International Fleet World December 2015 – January 2016

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD All that matters in the world of fleet December / January 2016

Driven

Telematics

Profile

Range Rover Hybrid SsangYong Tivoli Nissan Navara

The benefits for fleets and drivers

Hyundai’s global fleet portfolio

Interview

Connected Cars

Klaus Maier of Mercedes-Benz

How the Connected Horizon could improve fleet safety and reduce costs

internationalfleetworld.com

THE NEW SEAT IBIZA ST

STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR BUSINESS

TECHNOLOGY TO ENJOY DESIGNED FOR SAFETY AND CONNECTIVITY The new SEAT Ibiza ST is the ideal car for all your Fleet needs. Sleek and versatile, it features next-generation connectivity designed to make doing business a breeze. SEAT’s Full Link technology mirrors your drivers’ smartphones via the infotainment system, allowing them to remain constantly in touch with you - all while keeping their attention firmly fixed on the road. And driving pleasure is assured with a choice of dynamic petrol engines: 3 cylinder 1.0-litre TSI, or 4 cylinder 1.4 TSI ACT.

SPACIOUS AND VERSATILE

YOUR CAR IS YOUR OFFICE

EcoTSI ENGINE

The 292-litre boot has room for all the tools and equipment you need to drive business success.

Easy Connect with Full Link (MirrorLink, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay) connects your smartphone to your car. This allows you to use it safely and surely.

The best in class 3 cylinder 1.0 EcoTSI engine can cover 100 km on only 4.1L of fuel, emitting just 94 g of CO2 per km.

SEAT FOR BUSINESS

SE AT.COM/BUSINESS

Average fuel consumption from 3.5 to 5.3 l/100 km. Average CO2 mass emissions from 90 to 120 g/km. Our CO2 and consumption values are provisional and currently under review.

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD All that matters in the world of fleet

December / January 2016

Driven

Telematics

Profile

Range Rover Hybrid SsangYong Tivoli Nissan Navara

The benefits for fleets and drivers

Hyundai’s global fleet portfolio

contents

Interview

Connected Cars

Klaus Maier of Mercedes-Benz

How the Connected Horizon could improve fleet safety and reduce costs

internationalfleetworld.com

Publisher Jerry Ramsdale jerry@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

16 Spotlight: Futuristic new Mirai.

24 Klaus Maier of Mercedes-Benz Vans.

40 Hyundai’s global fleet portfolio.

46 Nissan’s latest Navara on the road...

Editor John Kendall john@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Deputy Editor Alex Grant alex@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Business Editor Natalie Middleton natalie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Features Editor Katie Beck katie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Fleet Consultant Ross Durkin ross@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Sales Director Anne Dopson anne@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Sales Executives Darren Brett darren@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Claire Warman claire@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Circulation Tracy Howell tracy@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Dawn Mitchell dawn@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Head of Production Luke Wikner luke@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Designers Tina Ries tina@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Samantha King sam@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

04 Fleet Review John Kendall wonders if VW-gate could affect other brands.

06 Inside Knowledge Michael Gergen of Dataforce analyses 2015 YtD EU sales.

08 News The biggest stories from a month in the international fleet world.

16 Spotlight An in-depth look at the groundbreaking Toyota Mirai.

18 Feature The benefits of telematics for both fleet operators and drivers.

22 Telematics A rundown of new features on Alphabet’s AlphaGuide app.

24 Interview Klaus Maier on Mercedes-Benz Vans’ global ambition.

26 Feature How Bosch’s Connected Horizon systems can revolutionise fleets.

28 Technology Lessons learnt over 5,470km in an autonomous SQ5.

Published by 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

30 IAM Report Advice on how to stay safe and legal when driving in Mexico.

32 Remarketing Mexico’s growing new car market and manufacturing success.

34 Fleet Focus How NAFTA has positioned Mexico as an exporting heavyweight.

38 International Fleet Academy Using a nesting strategy to align fleet policies.

40 Profile Hyundai’s fresh range of models and separation of the Genesis brand.

STAG Publications

44 Launch Report Outlander PHEV/ RR Hybrid / Nissan Navara / SsangYong Tivoli. ®

To subscribe to Interational Fleet World visit: www.fleetworldsubscriptions.co.uk

50 Fleet in Figures Breaking down the latest global vehicle sales by region.

internationalfleetworld.com / 03

fleet review

This month, editor John Kendall ponders the secret of Mexico’s relative success, the fall-out from VW-gate and Kia’s new Optima.

Volkswagen and CO2 The VW emissions story has developed further since our last issue to include fuel consumption and CO2 emissions ratings for some models, including those with petrol engines. I have also attended Audi and SEAT model launches recently and it is interesting to find that many customers do not apparently associate other VW Group brands with VW. It’s still too early to assess the impact on sales, particularly as the EU is also investigating other manufacturers. As I said last month, both Hyundai/Kia and GM have also faced the rap from US regulators in the last year and it doesn’t appear to have had much impact on sales. But it’s not over yet for VW and possibly others.

Mexico – what’s the secret?

Mexico is a country that has intrigued me for many years. It is a Latin-American country, but is in North America, bordering the US and part of the NAFTA free trade agreement. The country has its fair share of problems, many drug related, which may be related to the comparatively lower wages of the population compared with the US and Canada. That is also a factor in the country’s importance as a motor manufacturer, with many carmakers present in the country. We cover the country in our regular country profile this month and get a glimpse of the leasing business there.

UK: temporary blip or trouble ahead?

The British new car market made a comparatively rapid recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, at least compared with many of its European neighbours. It is a country where the company car is a strong factor, responsible for over 50% of new car registrations

04 / internationalfleetworld.com

each year. October brought an unexpected slowdown in registrations, the first time that the market has not grown for the past 43 months. VW registrations fell, but so did those of many other manufacturers. Is the British economic recovery running out of steam?

Kia optimism

I’m off to see and drive the new Kia Optima as I write and am looking forward to what I will find. Each new Kia seems to make an impressive advance on the previous model and it will be interesting to see how the Koreans have developed this car that was a considerable success in North America, to the next stage. Developing a car brand from a budget brand and moving it upmarket is not an easy process. Changing customer perceptions is a difficult thing to do, perhaps more so in convincing buyers that what was once a cheap product with the image to match has developed to something capable of giving volume rivals some serious competition. We shall have details of the new Optima in the February issue.

Happy New Year...

International Fleet World takes a break in January – our next issue will appear in February 2016. It has been an interesting year as the magazine’s reputation has continued to grow. We won’t be standing still in 2016. A Happy Christmas to you and I hope that 2016 will be a good year for us all.

visit internationalfleetworld.com

HIGH POTENTIAL EMPLOYEE

Opel’s compact-class flagship.

High functionality, plenty of space and a powerful 1.6 BiTurbo CDTI engine with 118 kW (160 hp) make the Astra Sports Tourer the first choice for your business.

In addition, the Sports Tourer comes with premium trim features: powerful IntelliLux LED® Matrix headlights and the hands-free power-operated tailgate that lets you open and close your boot with just a wave of your foot.

Find out more at opel.com

The new Astra Sports Tourer.

Fuel consumption combined 4.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined 110–107 g/km (according to R (EC) No. 715/2007).

inside knowledge

An excellent year for True Fleet Fleet market data provider Dataforce takes a look at the European fleet market so far in 2015.

Michael Gergen crunches the numbers.

T

he European True Fleet Markets are currently performing very well. Looking at 17 countries in Europe, the results for the first nine months of 2015 are more than positive. Compared to JanuarySeptember 2014, 14 out of those 17 markets show growing volumes for the True Fleet Channel (commercial registrations without manufacturers, dealerships and Rent-A-Cars). Only in Finland, Latvia and Norway were True Fleet registrations declining. Overall True Fleets reached double-digit growth of 11.1%.

The result for Europe in total is closely linked to the ‘Big Five’ – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, since they represent more than 70% of all True Fleets registrations in Europe.

Despite the already good performance in 2014, registrations are still outperforming those in the previous year: 5

True Fleets

France

Germany

Italy

Spain

UK

Euro 5

September

+9.3%

12.8%

+28.5%

+37.3%

+11.3%

+14.0%

Jan–Sep 2015

+8.8%

+9.8%

+18.9%

+32.2%

+8.3%

+11.5%

Italy and especially Spain are recovering impressively, both achieving the highest growth rate in 2015 so far with + 28.5% and + 37.3% respectively. On the other hand, France, Germany and the United Kingdom are remarkable as well, reaching the highest volume in years.

Beside the EU-5 there are a lot of further markets with a successful trend and double-digit growth rates.

The True Fleet Market in Belgium is very close to Spain with only some 2,000 registrations behind year-to-date. Although the Netherlands is in good shape (+ 15.2%) Poland was able to overtake and to jump to 7th place in the ranking of the European Fleet markets. An increase of 50.1% is certainly noteworthy but the volume for True Fleets in Lithuania in the first nine months makes up less than 1% in the UK.

06 / internationalfleetworld.com

True Fleets Jan-Sept 2015 • Austria +1.5% • Belgium +5.0% • Czech Republic + 20.5% • Denmark +14.2% • Finland -7.3% • Latvia -4.1%

• Lithuania +50.1% • Netherlands +15.2% • Norway -4.2% • Poland +26.8% • Slovakia +2.2% • Sweden +4.3%

A remarkable change of balance However, looking at sheer volume is only one aspect.

From my point of view the development of share within the channel mix is comparably thrilling because it clearly indicates the growing importance of True Fleets.

In all ‘Big Five’ markets, the year-to-date growth rates for True Fleets were higher than in the Private Markets.

Even in Spain where the Private Market is still supported by an on-going scrappage scheme. In Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland the picture is similar: True Fleets are on the rise while the Private channel is still not recovering. Consequently the share of Private Market is declining and the True Fleet Channel is becoming more and more important. Until 2011, Private customers were accounting for more than 50% of all new Passenger Car registrations. Currently this level does not seem to be reachable again. So in case you are responsible for fleet business in some way: there might be a promising future ahead.

A successful year for light commercial vehicles as well The biggest LCV True Fleet Markets in Europe are France and the United Kingdom followed by Germany, Italy and Spain. The performance for January until September 2015 is not as impressive as that for Passenger Cars but successful nevertheless with a growth rate of 5.6%. This result is very much driven by Spain and the United Kingdom (+ 40.2% and + 20.8% respectively).

Italy achieved a moderate increase of 3.9%; Germany (+ 0.6%) and France (- 0.8%) are rather flat.

aldautomotive.com

manufacturer news

Volkswagen Group names first products in CO2 scandal

T

he Volkswagen Group has identified 430,000 2016 model year petrol and diesel vehicles which have understated fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Discovered during an internal investigation follow‐ ing the NOx emissions scandal, the Group said around 800,000 vehicles could be affected but hasn’t indi‐ cated how large the “irregularities” are. It has begun working with importers, partners and governments, aiming to protect customers from additional costs.

This affects a different group of diesel engines to the earlier scandal, comprising 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0‐litre units between 75 and 239hp, and 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.8 and 2.0‐ litre turbocharged petrols are also included. Not all products with the listed engines are affected.

Models named so far are the Audi A1, SEAT Ibiza and Leon, Skoda Fabia, Rapid, Yeti, Octavia and Superb, and Volkswagen Polo, Tiguan, Jetta, Scirocco, Golf, Golf Cabriolet, Golf SV, Touran, CC and Passat. The Volk‐ swagen Caddy and T6 Transporter are also included, with the 75bhp and 102hp 2.0‐litre TDI engines.

Volkswagen is also facing new allegations that its 3.0‐ litre TDI engines feature ‘defeat devices’ to cheat U.S. NOx emisisons tests – something which it has denied.

Fiat debuts new Fullback pick-up

F

iat has revealed its new medium‐duty pick‐up truck, which will rival models including the Nissan NP300 Navara when it goes on sale from May 2016 across the EMEA region.

Taking its name from the rugby / American foot‐ ball position, the Fullback range includes four configurations (Single Cab, Extended Cab, Double Cab and Chassis), three trim levels, three engines and two gearboxes and will be offered in a range of variants adapted to the specific needs of each of the individual EMEA markets.

In the Middle East and Africa the Fullback will be available with two engine options – a 2.5‐litre diesel with two power outputs of 110hp and 178hp and a 2.4‐litre petrol engine that delivers 132hp and, depending on market, will be offered with a five‐ speed manual or automatic transmission.

In Europe and other non‐European markets, the Fullback will be available with a 2.4‐litre aluminium turbo diesel engine with two power outputs – 150hp or 180hp – combined with a new six‐speed manual gearbox or five‐speed automatic transmis‐ sion with sports mode.

The Fullback will be available in the entire EMEA area with rear or all‐wheel‐drive.

MAN to launch LCV in cooperation with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles

G

erman truck manufacturer MAN is to expand into the LCV sector with a new light commercial vehicle.

Full details of the MAN TGE haven’t been announced but the firm, which is majority owned by Volkswagen, said the model has been developed by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles based on the Crafter and will be built alongside the Volkswagen LCV in the new plant in Wrzesnia, Poland. It will debut at the 2016 IAA Commer‐ cial Vehicles show and will be available from 2017.

The brand added that the cooperation “is expected to create strategic benefits in acquiring new groups of customers.”

08 / internationalfleetworld.com

The move will mean that MAN now offers a full range of commercial vehicles between three and 44 tonnes as well as special vehicle body solutions.

MAN Truck & Bus CEO Joachim Drees said: “We know exactly what our customers need and which areas they operate in, and the vehicle solutions and bodies we will offer them will be a perfect fit to their needs and applica‐ tions. Professional service and also a wide range of solu‐ tions from our well established truck business will set standards in this weight range and I’m sure the customers of our light commercial vehicles will be very excited by their introduction as well.”

