the BMW i3 (223 points) and Tesla S (216), which came in second and third. The rest of the seven nominees were the Citroën C4 Picasso (182), Mazda3 (180), Skoda Octavia (172) and Mercedes S-Class (170).

GM & Telogis team up for fleet telematics solution eneral Motors and Telogis have teamed up to offer G fleets a new telematics solution focused on data to help control costs, increase safety and enhance fleet operations.

The partnership sees Telogis integrate its telematics platform with GM’s OnStar’s proprietary application programme interfaces, or APIs, to provide information about vehicles to fleet customers.

The partnership will initially just run in North America but could be deployed globally in the coming months and will provide commercial fleets with data on vehicle location, odometer, fuel consumption and other maintenance information on their GM-connected vehicles.

Toyota Kenya & Chevin in Kenyan Government fleet deal oyota Kenya has won a major fleet deal with the T Kenyan Government that will see it supply leased fleet vehicles to several Government departments, starting with the Kenyan Police, with the help of Chevin’s FleetWave fleet management software.

George Kuria, director of Telematics Africa, helped to put the Chevin deal together and said: “With Toyota being the most popular vehicle in the country, it was chosen as the first to pilot the new lease project. It is expected that once the programme gets underway, it will be rolled to all Ministries and other Government bodies.”

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Extended warranties shown to have positive impact on RVs esearch conducted by EurotaxGlass’s has shown R the positive effects of extended warranties such as Kia’s on RVs. The research carried out in the German market showed that residual values for otherwise identical 36-month-old models improved by between 1-3% with an extended warranty bundle.

This was on the basis that extended warranties, such as the seven-year one offered by Kia, offered a truly incremental benefit (such as seven years rather than three) and were well understood by the buying public.

Dr Richard Parkin, director of valuations & analysis at Glass’s, said: “In many ways, this should not come as any surprise as mechanical repair expenses are taken out of any estimates of future cost of ownership, making the vehicle more appealing for the used buyer. As a consequence, it does appear that consumers are willing to pay more for a used car with part of a seven-year warranty remaining over one without.”

New Opel Vivaro/ Renault Trafic revealed ue out this summer, the second-generation Opel DDesign Vivaro and Renault Trafic have been revealed. is a key element of the new models. Opel says the new-generation Vivaro will feature new, eye-catching looks that echo the brand’s passenger car models, with a large, prominent grille, distinctive headlamps and the flowing blade side feature. For the Trafic, the latest model brings changes including the bigger, more upright logo that forms part of Renault’s new brand identity.

Practical innovations are also promised.

The vehicle will be available with a new Renault-developed 1.6 dCi powerplant, including a twin-turbocharged version that boasts fuel consumption of less than 6.0l/100km (47mpg UK) and a single turbo version that offers 15% better fuel economy.

For the latest news, visit internationalfleetworld.com

MEPs back EU standard vehicle checks EPs have given their backing for a deal with EU member states on minimum common standards for periodic M vehicle inspections, vehicle registration documents and roadside inspections of commercial vehicles.

The rules, updated to improve road safety, will set new minimum common standards across the EU for vehicle testing and inspectors’ training and competences. In addition, at least 5% of the commercial vehicles on roads in the EU as a whole will be subject to roadside inspections.

To support roadside inspections, the new rules will say that member states should use risk-rating systems to target firms whose commercial vehicle fleets have poor safety records and reduce the administrative burden for those with good safety records.

The agreement now needs to be formally approved by the Council.

fleetweet a few soundbites from a month in fleet

@JoeSimpson Joe Simpson, researcher, Car Design Research

Just been to sit in the C4 Cactus again. Pretty much the car I want to drive away from Geneva in.

It's inspired. Hope it sells.

@GarethDeanPR Gareth Dean, zero emission & EV communications manager, Nissan Europe

February saw 11% of all UK electricity generated by wind power!

Great news for emissions, energy independence and air quality!

@Andy_Francis Andy Francis, co-founder, Performance Communications

Amsterdam taxi firm becomes first to run Nissan e-NV200

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axi Electric, based in Amsterdam, is to become the first private taxi company to run the Nissan e-NV200.

The firm already runs a fleet of 25 Nissan LEAFs and was the first private taxi service to switch to a fleet of 100% electric taxis in November 2011. The Dutch company’s fleet of Nissan LEAFs has now amassed a trouble-free 1.5 million km in taxi operations.

This summer will also see the firm introduce the Nissan e-NV200 taxi to its fleet following the start of global production of the all-electric model in May. Andy Palmer, EVP Nissan said: “Taxi Electric was one of the first electric taxi companies in the world, and I’ve been impressed with their progress since their launch two years ago. They have covered an astonishing distance in their fleet in such a short time and have shown just how reliable our electric technology is in a demanding environment.”

So 72% of tech seekers would choose a car based on its Operating System for smartphone connectivity.

@Brakecharity Brake, road safety charity

Had your eyes tested lately? As many as 1 in 6 drivers would fail a basic eyesight test #SharpenUp.

@Editorial_MR Motoring Research, motoring media agency

1 in 10 @SKODAUK_Media Octavias built could be vRS versions this year. And they build an awful lot of them...

@JamieFretwell Jamie Fretwell, media and communications officer, BVRLA

Govt. says it supports Ultra Low Emission Vehicles. Drivers of EVs currently pay no company car tax, but will pay 13% in 2018 #Budget2014.

@andygoodwin Andrew Goodwin, motoring journalist

#Bentley on a roll with operating profits up 66.9% and 3,000 predicted annual sales of SUV after its 2016 launch.

internationalfleetworld.com / 07

environmental news

Honda puts focus on diesel and hydrogen for Europe

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arly hybrid pioneer Honda has announced a change of focus for the European market, prioritising diesel and hydrogen fuel cell models in line with market demand.

Traditionally a manufacturer with a preference for petrol engines, Honda was one of the first carmakers to bring a hybrid to Europe with the original Insight in 2000. This even preceded Honda’s first diesel engine, the 2.2-litre i-CDTi, which launched in the CR-V in 2001.

But a spokesperson for the company said the focus going forward would be on locally manufactured products and the Earth Dreams Technology 1.6-litre diesel engine, which is helping the CR-V crossover and particularly the Civic grow their presence in the fleet sector.

The Insight and CR-Z are being replaced at the end of the year but, with low sales for the outgoing cars,

Honda has no plans to bring the next generation of each to Europe and has yet to announce plans for the next Jazz Hybrid either.

Honda will also launch its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, in small numbers, in Europe next year, working with programmes in Germany and the United Kingdom to establish a refuelling infrastructure ahead of a production ramp-up predicted for the end of the decade.

Future hybrid models will be developed for markets where demand is higher, such as North America and Asia, and the Earth Dreams Technology drivetrains include a new two-motor system which, unlike Integrated Motor Assist used so far, allows cars to be driven without the petrol engine. Used in the North American Accord Hybrid, this brings Honda’s drivetrains in line with Toyota’s globally popular Hybrid Synergy Drive.

UK Government predicts €203m underspend on EV grants

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he UK government is predicting a £170m (€203.3m) underspend on the £400m (€478.4m) set out to support the ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) sector between 2010 and 2015, caused by lower than expected demand.

Plans to improve uptake of ULEVs – which emit less than 75g/km CO2 – were laid out during the 2010 spending review, where the government announced a £400m (€478.4m) funding package to cover charging points, subsidies for electric and plug-in cars and vans and support research and development taking place in the UK. The Plug-in Car Grant, which offers up to £5,000

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(€5980) off the price of an eligible car, launched in January 2011 with budget set out for 8,600 claims in its first year. Department for Transport (DfT) figures show 6,709 claims as of December 31 2013, while the Plug-in Van Grant (which offers up to £8,000 (€9,570) off the price of an eligible van) claims totalled 404 since it launched in February 2012.

Richard Goodwill, parliamentary under-secretary (DfT), said: “Sales of ULEVs have been increasing year on year, but at a slower rate than originally anticipated.

We are currently projecting to spend £230 million (€275m) over the period.”

For the latest EV news, visit evfleetworld.com

in short

Toyota begins global wireless charging trial t

ZOE gets domestic charging cable

oyota has begun global trials of a wireless charging system capable of recharging the Prius Plug-in Hybrid to 100% capacity in 90 minutes simply by parking over a charging pad.

Likely to debut in the fourth-generation Prius range, the technology allows drivers to recharge without needing to physically plug the vehicle into a socket. Energy is transmitted from a pad on the ground to a receiver on the car.

Trials using modified third-generation Prius Plug-in Hybrids will take place at homes in Europe, the USA and Japan this year, testing satisfaction, ease of use, charging behaviour and misalignment rates – how frequently drivers don’t park directly over the charging pad.

Toyota has made no secret of its interest in the technology – the company invested in Massachusetts-based WiTricity in 2011 and signed an intellectual property license agreement last December to use its wireless chargers on future vehicles.

Tesla to triple European service centre network electric california-based vehicle manufacturer Tesla

Renault has launched a charging cable for the ZOE electric vehicle, which will allow owners to plug into a domestic socket for the first time. The FlexiCable will be available across Europe by the end of the year, offering a 10-hour full charge for emergency use where a wallbox is not available.

Economy and power boost for new Kia hybrid system Kia has developed a mild hybrid system which will cut CO2 emissions of its diesel and petrol models by 15%.

The system has the capability to boost engine power and drive electrically at low loads and will be fitted to production models in the near future.

Wanxiang to restart production at newly acquired Fisker

is to open more than 30 new service centres across Europe, as sales of its Model S executive car accelerate.

There are 17 service centres in operation across the region, including the UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK, prioritising countries with electric vehicle incentives.

New additions – of which 26 have been confirmed on Tesla’s website – will bolster the UK’s network to three sites ahead of right hand drive Model S imports which are due to begin shortly. This will add service centres with galleries in Birmingham and Manchester, with the manufacturer hoping to attract a fleet-heavy sales mix in what it says will be one of Europe’s biggest markets for the electric executive car.

Elsewhere in Europe, it will establish Tesla service networks in France, Italy and Sweden. The carmaker delivered 22,477 vehicles during 2013, and said it expects combined sales in Asia and Europe to be almost twice as high as North America, where most vehicles have sold so far.

Californian plug-in hybrid manufacturer Fisker Automotive has sold at auction to Chinese component manufacturer Wanxiang, the latter con irming it has plans to accelerate the development of future models and re-start production shortly, using its own supply chain.

EVtweet of the month @EUEnvironment Official channel of the European Environment Agency

The current #air pollution levels in Europe pose a significant #health risk but peak levels can be 4-5 times higher in cities like Beijing.

12.3%

EV in numbers

35g/km CO2 emissions for the Golf GTE plug-in hybrid hot hatch.

SOURCE: Volkswagen

Plug-in vehicle sales share in Norway (1,786 units) in January 2014.

SOURCE: gronnbil.no

internationalfleetworld.com / 09

MOTOR SHOW Geneva

Geneva lines up the launches BMW Active Tourer, Citroën C1, Peugeot 108, Renault Twingo, Toyota Aygo – just a snapshot of the new cars on show at Geneva. John Kendall reports.

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

BMW’s first front-wheel drive car is a five-seat MPV. Rear legroom can potentially match a 7 Series, or it can offer almost as much cargo capacity as an X3.

