International Fleet World November 2012

NOVEMBER 2012

internationalfleetworld.com

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD Essential Business Information for International Fleet Decision Makers

THE ONLY WAY IS UP Is there no stopping the Bavarian giant?

inside Paris review Future fleet stars at Salon de l’Automobile

Myth or miracle?

Analysing South Korea’s motor industry

THE NEW SEAT IBIZA ST

The Fleet car that’s big on space and small on emissions

ENJOYNEERING MORE BOOT SPACE, LOW EMISSIONS – THE CAR THAT MEETS ALL YOUR FLEET NEEDS The New SEAT Ibiza ST is designed to be perfectly in tune with the requirements of today's fleet driver.

With an outstanding boot space of 430 liters, you can take on board all the essentials you need for your business and everyday life.

This translates versatility without renouncing to a superior driving experience because of the beauty of its new design lines and the technology of its latest TSI and TDI engines. With emissions from only 89 g CO2*, it even reduces the Total Cost of Ownership through lower fuel costs and tax, this makes it a great choice for your balance sheet.

The New SEAT Ibiza ST is a perfect chord between beauty, functionality, performance and economy. /Petrol engines from 1.2 to 1.4 TSI (from 60 HP to 150 HP) /Diesel engines from 1.2 TDI to 1.6 TDI (from 75 HP to 105 HP)

SEAT Fleet

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Average consumption: 3.4-5.9 l/100 km. Average CO2 mass emissions: 89-139 g/km. * Ibiza ST 1.2 TDI CR (55 kW) Ecomotive. Combined fuel consumption of 3.4 l/100 km

SE AT.COM

NOVEMBER 2012

internationalfleetworld.com

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD Essential Business Information for International Fleet Decision Makers

THE ONLY WAY IS UP Is there no stopping the Bavarian giant?

inside Paris review Future fleet stars at Salon de l’Automobile

Myth or miracle?

Analysing South Korea’s motor industry

Publisher Ross Durkin ross@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Editor John Kendall john@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Deputy Editor Natalie Wallis natalie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Motoring Editor Alex Grant alex@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Editorial Assistant Katie Beck katie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Sales Director Anne Dopson anne@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Sales Executive Darren Brett darren@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Circulation Manager Tracy Howell tracy@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Production Manager Luke Wikner luke@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Designers Tina Ries tina@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Samantha Hargreaves sam@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Internet Editor Luke Durkin durks@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

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 fleetworld.co.uk

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VIEWPOINT

CONTENTS

The rumour mill appears to be grinding away on the story that Opel/Vauxhall and PSA Peugeot Citroen could be merged, fuelled no doubt by the refusal to comment from either company. The rumoured merger could bring together GM’s European operation and PSA Peugeot Citroen’s automotive operations. Suggestions are that this could either be a 50/50 joint venture or a new operation owned 70/30 by PSA/GM, with $US10bn on the table from GM too.

This could leave GM to press ahead with the global expansion of its Chevrolet brand and step back from its loss making European division. Ratings agency Fitch has already poured cold water on any potential deal, saying: ”We believe these scenarios are too uncertain and lack the detail needed at this stage to assess any potential impact on PSA’s (‘BB-’/Negative) and GM’s (‘BB+’/Stable) ratings.”

The company continues, ”We believe the two companies are bound to accelerate and increase their cooperation, as they both need to bolster their profitability and stem cash burn. In particular, PSA needs to urgently streamline its cost structure, reinvigorate its product offering and combat fierce competition and aggressive price pressure in Europe.

However, we believe that a combination – according to the terms reported in the media – is unlikely to help PSA and Opel address the pressing issue of overcapacity or overcome political and social resistance to restructuring.”

No surprises there, then. The industry has not faced up to overcapacity for all the time I’ve written about it. Are the pressures great enough for it do so now?