For the latest news, visit internationalfleetworld.com

SEAT confirms plans for four new models by 2018

S

EAT has said that it will push ahead with plans to launch four new models by 2018 as it unveils its Strategy 2025 plan.

The strategy focuses on three main pillars: developing models in growing segments with a high profit margin based on its success with the Leon; prioritising customer satisfaction and being the most attractive employer in the automotive industry in Spain.

The company added that it is on track to launch four new models in the next two years, with the first, a compact SUV, expected in the first half of 2016 and marking the brand’s debut in this segment.

Chairman Dr Francisco Javier García Sanz said: “Now is the time to act with a view to the medium and long term, regardless of recent weeks’ news. The Volkswagen Group has full confidence in our plan for the future and it is perfectly integrated in their strategy. The models we have announced for the next two years will reach the market as scheduled and will contribute to SEAT’s sustainable growth. And they are just the first step of this strategy.”

fleetweet a few soundbites from a month in fleet

@richardaucock Richard Aucock, motoring journalist

New Toyota Prius posting some impressive eco and emissions figures; from 70g/km, up to 94.2mpg. Take that, diesel

@XHNews China Xinhua News Agency

China to build more than 12,000 new chargers by 2020 to meet demands of over 5 million EVs

@JATO_Dynamics JATO Dynamics, data analyst

Hyundai unveils Genesis G90 flagship

H

yundai has previewed the G90 sedan, which will provide the flagship model for its new Genesis luxury brand.

Said to give an insight into the design and direction of the Genesis brand, the sedan is on sale in Korea, badged EQ900, but a spokesperson has hinted that it could also launch in Europe.

Genesis will launch in the Korean, Chinese, North American and Middle Eastern luxury car markets, and will be rolled out to Europe and other parts of Asia as the model range expands. Six models will be offered, badged with a wing‐type emblem and using a new alphanumeric naming system.

France YTD: while big MPVs sales jumped from 23,6k to 24,5k, mid-size SUVs sales surged from 20,9k to 32,3k units

@Automotive_Blog Automotive Blog, media site

Milestone as 1,500,000th FIAT 500 rolls off the production line – just eight years after launch

@ILMagazine Inbound Logistics Magazine

56% of shoppers buying #automotive parts and accessories make their purchases online. #ecommerce

@GregKable Greg Kable, automotive journalist

Following @Porsche's decision to stop US sales of Cayenne V6 TDI, @Volkswagen and @Audi have decided to do same with Tourareg and Q5 V6 TDI

internationalfleetworld.com / 09

The most important meeting of 2015.

The new CLA Shooting Brake. Space and design meets lower emissions. Make a decision for comfort and intelligent energy management. www.mercedes-benz.com/fleet

Provider: Daimler AG, MercedesstraĂ&#x;e 137, 70327 Stuttgart, Germany

A Daimler Brand

environmental news

Oslo city centre to be car-free by 2019

O

slo’s newly‐elected City Council is planning to ban cars from the city centre by the end of the decade, as part of ongoing aims to phase out all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.

Formed of the Oslo Labour Party, the Green Party in Oslo and the Socialist Left Party after three weeks of negotiations, the new government will now serve a four‐ year term and begin plans to make the city a figurehead for sustainability in Europe.

Its plans include gradually phasing out petrol and diesel cars in favour of electric vehicles by the end of the next decade, encouraged by introducing low and zero emission zones within the Ring 3 road and variable tolls to recognise alternative drivetrains and traffic flow.

A network of fast charging points and hydrogen and biofuel vehicles will also be rolled out, and the govern‐ ment will work with taxi fleets in Oslo to help them

switch to electric cars by the end of its four‐year term.

Shore‐supplied power will be provided to docked ships to reduce pollution from the harbour.

It’s hoped that these measures will enable easier use of public transport, walking and cycling by improving air quality, as well as furthering Norway’s already strong electric vehicle market.

The Green Party’s Lan Marie Nguyen Berg said: “We have a few years on us to reduce greenhouse gas emis‐ sions and avoid dangerous climate change. We are very pleased to enter a city council that will enable the city to be a fossil‐free city in fourteen years.

“We'll make it a lot better to ride in Oslo, and the city will be car free during the council period. For the first time Oslo has a city council that will reduce car traffic.

These are concrete measures that will enable the city to be a greener and better city to live in.”

The UK becomes Europe’s fastest-growing plug-in market

T

he United Kingdom recorded Europe’s largest year‐ on‐year increase in plug‐in vehicle sales during the first nine months of 2015, despite the region’s total EV and PHEV market size almost doubling during that time.

Figures from ACEA show the European market for elec‐ tric, plug‐in hybrid and range‐extended electric vehicles grew 79.5% year on year, from 64,235 units in the first nine months of 2014, to 115,297 units in 2015 – now totalling 1.1% of all vehicles registered.

Of these, most (114,560) were registered in Western Europe (EU15 and EFTA countries). The largest market, by volume, is still Norway with 24,996 units registered (22.2% of Norwegian vehicle registrations so far this year).

12 / internationalfleetworld.com

The UK is the region’s second largest (20,996) market, up from the fourth largest in 2014, followed by the Nether‐ lands (18,000), France (15,372) and Germany (14,930).

Ignoring markets of under 1,000 units, it was also the fastest‐growing in percentage terms – up 138.5% on the 8,803 registered during the first nine months of 2014.

Although Norway is already the most established plug‐ in market in Europe, it was also the second fastest growing in terms of volume, up 9,970 units (+64.9%) year on year, followed by France (+7,131 units/+86.5%).

Behind Norway’s 22.2% plug‐in market share (of a market totalling 111,811 units), the Netherlands has the second‐ largest, at 6.0% of the 301,826 units registered there.

For the latest EV news, visit evfleetworld.com

‘Ultimate’ battery takes major step forward

S

cientists at the UK’s University of Cambridge say they’ve made a significant advance in the development of the ‘ultimate’ battery for use in applications including electric and plug‐in hybrid vehicles.

A working laboratory demonstrator of a lithium‐oxygen battery has shown it has ten times the energy density of a lithium‐ion battery, is more than 90% efficient, and, to date, can be recharged more than 2,000 times.

Although over a decade away from production, it’s claimed this could enable an electric car with a battery that is a fifth the cost and weight of those currently on the market to drive the 650km from London to Edinburgh on a single charge.

Professor Clare Grey, of Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry, said: “While there are still plenty of fundamental studies that remain to be done, to iron out some of the mechanistic details, the current results are extremely exciting – we are still very much at the devel‐ opment stage, but we’ve shown that there are solutions to some of the tough problems associated with this technology.”

TfL sets out timescale for ‘zero emission’ taxis and minicabs

T

he Mayor and Trans‐ port for London (TfL) have set out the milestones for electrifying the Capital’s taxi and private hire fleet, in preparation for the Ultra‐ Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) launching in 2020.

As of 1st January 2018, all newly registered taxis will have to drive on elec‐ tricity. TfL has a target of 9,000 ‘zero emission capable’ taxis by 2020, and is offering £5,000 for drivers to decommission vehicles over ten years old – on top of the government’s £5,000 (€7,083) Plug‐in Car Grant and a £3,000 (€4,249) ‘top‐up’ grant.

Private hire fleets have a deadline of 1 January 2023 for all vehicles to be electrically driven. Vehicles registered in the 2018 and 2019 calendar years will have to meet Euro 6 requirements (Euro 4 for petrol hybrids) with a ‘zero emission’ requirement from 1 January 2020 for those under 18 months old. Older vehicles will be required to meet Euro 6.

EV

in brief Rapid charge network launches in New Zealand New Zealand’s first rapid charger went online in October, located in Kaiwaka, a town between Auckland and Northland.

The Australian‐made Veefil unit marks the start of a three‐year project by Char‐ geNet to create a country‐wide network.

Renault-Nissan electrifies COP21 The Renault‐Nissan Alliance provided a fleet of 200 EVs for the 21st United Nations Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris in October. Said to be the largest electric fleet ever deployed, the cars travelled around 240,000 miles transporting delegates from 195 coun‐ tries around the city, complementing public transport.

Fuel cell tech for next Lexus flagship Lexus has hinted that the next LS luxury saloon will feature a hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain. The “not too distant future” LF‐LC concept features a powerful fuel cell system driving the rear wheels, with two in‐wheel motors at the front. The outgoing LS has featured hybrid technology since 2008.

EVtweet of the month @IndoMotoring Just had interesting interview with Toyota Mirai hydrogen Fuel Cell chief engineer Yoshikazu Tanaka.

Expects 30,000 Mirais by 2020.

<75g/km

Source: Honda

Toyota’s next Prius will emit 18% less CO2 than its predecessor – hinting that it could be sub-75g/km.

in numbers

435

The range of Honda’s Clarity Fuel Cell car, which launches in Europe next year.

Source: Toyota Europe

internationalfleetworld.com / 13

business news

Arval completes acquisition of GE Capital Fleet Services in Europe

in brief

rval has announced the finalisation of its acquisition of GE Capital Services’ activities in Europe.

ATheFleet deal was announced in June in line with GE’s plans to create a

Global light vehicle sales up 5.1%

simpler, industrial company. It forms part of a global transaction in which Element Financial Corporation – Arval’s partner in North America – acquired GE’s US, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand fleet businesses.

Arval’s deal of GE’s European fleet operations has now been finalised after having received approvals from the European Commission and all other relevant regulatory authorities.

The deal covers more than 160,000 vehicles in 12 European coun‐ tries, of which France, Germany and the UK represent over 75%; the vehicle assets amounted to €2.4bn as of Q1 2015.

Arval said the deal propels it to the number one position in Europe in the full service vehicle leasing sector, with a leased fleet of 930,000 vehicles worldwide, in 26 countries.

Philippe Bismut, CEO of Arval, said: “We are very happy to welcome colleagues and clients of European GE Capital fleet services. Our clients will now benefit from greater geographical coverage and we’ll be redoubling our efforts to ensure our service quality and provide them with expert advice.”

Shell and TomTom Telematics join forces

T

omTom Telematics and Shell have announced a new partnership to offer businesses in Europe a complete fuel management solution.

The new service will see the euroShell Cards data integrated into TomTom Telematics’ WEBFLEET platform to combine fuel transactions and fuel management information in one system.

Parminder Kohli, general manager business development at Shell Commercial Fleet, said: “This deal provides customers with a complete solution combining one of the telematics industry’s richest reporting suites with Shell’s fuel card expertise and one of the largest petrol station networks in Europe.

“Fuel is amongst the biggest cost factors when running a vehicle fleet.

However, by providing businesses with driver, vehicle and fuelling data insights, areas for improvement can be more easily identified and acted on, helping these businesses to reduce their costs and carbon footprint.”

Light vehicle sales across the globe rebounded after the summer slow‐ down, according to latest figures from LMC Automotive. The rise of 5.1% was the result of a resurgence in China and a booming US market as well as a solid West European result, helping to offset weaker markets in Russia and Brazil.

GreenRoad launches updated driver app GreenRoad has launched the latest version of its driver behaviour mobile app. The fleet performance manage‐ ment solution has been designed to address real‐time driver behaviour and coaching, vehicle tracking, vehi‐ cle maintenance, hours of service and fuel usage optimisation.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car rolls out new websites Intended to bring a simplified reservation process, new websites have been launched by Enterprise Rent‐A‐Car in a number of European markets. The sites form part of a phased roll‐out of digital enhance‐ ments across its European opera‐ tions and are live in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Ireland.

Octo Telematics adds fleet services to GM’s OnStar lobal telematics provider Octo Telematics has partnered with G General Motors to provide usage‐based insurance (UBI) and fleet management solutions for fleets using GM’s OnStar technology.

Volvo to roll out live traffic service

The new services will be available to insurers and fleet/leasing compa‐ nies across Europe starting in Q2 2016 and will enable commercial fleets to access data relating to vehicle location, odometer, fuel consumption and other maintenance information on their GM connected vehicles.

Jon Hyde, managing director at OnStar Europe, said: “Insurance is a ‘must have’ for insurers and fleet operators and the combination of Octo and OnStar can help drivers improve their safety on the road and achieve insurance discounts through good driving, all helping to lower the cost of motoring.”

Volvo is to launch a new live traffic service to provide drivers with real‐ time information on routes, travel times and alerts to accidents and incidents. The INRIX Traffic service will debut in the new Volvo XC90 before being made available on all future models across 42 countries.

14 / internationalfleetworld.com

Meet the game changer

The new Hyundai Tucson

This is the car that demonstrates the power of change. Bold, expressive design, a completely new platform and class-leading internal dimensions combine to make the all-new Tucson an unbeatable package. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a wide-opening panorama roof, smooth-changing 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and other desirable features that are unique in this class.

Competitive pricing, low operating costs and high residual values make the all-new Tucson an ideal fleet vehicle. But the major attractions are the way it looks and the way it drives. The new Hyundai Tucson. Change is good.

Combined fuel consumption for the Tucson range: 4.6 - 7.6 l/100 km. Combined CO2 emissions for the Tucson range: 119 - 177 g/km. The 5-year unlimited mileage warranty is valid in all EU member states + EFTA. Warranty is subject to local terms and conditions. For taxi or rental usage model specific restrictions apply.

For more information, visit www.hyundai.com/eu

SPOTLIGHT Toyota Mirai

Future perfect Driven using electricity, fuelled by hydrogen and emitting only water vapour, the Mirai is Toyota’s most important launch since the original Prius. Alex Grant drives it.

How it works Toyota believes hydrogen fuel cells will be as important as hybrid technology, now widely used across the automotive industry. It promises a lot – a 500km range replenished in less than five minutes, with water vapour as its only exhaust emission.