The rear seat slides backwards and forwards by up to 120mm and is split 40:20:40. It folds individually and electronically from the boot to expand the luggage area from 468 litres to 1,510 litres. The front seat folds flat too. The Active Tourer is only 20mm longer than a 1 Series, but because occupants sit 110mm higher than in BMW’s small rear-drive hatch, there is significantly more room. A list of lifestyle accessories is on offer.

Power comes from BMW three and four-cylinder engines and CO2 emissions are in the 109-139g/km range, with combined fuel consumption between 4.1 and 6.0l/100km.

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Audi TT On sale later this year as coupe and convertible. Audi has revised the hybrid steel and aluminium construction further and claims the entry-level model is now 50kg lighter.

Expect three engines: 2.0-litre TDI diesel with 184hp, the only front-wheel drive model, CO2 emissions are a provisional 110g/km. Petrol models are fitted with the 2.0TFSI engine developing 227hp and 305hp (for the range topping TTFS). There’s a choice of six-speed manual or S-Tronic automated transmission. Features include standard bi-xenon headlamps and an alldigital instrument pack.

Ford Focus

Jeep Renegade

The latest Focus, due on sale later in 2014, gets Ford’s new corporate frontal styling. It’s the first Ford to feature the revised SYNC2 connectivity system, now with 8-inch colour touchscreen and advanced voice control. The navigation system will come with a split screen display and improved features.

Features include Active Park Assist to help with perpendicular parking. Bi-xenon headlamps will be available.

Ford also claims improvements in ride and handling.

Renegade is the smallest Jeep for some time, built on the Fiat Group ‘small-wide 4x4 architecture’ based on the small-wide architecture from the Fiat 500L. Jeep says it is designed for global markets with 16 powertrain combinations. This will include the first nine-speed auto transmission in a small SUV. Engines include 140-168hp 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol, 1.6litre 108hp petrol, 2.4-litre 184hp petrol for America and the Far East. 118hp 1.6-litre and 140 and 170hp 2.0-litre diesels will also be available, mainly for Europe.

Mazda Hazumi Mazda Hazumi concept is a stylish pointer to how the replacement Mazda2 might look. “It’s a concept for a B-segment car and that is an area of the market worth 3.5 million cars a year,” says COO for the region, Phil Waring.

It clearly has the same design themes as the larger Mazda3, CX-5 and Mazda6 and includes a number of SKYACTIV features, like the current production cars.

It was also a launch platform for Mazda’s new 1.5-litre diesel engine. Mazda has had a gap in its diesel range since the split from Ford and this will be the answer.

internationalfleetworld.com / 11

MOTOR SHOW Geneva

Porsche Macan S Diesel

Toyota Aygo/Citroën C1/Peugeot 108 The replacement for the Toyota Aygo, Citroën C1 and Peugeot 107 is another joint venture between Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroën. The model is 24mm longer than before and 10mm narrower.

As before, Toyota provides the 1.0-litre engine, now producing 68hp, with features to improve efficiency.

Fuel consumption has been reduced to 4.1l/100km combined and CO2 emissions of 95g/km or 97g/km with automated transmission. The C1 and 108 will also be available with the PSA-built 82hp 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine offering 4.3l/100km and 99g/km of CO2.

The Macan compact SUV was given its European debut at Geneva and the diesel variant, the Macan S Diesel, appeared for the first time. Power comes from the Volkswagen Group 3.0-litre V6 producing 258hp and 580Nm of torque. The car has an automatic four-wheel drive system, which transfers torque to the front wheels when needed. The PDK automated transmission is standard equipment and Porsche quotes combined fuel consumption of 6.1l/100km with 159g/km CO2 emissions. The car will reach 100km/h from rest in 6.1 seconds. Options include air suspension, Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus and adaptable front lighting.

Renault Twingo Volkswagen Golf GTE PIH The Volkswagen Golf GTE plug-in hybrid combines a 150hp 1.4TSI petrol engine with a 102hp electric motor.

This gives the car an electric range of up to 50km and a choice of driving modes to enable zero emissions driving in cities. The car is equipped with a six-speed DSG automated transmission.

Using the EU NEDC hybrid cycle, the car returns combined consumption of 1.5l/100km with an equivalent 35g/km CO2 emissions. The total combined range is a claimed 939km. The battery can be recharged from a domestic power point in around 3.5 hours or 2.5 hours from a fast charging point.

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Even though the new rear-engined Twingo is 100mm shorter than the current model, there is 220mm more loading space between the glove box and rear of the car with the back seats and front passenger seat folded flat.

The Twingo has a turning circle of 8.6m, some 1.3m less than the current model and less than the current Smart.

Although new Twingo and Smart is a joint venture between Renault and Daimler, the cars are 80% Renault, using Renault engines and transmissions, for example.

Commonality across Twingo and yet to come Smart four-seater and Smart Fortwo varies between 60 and 75% – seats are from the Mercedes A-class and the windscreen and front windows are common across all three models.

Mercedes-Benz S Class Coupe As you would expect, the New S-Class Coupe is bristling with technology, including the optional Magic Body Control suspension system with curve tilting function, enabling the car to lean into bends like a motorcycle. There’s a lengthy list of driver assist systems, as well as features like the Air-Balance package, which can scent and ionise the air inside the car. Two thirds of the roof section is taken up with a panoramic glass roof. Opt for the Magic Sky Control and the transparency of the roof.

Mini Clubman concept The Clubman concept previews the second model in the new MINI family, and it has clearly learned lessons from the last Clubman, which had two doors on one side and only one on the other.

For right hand drive markets, the side with two doors opened out into the middle of the road – a legacy of the positioning of the fuel filler cover. The new car corrects that. It retains the twin rear doors of the last model, but there are now two doors on each side.

One consequence is that this is the longest MINI ever – at 4,224mm it’s fractionally longer than today’s Countryman.

Peugeot 308 SW 308 SW is due for European launch in April. It is 140kg lighter than the previous 308 SW and offers between 610 and 1660 litres of load space. In SW fashion it comes with a large glass roof. Features include a head up display and 9.7-inch touch screen.

Engines include 1.2-litre three-cylinder and 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol and 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre HDi diesels. Peugeot says the 130hp 1.2 produces CO2 emissions of 109g/km, while the BlueHDi 120hp 1.6-litre diesel offers CO2 emissions of 85g/km.

internationalfleetworld.com / 13

TECHNOLOGY PSA Peugeot Citroën

Lightweight and flexible PSA Peugeot Citroën is working on a range of C and D-segment cars and is learning from past mistakes, as John Kendall found out.

The EMP2 platform forms the basis of new cars to come from PSA Peugeot Citroën.

P

SA Peugeot Citroën’s EMP2 platform sits underneath the Peugeot 308, Citroën C4 and Grand C4 Picasso and has been designed to form the basis of other new cars yet to come.

Stéphane Alibert was the chief engineer in charge of the project and also for the Citroën C4 Picasso. Flexibility as well as reduced weight and dimensions were the objectives of the project from the start, as Mr Alibert told IFW; “We needed to make sure that this platform was lexible without major development to build cars from the C-segment and the D-segment – light CVs, SUVs, MPVs. The second objective was to reduce weight and dimensions to give more ef icient fuel consumption and give more ef iciency for styling the car – putting the wheels in the right position and giving more potential for the designers.”

Reducing weight is central to cutting fuel consumption and emissions. The C4 Grand Picasso uses a range of materials to cut weight including high strength steel, aluminium and composite materials. “We used aluminium for the steering wheel and seats. We used composite materials for the rear of the car – the rear floor for example is a synthetic material

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to reduce weight and the tailgate is made in a synthetic material too.”

Reducing size is another strategy and reducing the use of material where possible. “We have made a loor that is lower, the position of the engine is lower so the centre of gravity is lower and so for stiffness and behaviour it’s more ef icient than having to add some reinforcement at the end.”

Reducing cost was also a key consideration for the EMP2 platform for the current and future generations of models. Adopting a similar strategy to Volkswagen with its MQB platform has been part of the thinking, as Mr Alibert explains; “Using the same elements in the same place is the only way to reduce cost and it’s classical for the best construction.

“We have taken into account different kinds of cars – SUV, MPV etc, different kinds of technologies – Euro 6 with selective catalytic reduction (SCR), hybrid systems, Hybrid4 or traditional hybrid.

We have made a big matrix and asked, ‘what is strategic for PSA.’ We have said it’s OK for hybrid, for traditional engines, for three-cylinder engines and for SCR catalytic reduction. But, for example, in the first phase we said four-wheel drive

is not a priority, so we will take it into account in the second phase.

“So this platform will be OK for the traditional C-segment, for the Peugeot 308 now, with the sedan in China too. This platform will also go to South America.

“We spent a year and a half just to think about the platform. We made some possible designs of cars based on it, then stopped. After that we decided to launch the C4 Picasso and the 308 for Peugeot, but it was very important to have this first reflection beforehand. For the previous generation – EMPT1 – we launched the car, the Peugeot 307, at the same time as the platform. It was fine for that car but for the previous C4 Picasso, or the Berlingo, it was too difficult so we had to manage a lot of modifications, with the accompanying costs.”

For the Grand C4 Picasso, the platform was given both a wider track and a longer wheelbase to increase interior space without making the car any bigger.

“If you don’t reduce your weight, you don’t have the right fuel consumption – if you are at 140g/km CO2 now and it’s a beautiful car, you can’t sell it, it’s impossible,” concludes Mr Alibert.

‘ Looks great on every terrain.

It’s a german.’

Mokka

Discover Germany’s 4x4 of the year.

The urban SUV. With Hill Descent Control, Rear View Camera and Forward Collision Alert. German engineering at its best.

Opel Mokka 4x4: winner of the category ‘Off-Road Vehicles and SUVs up to 25,000 €’ in the reader survey ‘4x4 of the year’ of AUTO BILD ALLRAD Germany, edition 05/2013.

opel.com Fuel consumption combined 7.7–4.5 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined 158–120 g/km (according to R (EC) No. 715/2007).

MANAGEMENT Global Fleet Forum

global connecting the international fleet community

Join the GM shows sensible streamlining in Europe John Kendall, Editor, International Fleet World

Global Fleet Forum is International Fleet World’s new international network and digital forum, launched in March 2014.

At the heart of the Global Fleet Forum is a team of fleet professionals who play a key role in the industry, either as fleet managers, consultants or fleet suppliers. These fleet experts provide a regular feed of information that is posted on the website forum in the form of discussion topics.

Typical areas of interest include, but are not limited to: taxation, finance and accounting, legislation, environmental issues, fleet safety, insurance, fleet management, supply issues and security.

Fleet suppliers are permitted to respond to queries if it is felt that their response represents honest and impartial advice. This aspect of the service is strictly moderated in order to ensure that the quality of information provided remains of the highest standard.

We have already attracted a strong network of international fleet professionals, and our expert contributors have submitted a number of thought provoking discussion topics, a few of which are previewed to the right.

We hope you will consider joining us in this exciting new venture into the world of fleet.

To find out more about the Global Fleet Forum and request membership, please visit:

theglobalfleetforum.com

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GM recently outlined its reasons for axing the Chevrolet brand in Europe, saying the decision was made to ‘clear the runway for Opel and Vauxhall.’