04 News Analysis 10 Paris Motor Show Review of the Mondial de l’Automobile.

16 Hanover Show Review of the recent LCV Show.

18 2012/13 Events Calendar 20 EV news analysis 22 Strategy European residual value confidence.

24 Interview Peter Grøftehauge, CEO of Autorola.

26 Remarketing 28 FOCUS ON South Korea.

32 Management Telematics’ effect on fleet risk strategies.

34 Operator Profile Europcar.

36 FLEET PROFILE BMW Group

43 Launch Report Mazda6 / SsangYong Korando / VW Golf / Mercedes-Benz Distribution Vehicles.

48 SWOT Range Rover Evoque.

50 Fleet in figures Analysing the latest ACEA sales charts.

10 24 36 46

John Kendall Editor

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IFW November 2012

03

news analysis

VW reveals its missing links A wider range of SUVs, two new engine families and electrified cars head Volkswagen's wish-list as it seeks to plug gaps in its range, says the company's head of research and development, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg.

The average CO2 figure for the VW range is currently 132g/km – just outside the 130g/km target, which the EU insists auto-makers must meet by 2015. The next Golf Bluemotion (85g/km) will help bring down the average further, and VW is planning a CNG-fuelled version of its smallest car, the up! (79g/km) to add further impetus. Next year there will be a battery-electric up!, to be followed by an electric Golf.

Electrification alone will not help VW hit future emissions targets, especially with the EU pressing for a 95g/km average in 2020. ”A third will have to come from drivetrains, a third from the car and we will have to go to alternative technology for maybe 10%,” says Hackenberg.

Improvements to internal combustion engines, which will continue to dominate until at least well into the next decade, will have the most significant impact. VW is working on two new engine families – small three-cylinder units and four-cylinder alternatives of between 1.2 and 1.6 litres. There will also be a new three-cylinder diesel range, which Hackenberg says will become much more important than the current power units because they will be the starting block for the group's next Bluemotion family of high-economy models. Three-cylinder engines give greater scope for savings because they create less internal friction than four-cylinder engines, he says.

Increasing use of Start/Stop systems, improved engine thermal dynamics, brake energy recuperation and electronic assistance for turbochargers to reduce throttle lag, are all in the pipeline.

So is a small, Polo-based SUV or crossover for what is one of the few growth segments in Europe at the moment. ”We have to increase our range of SUVs and move into different segments, and we are already working on it,” says Hackenberg. He would not be drawn on when it might appear, but said: ”We are very fast.”

The new Golf Bluemotion (85g/km) will help reduce Volkswagen’s average CO2 emissions

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Mazda flat out to meet CX-5 demand

New Mazda6 Orders for Mazda's CX-5 crossover are running at three or four times the expected rate in Japan while Europe has 15,000 back orders.

Jeff Guyton, head of Mazda Europe, said that annual CX-5 capacity was 160,000. "We're looking to stretch that to 200,000 this year and will probably need to increase that for next year."

The European backlog is equivalent to four ship loads of cars and is not expected to be cleared until February.

The good news for Mazda and its bank balance is that the CX-5 is a more profitable car than the CX-7, because production costs have been reduced through the introduction of SKYACTIV technologies – all engines from a 1.3-litre petrol to a 2.2-litre diesel are built on the same line, for example. ”This way we get greater economies of scale,” said Mr Guyton.

It also means that Mazda is on track to report a profit this year after four years of losses.

With Mazda6, unveiled at the Paris Show in estate guise, on sale from the New Year also promising savings in manufacturing costs, Mr Guyton is looking forward to better times. ”New Mazda6 is a more profitable and more competitive car for us than the outgoing car. We have an automatic diesel for the first time in this sector which allows us to be much more competitive.”

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Mercedes looking for the right road to zero-emissions Mercedes will be the first company to market with a commercially available fuel-cell car in 2014, but has yet to decide on production volumes, how the car will be distributed or future escalation of the project, says vice-president of research and development Prof Dr Herbert Kohler. ”These are the questions on the table internally,” he said. ”We are planning how far we should go. It depends on what kind of collaboration we have in the future.” The B-Class F-CELL, based on Mercedes’ latest front-wheeldrive five-door compact, is the model chosen to spearhead the move towards hydrogen-fuelled cars.