Many of the patents are being provided to other manufacturers to accelerate development, and BMW’s first hydrogen fuel cell car will use technology shared with Toyota.

The process is similar to reverse electrolysis.

Hydrogen is drawn into the fuel cell ‘stack’ under the front seats where it’s split into positive and negative ions using a catalytic membrane. Electrons are passed through a circuit, creating electricity which is used to drive the front wheels via a motor. The hydrogen combines with oxygen from the air to produce water vapour.

Otherwise, it functions a little like a hybrid.

There’s a battery behind the rear bench which can recuperate enough energy to power the electric motor under low loads, in turn reducing hydrogen consumption as a hybrid would curb petrol consumption. That there’s a family resemblance to the forthcoming Prius is no coincidence.

Sales and range structure The Mirai is available in one, high-spec version and can be bought outright. However, most customers are likely to lease the car instead. This includes fuel, servicing and maintenance and 24/7 assistance.

Vehicles will be re-sold or re-leased at the end of the term, as per normal fleet vehicles.

Infrastructure is the biggest limiting factor. Hydrogen is dispensed at two pressures, and the Mirai requires the higher of these, enabling it to carry more ‘fuel’ and thus offer a longer range. There are compatible stations across the European launch markets of Denmark, Germany and the UK. Toyota expects to register a fleet-weighted annual volume of between 50 and 100 units split evenly between these countries through the Mirai's life cycle. Sales are also underway in California and Japan.

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FLEET FACT Mirai is the Japanese word for “future”.

On the road Driving the Mirai will feel familiar for anyone who has spent time in a Toyota or Lexus hybrid. There’s a short gearstick on the centre console with simulated engine braking, a large display screen across the top of its swopping leather-wrapped dashboard, and the electric motor delivers its 155hp smoothly and effortlessly up to motorway speeds. It drives like a very quiet Prius.

However, it’s as luxurious as a large Lexus. Ride quality is excellent, wind noise almost non-existent and there’s only faint tyre roar at speed – only a few slightly sub-par hard cabin plastics belie its purchase price. Toyota has leased two Mirais to London-based private hire operator Green Tomato Cars and, from the sofa-like comfort of the two-seat rear bench, it should get passengers talking.

What we think...

The Mirai’s distinctive styling is a moot point, but the technology underneath is impressive. A clever and impeccably executed luxury car which shows how market-ready hydrogen fuel cells have become. The forward-thinking businesses adopting this technology early have a fascinating few years ahead of them. AG

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FEATURE Telematics

Telematics set for take-off Take-up for telematics for car fleets has been slow, but introduced in the right way, can bring rewards for both fleets and drivers, reckons Steve Banner.

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hile truck, bus and even van fleets have happily embraced telematics in markets all over the world, car fleets have been far more reluctant to invest.

Issues of personal privacy have to be addressed given that so many company car drivers enjoy private usage of their vehicles; and while truck drivers in many countries have been used to having their activities monitored by tachographs for many years, that is not the case with sales teams. The last thing any business wants to do is have its entire sales force decamp to the opposition because it decided to fit their cars with tracking devices.

There are signs that car fleet attitudes are changing however, as managers realise the benefits investing in a telemat‐ ics package can bring, says ALD Interna‐ tional deputy chief executive officer, Tim Albertsen. “Over 40% of our clients are now saying that they want a telematics solution,” he reports.

“We are receiving more enquiries from car fleets than ever before,” says Lucy Thomas, account manager at GreenRoad.

“We believe that attitudes have changed.”

Having the ability to monitor drivers while they are out on the road means that they are less likely to speed.

Better safety, security and lower CO2 emissions Include a dashboard‐mounted system that flags up a warning if they are, say, acceler‐ ating too harshly – the sort of package that GreenRoad and MiX Telematics market – and allows driver behaviour data to be downloaded for subsequent discussion with the fleet manager and there should be fewer accidents, fewer speeding tickets, lower fuel costs and a smaller CO2 footprint.

The insights into driver behaviour that

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on‐board monitoring can provide can help when it comes to targeting driver training programmes that are tailored to the needs of the individual. The benefits that telem‐ atics brings should also mean that the fleet’s insurance premium will fall.

“Remember that if a car has a tracking device fitted to it then it can be traced and hopefully recovered if it is stolen,” says Albertsen.

“Recovery of vehicles goes up dramatically if tracking is fitted.”

Jamie Requeijo Gutierrez, LeasePlan

“Car theft remains a particular issue in Italy and the recovery of vehicles goes up dramatically if tracking is fitted,” says Jaime Requeijo Gutierrez, senior vice‐ president, business development, at LeasePlan. “Fraudulent insurance claims are a problem in Italy too and a telemat‐ ics system makes it easier for fleets to defend themselves.” That too is good news for insurance bills.

“Depending on the country some insurers may be prepared to offer upfront premium discounts of from 20% to 40%,” points out Richard Lane, Euro‐ pean distribution and partnership manager at C‐Track.

“Telematics can be used to promote and support safe driving to both the employee’s and the employer’s benefit,” adds Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions managing director, Jon Lawes. “A telemat‐ ics system can be a valuable support tool

to a driver if he or she is involved in an incident and can even go on to provide evidence to prove who was at fault.”

“You can use it as a tool that enables you to manage a mobile workforce and increase its productivity,” comments Arval technology director, Paul Gourlet.

“You can also use it to enforce company fleet car policy and make sure everybody plays the game as well as evaluating it from time to time to ensure the rules still make sense and are up‐to‐date.”

Arval has its own telematics offer in the shape of Arval Active Link, which it launched earlier this year.

Consultation brings rewards The sensitivities of company car drivers mean however that such packages cannot simply be imposed on them without any warning or consultation.

“Do that and they will try to cheat the system and tamper with it,” says Gourlet.

You have to ensure you have the commit‐ ment of their line managers too, he adds.

“If people think that it is simply a toy for the fleet manager then it won’t work.”

Trying to force a package on drivers is especially unwise in countries where trade unions are strong and where companies may have works councils that include union representatives, as is the case in Germany. “I know of one fleet where the employer tried to do this and 80% of the workforce affected reacted by taking industrial action,” says Lane.

The fleet concerned reconsidered its approach, decided it would be wiser to work with the union instead, and took the time and trouble to convince its drivers and their union that telematics could bring some positive benefits. Doing so can include allaying any fears they may have that the boss is spying on them 24/7.

Driver incentivisation

“Telematics can be used to promote and support safe driving to both the employee’s and the employer’s benefit.”

“You can incorporate a setting which allows drivers to switch their telematics devices between business and private use,” points out John Cameron, general manager of Trimble Field Service Management.

“While the individual is driving for work businesses will be able to comply with duty of care regulations by monitoring and recording driver behaviour as well as obtaining journey details,” he says.

“However once a driver switches to private use only mileage is recorded whereas any journey details and driver behaviour statistics will not be.”

Trimble has telematics clients in a number of different countries worldwide including Atlantic Tower Services and Eaton Sales and Service in the USA. “Something else you can do is offer the best drivers bonuses,” says Albertsen.

Rewards could be offered to those who are shown to have the lowest fuel consumption or the fewest accidents over a given period.

Privacy Any firm that invests in tracking must ensure that it does not fall foul of privacy laws. “Germany for example has strict legislation in this area,” says Lane.

“In Sweden the tracking of company

cars is quite common thanks in part to some tough rules over the ways in which business and private mileage are treated for tax purposes,” he continues. Accurate records have to be kept of both – a requirement in many other countries and one that has implications for the driver’s own personal tax liability ‐ and a telematics‐based tracking package is the best way to do it.

It is a vital ingredient too when it comes to managing car‐sharing and mobility schemes that involve a variety of different modes of transport and that are being rolled out in a number of markets.

There are tight restrictions over the use Swedish employers may make of the data such packages can glean, however, Lane warns.

“If for example you suspect that a salesman has not been making all the sales calls that he claims he has then you cannot go trawling through the telemat‐ ics records to check prior to discussing it with him,” he points out. “If a customer rings up and complains that the sales‐ man has not been to see him when he said he would however then you are allowed to do so.”

There has to be an outside trigger; you are not allowed to go on an unprompted fishing expedition.

“On the other hand Spain and Italy are

internationalfleetworld.com / 19

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FEATURE Telematics

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comparatively relaxed about privacy legisla‐ tion,” Gourlet remarks. “In the Czech Republic tracking devices are fitted in a lot of company cars and are widely accepted, again because they allow private and professional mileage to be reported separately,” says Gutierrez.

“The fact is that you have to adjust your offer in line with what local legislation will permit,” he continues, “We like to think that Europe for example is a homogenous market; but it isn’t.”

“And when you’re considering privacy just remember that we all carry smartphones and that means we can be tracked 24 hours a day,” Albertsen comments. “People know where you are,” agrees Gutierrez, who suggests that – notwithstanding today’s legal restric‐ tions – getting on for 100% of new cars will be fitted with a tracking device by 2025.

Private number Its worth remembering that we all carry smartphones and that means we can be tracked 24/7

Duty of Care Laws governing the duty of care employers have towards their employees are favouring the introduction of a telem‐ atics solution. This includes the European Union’s Lone Worker Directive, which obliges businesses to have mech‐ anisms in place designed to help protect members of staff whose job means that they regularly have to work on their own away from home base.

“Ignore such requirements and you will eventually attract serious liabilities,” warns Gourlet. “Businesses oper‐ ating vehicle fleets of any size have a duty of care to ensure that their employees are safe on the road,” observes Cameron. “Many understandably have a need to implement risk management policies to comply with legislation and to avoid any potential road accidents or corporate manslaughter charges.”

“Car fleets have been late into the telematics market but that is changing, and risk management is a big motivating factor so far as some fleets are concerned,” observes Matt Hague, executive director, product strategy, at Microlise.

“Indeed it can be a more significant motivating factor than fuel economy though a telematics solution may be able to improve economy by from 25% to 40%.”

Last year Microlise announced its first move into the Indian telematics sector through a tie‐up with Tata Motors.

Whereas telematics systems have traditionally been hard‐wired into vehicles that is now no longer essential, says Thomas. “When car fleets are considering driver behaviour monitoring systems then the mobile option is typically the one that is most cost‐effective because the technology can be downloaded directly to the driver’s existing mobile device,” she points out.

That means far less capital expenditure.

OnStar on hand to help In the event of a collision (detected by airbag deployment or other sensors), General Motors' OnStar Advanced Automatic Collision Notification can automatically send information about the vehicle's condition and GPS location to OnStar call centres worldwide.

The service is designed to assist emergency response efforts and advise the driver on the safest course of action. This OnStar feature can provide particular benefits for lone workers operating in remote locations.

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SIMPLY CLEVER

INVEST IN THE SPACE PROGRAMME.

Combined fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for the Superb model: 4.0–6.2 l/100 km, 100–165 g/km

The New ŠKODA Superb. With attractive TCO. Employees want to travel in style. The CFO wants to travel on a budget. Finally, as Fleet Manager, you can satisfy them both with the new Superb. With class-leading spaciousness and dynamic design this car is stylish yet practical. And with minimum operating costs and low emissions, it could be your most efficient employee ever. Add to it some of the finest safety and connectivity features available today, and this car is an incredible return on your fleet investment. skoda-auto.com

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TELEMATICS Alphabet

Apps on the move Alphabet has re-launched its AlphaGuide mobile app, responding to customer requirements.

John Kendall reports.

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obile applications, ‘apps’ have brought a new dimension to telematics for fleet drivers by helping them to find useful information or mak‐ ing bookings on the move from a mobile phone. Apps can also be flexible, expanding what can be offered to suit customer demand and responding to developments in software capability.

Alphabet has recently re‐designed and re‐launched its AlphaGuide app, having analysed and evaluated the real‐ life journeys made by users of the app. The company

Images copyright Alphabet

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK Customers were clear about what they wanted from the new app. For a start, they wanted rapid access to their own con‐ tract information and booked services. They also wanted support for their mobility needs throughout the day, which triggered the integration with the smart phone calendar. A ‘mobility timeline’ is automatically created from the events calendar and lets the user know when to get ready for the next event. The app will remind the user when to set off for an appointment and provide a reminder of the day’s agenda.

Once on your journey, the app can provide an overview of all available services. Users can search for these using the app. The nearest tyre service partner can be found, as well as fuel stations and electric vehicle charging points. The app even includes a ‘hotline’ button, in case users experience any issues with Alphabet Services.

The AlphaGuide app has been developed for Apple, Android and Windows smart phones, giving comprehen‐ sive coverage for different phone users. In addition, Apple and Android app versions are also compatible with Apple and Android smartwatches, giving notifications about upcoming departures.

“Accidents happen and when they do, AlphaGuide helps to sort them out as easily as possible.” wanted to identify common issues that drivers face and devise new features to help them. The new AlphaGuide has been designed to make life easier for drivers and fleet man‐ agers and make Alphabet’s services easily accessible for cus‐ tomers. The app offers a range of services from service booking to breakdown services and accident management.

Regular updates will ensure that the company can respond to changing user needs and developments. New functions and features will be added as they are developed. For instance, German users can check driving licences via the app.

ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT Accidents happen and when they do, AlphaGuide helps to sort them out as easily as possible. Because accidents are rare, the app contains a detailed guide to steer drivers through the things they need to do. This starts by focussing advice on the things that need to be done, such as securing the scene of the accident and calling the emergency serv‐ ices. Later the app provides a direct phone link to Alphabet or alternatively enables the user to file a damage report.

Damage can be instantly reported and sent on by email, including photographs of the damage scene.

LICENCE CHECKING The licence check feature for German users of the app will be available from December 2015 and is compatible with all German driving licences. New photocard licences can be checked easily, while an older licence can also be checked once a QR code sticker has been applied to it.