Dan Ammann, president of General Motors and chairman of Opel's supervisory board, told news agency Headlineauto: “Those two brands are now on a positive trajectory and there is a focus for us to win in Europe with Opel/Vauxhall. We have all the pieces in place to do this and we have increased our share of the European market for the first time in 14 years.”

Though it’s not the easiest decision to make, streamlining the European product line-up as they have provides a real way forwards for Opel/Vauxhall. Certainly in the UK, things had started getting confusing for fleets with the introduction of Vauxhall’s Tech Line models, which are aimed at company car drivers but were sometimes proving cheaper for fleets to opt for over the supposedly less expensive Chevrolet.

In the current economic climate, unfortunately tough decisions have to be made – as shown by Renault’s cull two years ago of its Kangoo car, Modus, Wind Roadster, Laguna and Espace models in the UK, which was lauded as a sensible move at the time by firms such as CAP Automotive and which is proving a sound business move now.

However, I wonder what other tough decisions we’ll see being made in the near future.

The British disease Ross Durkin, Managing Editor, International Fleet World The British love to queue. Buses, restaurants, shops – even ski lifts. And increasingly, with sections of motorway controlled by speed cameras, in their cars.

There are sections of the M1 and M25 where it is far from uncommon to see a car in the third lane with no vehicles ahead of it in lanes one or two for half a kilometre. It’s as if drivers in the UK have forgotten that lane two is for overtaking slower vehicles in lane one, etc.

Having driven in most of them, I know it’s a situation

in association with

debate... that would not be tolerated in any other country in Europe.

German drivers would explode with rage if a car stayed in the outside lane of the Autobahn at 100kph when the inside lanes were clear. French drivers show tremendous lane discipline in these situations. The same goes for both Scandinavian and latin states. So, what is it about the British that makes them behave like sheep on motorways?

Minimising jet-lag induced driver fatigue Dr. Will Murray, Research Director, Interactive Driving Systems Jet-lag induced fatigue is a condition that most travellers experience when flying across time zones.

Extremely long and segmented flights can leave travellers exhausted upon arrival and has played a part in a number of road fatalities across the world.

I have included a few good practice suggestions below (for contractors and clients as well as colleagues) to consider reviewing your policies and guidelines against: 1. Does your colleague really need to make the long-haul journey? Could digital communication software, such as WebEx or conference calling, meet the client's needs?

2. Assuming the colleague absolutely has to travel, it is important to focus on the arrival time and onward journey planning. Always allow realistic travel times for the conditions.

3. Local shuttle services should be the first choice for ground transport to hotels, workplaces, home and other destinations. Taxis and vehicle rental should only be used as a last resort.

4. All colleagues travelling internationally, overnight or on flights with significant time zone adjustment or arriving late at night, should not use a rental vehicle immediately, due to jet-lag, fatigue and increased collision risks.

5. If a colleague is arriving home late from a long flight, arrange for someone to pick them up at the airport.

Don’t take unnecessary risks by allowing them to drive home whilst suffering from jet-lag.

For more information about jet-lag induced driver fatigue and minimising the risk, visit: www.virtualriskmanager.net

Meet the experts...

The first in a series of profiles about the Global Fleet Forum’s expert contributors.

Paul Gogolinski, Managing Director, Total Fleet Solutions Paul, a Scot, has over 30 years Automotive Finance experience in Europe and South Africa. Starting out with Lloyds Bowmaker in 1980, he moved to Mercedes-Benz Finance UK in 1990 as CV AM Scotland. In 1996 he helped start MB Financial Services in South Africa, and was later appointed Sales Director/Board Member.

Paul moved back to the UK as Sales Director MD of Charterway in 2001. Based in Poland since 2004, he had five years as MD Daimler Fleet Management and two years MD Business Lease.

Paul was founder member and first President of the PZWLP (Polish equivalent of the BVRLA) and has received several awards among others for initiatives in the area of fleet safety. Paul has launched the first Fleet Management Consultancy in Poland (Total Fleet Solutions) for end users and has also advised several leasing companies considering the Polish market.

Alex Grant, Deputy Editor, International Fleet World Trained on Cardiff University’s renowned Postgraduate Diploma in Motoring Magazine Journalism, Alex is an award-winning motoring journalist with seven years’ experience across b2b and consumer titles.

A life-long car enthusiast with a fascination for new technology and future drivetrains, he joined Fleet World Group as motoring editor in April 2011, contributing across the magazine and website portfolio and editing the EV Fleet World website.

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INTERVIEW Mike Masterson, ALD International

ALD expansion continues ALD Automotive now has over 1 million cars on its books and is represented around the world. CEO Mike Masterson tells John Kendall about the company’s future plans .

Year of growth 2013 saw ALD Automotive add the 1 millionth vehicle to its fleet, reaching a total of 1,008,840 vehicles by the end of the year.

For the past 10 years, the company has seen its compound annual growth rate exceed 8% on average. The company purchased 221,000 vehicles in 2013 and counted 4,350,000 short-term rental days during the year.

The company saw over 30% growth outside Europe. The fastest growing markets were Mexico, which grew by 67%, Brazil which grew by 43% and China where ALD’s business grew by 33%.

Growth brought the company a total of some 14,700 vehicles in Russia, 14,625 in Mexico and also 10,043 in Turkey by the end of the year.

“That’s partly because those economies are better on average,” Mike Masterson, CEO of ALD International told IFW, “And it’s partly because the penetration of full service leasing in those countries is lower. So where in the UK or the Netherlands it’s above 50% of the corporate car parc for full service leasing, in China or Russia it’s single digits, with massive growth potential. We’re in 37 countries; we’re well positioned to take advantage of that.

“Looking back we took a gamble five years ago when we went into 37 countries and it wasn’t obvious sometimes to the market, the competition, sometimes to ourselves, because you ask yourself questions about whether an investment in China or India or Mexico makes sense at this point in the cycle, but today it looks like a very good move because we’re well positioned in these markets.”

Even so, Mr Masterson sees a lot of growth still in Europe: “Although deliveries are down in southern Europe by 50% from the peak, the corporate sector is holding up much better than the retail sector.

And within the corporate sector, full service leasing is holding up better than other means of financing vehicles.”

ALD’s main business areas are Western

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Thinking outside the box Mike Masterson explains why ALD has expanded into unexpected markets.

and Northern Europe, with strong growth in Finland, where the company has over 18,000 vehicles. The company has also made inroads in Eastern Europe. “There are a number of countries more distressed than the likes of France for example,” says Mr Masterson, “I’m thinking of countries like Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, but actually we’ve grown quite well in these countries with reasonable results. Obviously the

“We took a gamble five years ago when we went into 37 countries.”

fourth area is the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and emerging markets where we have grown very fast.”

Even in southern Europe where the economies have been hit particularly hard by the European financial crisis and ALD’s deliveries are around 50% of what they were at the peak of the market, it seems that economies are stabilising and there are some opportunities for further growth.

Global player Because ALD’s growth has not been wholly dependent on Europe, with particularly strong growth in South America, Mr Masterson says that has helped to insulate ALD from the more difficult economies.

“We’ve always had a view that in order to keep our level of growth, and in order to follow our customers, we need to expand geographically,” says Mr Masterson, “We want to be a partner of our customers, which means sometimes to go into some markets which from a standalone perspective, we wouldn’t necessarily invest in. But if we have a number of our customers there, we will go there, or at least we will take that into account as a key factor in the business case to expand. That’s probably one of the reasons we have expanded much faster geographically than other companies.

“So you might have a business case that looks very marginal, or even slightly negative, but you might have a lot of key international accounts there, who want you to go, who will ask you to support their business development and that weighs very heavily in our rationale. That means that sometimes we have gone into countries that might not be obvious to some of our competitors or to anyone from the outside, maybe.”

Belarus and Bulgaria are examples, where ALD has just opened subsidiaries. “Eastern Europe is probably one of the most difficult areas, in terms of growth, at the moment, so they are not obvious markets,” says Mr Masterson, “But we have a lot of customers there, we want to follow our customers and we think there’s an opportunity to do that.”

Even in countries where there has been large growth, doing business may still require a great deal of investment.

“In China, for example,” says Mr Masterson, “People talk about going into China.

We’ve got offices and capacity in 28 regions of China. It’s not a case of turning up and putting 10 people in an office in Shanghai and starting to distribute the product. These countries are very complex and take a big investment. You need to be in every single region, to register cars, to meet the local tax requirements, licensed in every area.” With high levels of pollution in parts of China and with CO2 emissions regulations, licenses in China are tightly controlled.

Looking ahead, ALD would like to maintain or increase on its 8% average growth in 2014, taking the total fleet to around 1.1m. “It’s not size for the sake of it,” says Mr Masterson, “What we really want to do is make sure we’re in the top three in all countries, so we’ve got a competitive product, we’re efficient in the back office and we’ve got enough volume to have the right investment in services. We’re pretty close to that now because most of our subsidiaries are mature and we believe we can offer the same quality of service in all the countries.” at a glance Mike Masterson has been CEO of ALD International since 2011. Prior to that he was ALD’s Chief Financial Officer for 8 years, having joined the company in 2002 after 12 years as Finance Director with Hertz Lease. He began his career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

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INDUSTRY Daily Rental

Rental rises to the challenge New technologies are transforming daily rental business all around the world. Steve Banner reports .

Drive Electric Orlando Delegates attending business conventions in the bustling hotels of Orlando, Florida, USA who want to see something other than the inside of a convention hall – to visit Disney World perhaps and sample a ride or two – can now rent an electric car in order to do so. It is all thanks to the Drive Electric Orlando partnership set up by leading hotels, some of the area’s major tourist attractions, and Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Enterprise is offering customers the chance to pick up a battery-powered Nissan LEAF from its Orlando International Airport rental counter.

Drivers who fear they may run out of power and be stranded are likely to be reassured by the presence of around 300 charging stations in Orlando and the surrounding area, many of which are free to use.

In addition, several of the partner hotels, including The Peabody Orlando and Renaissance Orlando, provide free re-charging for Drive Electric Orlando participants along with valet parking. Furthermore, the Orange County Convention Center offers several free charging centres for meeting attendees.

Cut the carbon The initiative is yet another example of the pressure on rental leets and their clients to cut their carbon footprints; and the pressure is being increasingly felt worldwide.

In Australia, Hertz has just added 40 Toyota Prius Hybrids to its Green Collection. They can be hired from locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth.

“Globally we are constantly looking for initiatives that reduce environmental impacts,” says Michel Taride, group president, Hertz International. “The Green Collection highlights this commitment and features vehicles that reduce CO2 emissions to a practicable minimum.”

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“There is pressure on rental fleets and their clients to cut their carbon footprints; and the pressure is being increasingly felt worldwide.”

Prestige and performance

McLaren’s MP4-12C Spider forms part of the Hertz Supercar range

Returning to the USA, Hertz is making the electric Tesla Model S available for rent in California at San Francisco and Los Angeles airports. The rental giant points out that it can accelerate from 0-60mph in just 4.2 seconds, which is why, one assumes, it is being included in Hertz’s Dream Car collection; an exotic line-up of powerful vehicles not normally associated with low CO2 emissions.

It includes Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage, Bentley’s Continental GT, Chrysler’s SRT Viper and Ferrari’s California.