Kohler says that whatever the decision, greater electrification of the car has shifted from being desirable to becoming necessary to meet future emissions legislation. The EU is proposing to follow its demand for average CO2 emissions of 130g/km in 2015 with a 95g/km target in 2020. ”We are still in negotiations with the EU authorities, but we will need those cars to meet such a target,” said Kohler. ”On our first analysis five or six years ago we thought we would need to have a lot of zero-emissions cars on the market to meet 130g/km, but that turned out not to be the case because of improvements with internal combustion engines. ”But with the perspective being put forward for 2020 we will need additional zero (emissions) vehicles. The right way to do this is to start now and find out all the pros and cons and experiences of customers so that we can make the right choice.”

One obstacle that might have to be overcome, he believes, is initial customer acceptance. ”Look at Start/Stop. A lot of customers are saying they are not comfortable with it. They are suspicious because they are not comfortable that they will be able to restart,” he said. ”It is nothing to do with reliability. It is the technology.

There were the same concerns with the range of electric vehicles at first, but after one year customers had got used to it and it was down to fourth or fifth of their concerns and not a big problem.”

Kia Carens shrinks but grows in style and practicality

Kia’s new seven-seat Carens mid-sized MPV may be a far more stylish proposition than the under-performer it replaces, but functionality came a long way ahead of looks during the development stage, says the company’s chief design officer, Peter Schreyer. ”An MPV is all about space and variability. The package is the most important thing – then comes shape,” he added. ”We have a much better package than with the old car and a great solution for the second row, with three equal seats.

Technically, it is a big step forward.”

The new Carens is based on a stretched version of the platform used for the European-made cee'd range, but with a simpler twist-beam rear axle in place of the costlier and less space-efficient independent set-up of the cee'd. ”The platform was developed from the start to be able to take both rear axles,” says Dr Joachim Hahn, the head of powertrain development for Kia Motors Europe.

The new Carens is shorter and lower than the outgoing car, but provides even more space for up to seven occupants. ”The reduced height was not only driven by shape – it means there is a lower frontal area which is good for fuel economy,” says Hahn.

Schreyer is particularly proud of the car's ”positive compromise between practicality and style”. ”It is more of a sports tourer than a family van," he says. ”It is not spectacular like crazy, but will remain attractive over a number of years. I’m really proud that we have found the ideal combination.”

The current Carens has always been something of a weak link in the otherwise soaring Kia line-up, in a market sector, which attracts 900,000 customers annually in Europe.

But the company’s UK managing director, Michael Cole, is confident of a seven-fold increase to 3,500 sales a year, once the newcomer goes on sale towards the end of 2012.

IFW November 2012

05

news analysis

Carbon fibre could improve fuel consumption says Ford

Ford displayed a prototype carbon fibre bonnet for a Ford Focus at the recent Composites Europe Event in Dusseldorf. The material is usually associated with racing cars and high performance super cars.

The Focus bonnet is a claimed 50% lighter than a standard steel bonnet. Research carried out by Ford suggests that a carbon fibre bonnet could be produced quickly enough to be fitted to a production car. ”Reducing a vehicle’s weight can deliver major benefits for fuel consumption, but a process for fast and affordable production of carbon fibre automotive parts in large numbers has never been available,” said Inga Wehmeyer, advanced materials and processes research engineer, Ford European Research Centre. ”By partnering with materials experts through the Hightech.NRW research project, Ford is working to develop a solution that supports cost efficient manufacturing of carbon fibre components.”

Carbon fibre is up to five times as strong as steel, twice as stiff and one third of the weight. Materials such as carbon fibre are key to Ford’s plans to reduce vehicle weight by up to 340kg by 2020.