Smart image processing technology is used to verify the authenticity of the licence, by scanning it on both sides.

Once complete, the licence check is valid for the following six months before another is needed. The advantage is that the licence check can be performed anywhere at any time, meaning the driver does not have to visit his office to carry out the check.

AlphaGuide is designed to offer convenience for fleet operators as much as for drivers by reducing the number of administrative tasks that are needed. Because the driver can log in to his or her contract data, fleet managers will not need to tell drivers when vehicle return is due, for instance. If an accident happens, all the relevant informa‐ tion is filed rapidly via the app, ensuring that the driver provides all the information requested. Information can then be processed as quickly as possible.

internationalfleetworld.com / 23

INTERVIEW Klaus Maier, Mercedes-Benz Vans

Going global Russia, South America, the US – where next for Mercedes-Benz light commercial vehicle sales? Asks Steve Banner. hence the name, which Mercedes views as being more culturally acceptable than Vito – that need a compact panel van for last‐mile deliveries.

“We’ve launched it in the USA with a petrol engine,” he adds; a wise step given the impact of the Volkswagen diesel emissions debacle. What about Europe? “Demand will be very strong for our entire range over the next two to three years,” Maier predicts.

Power options

K

laus Maier is a happy man. As global head of sales and marketing at Mercedes‐Benz Vans he saw his operation’s worldwide registrations reach 294,600 in 2014; a better performance than was achieved in any one of the previous five years.

The success story has continued in 2015, with all models of the Vito/V‐Class launched in 2014 now available – “we’ve just launched Vito in South America,” he reports – and Sprinter and Citan still comparatively new products.

The result of a joint venture with Renault, Citan has just received a minor makeover driven in part by the require‐ ments of Euro 6 – achieved in this case without any need to resort to AdBlue to keep its diesel engines compliant – and in petrol guise is about to become available with a dual‐ clutch gearbox as an option.

Under the slogan ‘Van goes global’ Maier and his colleagues are even managing to make progress in markets that are not without their problems.

Riding Russian sales “In Russia we saw a 16% increase in registrations in the first nine months of 2015 and we’re now the second‐ biggest van brand in the country,” Maier reports. “That should stand us in good stead for the future.”

And it is the future Maier is looking to as well as the present. “Russia, China and South America all have great potential and in the long term we have to build up our presence in all of these places,” he observes.

In Russia the van operation has local assembly arrange‐ ments with GAZ and YaMZ in Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl respectively, it assembles Vito and Sprinter at Fuzhou in China and builds Sprinters in Gonzalez Catan in Argentina.

It is not neglecting the USA either (it assembles Sprint‐ ers in Charleston) and has launched Vito there as the Metris. The idea is to appeal to metropolitan businesses ‐

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Customers who postponed swapping their light commer‐ cials during the recent recession will doubtless be replac‐ ing them; but what power source will they choose given the growing hostility towards diesels almost regardless of VW’s current travails and the apparent desire of big‐city politicians (London and Paris both spring to mind) to drive them off the streets?

“If legal requirements and the attitudes of customers change then we have the resources to offer petrol engines instead, or alternative fuel solutions,” he replies.

It is a strategy that has its own risks. Mercedes has marketed a relatively expensive, electric version of Vito in the recent past and sales were by no means enormous.

“Vito E‐Cell didn’t do terribly well because people wouldn’t pay for it,” he remarks.

Pick-up to join the range As well as increasing sales of existing models Mercedes‐ Benz will be extending its range with the addition of a purpose‐built pick‐up developed as a joint venture with the Renault‐Nissan Alliance under a five‐year deal. The first vehicle of its type to be marketed by the Three‐ Pointed Star, it will use the same platform as the new Nissan Navara which in turn will also be shared by Renault; another newcomer to the pick‐up sector.

“If you’re going to succeed in Asia, South Africa and Australia then you need a pick‐up and we’ve often thought about adding one to our range,” Maier says.

He would not be drawn on a launch date – “let’s say within the next few years” – but it looks set to be in Mercedes dealerships by 2020.

The van range has of course shrunk slightly with the demise of the ‐ admittedly niche‐market – Vario which had a small but nonetheless loyal following and disappeared just over two years ago. Mercedes has managed to persuade some long‐standing Vario loyalists to replace it with some of the bigger models in the Sprinter line‐up

“In Russia we saw a 16% increase in registrations in the first nine months of 2015 and we’re now the second-biggest van brand in the country.” however; with long‐wheelbase 513 BlueTECs converted by German bodybuilder Spier going into service with parcels carrier UPS in Germany, the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Mercedes showcased the advantages of Sprinter and other models in its light commercial portfolio as platforms for everything from ambulances and compact fire appliances to mobile X‐ray machines capable of detecting stowaways in trucks at its recent TecForum 2015 event in Hamburg, Germany.

Capacity constraints Far from struggling to sell vehicles, Mercedes could sell more in some countries, Maier believes, were it not for production capacity limitations. He is think‐ ing in particular of the situation at the Sprinter plants at Ludwigsfelde (chassis cabs) and Dussel‐ dorf in Germany (vans) which have to allocate some of their output to Crafter thanks to a long‐standing deal with Volkswagen.

“This agreement comes to an end in 2016 however, so we’ll be able to dedicate both factories solely to Sprinter from 2017 onwards,” he says.

That will boost Sprinter output across the two sites by 20%, he adds.

In the meantime they are building as many Sprint‐ ers as they can within the constraints placed on them. “Ludwigsfelde has never built so many as it is building now,” Maier says.

Mercedes is already investing heavily in both loca‐ tions spending €300m on Dusseldorf – the company says it is turning it into the competence centre for global Sprinter production – and €150m on Ludwigs‐ felde in anticipation of the launch of the next Sprinter.

Might some of those Sprinters – Vitos and Citans too for that matter – be driverless in future? Don’t rule it out says Maier – if not completely autonomous then they could at least be semi‐ autonomous.

“So far as parcels deliveries are concerned I can envisage for example the driver walking into the back to pick the next package to be delivered while the van is finding its way to the destination concerned,” he suggests. That is certainly a possi‐ bility; just so long as the driver does not fall over while the vehicle is in motion and injure himself or herself in the process.

internationalfleetworld.com / 25

FEATURE Connected Cars

Information on the move The Connected Horizon could bring a range of benefits for fleets, improving safety and reducing costs, reckons Bosch. John Kendall reports.

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ill we have to re‐define what we know today as telematics? As technologies develop, the simple exchange of data between a moving vehicle and fleet manager to determine where the vehicle is, how it is being driven and providing a messaging function is going to become the basics of a wider system of connectivity. This is partly to open up further communication possibilities and partly to help prepare the way for autonomous driving.

“The Cloud data from the Connected Horizon would give information on the location of a traffic jam and where it is likely to end.”

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Connected Horizon Bosch displayed a number of new systems at the recent IAA Frankfurt Show includ‐ ing what the company terms the ‘Connected Horizon’. Manfred Baden is the President Car Multimedia at Bosch and he explained to IFW what Connected Horizon means: “This is more than an electronic horizon,” he says, “An electronic horizon is static and it’s already on‐board when the car is delivered. Connected Horizon means you have dynamic updates from

the Cloud. This is also a very important pre‐condition for automated driving.”

Bosch expects that the first phase of auto‐ mated driving, using motorways, is likely to be introduced soon after 2020.

The Cloud data from the Connected Horizon would give information on the location of a traffic jam and where it is likely to end, as well as the location of road works, which can sometimes be mobile, so dynamic and precise data could help drivers to avoid affected roads.

The more connected cars there are using the roads, the more data can be collected, giving accurate information on any section of road.

“The connected horizon is not only an enabler for automated driving,” continues Baden, “But also for electrification. What we see is three major trends, connected, automated, electrified.

“So if I take electrified with the Connected Horizon, you can get static data about the geography of the road, but you also get dynamic data and from this, you can give information to the power‐ train on where it makes sense to use the e‐machine (electric motor).

“Afterwards you will have the opportu‐ nity for energy recovery to get the energy back, so you have the right information.”

Efficiency improvements This information is already available on some cars and commercial vehicles. This gives the vehicle information that there is a hill ahead and it can accelerate in advance to maintain momentum in the hill climb before allowing the vehicle to descend the other side without power.

“They have an efficiency increase for example of 10% less fuel consumption, so it’s very productive for trucks and buses,” continues Baden, “Now with the Connected Horizon you can also do this with hybrid cars. Looking into the future, where is a charging station available? Can I book it? How far can I travel with the charge available and what are the best ways to go? Using the navigation system and Connected Horizon you can also choose a way that gives you more range, depending on traffic and the geography.”

app for the purpose called MySPIN. It will link an Android or Apple smartphone to the car’s infotainment system, allowing a number of apps to be operated from the vehicle’s infotainment display.

Not all drivers will want to carry the potential additional smartphone costs on their mobile phone contract though and Bosch also offers a connectivity control unit (CCU) as an alternative. The CCU contains a wireless module and SIM card and can be equipped with a GPS module. It can either be fitted as original equipment or via the car’s OBD socket.

Fleet operator benefits Bosch also sees benefits for fleet opera‐ tors using connected fleet management.

To use this service, the CCU transmits journey and service data securely to Bosch servers for analysis. Fleets can use the data to help plan operations, leasing agreements as well as service and repair visits. Bosch claims that service costs and service downtime would be reduced.

The company is also planning to intro‐ duce ‘augmented reality’ in workshops. A service technician would use a tablet computer and its built‐in camera. The camera image would be overlaid with additional information and repair instruc‐ tions relating precisely to the area displayed on the screen. The technician can manipulate the overlaid objects using the touch screen and call up further infor‐ mation. This would eliminate the need for a service handbook, since all the detailed data would be stored on a Bosch server.

Bosch has also developed Drivelog

Connect – a connectivity solution that could also be used for older cars. To oper‐ ate, it just needs a wireless dongle and a smartphone app. The system would then be able to offer advice on eco‐driving and also show error codes in an easily under‐ standable form. Drivelog Connect could also contact a breakdown service and workshop if needed. It would also provide a digital logbook for fleet drivers to help with record keeping.

Wrong way driving Bosch is also developing a system to reduce the number of accidents caused by drivers entering motorways and driv‐ ing the wrong way. Every year in Germany, radio stations broadcast around 2,000 warnings about cars that are driving the wrong way along motor‐ ways. Bosch estimates that nearly a third of these incidents result in an accident, sometimes fatal, by the time the vehicle has travelled 500 metres.

A radio transmission cannot be broad‐ cast fast enough to offer an effective warn‐ ing to road users. Bosch is using the Cloud to develop a new system that would alert drivers within 10 seconds. The system could either be incorporated as a soft‐ ware module into existing infotainment systems or apps. The Cloud‐based func‐ tion would compare the vehicle’s direc‐ tion of travel with the permitted direction of travel, stored in a web‐based database.

If the two directions do not agree, both the driver heading the wrong way and oncoming cars can be alerted. Bosch plans to have this system available in 2016.

Automated driving needs dynamic data “Turning to automated driving, here you need more dynamic data. Are there road works? Is there a speed limit? Is there a bend in the road where you have to pay attention? You can also use the Connected Horizon for predictive assistance systems.

Let’s assume that a car is driving with another. ESC (electronic stability control) is used, you have weather information.

You know it is cold and wet, you could have dangerous fog forming,” Baden says.

Bosch sees two systems to connect cars to the internet. The first uses the driver’s smartphone and Bosch has developed an

internationalfleetworld.com / 27

STRATEGY Autonomous Driving

Coast-to-coast A coast-to-coast crossing of the US in 2015 showed that autonomous driving is a viable technology. John Kendall asked what was learned from the experience.

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utonomous driving, where vehicles use sensors and computers to automate the driving of a vehi‐ cle is perhaps the ultimate use of telematics. What is certain is that since human error is a factor in around 90% of road accidents, the pressure for autonomous driving to help reduce those deaths and injuries will ensure that it becomes a reality in the next 10 years. It could also play a part in reducing CO2 emissions by avoid‐ ing harsh acceleration and braking.

We won’t see a sudden switch to autonomous driving.

There are still issues to resolve, including technical and legal questions. The expected sequence of events is a grad‐ ual rollout with progressively more assistance, before a fully autonomous car becomes a reality.

Motor industry supplier Delphi, which supplies a range of components to motor manufacturers from fuel

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injection equipment to electrical and electronic com‐ ponents makes many of the sensors and systems used in the driver assistance and safety systems that are at the core of autonomous driving.

Coast-to-coast with 99% autonomy Earlier this year, Delphi staged a 5,470km drive with an autonomous Audi SQ5 from San Francisco to New York, via, Los Angeles, Phoenix Arizona, El Paso Texas, Dallas Texas, Jackson Mississippi, Atlanta Georgia, Durham North Carolina, Philadelphia Pennsylvania and Washington DC. Delphi was the first manufacturer to fit radar to a car in 1999. Sales of active safety components (such as elec‐ tronic stability control (ESC) and active cruise control (ACC) systems are rising and such systems will be fundamental to autonomous driving.

We asked Delphi chief technology officer Jeff Owens what the company had learned from the test. “We did the drive as a learning opportunity. It ended up generating a lot of pub‐ licity, but that was really unexpected”, he says. The car com‐ pleted the journey driven autonomously for 99% of the distance. “That’s a tremendous achievement, but far ahead of where we expected it would be.

“The car has 20 sensors on it and of course you would never do that with a production vehicle,” says Owens. The company wanted to test the various types of sensor – radar, camera, Lidar (laser light sensor) and vehicle‐to‐vehicle sys‐ tems, to see which ones worked better in certain situations.

3TB of data were collected during the test, which Delphi is still evaluating. “We found out things that you could only experience on the road,” continues Owens, “The actual real live conditions that you and I as a driver navigate all the time.