Notwithstanding the imperative to cut pollution, such cars appear to be becoming more popular among an admittedly comparatively small band of clients, and the rental companies are determined to capitalise on it.

In the USA, National Car Rental has rolled out its Premier Selection to some 25 of the country’s key airports, including Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago.

The Premier line-up embraces Cadillac’s Escalade and Lincoln’s Navigator.

“We’ve seen an increase in requests for high-end cars from our customers and we’re pleased to offer a range that exceeds their expectations,” says National’s assistant vice president of brand marketing, Rob Connors, “Whether closing a deal or entertaining clients, our customers occasionally need the extra prestige that comes with these upscale vehicles.”

Along with Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Alamo Rent A Car, National Car Rental forms part of Enterprise Holdings.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Hertz is promising what it describes as hot hatch fun in the Netherlands with blackand-gold Ford Focus ST-H models offered for rent at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. If that is not enough excitement for you then you can always raid Hertz’s Supercar range in various European Union countries and hire yourself a McLaren MP4-12C Spider or a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.

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¡

INDUSTRY Daily Rental

¡ Book via app

Share the experience

I Sixt is understandably delighted by what it says is the warm response from its customers to its Rent a Car App, now optimised for use with the iOS 7 Apple operating system. Complete with an Apple Passbook function, it guides users through each step of the booking process and ensures that clients always know the current status of their bookings.

Once a booking is complete customers receive all the information they require about the collection point and the vehicle booked along with the reservation number and what they have to do if they need to cancel. It also tells drivers how to set about returning the car at the end of the rental period and can display a summary of all information related to the booking.

Thrifty Car Rental is among the many other companies in the hire sector that have recognised the importance of apps, with one for Microsoft’s Windows Phone that it says allows users to book a rental car in just three steps.

Having a presence on the apps of third parties can be almost as important as having an app of your own.

Sixt hire cars can be booked by using the Travel Guide by Worldhotels app developed by leading group for independent hotels, Worldhotels. It can be downloaded from the iTunes Store and Google Play.

Avis has integrated Avis Preferred, its express rental service, with Google Wallet. An app available for Android and iPhone devices, it allows users to save all their loyalty programme information and offers in one place as well as send money to anyone in the USA. Apps cannot always substitute for a tangible physical presence however; even though that presence may not necessarily be manned.

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t seems unlikely that such expensive exotica would be found in a humble car-sharing programme. Car-sharing schemes are growing in importance too however, and the major rental companies are closely involved in their development.

Last year saw Enterprise Holdings acquire Chicago’s IGO CarSharing, a notfor-pro it organisation serving over 15,000 members with upwards of 200 locations in more than 40 neighbourhoods. Enterprise CarShare is now active on some 40 government and business campuses in the USA and in over 15 markets, including New York, Boston and Philadelphia as well as Chicago.

Alphabet has introduced a corporate car sharing scheme as an alternative to daily rental under the AlphaCity banner.

“Employees reserve cars from their company’s AlphaCity pool via an online platform,” explains Alphabet International’s head of marketing and business development, Carsten Kwirandt (right).

“No key is required to pick the vehicle up as access is by means of an RFID chip and the car can be operated with a stop/start button.

“To return the car, users simply leave it in a dedicated parking space, log off and walk away. Alphabet takes care of maintenance and cleaning.

“Furthermore, with AlphaCity it is possible to offer employees a privateuse option,” he continues. “They can book and pay for a car with their personal credit card and the income generated can be offset against the company’s mobility costs.

“In fact one Alphabet customer inances almost 100% of their AlphaCity leasing fees through private use income,” he adds. “So far AlphaCity has been rolled out in seven markets and we plan to add four new markets this year.

“With an accessible, uncomplicated car pool readily available, the need for daily rentals, taxis and couriers is substantially reduced, and all signs point to a growth in demand,” he states.

Not to be outdone, Hertz On Demand, the company’s global car sharing business, is operating a car pool for Lufthansa employees in Germany from locations at Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg airports.

Having signed up for the service, airline staff can make their car reservations via the internet, a mobile web page, or an iPhone app; and there is no denying that apps are becoming a lot more important in the rental business.

In a recent survey conducted in the USA by Harris Interactive on behalf of National Car Rental, 71% of business travellers said they could not live without at least one kind of mobile app while out on the road.

AlphaCity represents a fresh perspective on car pools...

Rental goes digital

Express rental kiosks are yet another example of making life easier for the customer...

Hertz now operates 55 ExpressRent kiosks in New York and aims to increase this to over 100 this year. In operation round-the-clock seven days a week, they enable users to complete the entire rental transaction using a touch screen with a second screen that allows customers to interact face-to-face with service agents.

“Rentals booked at kiosks already represent more than 10% of our New York transactions,” says Hertz chairman and chief executive of icer, Mark P Frissora.

The company now has over 725 kiosks at more than 535 airport and off-airport locations in the USA and Europe.

At the same time Hertz is transforming some of its rental locations into mini business centres, with iPad stations, recharging points for mobile devices, printing facilities and access to FedEx services. Sites in San Diego, USA, Shanghai, China, and Melbourne have all been modernised in this way.

Hertz is also planning to expend its 24/7 service, which makes it possible to collect rental cars and drive away in them at any time, day or night. You reserve the vehicle online, swipe your special Hertz customer key fob against a reader on the windscreen to unlock the doors then drive away using the keys tethered to the dashboard.

The facility is on offer at around 2,000 sites in the USA, Australia and Europe offering 35,000 vehicles that are 24/7-enabled. Hertz hopes to have around 500,000 enabled worldwide by 2016.

“At that point our 24/7 leet would be more than ten times the size of the current car-sharing industry combined,” says a company spokesman.

Global expansion All the leading rental companies are expanding their presences in various markets worldwide, often through agreements with existing local players.

In Canada, Europcar has inked a partnership deal with Discount Car and Truck Rentals, with over 260 locations and 17,000 vehicles covering the entire country. Discount is serving Europcar’s customers in Canada while Europcar is serving Discount’s customers in the rest of the world.

Europcar has signed a similar agreement in the USA with Franchise Services of North America, which owns the Advantage Rent a Car brand.

In India, Avis has expanded its network to 45 locations in 20 cities with the opening of its first rental outlet in Vadodara in the state of Gujarat. The

company has a joint venture agreement with hospitality group Oberoi and is also busy launching car rental operations in Laos and Cambodia.

In China, Hertz has taken a 20% stake in China Auto Rental while Sixt has been busy expanding its presence in South America with its irst car rental outlet in Chile.

The operation has been set up in the capital Santiago and Sixt is working with Mobility Service Chile as its franchise partner. The new venture is initially concentrating on the premium end of the market with a leet of BMWs. Enterprise Holdings is introducing its National and Alamo brands to Uruguay in conjunction with local irm Olecram. The initial site is in the country’s capital city of Montevideo, with locations also planned for Montevideo airport, the

historic city of Colonia and the upmarket resort of Punta Del Este.

Alamo is also moving into Peru, with an outlet at Jorge Chavez International Airport ten miles outside Lima, the capital. The Alamo brand is being franchised to local company COPA; yet another example of the way in which franchising is being used by a major rental group as a cost-effective method of international car-hire expansion.

“All the leading rental companies are expanding their presences in various markets worldwide.”

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INTERVIEW Ian Hucker, OPEL

More to come..

Opel grew market share in Europe last year for the first time in 14 years, and there are more launches to come this year, says John Kendall.

New Vivaro due soon In the last year Ian Hucker has added commercial vehicles to his responsibilities at Opel and is now Director of European Fleet and Commercial Vehicles. It’s an area he is familiar with having been responsible for Vauxhall’s commercial vehicle operations around the time that the current Vivaro van was launched. Now he will be very much involved with the launch of the replacement model, “Back in those days we were trying to establish ourselves in the medium van segment, but now we’re coming from a very different position. Vivaro has performed stunningly well. Especially over the last year, where it’s grown segment share year over year and is now running at 10% of the segment across Europe, which is a record high in the last year of its life.”

Vivaro is built in a joint venture with Renault and the GM production plant in the UK was until last year where most Vivaro models, as well as the Renault Trafic and Nissan Primastar were produced. The joint venture continues, but the two companies will now be producing most models in their own plants.

The Luton plant will build most Opel and Vauxhall variants, which could help the company to increase penetration of the medium van segment, “There are benefits on a number of levels in having your own facility.

We’ve always benefitted from the flexibility and responsiveness from the team there, particularly on the fleet business where our customers rarely want the standard vehicle.

There’s always something that needs doing as part of the modification process.

“The fact that we centralise production of the majority of our variants at the Luton plant also helps us as we start to expand into Eastern Europe and develop new CV markets beyond our traditional Western European.”

We take well-surfaced roads for granted in Western Europe, but expanding into other markets where that is not always the case presents challenges for any manufacturer.

Adding equipment so that vans can deal effectively with poor surfaces adds cost, “We hadn’t

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quite got our cost base right on that one, but going forward with the new product, we’re going to be more competitive in that area. The core of our business will still be Western and Central Europe and we still have upside potential in those markets. We’ve risen up the league tables with the position of Vivaro but we can still go further. The benefits of the new product, especially the cab environment is light years away from the previous generation.

While the load compartment is longer, the mounting points for example are all carried over, so if you’re using a racking system in the Vivaro today, you can quickly fit it into the new product and re-use it, which is increasingly what fleet customers are doing anyway.”

Heavy investment is now going into business to business development programmes, particularly aimed at the small business user in central and eastern Europe for the Vivaro, involving dealer programmes and people on the road to promote B2B. It is always harder to approach thousands of smaller customers than several large multinational clients. Opel is also launching some new aftersales programmes, “The Flexcare programme, for example, allows a business to business customer to choose what elements are important from an aftersales package and work the parameters around their parameters, the loan duration, the mileage and then we can provide a package price that gives total peace of mind.”

Positive signs of recovery Flexcare is also available to B2B car customers, “That’s where Flexcare or a financial product can bring that same total managed cost of ownership that corporations have to a business or business user.”

Distinguishing between large and small fleets can present a challenge. “It depends on the market,” says Mr Hucker, “Whereas in the UK and quite a few other Western markets, you would say small was below 25, as you push further east, 25 could be a pretty decent fleet. It’s effectively a purchase that’s being made in a non-retail way, so it could be one car, it could be 10 cars, or it could be a mix of cars and vans.”

“We’re enormously encouraged by the development of new Insignia.”

The Western European market now seems to be gradually returning to growth. Understandably, Opel/Vauxhall is taking a cautious approach, “For our planning purposes, that is the right approach,” says Mr Hucker, “We want our business plans to be based on very firm foundations. But we are seeing some positive signs of recovery in a number of markets. Conversely, Russia has been under pressure since the start of the year and so has Turkey with political issues being experienced there that have had an impact on the size of the new car market. When you look at Europe as a whole you probably see a more stable position, but within it there are quite some ups and downs.

“When you look back at our 2013 performance, we did increase market share in Europe year over year, which was the first time in 14 years. So that’s a very significant achievement to really move it in the positive direction and the plan is obviously to continue to deliver growth.”

Astra is generally Opel’s core product, but Mr Hucker has seen resurgence in interest elsewhere, “I think we’re enormously encouraged by the development of new Insignia.