Chevrolet's European invasion Europe is the next frontier for Chevrolet as it builds its global presence, says dealer development vice president Jim Bunnell.

Since 2005, when the new Chevrolet business was set up, it has steadily grown but he acknowledges it still has some way to go. ”There are brands in Europe which have been around for a hundred years and we recognise not so many buyers will be familiar with Chevrolet, but we are about to change that,” he said.

It has been building up its model lines and is now represented with a vehicle in the major European sectors. The latest Trax MPV got its world debut in Paris. Last year, Chevrolet sold about 4.77 million models and three million so far this year, so it's on track for five million registrations in 2012.

It has 1,900 European dealers. ”It's a small brand but we have big ambitions,” he added. ”We want to grow at the right pace and do it right so our dealers are profitable and their customers are satisfied with the products and services they are getting. Profitable growth is our objective."

He said Chevrolet has introduced 10 new models in 18 months and more are in the pipeline, but it was determined to look at each segment very carefully before deciding whether to introduce a model so that the brand built loyalty based on good residual values from desirable models.

Chevrolet Trax

Suzuki Concept a prelude to 2013 production car Suzuki’s Paris centrepiece, the S-Cross mid-sized crossover concept, is officially described as a study to showcase the design direction the company will take in future.

Scratch beneath the surface, however, and it is pretty clear that Suzuki plans to build something similar, expected to debut at the end of 2013.

S-Cross is built on an all-new in-house C-segment platform, and insiders are already saying they expect a production version to possibly be shown at Frankfurt this time next year and to go into production at the company's Hungarian plant.

Though primarily aimed at Europeans, S-Cross will be a global car.

There will be a diesel, expected to be the 1.6-litre Fiat common-rail engine plus an unspecified petrol option, and both two and four-wheel drive. There are no clues as to the name, but SX4 – the badge used for a current small Suzuki crossover – is believed to be one possibility. It is expected to be available with both two and four-wheel drive options.

Suzuki sees the car as an opportunity to penetrate the fleet and corporate sales sectors, acknowledging that it needs products with lower CO2 emissions to make that happen.

Other changes to the Suzuki model range include minor changes to the Grand Vitara to bring CO2 emissions below 180g/km.

The company is also considering a 4x4 variant of the Swift to compete with the Panda 4x4.

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Peugeot 2008 set for Geneva Peugeot’s Ford B-Max rival, the 2008, unveiled as a concept at Paris, will make its production debut at Geneva before going on sale next year.

The concept is as close to the production model as it could be without giving the game away completely, according to designer Pierre Authier.

The colour is not in the production palette, nor are those wheels, and there are a couple of design details added to the concept that won't carry through to production. ”Other than that it is 98% there,” said Authier.

in brief...

Top 10 European congested cities TomTom’s quarterly congestion index rates Istanbul in Turkey as the most congested city in the European area.

The rating is based on a comparison of millions of journeys per year in cities and a calculation of how much more congested the locations are at peak times, compared with off-peak traffic.

Honda hybrid sales top 1 million Honda hybrid car sales exceeded 1 million at the end of September, almost 13 years after sales of the first generation Honda Insight began in November 1999. Honda now sells 8 hybrid models in some 50 countries around the world.

110 years of the Speedometer

Calls for pan-European drink-drive action Both police and politicians called for more action against drink and drug drivers on the eve of the TISPOL European Traffic Police annual conference at the beginning of October. ”Statistics from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) show that alcohol-impaired road users are still involved in around 25% of the 30,000 annual road deaths in Europe. Additionally, it is believed that around 2% of all road journeys in Europe are made by drivers with an illegal level of blood alcohol content,” said TISPOL president Pasi Kemppainen; ”The situation with drug driving is less clear but equally serious, and it is believed that drugs are a factor in a further 25% of fatal crashes. ”Better awareness-raising and more widespread, robust enforcement can make a difference in reducing the casualties. We welcome the Scottish Government’s consultation on proposals to lower the drink drive limit. We hope this will result in a decision to bring in a lower limit. We believe the long-term goal should be a low drink-drive limit that is the same across Europe, with an additional zero limit for novice drivers and professional drivers. As we work towards that, we must ensure we pursue other measures, including alcohol interlocks, campaigns and education, to support our vital enforcement work.”