If you are going to have a computer make those decisions, you have to have that factored into the algorithms.

“For example, we learned that radar works extremely well in all kinds of weather. That’s important. We learned that vision (cameras) is a nice add‐on to radar, but vision will occa‐ sionally have problems, for instance with a low sun angle and problems in inclement weather because it’s an optical system.

coverage around the vehicle. “Your going to have a long‐ range radar to detect objects that you are closing on 200m away,” reckons Owens, “When you add vision to that – vision does a few things that radar can’t do and radar does things that vision can’t do, so the two give nice cov‐ erage. I think that will be a favourite implementation from manufacturers around the world. Vehicle‐to‐vehicle input would be a third input and I believe that will be mandated in the United States to come to the roads, probably within four years. That’s another input that you can’t get with radar or vision.

“Then if you go for fully autonomous, you’re going to have Lidar. It’s faster than radar for getting information”, contin‐ ues Owens, “It gives you some positional information around the car and it also helps you locate exactly where that car is. Today with GPS you can get it down to the size of a laptop, but you need to know precisely where you are to keep you in the centre of the lane or make manoeuvres and that will take something like Lidar, but it’s expensive.”

That will rule it out of the early stages of autonomous driving but Owens thinks that as we progress to the stages where control systems take full control of the car, Lidar will be needed.

Lane markings “We learned that lane markings in the United States are quite different in every State. We knew there were differ‐ ences but they are really different. Sometimes it’s a solid line, sometimes a dotted line – sometimes long dots, some‐ times short and almost in all cases they were worn to some degree or dirty, so a little more difficult to see. Some munic‐ ipalities just have reflective material and don’t even have lines. In any case you rely on your systems to know where the lane boundaries are, so you can position the vehicle cor‐ rectly. We will take that knowledge back into making our individual sensors more effective.

“A significant part of the learning was the vehicle control algorithms,” says Owens, “You’ve got all the sensor input and you want to bring all this together and evaluate where you are in a total scenario analysis all around the vehicle. To take the place of the driver, you need algorithms that digest all that and then decide, ‘If this happens, I’m going to go here, if that happens, I’m going to brake fast, if this happens, I can’t go here because there’s a guard rail or there’s a car beside me, or whatever.”

Regulation In technology terms, we have most of the technologies that will be needed to implement autonomous driving but the legal issues are among those that could prove the most dif‐ ficult to resolve. Owens agrees, “I think that is one of the big problems to be resolved and it’s everywhere, it isn’t just the EU, it’s certainly in the United States and around the world.

I think the good news is they want to find a solution.

“Rosekind, the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis‐ tration (NHTSA) Administrator in the United States, recently called for the automotive industry to make active safety standard equipment on their vehicles. So he fully appreciates that this is a big opportunity to significantly reduce accidents and fatalities. The technology has moved to a performance level where everybody is confident of the performance. The cost has come down. It really is a signif‐ icant improvement opportunity, but that said, he called for it to be standard equipment, but that doesn’t make it law and that doesn’t set a timetable.

“Everybody is sold on the technology, but the best path to get it in and to navigate some of the regulatory issues and the legal framework, I think that remains to be seen.”

The way ahead could be through NCAP. In Europe only cars with active safety systems can be awarded a five‐star rating. The US is following a similar path.

All-round monitoring Production cars for autonomous driving are likely to have a variety of sensors around the car to provide 360°

internationalfleetworld.com / 29

IAM REPORT Mexico

Driving in Mexico If you go to Mexico on business and are required to drive, you are likely to be in for a bit of a surprise, reckons the UK Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

E

xpecting a chaotic and haphazard experience? Well that’s not the case at all. Many of the country’s major routes have been extensively renewed and are signif‐ icantly safer than before.

Since the early 1990s, Mexico has invested large amounts of money to upgrade its interstate road network. Most of those roads are tolled, and are more expensive than the USA. However these roads are modern, well maintained and four‐lanes wide, apart from rugged mountainous areas.

Alternatively, you can travel on Mexico’s non‐tolled inter‐ state roads for free, they are known as ‘carreteras federales.’

Be warned through – they are often very slow two‐lane high‐ ways and you are very likely to get stuck behind slow‐ moving traffic. The maintenance of these roads is poor, so look out for potholes and other hazards.

Renting a car is very easy in Mexico, and there are plenty of reputable outlets to do this from. You are strongly advised to do this rather than bringing a vehicle from across the border. If nothing else, it will help you blend into your surroundings easier.

If you choose to follow maps to get around, you won’t get a true picture of Mexican driving. You would be advised to look on the internet for a digital guide, and definitely use a satellite‐navigation system.

It is important for you to carry your driver and vehicle

30 / internationalfleetworld.com

documentation at all times when you are driving in Mexico.

Traffic police are allowed to ask to see your licence and car registration card, known as the ‘tarjeta de circulacion’ at any time. It is advisable to keep your car insurance papers with you too.

If you’re renting a car in Mexico, apart from the docu‐ ments above, your rental company will provide the other necessary documentation you need.

If your business takes you to Mexico City, most overseas travellers avoid driving themselves. Mexico City is extremely congested and journey times for even mid‐range distances are often one hour plus — and considerably longer during the early morning rush hour, and again between 6pm and 9pm.

And you will need to keep your wits about you in Mexico City! Drivers in Mexico often don’t use their indicators, and are unlikely to let you in from a side road either.

Cars may be in a poorer condition than you might be used to in Europe or the US; bald tyres, no headlights or rear lights and faulty brake lights are commonplace – so other drivers might not see you or react as quickly as you might think.

Away from the city, smaller and local roads have often deteriorated badly. Watch out for potholes, which can be deep and severe.

Driving at night in Mexico, especially in rural areas, is to be avoided. Those big potholes are often marked only by cones which are impossible to see after dark. Roads and lanes might not be painted and signs unlit – if you have to drive after dark, stick to the main highways.

In conclusion, choose carefully when and where to drive if you are going to Mexico – otherwise, stay alert and drive defensively.

internationalfleetworld.com

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NEWS from the global fleet community

INSIGHT from experts into the fleet industry

ADVICE best practice for running your fleet

REMARKETING Mexico

Mexico gears up for change

Mexico is Autorola’s latest global subsidiary to be set up at a time when domestic new car sales and automotive production are reaching record levels.

M

exico as a country is benefitting from a renais‐ sance currently as more private investment is heading the country’s way as the government has carried out reforms to energy, telecoms, education and tax.

Just recently AT&T has completed two major acquisitions of Mexican telecoms providers and with this, greater exter‐ nal investment brings with it more and better paid jobs, and one key sector that is already benefitting from this is the automotive industry.

Honda, Mazda and Nissan have increased or started produc‐ tion in Mexico since 2013 and BMW, Kia, Daimler and Toyota have announced plans to start production in the coming years.

GM and Ford have also announced multi billion dollar invest‐ ment in engine and assembly plant expansion.

As the number of private industry jobs increases for the country’s growing middle classes, Mexican workers will have more disposable income to buy cars which suggests new car sales will continue to grow over the coming years.

On the back of this positive economic news comes the fact that online global remarketing company Autorola has set up its 18th wholly owned subsidiary in Mexico City in recent weeks to add to its recent investment in Brazil, its first in south America.

With all the new car growth comes a need for Mexico’s used car industry to become more sophisticated and better equipped to deal with the ongoing growth in used car numbers coming back from part exchanges and the company car and rental sectors. Autorola’s role will be to help educate and build the professionalism of the used car industry by improving processes and standards.

“Out of 2‐3,000 franchised dealers in the country, only around 50 take used cars seriously. They will buy trade‐ins to support their new car activity but don’t proactively source used cars from the market to trade which will have to change,” explained Alfredo Hernandez, Autorola Mexico’s new country manager.

32 / internationalfleetworld.com

“That leaves a strong independent network of used car deal‐ ers to manage the buying and selling of used cars, which they do very well. Typically they have between 20‐30 used cars in stock and are always looking to keep their forecourts busy.

“However, with a growing new and used market is enough space for franchised dealers to improve their focus on used cars in addition to the independent providers doing their thing.

“Our job will be to use our online remarketing, inspection and fleet management tools to help raise used car standards to improve values for asset owners and to make more cars available to dealers to buy and sell through our online portal,” he added.

Nissan continues to dominate the home market with around 25% market share followed by GM (20%), Volkswa‐ gen (15%) and Ford and Toyota (both of which who have around 10% market share). Typically cars in the compact and sub‐compact sectors are the most sought after as they are fuel efficient and cost effective to run.

On the used side of the market, the average price of cars is around $10‐12,000 (€9,350‐€11,220) with around 50‐ 60,000km on the clock at two‐three years of age.

The market mix is also becoming more varied as the growth of private investment is fuelling the number of company cars. Rental fleets continue to grow on the back of an expanding tourism industry too.

“Our mix of online services and inspections will improve the used transaction process, speeding it up and improving residual values. They will provide much needed support to the rental and leasing company returns, even when used cars have higher mileages on the clock,” said Hernandez.

“Online buying is still something that people do with lower value items such as books and CDs, but this is already changing just as it has in other major markets. Autorola with its 19 years of experience in online remarketing is in a good place to educate and support the sector,” he added.

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Meeting

Geneva 2016 Date: 2nd March 2016 (2nd press day) Place: Geneva International Motor Show Location: Room K, Congress Center

Target groups: International Fleet Managers / International Fleet Procurement Managers Capacity max. 250 people Access only with admission ticket and an official ticket for the press day.

Registration and additional information: www.internationalfleetmeeting.com Limited number of participants.

Timetable: From 09:00 Welcome Desk opened 11:00 Start of the event / networking 11:30 2 Top Speaker (in English) – to be advised soon 12:00

Panel discussion – to be advised soon

12:30 Lunch buffet and networking 13:30 End of the official event 14:00 – 18:00 Lounge-service for sponsors, media partners and guests (only with admission ticket) Contact: aboutFLEET / A&W Verlag AG • Mrs. Jasmin Eichner • Riedstrasse 10 • CH-8953 Dietikon Phone +41 (0)43 499 18 60 • Fax +41 (0)43 499 18 61 • Mobile +41 (0)79 766 99 00 • je@auto-wirtschaft.ch • www.aboutfleet.ch fleetcompetence europe GmbH • Mr. Balz Eggenberger • Alte Landstrasse 106 • CH-9445 Rebstein Phone +41 (0)71 777 15 32 • Fax +41 (0)71 777 15 31 • balz.eggenberger@fleetcompetence.com • www.fleetcompetence.com Please note this programme may be subject to change

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FLEET FOCUS Mexico

Exporting

success

A stable economy is a good recipe for growth in the fleet sector. John Kendall reports.

34 / internationalfleetworld.com

M

exico may be comparatively small compared with its northern neighbour, the United States of Amer‐ ica, but it is the fifth largest country on the Ameri‐ can continent and the 13th largest independent nation in the world. Its official name is the United Mexican States and the country consists of a federation of 31 states, while the capital Mexico City is a federal district. The population, according to the CIA is estimated at around 121,736,000. It is largely urban, some 80% live in towns and cities, with an on‐going urbanisation trend of people moving from rural areas to the cities. The capital, Mexico City has the largest population at some 21 million.

NATURAL RESOURCES, FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS The country has a range of natural resources including crude oil and natural gas, as well as silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc and timber. Motor manufacturing has been one of the growth industries in the country with the country’s 46 free trade agreements proving attractive to motor manufacturers.

There’s a long list of manufacturers who build vehicles in Mexico, including Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Nissan, which have all been established for some time in the country. In addition, Honda and Mazda began building vehi‐ cles in Mexico in 2014. Audi, BMW, Kia, Renault‐Nissan with Daimler and Toyota are either building new plants or have plans to do so. Ford will expand its engine and transmission plants adding 3,800 jobs in the northern and central parts of the country. Altogether, the industry represented around 20% of the country’s manufacturing output in 2013. Motor manufacturing contributes 3% of Mexico’s GDP. Part of Mexico’s attraction to the motor industry is the low wage economy – it is cheaper to build cars here than in the US or Canada and then the free trade agreements give easy access to markets around the world. Low wages are not the only story. The large presence of motor manufacturers in the region has established a robust supply chain for manufac‐ turers and also provided an experienced workforce. The proximity to the US is also an attractive factor.

Low wages are also the reason that the market for new cars in Mexico is comparatively small, given the size of the country and its population. Annual consumption of new vehicles in Mexico runs at some 10 vehicles per 1,000 inhab‐ itants. Growing prosperity for the nation would bring fur‐ ther opportunities for growth in the light vehicle market.

Biggest seller Nissan sold 278,790 vehicles YtD in Mexico, a 22% increase on 2014.

NAFTA Mexico is a member of the North American Free Trade Agree‐ ment (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada. Not surpris‐ ingly, the US is the largest market for Mexico’s motor vehicle industry, second only in its exports there to Canada. Vehicle sales in the country have continued to rise steadily over the past few years and overall, the market has almost tripled since the 1990s. Data from the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA) shows that for the January to October year‐to‐date (YtD) period, total new light vehicle sales reached 1,064,774, an increase of 19.6% on the same period in 2014. For October, sales reached 119,867, up 18.8% on October 2014.

The majority of sales are of passenger cars, but the figure also includes light trucks, with roughly one third of sales going to trucks.

internationalfleetworld.com / 35

→

FLEET FOCUS Mexico

→

Leading the market by a large margin YtD is Nissan with 278,790 sales, a 22% increase on 2014. General Motors takes second place with 199,669 sales, up 15.8% on 2014. Volk‐ swagen is the third best‐seller with 144,266 registrations YtD, an 11.4% increase over 2015. Despite the recent Volkswagen emissions testing debacle, which came to light in September, Volkswagen sales rose 9.6% in October compared with Octo‐ ber 2014 to 15,889. Given that the country faces air quality issues from older imported vehicles, as we discuss below, it might be that emissions are not the big issue that they are in other parts of North America, Europe or Japan.