Crucially for fleet, it has the 98g/km engine, so not just a niche engine, but on the regular 2.0-litre 120hp and 140hp diesel, the powertrain that a fleet customer is going to pick. We are also launching business editions. The UK has had it for some time with Tech Line, but other markets had not historically had that type of execution – having an attractive list price to reduce the tax burden for the user chooser. That concept of having a specification that’s tuned for the user chooser, priced with the Benefit-in-Kind systems in mind, 98g/km CO2 emissions and the new infotainment system etc. That as a combination has really worked. Tech Line in the UK took some time to build awareness and get it established in the fleets. 50% of our orders from launch in Germany were business edition. They’re now working on a second version of that that caters for the higher end, aimed at the higher end user chooser, with a lot more specification but a similar concept.”

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INDUSTRY SsangYong

SsangYong returns Korea’s smallest carmaker is set on expansion under Indian ownership, as John Kendall finds out.

T

hink of a Korean motor manufacturer and it is most likely to be Kia or Hyundai, the best known in both retail and leet car markets. SsangYong is far smaller than either and has had a chequered history in recent years. The company went into receivership in 2009, when it was 51% owned by SAIC of China, having recorded heavy losses. Mahindra and Mahindra of India emerged as the preferred bidder for the company in 2010 and the deal was sealed in 2011. Now the company produces cars in Korea and Russia, where the car is produced by the joint venture operated by Sollers and Mazda and the Ukraine. The company is again building up its business in Western Europe.

Paul Williams is managing director of the UK importer. With the change of owners in 2011, the previous importer, the Koelliker Group, which also distributes Ssangyong in Italy and Austria, ended its importer role for the UK business. It was sold to the Gibraltar-based Bassadone Group. “The volumes in Italy have just reflected the downward trend in the

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market”, comments Paul Williams, “who adds that the brand is now represented in most major European markets. “Interestingly, Ssangyong has some significant partners,” he continues, “Koelliker, as already described in Italy and Austria. There is the Berge Group in Spain and a company called Alcopa, an independent distributor based in Belgium. Alcopa represents the brand in Switzerland, Germany, the Benelux and Poland. Then there are other distributors including Emil Frey, again a well known distribution group, which represents the brand in France.”

According to Paul Williams, 2013 was the best year internationally that Ssangyong has ever had, returning to profitability in the last two quarters. The company recently announced a plan to sell 160,000 vehicles in 2014. “When you actually look at where they sell their product, the domestic market is obviously important, but Russia is a hugely important market for them too. China is showing very good signs and South America is continuing to be a very good market for them. Europe is

always a challenge for all the reasons we know – dominance of premium brands and also the fact that it is an old, saturated market”, says Mr Williams, “Under the umbrella of Mahindra, there's a clear strategy of how the brand will develop. There will obviously be sharing of technology between the two companies.”

Main production will continue in Korea, but the Rexton is built in India for the Indian market and other SsangYong products will be built there. The XLV concept shown at Geneva previewed what will be a compact SUV designed to rival models such as the Renault Captur, Nissan Juke and Opel Mokka.

Ssangyong is too small to be a signi icant player in the leet sector yet, but the company's value pricing will help it gain market share in the retail sector, while new product will provide the broader product range it needs. Its ownership and production bases also mean the company is well positioned to tap into current growing markets.

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INDUSTRY Japanese Car Tax

Japan addresses taxing question Japan is facing tax rises to address the country’s high debt ratio and it’s not likely to help the motor industry, reports Peter Nunn.

2

014 is shaping up to be an especially interesting year in Japan for new car sales on account of one short, inescapable and rarely popular threeletter word. That word is spelt T-A-X. In Japan, the equivalent of VAT is just 5% yet the Japanese government raised that to 8% this April. Then, the intention is to move it again to 10% by October 2015.

That, on the face of it, shouldn’t seem such a ground shaking development, or so you would think. Japan however has what might be termed ‘previous’ when a similar thing happened before, back in 1997.

The high price of tax At that time, VAT (or consumption tax) was raised from 3% to 5% to address Japan’s less than healthy finances and two things happened.

One, it killed the growing car market in Japan stone dead. And two, that seemingly simple tax rise cost Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto his job.

Japan’s car makers and importers are thus bracing themselves for a potentially big fall off in sales this year post April 1 as the consumption tax rise takes effect.

Indeed, the latest estimation is that car sales will drop to 4.85 million units in Japan this year, a big downturn compared to the 5.34m in 2012 and 5.38m in 2013.

Boom time for new car sales Given the widespread publicity and controversy about the tax rise in Japan, it’s probably no surprise that car sales of late have been going through the roof.

Buyers (both retail and leet) have been rushing to complete their orders to beat the tax deadline. It’s also a time, as end of the inancial year approaches (Japan’s

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iscal year runs from April-March) when makers and dealers traditionally pump a lot of extra volume through to maximize their inal year numbers.

Since September 2013, it’s been heady double-digit growth every month in Japan, with sales soaring 25.0% year-onyear in December, then a further 29.4% in January.

Sales this February were up a further 18.4% as the momentum continued to build… March 2014 looks set to be an even bigger blockbuster (as we go to press).

Tax rise caused car sales crash in 1997 Many in the industry have bitter memories of what happened last time around.

If we go back to 1989-90 and the peak of Japan’s ‘bubble economy’, the market then hit an all-time record 7.77 million units. It was an extraordinary era when Japan’s confidence was a high, the nation was awash with money and anything seemed possible.

When the bubble burst, the market went into a tailspin, then stabilised and started to grow again. That was the good news. By 1996, we were back to 7.077 million units again, so not far off the all-time peak.

But in the big picture, Japan’s inances Toyota Corolla topped Japan’s best seller charts for generations.

were still in a mess so the Government decided to go for a consumption tax hike from 3 to 5%. It didn’t work. Japan’s economy went into further decline, car sales nosedived (down to 5.88 million units within a couple of years) and Hashimoto himself was soon gone from of ice.

Record national debt Fast-forward to today and the situation is the same, only different. Japan is still a hugely affluent country but its finances continue to look in desperate shape.

Gross national debt is past 200% of GDP, and counting – the highest in the developed world.

Japan has an ageing population and shrinking market. Something has to give and Shintaro Abe, the current prime minister, having prevaricated, has now gone for the rise as part of its ‘Abenomics’ whatever-it-takes programme to ix Japan’s inances now and in the future.

For the new car buyer in Japan, the tax rise is obviously less than welcome news because the tax burden was already extremely high. Japan, perhaps uniquely, levies a weighty burden of taxes on the would-be owner, with consumption tax only part of the highly complex picture.

True cost of car taxes in Japan now Let’s start with a Toyota Corolla Axio 1.5x as an example. This is a wholly conventional ‘bread-and-butter’ compact family saloon, the kind of car that, for generations, topped Japan’s best seller charts.

The base price for this is ¥1,551,429 (some €11,900 at current rates). Then comes the consumption tax, which up until April 2014 was 5% and took the ask up to ¥1,629,000.

Vehicle tax is ¥2800. Acquisition tax is ¥69,800. Weight tax is ¥36,900. Added to this, there is mandatory third party insurance (¥40,040), recycle fee (¥10,350) and sales charge (¥64,000). The grand total comes to ¥1,852,890 (€14,230).

Next come various admin charges to get licence plates and prove you have offstreet parking (mandatory in all big cities now in Japan). But to keep things simple, let’s just stick with the tax charges…

Tax impact from April In Japan’s post April 1, 2014 world, the consumption tax goes up to 8% but vehicle acquisition tax reduces from 5% to 3% for cars like the Corolla.

The good news: this acquisition tax, along with the weight tax, is set to be abolished altogether when consumption tax reaches 10%.

Japan, meantime, continues to push the sale of ‘green’ cars through tax incentives so should you decide to buy a Toyota Prius, for example, then you still have to pay vehicle tax (¥3200).

However, acquisition tax is already 100% rebated and so is weight tax. So some welcome savings there.

Likewise, with a model like the BMW i3, you are exempt from acquisition and weight tax and you also get a 50% break on annual

vehicle tax, according to BMW Japan.

In Japan, tax incentives are available on EVs, PHVs, clean diesel and natural gas cars and in the last 2013-14 iscal year, this would have taken around ¥400,000 (€3,070) off the price of an i3 EV and ¥750,000 (€5,760) from the i3 REX (range extender version) which is categorized as a PHV by the Japanese government.

More or less?

One fairly fundamental question, though – will a car like the Corolla or Prius be more or less expensive in the new 8-10% consumption tax era? Answer, yes, more costly, once all these (arcane) tax calculations wash through.

On paper, the Corolla will be around ¥20,000 dearer (some €150), estimates Toyota Japan, assuming no other data points change. The Prius will also be more expensive, so no real surprise that the market, pre April 1, had been so strong.

VAT, whether it’s 5%, 8% or 10% still looks unfathomably low by European standards (The Economist reckons it will eventually have to go up to 20% if Japan as a nation is truly to deal with all its structural financial issues).

There’s also a belief that the vehicle sector has been penalized far too much and for too long by the government. You could say, as in European countries, it’s an easy target for the taxman.

This is something that JAMA, (Japan’s equivalent of a national motor trade organisation) has long campaigned to put right, looking to streamline the whole process.

There again, when you look at revenues generated by vehicle taxation in Japan, the most recent estimate being a staggering ¥2658.7 billion, you can see how loath the politicians and bureaucrats might be to give some of that up.

It’s a truly huge number and in round figures, that might equate to something like €20.4 billion, but don’t quote me…

Green car tax cuts Looking to the future, Japan intends to expand its range of eco car tax cuts to bolster the market and make the roads greener. No doubt, carmakers will also make a concerted effort ‘to support’ the market this year to keep it alive…

However, Japan’s consumption tax, or

Models like the BMW i3 are exempt from acquisition and weight taxes.

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INDUSTRY Chevrolet

Chevrolet exits Europe Was Chevrolet’s withdrawal from Europe inevitable? Dave Moss investigates.

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“The move to withdraw allows GM to clarify and strengthen its European brand strategy.”

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s recently as 2011, General Motors’ Chevrolet brand sold over 200,000 vehicles in its vast European region, which includes all EU27 members plus a further ten countries. The following year, Chevrolet broke its worldwide sales record, claiming bestever results in Germany, France, Poland, Austria and Estonia – but in Europe overall, the marque was already under pressure. Figures for the EU27 countries and EFTA from Automotive intelligence provider JATO Dynamics show almost 179,000 Chevrolet vehicles sold in 2011, giving a 1.3% market share. In 2012, the European car market was a remarkable -7.9% down year on year. GM claimed sales growth in 12 countries, and despite falling volumes Chevrolet’s sales slippage was just -3%. But then came 2013: European market down just -1.7%; Chevrolet sales down... over -17%. Between 2011 and 2013, JATO data shows European car sales fell – 8.75%, from 13.54 to 12.35 million units: the same source shows Chevrolet down a hefty -19.9% in the same period. In 2013 it sold just over 143,000 cars in Europe.

All makers have been victims of falling European demand, but Chevrolet sales have dropped dramatically even as the range on offer has widened.