The Speedometer celebrated its 110th birthday on 7 October 2012.

The eddy-current speedometer patent was originally filed by engineer Otto Schulze at the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin in 1902.

Subaru XV earns IIHS top rating Following its Euro NCAP 5 star safety rating in Europe, The Subaru XV compact crossover has won the ”good” rating from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the highest rating awarded by the IIHS. The results follow moderate overlap frontal, side rollover and impact tests.

VW tops 4 million sales in 9 months VW has delivered over 4 million passenger cars to customers in nine months for the first time ever, up from 3.81 million deliveries in January to September 2011, a 10.6% increase.

VW already has 15,000 advance orders for the new Golf, launched at the recent Paris Show.

IFW November 2012

07

* CO²OL

*The new A-Class with CO₂ emissions as low as 98 g/km.

A Daimler Brand

The pulse of a new generation. Thanks to state-of-the-art technical features such as the ECO start/stop function fitted as standard, the new A 180 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY is one of the most efficient diesel vehicles in the compact car segment – with CO₂ emissions from just 98 g per kilometre. And because road safety is not a matter of price at Mercedes-Benz, the radarsupported COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST system also comes as standard. Find out more at www.mercedes-benz.com/fleet

Fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined: 8.4–4.5/5.1–3.3/6.4–3.8 l/100 km; combined CO₂ emissions: 148–98 g/km.

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motor show review PARIS SHOW

The pick of Paris Steve Moody and Alex Grant choose their highlights from the Paris Motor Show.

Volkswagen The seventh-generation Golf will be home to a wide range of fuel-saving technology, starting with a new and more ef icient version of the 1.6 TDI engine in the BlueMotion, which now returns 3.2l/100km while emitting 85g/km CO2.

Although it’s not a huge departure from the outgoing model visually, the new Golf uses Volkswagen’s new modular platform, which standardises components across different vehicle sizes to make it easier, and cheaper, to manufacturer more varied model ranges.

Standardising powertrain fitments means, in time, the Golf will be available as a plug-in hybrid based on the 1.4 TSI engine, and electric Blue-e-motion variant, all built on the same production line. It will also debut cylinder shut-off technology in the 1.4 TSI, running on two cylinders when not under load.

Engine options from launch comprise 1.2 and 1.4 TSI petrols, with the latter featuring cylinder shut-off, and a choice of 1.6 and 2.0-litre TDI engines with 104 and 150PS respectively. The BlueMotion will follow next summer. AG

Mk7 Volkswagen Golf

Audi

A3 Sportback

Audi’s new A3 Sportback is bound to be a major leet car: with a €750 approx premium over three-door, and more functional than ever with a wheelbase 58mm longer than the predecessor and 35mm longer than the new three-door, it also offer 1,220 litres of luggage capacity.

Thanks to ultra lightweight construction the new car is up to 90kg lighter than the one it replaces, and engines include a thoroughly reworked 152PS 2.0 TDI with CO2 emissions of 108g/km.

The 1.6 TDI version offers 99g/km.

The infotainment system also gets a major upgrade with the ability to handle better graphics as well as improved online capability. The first cars will reach customers in March next year. SM

Ford Ford’s striking new Mondeo was grabbing attention at the event, but European buyers will have to wait until next winter to buy one after the manufacturer delayed its launch to meet North American demand.

New Mondeo will be the first time Ford has had a single platform for its large cars, and sold in North America as the Fusion.