Manufacturer

Change %

2015 share

2015

2014

Nissan

278,790

228,424

22.0

26.2

GM

199,669

172,412

15.8

18.8

Volkswagen

144,266

129,504

11.4

13.5

FCA

81,260

69,061

17.7

7.6

Ford

69,089

62,387

10.7

6.5

Toyota

63,388

52,470

20.8

6.0

Honda

56,277

45,034

25.0

5.3

Mazda

44,133

31,550

39.9

4.1

Hyundai

21,026

7,722

172.3

2.0

SEAT

19,500

17,578

10.9

1.8

Source: AMIA

USED CAR IMPORTS Just as Mexico exports 80% of the new cars produced in the country, mostly going to the US, it is also a large importer of used vehicles from the US. Some 640,000 used cars were imported in 2013, more than half the number of new cars registered, giving rise to concerns about emissions compli‐ ance and safety standards. In 2014, the country produced 3,365,306 motor vehicles, a 10.2% increase over 2013, mak‐ ing it the seventh largest manufacturer of motor vehicles in the world. Mexico is also a large producer of automotive parts and again most of these are exported to the US. Although the improvements in the economies of the NAFTA countries has boosted production and sales of motor vehicles in the region, analysts are expressing concerns about the effects that another free trade agreement, the Trans‐Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) could have on the automotive manufacturing sector across North America.

The deal is currently being negotiated between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

Mexico was not originally included in the deal but lobbied successfully for inclusion. While the deal would open up trade to the NAFTA countries with South America and the emerging Asian markets, it would change the rules on local content that currently exist under the NAFTA agreement.

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT Carlos Gomes of Scotiabank explains, “Under the TPP, the local content requirement for vehicles will drop from the current 62.5% North American content to 45% from any‐ where within the TPP region. In addition, for auto parts the

36 / internationalfleetworld.com

local content required will fall from the current 60% North American constraint to roughly 40% from anywhere within the TPP region. Furthermore, some products such as metal stampings and engines are required to have only 35% TPP content. These reductions in local content requirements have raised concerns of significant job losses at both vehicle assembly facilities and auto parts plants across North Amer‐ ica, if there is a shift in production to low‐cost jurisdictions.”

Mexico would be less exposed under the deal than either the US or Canada as wage rates are far lower and the country can produce parts and vehicles for less than its NAFTA partners.

Gomes points to both increasing exports from the NAFTA region and lower import rates from Asian auto parts exporters to NAFTA as counter arguments, since the take up of Asian auto parts is far higher in Europe than in the NAFTA region.

Mexico might be key here. If Mexican manufactured parts are cheaper than those sourced from the US, the cost of transporting competing parts from Asia may not be eco‐ nomically viable compared with the overall cost of Mexican parts in the US and Canada. TTP could just focus attention on other markets for the Asian producers if competition with Mexico for the NAFTA market isn’t worth it.

VEHICLE LEASING Wheels Inc. is ALD Automotive’s partner in North America.

The company has formed a joint venture with Mexican com‐ pany Ixe Automotriz, known as Ixe Fleet, to handle fleet business in Mexico. Wheels issued a White Paper, “Manag‐ ing a Fleet in Mexico” this year, giving an overview of the fleet sector in the country.

The report highlights historical barriers to leasing such as the lack of economic stability, heightened by an economic crisis in the 1990s. The Mexican peso is much more stable today and the current bank rate is 3%. Wheels says that most leases are written on fixed rate contracts to guard against future rate increases.

The White Paper also highlights a highly controlled fuel market. State controlled oil company Pemex owned and man‐ aged all the fuel stations in Mexico, creating a market with no competition for fuel prices. Pemex has begun a process of franchising, according to the White Paper and fuel stations have begun to accept payment by credit and debit card. This was prompted by change in tax law, which means that fuel purchases will only be tax‐deductible for businesses if paid for with a card, a measure designed to reduce fraud. This has also generated a market for fuel cards in the country.

Mexico City is the third largest city in the world with around 21 million inhabitants and almost inevitably, the city faces air quality problems. The White Paper indicates that there is a system of emissions verification to help reduce vehicle emissions. Vehicles that fail the verification test can‐ not be driven on specific days of the week.

Wheels says that vehicle theft is a problem in Mexico but rates of theft have fallen as vehicles with new security devices have reached the market. To counter theft in Mex‐ ico City, all new vehicles purchased since 2008 must be fit‐ ted with a tracking device.

The White Paper says that typically, residual values are set low in Mexico because while the lessor takes on the risk of a debit value at disposal, the client takes any improve‐ ment in the value.

INTERNATIONAL

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NEWS from the global fleet community

INSIGHT from experts into the fleet industry

ADVICE best practice for running your fleet

NAFA International Fleet Academy

Aligning global strategies

CHAPTER 19

Drawing conclusions A global fleet policy should include written guidance on issues that are subject to interpretaâ&#x20AC;? tion; or have legal, financial, operational, or safety implications that could benefit from stanâ&#x20AC;? dardisation. The final installment in the series, this chapter explains how nesting fleet policies can help to align diverse strategies, and rounds up the areas a policy should cover.

Reproduced with the kind permission of NAFA Fleet Management Association, this is the latest in a series of extracts from the International Fleet Academy Global Fleet Guide.

38 / internationalfleetworld.com

Nesting fleet policies Many companies take a top‐down approach and start with a global policy before looking at regional policies and the policies of specific organisations. This is known as a ‘nested’ approach, and the structure is demonstrated in the diagram to the right.

At the highest level, the global fleet policy is a statement of the purpose, scope and responsibil‐ ities within the organisation and contains sections on asset management, operations management, and risk management.

This provides an overarching umbrella under which the policies of various regions are nested.

A company may operate in many different regions that may necessitate slightly different local poli‐ cies. At this level, the policy should be more detailed and contain local safety information as well as the policy on vehicle selection. Finally, an organisation may have various entities operating in the same region or local environment.

Required policy elements In general, a policy should cover a number of areas: • Driver’s rules and responsibilities: This includes the use of the vehicle for business and personal use, which party bears the cost of personal use, and responsibility for the payment of fuel, fines, parking, washing and regular maintenance, as well as crash repair. It may also cover subjects such as the use of mobile phones or hands‐free devices, road safety practices, and guidance on environment‐friendly driving.

• Vehicle order and return: This section would include the rules regarding vehi‐ cle entitlement, selection, and upgrad‐ ing. It would detail the order and delivery process as well as what happens at the end of a vehicle’s life.

• Vehicle life operations and services: This section would describe mainte‐ nance programs and costs, tire replace‐ ment, windshield repair, and use of roadside assistance. It should also cover crash management and what is expected of drivers in case of an accident.

• List of vehicles: This section will list the models available by entitlement category and their standard and optional equipment.

Drivers should be issued with original copies of the organisation’s policy and be required to sign that they have read and will comply with the policy.

Global Fleet Policy Local Policy 1 Car Policy

Local Policy 2 Car Policy A

CONCLUSION Managing a global fleet Global fleet management requires a dedi‐ cated staff to manage vehicle acquisition, maintenance, repairs, and remarketing, while following all pertinent laws, regu‐ lations and policies. In addition to these subject areas, fleet managers should consider the following general principles that serve as a foundation for a profes‐ sional fleet management program: • Focus on long-term outlook: Success‐ ful plans should address the long‐term strategic and business aspects of leas‐ ing or owning, operating, and remar‐ keting vehicles.

• Set up and maintain an accurate database: Timely and accurate data is vital. A management information system tailored for the organisation will track, analyse and provide the reports neces‐ sary to optimise overall fleet perform‐ ance. The database can help to maintain inventory, manage proper maintenance, identify and analyse high‐cost vehicles, ensure compliance, monitor asset use and establish vehicle replacement cycles.

• Use proven financial practices: Finan‐ cial statements should capture all costs, including labour, supplies, fuel, depreci‐ ation, and overhead (agency indirect costs) attributable to the fleet activity.

This information should be readily acces‐ sible to managers and stakeholders.

Car Policy B

Car Policy C

Local Policy 3 Car Policy

• Establish appropriate vehiclereplacement cycles: The proper replacement of vehicles minimises costs and maximises environmental compliance and safety. Vehicle replace‐ ment cycles are developed through life‐cycle analysis that predicts the optimum replacement time. This analysis considers depreciation, main‐ tenance, fuel consumption, vehicle preparation costs, overhead, and resale value. Newer vehicles are more techni‐ cally advanced, have improved safety systems, produce fewer emissions, and are more fuel‐efficient.

Regulations and industry standards change often. A fleet manager can stay well informed by active participation in local and national, public, and private fleet management organisations. Indus‐ try periodicals are also a good source for information on changing fleet regula‐ tions and policies.

“Global fleet management requires a dedicated staff to manage vehicle acquisition, maintenance, repairs, and remarketing, while following all laws, regulations and policies.” internationalfleetworld.com / 39

PROFILE Hyundai

Gaining momentum Hyundai has the youngest line-up in its European history, with all models being new or upgraded within the last two years.

This commitment to refreshing the range has paid dividends for the brand, and further shake ups are planned for 2016â&#x20AC;Ś

Making an impact Tucson is Hyundai's fastest-selling new model ever in Europe.

40 / internationalfleetworld.com

view

Manufacturer Hyundai Motor Corporation Total sales 2014 4,835,000 Headquarters Seoul, South Korea Global market share 6.2% No. of models 20

from the top

Tucson delivers sales boost

H

yundai Motor posted total sales of 458,375 vehicles in October, represent‐ ing a 16% month‐on‐month increase following a relatively slow start to the year (‐3.2% YoY). The manufacturer posted the first sales increase in China for seven months, due in large part to the success of the new Tucson SUV and strong sales of Verna, Lang Dong (Elantra) and Mistra; contributing significantly to the upswing in the total global sales figure and signalling a positive new trend in the region. Sales in the home market of Korea also experienced an uplift in the second half of the year, recording a 30.5% month‐on‐month sales increase in October.

Sales in Europe remained strong throughout 2015, with Hyundai Motor posting a record first‐half year in the region (237,221 units between January and June). This growth was driven by the introduction of key new models as part of the Product Momentum Initiative, including new generation i20, i30 and i40. Under this compre‐ hensive product renewal strategy, the i10 will soon be the oldest model in the Hyundai range, despite being launched at the start of 2014. More than 90% of the vehicles Hyundai sells in the region are designed, engineered and tested in Europe, and 90% are built at its two local factories in the Czech Republic and Turkey to reduce lead times.

Strong demand for the newly‐launched Tucson contributed to a particularly robust European performance in September. The Tucson was the top‐selling SUV in Germany, according to the Kraftfahrt‐Bundesamt (KBA), and Hyundai’s best‐ selling car for the month. By the end of October 61,000 orders for the Tucson had been placed, making it Europe’s fastest‐selling new Hyundai model ever.

Hyundai Motor UK targeted 100,000 sales in the next two to three years in Janu‐ ary, with a market share of 5% forecast for 2020 (2014: 3.3%). The busy launch schedule of new and refreshed models should help to drive sales, and an enhanced SME offering via Hyundai Contract Hire and improved fleet charter resulted in a 12% increase in business sales year‐on‐year.

The Creta SUV, positioned below the Tucson, launched to the Indian market in July, selling 6,783 units on its first month to become the country’s best‐selling util‐ ity vehicle. The success of the model and the popular Elite i20 and i20 Active led to a 20% growth in sales for the month of August, helping to offset a slight regional decline in sales in the first half of the year.

Hyundai Motor America achieved a milestone 10 million sales in October, 29 years after entering the US market. The CUV/SUV models continued to perform particularly well in the region, with Tucson, Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport contribut‐ ing significantly to total sales. Veloster sales were up 30% for the month of Octo‐ ber, followed by Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport, up 25%, and Elantra up 24%. To date, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) has built 2,660,314 vehicles, including two of Hyundai’s best‐selling models: Sonata, which comprises 64% of total production at HMMA, and Elantra with 23%.

HYUNDAI Global sales, by territory Territory Korea North America Europe Asia Other markets Total

2013 641,000 858,000 636,000 1,572,000 914,000 4,621,000

2014 684,000 864,000 642,000 1,700,000 946,000 4,835,000

% change +6% +1% +1% +8% +3% +5%

Adrian Porter, fleet and remarketing director at Hyundai Motor Europe, on plans to target fleet growth and support Fuel Cell R&D. What are Hyundai’s expectations for fleet sales in 2016?

Hyundai has the youngest product line‐up in its European history which is helping our visibility in many fleets. The Tucson particularly is attracting new customers thanks to its stylish design and excellent TCO supported by class‐leading RVs. In 2015 we have been very successful growing our true fleet volume (+14% YoY), and for 2016 we will continue with this strategy with additional focus on International Accounts and support for our 420 Fleet Business Centres with revised Hyundai Leas‐ ing packages for SME customers.

How will Hyundai target the i40 towards business drivers?

The i40 is one of our best kept secrets; it performs well in the SME segments in many markets and we have a number of single badge fleets who are very loyal. In the last couple of years it has become increasingly popular with many national police forces who appreciate its versatility and TCO but demand durability. Our main challenge is awareness, so for 2016 we will be developing specific fleet‐focused programs to raise the fleet awareness in different segments.

What does Hyundai see as barriers to development of Fuel Cell technology in Europe?

Hyundai was the first manufacturer to mass produce Fuel Cell electric vehicles back in 2013, and in Europe we are leading the Fuel Cell vehicle rollout. The main limitation for sales is the refuelling infrastructure. The Hyundai Fuel Cell team are working with the major suppliers, municipal‐ ities and various bodies to support the development of infrastructure.