Models vary with territory, but 2010 sales came in just 33% of recognised market segments. A string of launches since then saw Chevrolet covering over 50% of the market last year, with offerings in key high-volume small and medium sectors, plus two SUVs and an MPV. Yet JATO Dynamics’ data shows sales of all its most popular cars fell in 2013, with the Aveo, Captiva and Orlando down by over 30%. The overview is of a struggling marque in an unusually tough, declining market, operating in hard-fought sectors where well known names have some very competitive products. One of these is Opel, a troubled but long established GM relation which is amongst Europe’s top three manufacturers, selling over 800,000 cars in Europe last year.

Numbers, facts and trends like these

prompt serious thinking in the topmost corridors of automotive power – and against such a background, a decision to pull out was hardly surprising. Vijay Iyer, communications director for Chevrolet and Cadillac Europe says: “The ending of Chevrolet new car sales operations in western, central and eastern Europe was a strategic business decision. Chevrolet’s results here have been and are forecast to continue being unacceptable, due to expected low sales volumes, and intense competitive price pressure from OEM’s with signi icant overcapacity in Europe. There’s also a cost impact associated with future EU automotive legislation.”

Mr Iyer points to a market share hovering around 1% since the marque’s re-launch in 2005. “The move to withdraw,” he says, “allows GM to clarify and strengthen its European brand strategy to accelerate progress in the region. The decision allows resources to focus on Opel and Vauxhall brands, and will help improve their strength, and our overall business results.

GM remains committed to Europe as a key region,” he says, “and iconic cars such as the Corvette Stingray will still be offered.”

Chevrolet car sales will now be concentrated in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Russia, where, according to JATO Dynamics, the brand sold over 174,000 cars last year – and over 205,000 in 2012. Major investment is under way here to develop its manufacturing and contracted assembly presence, in line with GM’s declared strategy of building its cars where they are sold – never the case with Chevrolet in Europe. Vijay Iyer quotes igures backing his claim that sales are strong and growing in Russian and CIS markets: “Its been the number one import brand in Russia for the last six years – and achieved 6.3% market share in 2013...”

Chevrolet will disappear from Europe by the end of 2015, with no further new products due for launch, but Mr Vijay is keen to reassure owners and operators regarding comprehensive future backup: “Service and warranty commitments will be honoured through authorised repairer agreements currently being offered to existing dealers,” he said, “ensuring adequate service and repair availability. Parts will be available for

a minimum of 10 years after original new vehicle sales.”

For leet operators of Chevrolet vehicles, worries over future depreciation and retained values could be premature.

Mark Norman of CAP Consulting feels the effects will be modest. “When Rover collapsed in 2005, similar questions were raised, and there was some short term impact,” he says. “But things quickly levelled off, and longer term depreciation turned out little different from that of directly competing cars. Chevrolet’s current line-up is founded on value, with strong private buyer appeal, the company seems committed to future backup, and there’s always someone looking for a good value used car.”

Though new vehicle stocks are reportedly quite low, a lengthy run-out period implies the possibility of new cars at reduced prices, and marketing support to move remaining stock started in January.

According to Mr Norman, shrewd purchasing could pay dividends: “Fleet buyers could ind new cars at good savings,” he says, “though the company car tax position needs attention. In some markets tax is based on list price – not what a company actually pays for a new car.”

Chevrolet is a worldwide brand, for whom only big and increasing numbers really make sense: its top three markets in 2012 were the US, with 1,850,000 cars, Brazil with 643,000, and China with 627,000. In the eight years since Daewoo was rebranded into Chevrolet in Europe the range has been widened, bringing an overlap and potential con licts with some Opel models. Meanwhile the very necessary value-oriented focus has limited margins – and placed cars in ultra-competitive sectors... in a fast-shrinking market overloaded with choice. With sales uninspiring, competition ierce and the lagship Opel brand under pressure, a big decision was inevitable. There’s sales development potential in Russia, where Chevrolet is established, and though recent performance has been lat, major investment is ongoing there, making the future hopeful. In Europe its tough, and the numbers just don’t stack up. Time to pull the plug.

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PROFILE Alfa Romeo

Alfa targets fleet resurgence

Alfa Romeo’s sales have taken a tumble over the last few years, threatening the brand’s premium reputation. But with 4C leading the charge and the USA firmly in its sights, Alfa has a plan to get back on top...

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Manufacturer Alfa Romeo Total sales 2013 64,415 Headquarters Turin, Italy EU market share 0.5% No. of models 3

view

from the top

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Alberto Cavaggioni, head of marketing EMEA.

longside Ferrari and Maserati, Alfa Romeo represents The Fiat Group in the luxury premium segment, and as such was never intended to be a volume selling brand. Against strong competition from other luxury brands with increasingly diverse model ranges, however, Alfa has struggled to maintain even relatively modest sales projections, resulting in a shrinking market share.

Fierce competition weakens sales volume According to the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association (ACEA) Alfa sold just 64,415 models in 2013, representing a sales share of 0.5% of the European market. This compares with sales of 89,976 in 2012, equating to a staggering -28.4 unit decrease year-on-year.

As a result of the marque’s poor performance, The Fiat Group has consistently lowered its sales targets. The original business plan (announced in 2010) outlined a target of 500,000 units to be achieved by 2014; this target was reduced to 400,000 in 2011, and just 300,000 in 2012.

One of Alfa’s biggest concerns is its lack of products in key segments, with the three model range (Giulietta, MiTo, 4C) failing to compete with niche crossover and MPV models offered by other brands. Alfa is also long overdue a replacement for the 159 range, withdrawn in 2011 – its competitor for the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4 among others.

Another major issue has been Alfa’s slow response to supplying the lucrative Chinese market – a region that has afforded competitors a marked sales uplift in recent years.

The arrival of Giulietta in 2010 helped to stabalise Alfa’s plummeting sales somewhat, with some industry insiders going so far as to call the model the ‘saviour’ of the brand. Launched on the back of a high-pro ile marketing campaign featuring Hollywood actress Uma Thurman, the slogan ‘without heart we are mere machines’ drew on the emotional appeal of the model which sold more than 67,000 units worldwide in 2012, and accounted for 67% of Alfa Romeo’s total sales volume.

It remains the best-selling compact car of Fiat Group in Europe, and something of a life-jacket for Alfa during the brand’s increasingly turbulent sales period.

In contrast the MiTo, the brand’s sporty, three-door luxury supermini, has struggled with stiff competition since launch in 2008, in a segment that includes Citroen DS3, Audi A1 and MINI. An estimated 28,000 units were sold in 2012, down -37% over 2011.

MiTo sales in Italy, an important market from all Alfa models, were down -43% in 2012 over 2011 igures, and sales also dropped in 16 out of 18 markets. Sales igures are expected to have fallen further when the brand’s 2013 data is published towards the end of April.

Alfa Romeo Top five international markets by share 2012 Country Italy France Germany UK Japan

Units sold 42,174 10,436 7,502 7,253 4,452

Share of AR sales 42% 10% 7.5% 7.2% 4.4%

How is Alfa Romeo's business developing now that there are signs of recovery in Europe?

Alfa is a brand that is Eurocentric, the vast majority of sales are made in Europe, so this was something that penalised us a bit. We are pushing hard in revamping the brand, launching the 4C – a clear demonstration of how Alfa wants to move forward. We are re-invigorating the MiTo and Giulietta in model year 2014 so we have renewed the range with a number of new things both interiorwise and engine-wise. Last but not least what was presented in Geneva with the new Quadrifoglio Verde was the technology of the 4C with the engine and TCT transmission brought to the Quadrifoglio Verde, then the 170hp with TCT for the Mito and the 140hp for the Mito as well with the TCT, then the 4C Spider at Geneva too.

What are the market highlights for Alfa at the moment?

We will not neglect any market.

Certainly we are an Italian brand so the most important market (by sales) is Italy, followed by France, then followed by the UK. We are pushing hard in markets where the German manufacturers produce cars. We want to move out from Italy and make sure we cover as much of the entire region as we possibly can.

Which model is Alfa's best performer?

In terms of volume the largest volume is from Giulietta, followed by the MiTo. People are excited about the 4C. It’s not a product that will sell hundreds of thousands, but it's the passion behind people that love cars and love our brands.

Giulietta Alfa’s top seller in Europe

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Source: fiatgroupworld.com

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PROFILE Alfa Romeo

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Where are they made?

2

3

1

Manufacturing plant locations

FIN fleet in numbers

4.5

0-100kph time of Alfa 4C.

67% Percentage of Alfa Romeo’s total sales attributed to Giulietta in 2012.

3,500

Annual production limit of 4C.

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1

Fiat S.p.A Cassino Piedimonte S. Germano, Italy – Giulietta

2

Fiat S.p.A Stabilimento Mirafiori, Turin, Italy – MiTo

3

Maserati S.p.A Modena, Italy – 4C

4C to spearhead return to US Alfa Romeo’s latest model, the 4C compact supercar, will lead the Italian brand’s charge back to the US market in 2014. So said Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of the Fiat Group, at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

“It's a long time since Alfa Romeo was in the market there, but there is a history in the US if you go back to ilms like ‘The Graduate’, which featured the iconic Spider,” he declared in March 2013, “I think we have something in the 4C that will really work in that market. It's certainly the best looking car at the Geneva Show – apart from La Ferrari.”

The mid-engined, rear-wheel drive two-seater coupe is built by Maserati at its Modena plant in Italy, and has been available to order in Europe since September 2013. It will be the irst car to mark the return of the Italian brand to the US after some 18 years, and will play a key role in Alfa Romeo's global growth plan to combat the disappointing sales results of recent years.

Alfa is scheduled to reappear in North America this summer, with only the best-performing Maserati dealers receiving shipments. According to Fiat Chrysler spokesperson Rick Deneau, the company is still deciding which Fiat retailers will participate in Alfa's re-entry in to the US market, and modest export plans of 1,000 models a year suggest a cautious, ‘toe-in-the-water’ approach.

Designed and engineered from concept to reality in only 28 months, the production model is derived directly from the concept irst seen at the 2011 Geneva Show. It features a 240bhp 1.7-litre turbocharged direct-injection petrol engine, the same unit as in the Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde, but with added horsepower.

Alfa claims acceleration from 0-100kph in 4.5 seconds (and top speed is said to be more than 250kph), and features include Alfa’s DNA Switch – engineered to allow easy switching between different driving modes – Dynamic, Natural and All-Weather.

The 4C uses technology and material irst seen in the 8C Competizione, including carbon, aluminium and rear-wheel drive, and draws its inspiration from the 8C and 6C models from the 1930s and 1940s, which featured eight and six-cylinder engines.

Global production of the 4C is limited to 3,500 units per year due to the leadtime required to engineer the carbon- ibre chassis – helping to position the model as a premium, aspirational model. Industry reception to the model has been overwhelmingly positive, and Alfa has high hopes for its success in Europe and further a ield in the coming years.

Alfa Romeo fleet model range

MiTo

Variants: 3-door hatchback Markets: Europe, Asia, South America, Australia Fuel: 3.5-6.0l/100km CO2: 90-139g/km

Giulietta

Variants: 5-door hatchback Markets: Europe, Asia, South America, Australia Fuel: 4.0-6.4l/100km CO2: 104-149g/km

“Global production of the 4C is limited to 3,500 units per year – and industry reception to the model has been overwhelmingly positive.”

4C

Variants: 2-door coupe Markets: Europe, Asia, Australia Fuel: 6.8l/100km CO2: 157g/km

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Opel Meriva 1.6D Revised Meriva gains Opel’s impressive new 1.6-litre diesel. John Kendall finds out how good it is.