But, because the outgoing Fusion is over a year older than the facelifted Mondeo, Ford is prioritising North American markets for its new arrival, saying it would be impossible to meet quality levels expected for European customers by the original summer 2013 launch. AG

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New Mondeo

SEAT SEAT will be hoping its new Leon can give the irm more leet sales when it hits the market next year.

First deliveries of the new hatchback are due in March 2013. Low CO2 is one of its major attributes: the Leon 1.6 TDI 106PS with Ecomotive Technology returns 3.8l/100km and 99g/km, while even the most powerful version at launch, the 2.0 TDI 186PS FR, boasts an average consumption figure of 4.3l/100km, with 112g/km CO2.

Tidily, if conservatively styled, the new Leon comes with a lot of kit as standard, including air conditioning, twin halogen headlamps with electric adjustment, an MP3 compatible six-speaker CD player, integrated hands-free phone operation with Bluetooth audio streaming, and a colour touchscreen interface.

Built on the new MQB Volkswagen Group platform that allows for cheaper construction costs and lighter materials, the Leon is shorter than it predecessor, yet is lighter, with a bigger boot and more interior space. SM

New SEAT Leon

Mazda

New Mazda6 Tourer

The second car to feature the carmaker’s SKYACTIV Technology, which claims to boost both economy and driver enjoyment, the new Mazda6 is open for ordering this month with first cars due to arrive in the UK early next year. One of the prettiest models in its class, Mazda is targeting a 50% sales uplift Europe-wide during 2013.

The athletic saloon has translated flawlessly into an equally stylish Tourer, which broke cover in Paris. This adds £1,700 to the price, but features a wide rear load area with the ability to stow the cargo cover under the boot floor. CO2 emissions for the new 150PS 2.2-litre diesel start at 108g/km for the saloon, and 116g/km for the Tourer. Turn to page 44 for our first drive of what should be a key fleet car for Mazda. AG

Citroën Paris marked the introduction of Citroën’s entirely logical, very stylish DS3 Cabrio, which will pitch for a share of the Fiat 500C and MINI Cabriolet’s sales when it arrives next year. But DS3 Cabrio will also be the first model to feature Citroën’s new turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engines, which will offer CO2 emissions starting at 99g/km in the C3.

Launched under the PureTech banner, the range will comprise 1.0 and 1.2-litre units with 69PS and 83PS respectively, while CO2 emissions will be between 99g/km and 104g/km. DS3 Cabrio will get the 1.2-litre engine, likely to be rolled out in the hatchback as part of a planned subtle mid-life refresh in line with the soft-top’s new styling. Both power outputs will be available in the C3. AG

Citroën DS3 Cabrio

IFW November 2012

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¡ Kia Kia unveiled the stunning new pro_cee’d and Carens MPV, continuing the irms run of good form and no doubt cementing a further rise in sales over the next year.

Sitting slightly lower than the ive door version, but more adventurously styled, the new three door pro_cee’d is not expected to be a major seller – around 10-15% of cee’d sales – but it will give the brand that X factor car that gets Kia recognised among buyers who care more for style than value for money. Indeed, it looks like that next year will see a 203PS hot version to further carry the Kia badge into new markets.

For leets, the new Carens will be a bigger seller. The last of the ‘old’ models to be replaced by new Peter Schreyer-penned designs, the new MPV will take the place of both the current model and Sedona, and is likely to run the cee’d’s engine. Executives are currently deciding whether to it the Carens with ive or seven seats as standard. The latter is looking favourite. SM

New Kia pro_cee’d

Peugeot

Peugeot 2008 Concept

Peugeot has a plethora of new models on the way in 2013, but the 2008 compact crossover is the one it sees as most fleet-relevant, competing in a growing sector against the popular Skoda Yeti, Nissan Juke and newcomers such as the Vauxhall Mokka and Chevrolet Trax.