You can expect to see further Fuel Cell products in the future along with other alternative fuel powertrains to be launched in Europe next year.

→

internationalfleetworld.com / 41

PROFILE Hyundai HYUNDAI fleet model range

→

Where are they made?

Manufacturing plant locations 1

Hyundai Motor Brasil, Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil - HB20

2

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus (HMMR), St. Petersburg, Russia - Solaris (Verna)

3

Hyundai Assan Otomotiv San ve Tic. A.Ş., Istanbul, Turkey – Accent, i20

4

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech (HMMC), Nošovice, Czech Republic – i20, i30, ix35

5

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC (HMMA), USA – Sonata, Elantra (Avante)

6

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (two facilities), Kanchipuram district, India – Eon, i10, Xcent, Elantra (Avante), Creta (ix25)

7

Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd (three facilities), Beijing, China – Verna (Solaris), Elantra (Avante), Sonata NFC, Mistra, ix25, ix35

8

Hyundai Motor Asan Plant, Seoul, South Korea – Grandeur (Azera), Sonata, Hybrid models

9

Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant, Ulsan, South Korea – Equus, Accent, Elantra (Avante), Sonata, i10, i20, i30, Veloster

2

Eon

4 3

7

5

8 9

Variants: 5dr hatchback Markets: Asia Fuel: 3.8l/100km* CO2: 88g/km*

6

1

i10 / Xcent / Grand i10

Genesis stands alone

Variants: 5dr hatch, 4dr sedan Markets: Europe, Asia, Africa, South America Fuel: 4.1-6.2l/100km CO2: 98-142g/km

H

yundai Motor recently announced that it is to turn its Genesis brand‐ ing into a separate luxury range offering a six‐model line‐up. Previously associ‐ ated with the carmaker’s flagship sedan model, stand‐ alone Genesis models are now intended to compete in the luxury sector. Initially on sale in the Korean, Chinese, North American and Middle Eastern markets, the brand will be rolled out to Europe and other parts of Asia as the model range expands.

The Genesis brand will be differentiated from the main Hyundai line‐up with a distinct design identity, emblem, naming structure and customer service offering.

Models will be named by combining the letter ‘G’ for Genesis with a number, 90, 80 or 70 etc, representing the segment. Hyundai recently unveiled the first render‐ ing of the Genesis G90 saloon flagship model, due to be launched as the EQ900 to the Korean market in early December before reaching other markets in 2016.

Also due in early 2016, the new i20 Active compact SUV will join the i20 five‐ door and i20 Coupe in Europe. Although the i20 Active is based on the i20 five‐ door, Hyundai notes that over 50% of the exterior parts are unique to this model.

Stand‐out features include revised suspension settings that raise the model 20mm along with a higher seating position.

The model also marks the introduction of a new generation of small, turbocharged engines tuned for Europe. The new Kappa three‐cylinder 1.0‐litre T‐GDI engine is available in two power outputs – 100hp and 120hp – and brings official combined fuel economy of 4.6l/100km with CO2 emissions from 106g/km.

In mainland Europe, the i20 Active will also be available with a 100hp 1.4‐litre Kappa petrol engine and the 90hp 1.4‐litre U II diesel engine. All models are front‐ wheel drive only.

Hyundai also continues to focus on hydrogen fuel cell R&D and to aid the roll out of refuelling infrastructures. The Hydrogen Mobility Europe project (H2ME) launched in September to co‐ordinate roll outs of FCEVs and new hydrogen refu‐ elling stations in 10 countries by 2019. As a key partner in the consortium, Hyundai supplied a further 50 ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles for distribution to corpo‐ rate and private customers, bringing the total number of Hyundai Fuel Cell vehi‐ cles in Europe to over 250. The ix35 Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicle is now available 13 European countries, with Spain and Switzerland joining the existing 11‐coun‐ try distribution network in December 2015.

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i20 Variants: 3/5dr hatchback Markets: Europe, Asia, Africa Fuel: 3.2-6.7l/100km CO2: 84-155g/km

ix20 Variants: 5dr hatchback Markets: Europe Fuel: 4.4-6.5l/100km CO2: 115-150g/km

Accent / Verna / Solaris Variants: 5dr hatch, 4dr sedan Markets: Global Fuel: 4.4-6.8l/100km CO2: 119-161g/km

HB20

ix35 / Tucson Fuel Cell

Grandeur / Azera

ix25 / Creta

Tucson

Aslan

Veloster

i40

Santa Fe / Maxcruz

i30 / Elantra GT

Sonata

Genesis

Elantra / Avante

Genesis Coupe

Equus

Variants: 5dr hatch, 4dr sedan, crossover Markets: South America Fuel: No data CO2: No data

Variants: 5dr hatchback Markets: Asia Fuel: 4.7-6.5l/100km CO2: 109-150g/km

Variants: Coupe Markets: Global Fuel: 6.4-7.1l/100km CO2: 151-165g/km

Variants: 3/5dr hatch, wagon Markets: Global Fuel: 3.6-7.7l/100km CO2: 94-179g/km

Variants: 4dr sedan, coupe Markets: Global Fuel: 6.4-7.4l/100km CO2: 152-176g/km

Variants: Crossover Markets: Europe, Asia, North America Fuel: 0.95kg/100km (hydrogen) CO2: 0g/km (tailpipe)

Variants: : Crossover Markets: Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Oceania Fuel: 4.6-7.9l/100km CO2: 119-185g/km

Variants: 4dr Sedan, wagon Markets: Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania Fuel: 4.2-7.5l/100km CO2: 109-176g/km

Variants: 4dr sedan Markets: Asia, North America, South America, Oceania Fuel: 4.7-8.1l/100km CO2: 109-188g/km

Variants: Coupe Markets: Asia, North America, South America Fuel: 9.5-10.3l/100km CO2: 220-239g/km

Variants: 4dr Sedan Markets: Asia, Africa, South America Fuel: 8.9-10.0l/100km CO2: 207-232g/km

Variants: 4dr Sedan Markets: Asia Fuel: 9.5l/100km CO2: 220g/km

Variants: SUV Markets: Global Fuel: 5.9-10.9l/100km CO2: 155-259g/km

Variants: 4dr sedan Markets: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, Oceania Fuel: 11.0-12.6l/100km CO2: 255-292g/km

Variants: 4dr sedan Markets: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America Fuel: 10.9-12.3l/100km CO2: 259-295g/km

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Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV The revised Outlander PHEV adds useful updates to the highly competent original, says John Kendall.

SECTOR SUV PRICE From €40,480 FUEL 1.8l/100km CO2 42g/km

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make it a more pleasant vehicle to drive and own. Having itsubishi has enjoyed phenomenal success with run a long term test Outlander PHEV, which was the best the Outlander PHEV since it was launched in 2014. thought out plug‐in hybrid at the time it was launched, the The intuitive controls make it one of the best plug‐ range of revisions are timed to keep it competitive as new in hybrids available, while the low NEDC CO2 emissions rival models come to market. make it attractive for fleet drivers where there are CO2‐ based tax regimes and company car benefit tax schemes.

The first part of our test drive was an urban route, which For 2016, Mitsubishi has carried out a range of tweaks was around 60km long and designed to be completed to improve the car further. Outlander PHEV is the first to under electric power only, which I managed to do, by gain exterior styling that follows Mitsubishi’s new design maximising the use of regenerative braking. This is made direction, which the company calls ‘Dynamic Shield’, first easy in the Outlander PHEV by using the steering wheel seen as a concept at the Paris Show in 2014. This brings paddles to alter the degree of regenerative braking, some‐ LED headlamps and new lighting at the thing which Mitsubishi has sensibly left rear. The car is now 40mm longer and as it was. The lower noise levels in the there are silver‐finish roof rails, a piano cabin are a good move, making the black finish to the front fog lamp bezels petrol engine less obtrusive than before and 18‐inch alloy wheels. Inside there when it’s operating. is a range of new and optional equip‐ The Outlander PHEV really comes ment from leather upholstery to a into its own for anyone whose daily heated steering wheel. The Mitsubishi drive can be completed electrically.

Communication System features fewer This would mean that petrol costs were buttons and improved software. minimised, which in turn should bring Small but effective differences lower long distance driving costs, if you include an electric tailgate that opens factor in time to re‐charge and extend higher and delivers a single beep warn‐ the car’s range on electric power. ing. The suspension settings have been The Outlander is a large car and the revised with a stiffer front suspension chassis changes help to mask its size by The Outlander PHEV cross‐member and revised spring and improving agility. It was well specified was a good car in the first damper rates. There is better sound before and now with further trim place, but these changes insulation inside the cabin, while fuel options, it is well designed to tempt consumption and emissions have been drivers away from brands perceived to make a good car better. improved too. There is now a five‐year be more desirable.

It remains an attractive warranty for the car and an eight‐year Overall the Outlander PHEV is better option for those with warranty for the battery. to drive than before and builds effec‐ CO2 based tax regimes.

The range of the revisions serve to tively on the success of the original, push the Outlander PHEV upmarket and launched less than two years ago.

what we think

44 / internationalfleetworld.com

Range Rover Hybrid The latest Hybrid gives Range Rover luxury and capability with a green edge, reckons John Kendall.

SECTOR Premium SUV PRICE From €120,850 FUEL 6.2l/100km CO2 164g/km

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ew of us will get to choose a Range Rover as a the car from the kerb and still open up. And it allows company car. For those that do, it’s likely that fuel for the fitting of a tow bar too without interfering with consumption and CO2 emissions may not be a top the shoe shuffling. priority. But if you prefer your luxury with a twinge of 2016 MY cars also get Automatic Access Height, which conscience, there is a hybrid version of the Range Rover means that when the car is switched off and the driver and it has been upgraded for the 2016 model year. has removed his or her seatbelt, the car will be automat‐ Principal power comes from the SDV6 twin‐ ically lowered by 35mm to aid access. Activate any door turbocharged 3.0‐litre V6 diesel with 35kW electric handle and the Range Rover will drop a further 15mm. motor integrated into the ZF eight‐speed automatic The 50mm drop takes just three seconds. Once under transmission. Land Rover’s engineers have been at way again and the driver reaches 15km/h, the correct work on the hybrid to add extra refinements. The full EV ride height will be resumed. capability is now said to be more On the road the Range Rover hybrid responsive to driver inputs with greater operates seamlessly, as you would hope availability of electric drive. It can and I saw fuel consumption of better travel up to 1.6km at speeds up to than 9.4l/100km. Not bad for such a 48km/h under electric power only. large, heavy car. It’s a lot like being Overall, total power output with the propelled in an all‐terrain armchair, electric motor reaches 340hp with with the driver required to do rela‐ 700Nm of torque. But on the EU tively little to propel it along road, combined cycle, the RR Hybrid returns track or field. We stuck to tarmac on 6.2l/100km with CO 2 emissions of this occasion and it is hard not to 164g/km, claimed improvements of marvel at the way the Range Rover 0.2l/100km and 5g/km compared with does things. the 2015 model year model.

If you are expecting sports car There are other improvements for handling with the 340hp, you’re proba‐ 2016 model year Range Rovers too. bly missing the point. The accent is It has everything for a car There’s the Gesture Tailgate. Approach on comfort, although Land Rover’s that will go virtually everythe closed tailgate with both hands Terrain Response system revises the where over anything. full and the key fob in your pocket and suspension settings according to the all you need to do is wave your foot surface it detects. It is a Land Rover Acres of space, respectable beneath the rear bumper for the tail‐ after all and long travel suspension is performance and good gate to automatically release and lift part of the deal. But if you want to fuel consumption, given itself up. It can be closed this way go anywhere in luxury and minimise the size and capabilities. too. In fact the proximity sensors are your CO2 emissions, this could be what fitted each side, so you can approach you are looking for.

what we think

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Nissan Navara Nissan has moved the pick-up market forwards, with the launch of the NP300 Navara, says Dan Gilkes.

SECTOR Pick-up PRICE €25,900–€35,200 FUEL 6.3 –7.0l/100km CO2 169–183g/km

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rossover styling meets working truck, in Nissan’s latest NP300 Navara pick‐up. Built at the firm’s Barcelona plant, new Navara boasts cleaner engines, five‐link rear suspension, improved technology and the backing of a five‐year/160,000km warranty.

Available in King Cab and Double Cab models, with the more utilitarian King Cab also offered in both two and four‐wheel drive, Navara will also be offered for the first time as a chassis cab, allowing customers to fit their own specialist bodies, along with conversions such as access platforms, behind the cab.

Beneath the restyled bonnet and those raised front wings, Navara makes use of the Nissan Renault Alliance 2.3‐litre dCi engine already in use in NV400 and Renault Master vans. The King Cab models use a single turbo one change provides much improved ride and handling, version delivering 160hp and 403Nm of torque, from with Navara offering almost car‐like levels of comfort 1,500‐2,500rpm. Double Cab models are powered by even when unladen. both the 160hp engine and a twin turbo version, pushing There is no drawback in terms of load haul‐ out 190hp and a powerful 450Nm of torque. ing though, in fact quite the opposite, as Navara Both engines drive through a six‐speed FLEET FACT continues to offer more than 1.0‐tonne of load manual gearbox, while a seven‐speed automatic carrying ability, despite the rear suspension transmission remains an option on the higher‐ Service weighing 20kg less than before. The truck can powered motor. Fuel consumption ranges for now tow up to 3.5‐tonnes too, equalling top the 190hp model are said to be 24% better than intervals up to towing performers Ford and Isuzu. the previous 2.5‐litre engine, while the twin 28,000km/ Nor does the coil suspension hold the truck turbo’s torque output has allowed Nissan to two years back off the road, with Navara even more capa‐ drop the thirsty 3.0‐litre V6 from the line‐up. ble when the going gets tough. A 50mm shorter The biggest news for the Navara however wheelbase helps to make the pick‐up more manoeuvrable comes under the rear of the truck, where traditional leaf and an electronic limited slip differential uses the brake springs are replaced by a five‐link coil spring set‐up on system to improve traction on slippery surfaces.