SECTOR MPV PRICE €11,800–€17,800 (approx.) FUEL 4.1–7.2l/100km CO2 109–169g/km

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fuel consumption ranges from 5.9-7.2l/100km. he current Meriva has been with us since 2010 Big news for the diesel range is the arrival of and Opel/Vauxhall is keeping up the pressure with Opel/Vauxhall's impressive 136hp 1.6CDTi diesel. It’s a facelift. It’s based around the arrival of Euro 6 available in ecoFLEX Start/Stop low emissions form only, compliant engines – hence the slightly bigger front giving 116g/km CO2 with 4.4l/100km. There are 75hp grille to improve cooling capacity for the diesels. The and 95hp variants of the 1.3-litre CDTi diesel. The 75hp same basic body shell is retained and a good thing too variant is not the lowest emitter with 124g/km CO2, but as the wide opening front and rear doors ease access offers a respectable combined 4.7l/100km. The two for young families strapping children into seats and 95hp variants come with ecoFLEX and ecoFLEX older drivers. The spacious interior and raised seating Start/Stop reducing CO2 emissions to 119 and 109g/km position is good news for fleet drivers spending a lot of respectively and combined consumption to 4.4 and time at the wheel too.

4.1l/100km respectively. All come with There are LED daytime running manual transmission. Then there’s the lights to go with the new headlamps 110hp 1.7CDTi engine with automatic bi-xenon lights are no longer available transmission at 160g/km. The good but halogen projector lamps are stannews in running cost terms is that dard, with steering, adaptive forward diesel models like the 1.6CDTi do not lighting on the options list to ‘curve’ need SCR emissions control, keeping main and dipped beams around corpurchase cost down and there's no ners and make night driving safer. need for AdBlue either.

There's a revised IntelliLink infotainPerceived quality inside the car ment system available with a 7-inch moves up a notch or two. It feels well touchscreen. Rear seat passengers get assembled and the materials look and an improved FlexSpace seating system, feel of better quality than before. If it offering one, two or three seats, stands up as well to heavy use, that depending on the seats needed and the would be good for residual values. The amount of baggage space required.

The 1.6-litre diesel with 1.6-litre diesel is as impressive in the There’s a comprehensive Euro 6 the Meriva's flexibility Meriva as it has proved in the Zafira compliant engine range including is a very competitive Tourer. It is probably the most impresfour, 1.4-litre variable valve timing package and well sive 1.6-litre diesel available with low petrol engines, offering 100hp, 120hp noise levels, note-worthy flexibility, and 140hp. Manual transmission is worth considering. responsive performance and low fuel standard, while the 120hp engine is Potential low running consumption. It will be the engine of available with automatic transmission costs are attractive too. choice, and not just for fleets. It will too. CO 2 emissions range from appear in Astra next.

140g/km to 169g/km and combined

what we think

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Renault Megane Unveiled at the Frankfurt Show in 2013, John Kendall puts the facelifted Megane through its paces.

SECTOR Lower medium PRICE €16,600–€25,200 (approx.) FUEL 3.5–6.9l/100km CO2 90–159g/km

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he revised 2014 Megane range was unveiled at the engine, the 2.0 RS 265 Stop/Start is also reserved for the Frankfurt Show last September. It is a facelift of the coupe. Engine availability varies according to market. existing range, covering the five-door Megane, Renault has also announced a twin turbocharged version Sport Tourer estate car and three-door Coupe. The most of the 1.6-litre diesel producing 160hp. There is no indiobvious difference is the adoption of the new front grille, cation as yet which models will be offered with the first seen on the Clio and Captur. Add in a new front engine. The engines offering the lowest emissions and bumper, sculpted bonnet, vent grilles, new elliptical fuel consumption are the 1.5 dCi 110 (3.5l/100km and headlamps and daytime running lights too.

90g/km CO2) and the dCi 130 engine with 4.0l/100km and 4.00g/km CO2.

Equipment may vary according to market, but there is a The introduction of Dacia into many European markets long list of standard and optional equipment according to has helped the company to push Renault upmarket, giving model. This includes automatic dual zone climate control, the Megane a better quality image, with LED daytime running lights and Renault’s better superior materials inside and R-Link connectivity system, all available improved build quality. Our test car, according to market specification. equipped with the 1.6 dCi 130hp engine Engines have been revised to include with Stop/Start gave that impression. the 1.2 TCe turbocharged petrol engine In UK GT Line TomTom specification in 115hp and 130hp variants. The entry it came with a high level of equipment level 110hp 1.6-litre petrol engine including ESC electronic stability remains in the range. Diesel engines control, six airbags, CSV understeer conconsist of the 1.5dCi engine in 110hp trol, cruise control, air conditioning, form and the 130hp 1.6dCi engine. speed limiter, USB connection and a Standard transmission is a six-speed long list of additional features such manual unit, while the 1.2 TCe 130 and as the Carminat TomTom satellite navi1.5dCi 110 engines are available with gation system. the six-speed EDC automated transmisThe car drives with the fluidity that sion too. This option was introduced The latest Megane is we would associate with the Megane, with the revised model and is the first an improved package offering a supple ride and taut hantime that the dCi 110 engine has been offering better quality dling. The 1.6-litre diesel is a fine unit offered with the EDC transmission. In too with 104g/km CO2, making it one of fact, the 1.2 TCe engine with the EDC and a good driving the most efficient in the Megane diesel transmission is an option that has only experience. New range. The 1.5 dCi may offer lower been available recently. The 95hp 160hp diesels could emissions, but the 1.6 dCi gives slightly 1.5dCi and 165hp 2.0-litre dCi engines be on the way too. better refinement, and a better econremain in the range, the 2.0dCi only omy/performance balance. in the coupe. The range topping petrol

what we think

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Audi A3 Cabrio The new Audi A3 cabriolet is now based on the A3 saloon, as John Kendall found out.

SECTOR Cabriolet PRICE €24,100–€43,500 (approx.) FUEL 5.0–7.1l/100km CO2 110–165g/km

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here is nothing new about the concept of the Audi mised as a result, at 285 litres roof up, or 245 litres S3, which has been with the Audi A3 range since roof down, but folding rear seat backs can provide the car was launched in the late 1990s. Similarly extended capacity, although that may not be so useful the A3 cabriolet has been with us before but it has taken with the roof down. the launch of the Audi A3 saloon last year to open the way Apart from the 300hp 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine for to a more visually pleasing drophead A3 and it offers an the S3 cabriolet, there are some more tax-friendly appropriate format for an S3 cabriolet. Since the S3 options. There’s the 140hp 1.4TFSI (combined consumpsaloon already exists, it is not a great feat of technology tion 5.0l/100km and 114g/km CO2) and 180hp 1.8TFSI to bring together the S3 300hp powertrain with the new petrol engine (5.8l/100km and 133g/km CO 2). The A3 cabriolet body. It was unveiled at the Geneva Show, 1.4TFSI model comes with a six-speed manual transmisbut we are waiting for a chance to drive it. sion, while the 1.8 TFSI is fitted with the seven-speed To put the A3 cabriolet into perspecS-Tronic automated transmission. tive, it measures 4,430mm long, is There’s also a 150hp 2.0-litre TDI 1,790mm wide and stands 1,415mm diesel/six-speed manual (3.6l/100km tall. When it arrives, the S3 cabriolet and 110g/km CO2). will be 25mm lower than the A3 cabriThe tax-friendly option is the olet thanks to the S-Sport suspension.

150hp 2.0TDI with a price of around In all cases it's a four-seat soft-top €25,500 depending on market and model with a hood that is raised and specification, although the 1.4FTSI is lowered electro-hydraulically at the not far behind. With windows up and touch of a button in 18 seconds. Audi an anti-buffet screen in place, the has used magnesium, aluminium and car gives a pleasant open air driving high strength steel to keep the weight experience. The performance is fairly down to 1,365kg. quick too, but open-air driving is not The roof can be raised and lowered always about performance. at speeds up to 50km/h. In the event It makes a very comfortable twoAn S-series cabriolet is of an accident, the car is fitted with seater and when more seats are needed an attractive addition an active rollover system consisting of there are two more, but you would have to the A3 range, while a pair of spring-loaded struts. The to do without the anti-buffet screen the performance hood now stows away inside the boot which takes up the space over the back when the roof is down, instead of seats. Boot space is not generous, but it's and comparative stacking up on the back of the car, as big enough for a bag or two. Standard tax efficiency will was necessary when it was based on equipment depends on market and trim please many. the three-door hatchback body. options and in any case there is a long Boot space is inevitably comprolist of options, if your budget will stretch.

what we think

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Skoda Yeti Facelifted Yeti offers more choice and surprising off-road capability, reports John Kendall.

SECTOR SUV PRICE €15,502–€25,200 (approx.) FUEL 4.6–6.3l/100km CO2 119–164g/km

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The diesel engines, both based on the Volkswagen eti has been a notable success for Skoda since it Group 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre TDI models will probably was launched in 2009. Over 250,000 were built in attract the biggest fleet following with lower CO2 emis2013 alone, and Skoda delivered 82,400 around sions. The 105hp 1.6 TDI offers the lowest emissions the world – a lot of Yetis. By today’s standards five years with 119g/km and 4.6l/100km combined. This engine is is a long time to go without a facelift and now it has available in both Yeti and Yeti Outdoor models with twoarrived. Skoda has expanded the range and split it into wheel drive, and a five-speed manual gearbox. A twotwo, giving a more outdoor oriented model – the Yeti wheel drive 110hp 2.0-litre TDI model is available with Outdoor, as well as the standard Yeti, now aimed more the same body and powertrain options delivering at on-road users.

134g/km CO2 and 5.1l/100km combined. The remaining Both models feature revisions inside and out. Exterdiesels make up the top of the range, available only as nally it gains the kind of front and rear treatment shared Yeti Outdoor models with 4x4. with the new Octavia and Rapid, while Power options are 110hp and 140hp inside, there’s a new leather trimmed all available with a six-speed manual three-spoke multi-function steering transmission, while the 140hp engine wheel and there are new trim options. is also available with a six-speed DSG A rear parking camera is offered for the automated transmission. first time on the Yeti and the parking 4x4 models gain the latest fifth assist system can now deal with paralgeneration Haldex system combined lel and bay parking. Yeti also gains keywith electronic differential lock. The less entry and start for the first time.

Haldex system transmits all power to Skoda is offering six engines in the the front wheels under most circumrange starting with the entry level stances, but when slip is detected it can 105hp 1.2TSI turbocharged petrol transfer up to 100% of the torque to engine offering combined consumption the rear wheels as needed. of 6.1l/100km and CO 2 emissions of As we found out, the 4x4 models 142g/km. Transmission options are The refreshed Yeti is have real off-road capability, driven in either six-speed manual or seven-speed as good to drive as the wettest weather the UK has experiDSG. This powertrain option is before and with lower enced in years. The car coped well available in both Yeti and Yeti Outdoor, with on-road tyres and would have whereas the other petrol option is fuel consumption been more impressive with mud and a 160hp 1.8TSI engine offering potential. It remains a snow tyres. On the road it is as pleas4.6l/100km and 119g/km CO2 available strong compact SUV ant as the Yeti has always been with only as the Yeti Outdoor with 4x4 contender for fleets. a surprising amount of space inside drive, which is not available with the the vehicle.

1.2 TSI engine.

what we think

40 / internationalfleetworld.com

RVs

Analysing leasing and residual value confidence in the Eurozone and beyond...

UK optimism exceeds the rest of Europe

There are still big variations in future RVs, rental rates and SMR costs across Europe, as Experteye reports.

F

uture residual values forecasted by UK-based contract hire and leasing companies have risen by +5.9% in the last quarter, and by +9.1% in the past year.

The expected strength of the future British used vehicle market far exceeds that of other European countries, where increases are less dramatic.

In Portugal, forecasted residual values are up by a smaller +0.8% in the last 3 months.

In Italy there has been a +0.7% rise, France +0.5%, Germany +0.4% with only Spain showing a fall in con idence of -0.3%.

The figures come from the latest Experteye European Leasing index survey which tracks forecasted residual values (RV), servicing, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs and rental rates in six European countries using data supplied by major leasing companies.

In the last quarter there has been little sign of rental prices rising, which will be pleasing to European leet operators. Of the countries surveyed, only French customers saw a price increase of +0.9%, with a -0.2% fall in the UK, -0.4% in Italy, -0.7% in Germany, -1.2% in Portugal and -2.1% in Spain.

This follows a year that saw prices rise by +3.6% in the UK, +1.9% in France, +1.2% in Italy, but reduce by -1.6% in Germany, -2.2% in Spain and -5% in Portugal.

Market summaries – 3 and 12 months to February 2014

FRANCE: SMR budgets have gone up more in France than any other nation surveyed, with a +2.3% increase since March 2013 and +1.5% since December. Forecasted residuals are improving with a +1.5% increase in the last 12 months and +0.5% for the latest quarter. French leet operators are the only ones to have seen their lease rates climb this quarter, with a small +0.9% price rise. This follows a +1.9% rental rise for the year.

GERMANY: In Germany, forecasted residual values are up by +0.6% for the year and +0.4% for the quarter. SMR budgets fell by -3.2% over the last 12 months but rose by +0.5% in the most recent quarter. German fleet operators will be pleased that their rental rates have been coming down slightly, with a -0.7% fall since December 2013 after a year that saw a -1.6% price drop.

ITALY: Italian leasing companies have reduced their servicing, maintenance and repair budgets by -7.9% in the last year, the biggest fall across all nations surveyed. This has steadied to -0.5% in the last quarter. Having fallen by -0.7% since last March, forecasted residual values have risen by +0.7% in the last 3 months. Rental rates fell by -0.4% in the last quarter after going up by +1.2% last year.

PORTUGAL: After a fall in rental prices of -5% in the last year, Portuguese prices continue to come down by -1.2% since December 2013. Portugal saw the largest reduction in its forecasted RVs in the last year, with a -2.4% drop, albeit improving by +0.8% in the last 3 months. SMR budgets went up by +0.2% during the quarter after a -2.7% fall since March 2013.

SPAIN: Whilst not too dramatic in movement, Spain has seen the largest fall in forecasted RVs (-0.3%), budgeted SMR costs (-1.4%) and rental rates (-2.1%) of all nations surveyed in the last quarter. This follows a year that saw forecasted residual values come down by -0.2%, SMR budgets fall by -3.8% and rental prices reduce by -2.2%.

UK: The UK far exceeds the confidence of its European counterparts when it comes to the future used vehicle market. In the last 12 months, forecasted residual values have risen by +9.1% and by +5.9% in the last quarter. SMR budgets went up by +0.3% since March 2013 but came down by -0.2% in the last 3 months. Rental rates had climbed by +3.6% last year (the highest annual price rise of all nations surveyed) but came down by -0.2% in the last quarter.

CHANGES IN RV FORECASTS, SMR COST FORECASTS AND LEASE RENTALS Forecast Residual Values

Forecast Service, Maintenance and Repair Costs

Current Rental Rates

3-month change 12-month change 3-month change 12-month change 3-month change 12-month change France Germany Italy Portugal Spain UK

+0.5% +0.4% +0.7% +0.8% -0.3% +5.9%

+1.5% +0.6% -0.7% -2.4% -0.2% +9.1%

Notes: • The comparisons are for vehicles with a contract duration of 36 months/90,000km.

• Twelve-month comparisons show change since February 2013.

• Three-month comparisons show change since November 2013.

+1.5% +0.5% -0.5% +0.2% -1.4% -0.2%

+2.3% -3.2% -7.9% -2.7% -3.8% +0.3%

+0.9% -0.7% -0.4% -1.2% -2.1% -0.2%

+1.9% -1.6% +1.2% -5.0% -2.2% +3.6%

• Rental rate changes compare the rates in effect at the time of the survey with those in effect three or twelve months ago.

• RV and SMR changes show the change in participating leasing companies’ forecasts of residual values and maintenance costs over the period.

internationalfleetworld.com / 41

fleet in figures

European CO2 emissions fall Renault has recorded the lowest average CO2 emissions from cars in Europe and the global light vehicle market is looking positive, says John Kendall.

Renault’s CO2 reduction The new Clio and Captur combined, accounted for more than 45% of Renault’s sales volume

C

arbon dioxide emissions from new cars in Europe have continued to fall, with Renault recording the lowest average emissions for 2013, according to JATO Dynamics latest report – A Review of New Car CO2 Emissions across Europe 2013. Renault averaged 110.1g/km in 2013, a reduction from 121.3g/km in 2012, the greatest improvement of all the volume brands.

According to JATO, while this was helped by the 9,000 Renault electric cars registered in 2013, other developments had a greater impact. For instance the new Clio and Captur combined accounted for more than 45% of Renault’s sales volume – averaging 103.9g/km and 105.6g/km respectively. Powertrain improvements for other models were also significant.

Peugeot recorded the second lowest figure, as it did in 2012, but reduced

42 / internationalfleetworld.com

from 121.1g/km to 114.9g/km. JATO attributes this to the launch of the 208 and 2008, taking a greater proportion of the brand’s sales.

Toyota recorded the third lowest figure, reduced from 121.7g/km in 2012 to 115.9g/km. This is attributed to reduced emissions from the latest Auris and RAV4 and greater sales of the Auris and Yaris hybrid models.

Fiat had recorded the lowest average emissions for the past six years, but has now slipped down the rankings to the 5th lowest average CO2 emitter. JATO says that while the Panda and 500 – the lowest Fiat emitters, remained largely unchanged, the larger 500L took a larger slice of sales.

Volvo’s average emissions fell by the largest amount from 143.3g/km to 132.1g/km with Dacia close behind, recording a reduction of 10.8g/km from

137.9g/km to 127.1g/km.

JATO recorded reduced average CO2 emissions for all market segments compared with 2012. C-segment models recorded the greatest average reduction, down from 125.7g/km to 118.2g/km.

JATO attributes this mainly to the reductions made by Volkswagen Group models, such as the replacement Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3, Skoda Octavia and SEAT Leon. Reductions in the SUV segment can be attributed to greater sales of the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, new Ford Kuga and Toyota RAV4, as well as the new 1.6litre diesel available in the Honda CR-V.

Global light vehicle sales climb Across the world global light vehicle sales grew by almost 6% year-on-year in February, according to LMC Automotive. The company is predicting a 4% increase this year, although it qualifies

Western Europe

this by saying that emerging market risks need to be monitored.

Mexico

LMC reports that demand in Western Europe is continuing the slow and steady recovery. Compared with February 2012, sales increased by 4.8% to 903,339, consistent with the YtD growth of 4.8% to 1,907,688.

USA US light vehicle sales were slightly subdued by seasonal bad weather. For the US, February sales were marginally down on February 2013 at 1,191,564 and down 1.5% over the year-to-date (YtD) to 2,202,277. LMC expects sales to pick up in the coming months as demand returns to normal, but there is a risk that the US economy will underperform and slow the expected growth. Scotiabank points to record crossover utility vehicle (CUV) volumes in the US in February with sales 13% up on February 2013.

Central and Eastern Europe Sales in Eastern Europe were down 1% YtD overall to 633,349, although as LMC points out, there was significant variation from country to country. Turkey, for instance recorded a 27% reduction in February sales compared with 2013. The selling rate in Russia remained firm at 3m units/year.

Top 10 best-selling brands ranked by average CO2 emissions Brand

2013 average CO2 (g/km)

2012 average CO2 (g/km)

Difference

China

2012 position

Renault

110.1

121.3

-11.2

3

Peugeot

114.9

121.1

-6.2

2

Toyota

115.9

121.7

-5.8

4

CitroĂŤn

116.2

122.0

-5.8

5

Fiat

118.1

119.5

-1.4

1

SEAT

118.9

124.0

-5.1

6

Ford

122.1

129.3

-7.1

9

Skoda

125.3

132.6

-7.3

11

Dacia

127.1

137.9

-10.8

15

Suzuki

127.3

130.5

-3.3

-

Source - JATO Dynamics

Segment CO2 emissions breakdown 2013 market share

2013 average CO2 (g/km)

2012 market share

2012 average CO2 (g/km)

A

9.15%

106.5

9.28%

106.9

Segment

B

25.87%

113.9

24.94%

119.1

C

23.82%

118.2

21.66%

125.7

D

9.44%

131.2

11.06%

134.4

E1 (Executive)

3.01%

143.5

E2 (Luxury)

0.23%

Mini-MPV

9.45%

Medium & Large MPV

3.44%

Sports SUV Other Total Market

Scotiabank notes that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is 20 years old this year and assesses how this has worked in the automotive industry. Mexico appears to be the clear winner with production tripled, while Canada has only seen a marginal increase and the US has seen production fall considerably. Motor vehicle and parts exports have increased by an average of 12% annually since 1994, notes Scotiabank. European and Japanese manufacturers are fuelling the increase as they set up plants in Mexico. Nissan, Mazda and Honda will all have begun production in Mexico this quarter, while Audi is building its irst plant in Mexico and BMW is in advanced negotiations.

3.14%

148.2

188.6

0.24%

195.5

129.6

10.28%

133.4

156.2

3.99%

159.7

2.47%

157.1

2.84%

159.5

12.55%

158.6

11.93%

165.7

0.58%

198.6

0.62%

200.5

100.0%

126.8

100.0%

132.3

A selling rate of 23m units per year for February in China remains similar to January, despite adjustment for holidays. But as LMC reports, the Chinese government announced a GDP growth target of 7.5% for this year, with promises to reduce air pollution and tackle the growing national debt. This could result in vehicle sales restrictions being extended to more big cities. YtD sales are up 9.8% to 3,769,136.

Japan As we report elsewhere, a tax rise in Japan in April is helping to drive car sales at the moment. LMC reports an abrupt slowing in February sales, nevertheless, owing to a shortage of popular fuelef icient models, particularly hybrids.

Sales are up 24.1% YtD to 1,044,224, but are expected to slowdown after the April consumption tax increase.

South Korea YtD sales are up 7.2% to 238,340, but LMC believes this may be difficult to maintain this year. Export and manufacturing sectors remain weak, putting pressure on jobs and income growth.

South America Sales YtD in Brazil and Argentina are up 3.2% to 705,097, but high in lation and rising interest rates are expected to slow the market in the coming months.

Source - JATO Dynamics

internationalfleetworld.com / 43

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