Double Cab models, King Cabs retain leaf springs. This Navara also comes with Hill Descent Control, Hill Start Assist and Cruise Control and Forward Emergency Brak‐ ing as standard. Higher specification models can be had with Around View Monitor, which delivers a 360° view of the truck on the touchscreen monitor in the dash. As well as making it easier to park the truck in town, AVW can also be used in tricky off‐road situations, to avoid rocks and tree roots that can’t be seen from the driver’s seat.

Navara comes in four trim grades, or five in the UK, though all get seven airbags, electronic braking differen‐ tial, manual air conditioning, Bluetooth, daytime running lights and powered windows. Higher trim levels borrow heavily from Nissan’s rapidly expanding crossover range, with a range of more than 120 accessories and trim options to suit all tastes and requirements.

46 / internationalfleetworld.com

what we think highlights Five-link rear suspension on Double Cab 24% lower fuel consumption for 190hp model 169g/km CO2 with 160hp engines 3.5-tonne towing capacity

Navaraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multi-link rear suspension transforms the ride and handling of this popular truck for the driver, while reduced fuel consumption, longer warranty terms and lower TCO will make the big Nissan equally popular with fleet managers.

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SsangYong Tivoli Alex Grant finds out if the Tivoli is up to the challenge of the growing compact crossover segment.

SECTOR Crossover PRICE €15,490–€26,990 FUEL 4.3 –7.6l/100km CO2 133–176g/km

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orean manufacturer SsangYong is a small player in Europe but, with the Tivoli crossover, it’s aiming for the region’s fastest‐growing segment and hoping to bring plenty of new customers to the brand.

Created and then led by the Nissan Juke, the B‐crossover segment is certainly healthy. Opel’s Mokka and the Renault Captur are performing particularly well here and it’s becoming an area no manufacturer can ignore. For a brand which has traditionally concentrated on all‐wheel drive, it’s also a good fit below the Korando in SsangYong’s prod‐ uct portfolio.

But its target market is quite different to the rest of the range. Although there’s a four‐wheel drive option for both the petrol and diesel engines, the Tivoli is aimed at customers more interested in its rugged design and fuel economy than its off‐roading ability. It’s still a high‐value car, but SsangYong is seeking buyers who want high‐grade equipment for mid‐grade prices, so sales are expected to be weighted towards the best‐equipped versions.

Brand awareness is still relatively low, but the Sport mode, which doesn’t seem to do anything, would be SsangYong has plenty of reasons not to get overlooked. The welcome to make it feel a bit more natural to drive.

1.6‐litre diesel – likely to be the fleet engine of choice – What might limit its appeal, though perhaps only slightly undercuts its direct rivals, and looks compet‐ in fleet, is the petrol engine’s uncompetitive itive on in‐life running costs. Developed in‐ 149g/km baseline CO2 emissions, and that the FLEET FACT house, it consumes 4.3l/100km and emits AISIN‐designed six‐speed automatic gearbox, 113g/km with two‐wheel drive, or which is very smooth but comes with a heavy A second, long4.7l/100km and 123g/km with four‐wheel running cost penalty over the manual versions. drive. Both are respectable for a car which is The most efficient automatic Tivoli, a two‐ bodied Tivoli doing without stop‐start for its diesel engines. wheel drive diesel, consumes 5.5l/100km and variant will On the road, the diesel version makes very emits 146g/km CO2. It seems rather wide off launch next year. the mark for a car which is otherwise compet‐ little noise while cruising and offers a wide spread of usable torque. Ride quality on large itive with a diesel engine. wheels is on par with the rest of the sector, firm but not Otherwise it functions well. The cabin feels a little dated uncomfortable, and it doesn’t pitch or roll around while in terms of design, materials and its black‐on‐orange LCD cornering and braking. A bit more steering feedback in displays, but adding the optional TomTom navigation system does a lot to modernise it. There’s a high seating position, plenty of soft‐touch plastics and the infotainment is a properly integrated unit rather than an aftermarket slot‐ in fitted for Europe. Details such as the colour‐changing dials, mood lighting and good quality leather upholstery also stop this feeling like a cut‐price product.

Front and rear passengers get plenty of space, and the boot at 423 litres is towards the top end of this segment. It’s definitely worth adding the under‐floor storage bins, though. A cheap option, this adds a removable polystyrene tray with deep compartments inside, covered by a remov‐ able load floor which is flat with the folded rear bench.

Most importantly, the Tivoli has all the right design cues for a share of this segment. It’s modern with its muscular shoulder lines, optional large wheels and rugged soft‐roader styling, and offers the raised driving and loading positions customers want from a crossover. With keen pricing and competitive running costs, SsangYong has a very credible contender here.

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what we think

highlights Integrated TomTom navigation is optional Large cabin and above-average 423-litre boot capacity

A strong new entrant at the budget end of a fast-growing segment, the Tivoli should give SsangYong a foothold for future growth in the company car sector, as well as introducing new customers to the rest of its product range. But competitive automatic and petrol versions would help.

Four-wheel drive diesel consumes 4.7l/100km and emits 123g/km CO2

internationalfleetworld.com / 49

fleet in figures

VW scandal recovery Is the UK registration boom running out of steam? John Kendall reports.

Volkswagen VW global sales for the January to October year-to-date period (YTD) are running -4.7% down compared with 2014. But the picture is not entirely negative.

VW – better than expected?

Unfortunately we go to press this month before data from the European Automo‐ bile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) is published. That would give us a good impression of how Volkswagen registra‐ tions have been affected across Europe.

Instead, we shall have to rely on a snap‐ shot from available data.

The obvious place to start is with infor‐ mation from VW and the overall picture shows that VW global sales for the Janu‐ ary to October year‐to‐date period (YTD) are running ‐4.7% down compared with 2014 at 4,839,600. Overall for the month of October, sales fell ‐5.3% compared with October 2014 to 517,400. But the picture is not entirely negative.

VW – mixed sales fortunes Starting where VW’s troubles began in the US, VW sales actually rose marginally

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in October, up 0.2% to 30,400, while in North America as a whole, including Canada and Mexico, VW’s data shows that sales rose by 3.5% compared with October 2014 to 51,400. Even though Germans ensured that VW sales rose in its home market by 1.9% in October to 54,500, the picture overall in Western Europe was a small decline of ‐1.3% for the month to 123,000. The biggest month on month falls were recorded in Russia and Brazil, where VW sales were down in October by ‐25.7% (6,900) and ‐49.6% (23,800) compared with October 2014.

Before this is seen as severe punish‐ ment for VW’s wrongs, it should be remembered that Russia and Brazil are markets where the economy is in seri‐ ous trouble and new car sales have been falling rapidly throughout the year in both markets. It is unlikely that VW’s fortunes are radically different from

other car makers who have seen their sales crumble in these two countries.

Elsewhere it’s a mixed picture. VW sales in Central and Eastern Europe rose marginally, by 0.5% to 1,200 for October 2015. Similarly sales in China rose by 1.8% to 233,500 for October compared with October 2014.

November data may present a more consolidated picture, but at the moment, it’s difficult to assess how much of VW’s declining sales can be blamed on the emissions story.

Total global sales LMC Automotive has published its global light vehicle sales data for the January to October period and it shows that YtD sales have risen by 1.5% to 73,255,256, repre‐ senting an annual sales rate of 88,151,550, up 0.9% on 2014. Focussing on the major markets, LMCA data shows that sales in the

US continue to run at record levels with YtD sales up 5.9% to 14,487,961. As we report in the profile of Mexico (p.34), Scotiabank is sounding a warning note regarding the effects of the new Trans‐Pacific‐Partnership (TPP) agreement; “While stronger economic conditions should continue to buoy industry volumes over the next several years, significant concerns have arisen over the potential dislocation of sourcing patterns for vehicles and parts once the TPP is implemented.”

US record run continues The US light vehicle market is in a strong position at the moment, with the market looking set for a total above 18 million by the end of the year. LMCA says, “Consumer fundamentals continue to improve, imply‐ ing solid support for vehicle demand, though sustainability of continued strong growth is in question.” Perhaps that is a matter of stating the obvious. No market can continue to grow indefinitely.

Although we don’t have ACEA data for Western Europe at the time of writing, we do have some data from individual markets. As one of the ‘Top 5’, Western European markets, what happens in the UK could be indicative of developments in other large markets. In October, the market fell in the UK for the first time in 43 months, declining by ‐1.1% to 177,664 new registrations, although YtD, the market is up 6.4% to 2,274,550.

UK – first registration fall for months It wasn’t just Volkswagen that saw regis‐ trations slide, either. VW registrations were down ‐9.84% compared with Octo‐ ber to 13,970. Vauxhall – GM’s UK name‐ plate for the Opel brand suffered a higher decline, down ‐16.39% to 15,891, not good news for the brand as the new Astra comes to market. In Vauxhall’s case, sales have been hit by reports of second gener‐ ation Zafira models catching fire – blamed

by Vauxhall on spurious parts fitted by repairers outside the Vauxhall franchise.

But other manufacturers were affected too. Citroën registrations were down ‐ 18.53% to 4,683, Dacia down ‐31.56% to 1,401, MINI down ‐21.85% to 4,112, Nissan down ‐12.92% to 10,392 and SEAT down ‐32.23% to 2,338. SEAT’s performance could be VW Group related, Skoda sales are also down, but Audi sales are up 2.24% to 13,182, so VW brands have not been universally affected.

Audi’s performance is in line with other

premium brands in the UK in October where sales rose. Abarth, Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lotus, Maserati, Porsche, Smart and SsangYong all experienced large percentage increases.

Registrations in France displayed a very similar pattern to those in the UK, with large percentage increases for premium brands while volume manufac‐ turers declined. Both Citroën and Peugeot saw registrations fall in October although Renault posted a 5% increase for the month. Is this a single month phenome‐ non, fuelled by new model introductions while stocks of predecessor models are low? We shall follow the November data with interest.

European CV registrations strong Data for European CV registrations for January to September shows a different picture, but then it is worth remembering that the September car registrations were also buoyant. Total January to September registrations for light CVs were up 11.2% to 1,253,009, with only Latvia, Luxem‐ burg and Slovenia showing a decline.

France has traditionally been the largest market for light CVs, but has been over‐ taken by the UK, with 284,161 registra‐ tions, up 17.4% on the same period in 2014. French registrations reached 272,145, with a more modest 0.9% increase over 2014. Germany was the third largest market with 168,100 regis‐ trations, a 2.4% increase on 2014.

The percentage increase in the heavy truck sector was greater still with registra‐ tions up 20.6% to 188,281. The same top three countries emerge as for the light CV sector, with Germany leading the registra‐ tions. German registrations rose 3.6% to 46,032, followed by France, up 11.3% to 26,413 and the UK with 24,903 registra‐ tions, a 44.0% increase over 2014.

China rebounds Fears for the Chinese economy might still be there, but car registrations appear to have staged a swift recovery with registra‐ tions up 2.5% to 19,598,348 for the Janu‐ ary to October period. LMCA comments, “Chinese consumers have responded to the temporary purchase tax cut positively.

According to preliminary data, the October selling rate spiked to a record high of 26.8m units/year, up nearly 14% from a lacklustre September. Passenger vehicles accounted for most of the gains, as the tax

cut is only applied to vehicles with engine sizes of 1.6 litres or below.” This tax cut expires at the end of 2016, according to LMCA so the company expects Chinese sales to remain buoyant until then. But the Chinese economy continues to slow.

A tax cut is also responsible for improved October sales in South Korea, where vehicle sales are benefitting from a temporary consumption tax cut. This took October sales to a record high, according to LMCA and sales are expected to reach the highest annual level by the end of the year.

Alternative Fuel Vehicles ACEA data for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in Western Europe for the Janu‐ ary to September period show that regis‐ trations rose 19.8% to 415,896. The total includes electric (EV), hybrid electric (HEV), natural gas (NGV) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles. Italy is the largest AFV market with registrations up 3.9% to 165,050, far ahead of the UK, with a 48.7% increase in registrations to 56,281. France is close behind with a 46.5% rise to 55,393.

The UK leads the EV market with regis‐ trations up 138.5% in the January to September period to 20,996. The Nether‐ lands follows with 18,000 registrations, up 62.4% on 2014, while Germany regis‐ tered 14,930, up 63.2% on 2014.

France leads the hybrid electric (HEV) market with registrations up 35.2% to 39,983. UK registrations are up 21.5% to 35,285 with Italy in third place with 18,250, up 18.4% As we noted after the half‐year figures, Italy’s strong showing in the AFV market relies heavily on the market for NGV and LPG vehicles. Registrations reached 145,223, up 1.9% on 2014. Germany has the second highest number of registrations at 8,159 for the period, a ‐24.1% reduction on 2014. Sweden has the third highest number of registrations at 4,997, a ‐9.8% decrease, but this includes E85 bioethanol flex‐fuel vehicles. Overall, the increase in gas‐fuelled vehicles in the EU rose by 0.8% overall for Q1 to Q3 2015, but fell by ‐ 17.1% during Q3 to 46,118. The UK was the only major Western European market to register no NGV or LPG‐fuelled vehicles either in the year to date or in Q3.

Overall the trends were for the strongest growth in EVs (62.2)%, strong growth in HEVs (34.7%) and decline in NGV and LPG vehicles (‐17.1%).

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