Likely to look very similar to the luminous concept car shown at the Motor Show, 2008 will get the carmaker’s efficiency-tuned three-cylinder engines and e-HDI microhybrid diesels and could be the first in its class to dip under 100g/km CO2. AG

Toyota Toyota’s second-generation Auris will be available as a Touring Sports version, available with the same hybrid powertrain as the hatchback and aiming for the 25% of mainstream C-segment market where the carmaker has yet to compete.

Designing the Auris hatchback for a hybrid drivetrain from launch has allowed Toyota to package it as neatly as in the Yaris. This means there’s no loss of space in the hatchback, and that the Auris Touring Sports will offer the same luggage and cabin capacity as its conventionally powered siblings.

Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for the hybrid have not been released yet, but are said to be under the outgoing car’s 89g/km and 3.8l/100km. This would put the Touring Sports Hybrid at around 3.1l/100km, adding to the fleet appeal enjoyed by its predecessor. AG

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Toyota Auris Touring Sports

Renault Renault exhibited two new cars, the new Clio and electric ZOE, on its vast stand.

The new Clio is vital for the firm and comes with some super-efficient engines: a new 0.9-litre three cylinder TCe 90 Stop&Start petrol turbo motor offering 4.3l/100km and 99g/km, and the 1.5 dCi 90 Stop&Start with 3.2l/100km and 83g/km of CO2 being the highlights.

As with all small cars now, it comes with a long list of personalisation options including a selection of roof designs, while in the much-improved cabin, the Clio debuts R-Link, Renault’s new integrated touchscreen multimedia tablet that is connected both to the car and to the internet, with standard features including TomTom navigation and voice command control for use of the telephone and navigation system. SM

New Clio

Opel/Vauxhall Opel/Vauxhall is entering the image-conscious end of the A-segment with the Adam, which goes on sale next February with a claimed 6.5 million combinations of body colours, wheels, interiors and graphics to ensure two need ever be identical.

Pricing starts at €11,500, higher than a Corsa and key rival the Fiat 500, but just under that of an entry-level MINI. There will be three distinct trim levels, and three petrol engines offering up to 100PS at launch, followed by the first of Opel/Vauxhall’s new direct injection turbocharged units and matched gearboxes later in its life cycle. AG

Opel/Vauxhall Adam

Chevrolet Entering what’s looking set to become a crowded segment, the Chevrolet Trax shares its underpinnings and drivetrain line-up with the Opel Mokka and Buick Encore. For Europe, this means CO2 emissions starting at 120g/km for the 1.7-litre diesel engine, and a choice of two and four wheel drive and manual or automatic Chevrolet Trax gearboxes for this and the 1.4-litre turbo petrol. Chevrolet hasn’t released pricing yet, but is expected to match key rival the Skoda Yeti. AG

B-Class Electric Drive

Mercedes-Benz The German giant showed off its two most recent mainstream models – the new A-Class and CLS Shooting Brake, as well as previewing a number of electric vehicle innovations, including the limited run SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive, which has 1,000Nm of torque and manages the 0-62mph sprint in 3.9 seconds.

More pertinent to fleets was the Concept B-Class Electric Drive, with the batteries housed under the floor and a 210km range. It is likely a production version will go on sale in 2014. SM IFW November 2012

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EVERY FLEET NEEDS A FLAGSHIP.

BMW i

Sheer Driving Pleasure

At BMW i, we know the corporate world is all about efficiency, so we’ll keep it short and simple. Why should fleet managers consider the all-electric, emission-free BMW i3 with eDrive technology, available in 2013? First, it’s a perfect fit for innovation-minded companies. Second, it’s a strong sustainability statement. Third, with its connectivity, it makes a functional workplace when required.

Fourth, it can bring down the cost of ownership. And finally, as a genuine BMW, it’s going to put a smile on the face of your employees – every time out. More: bmw-i.com/fleet BMW i. BORN ELECTRIC.

bmw-i.com

motor show review HANOVER SHOW

Hanover launch bonanza for new CVs This year’s Hanover Show had plenty of new vehicles on display, with truck manufacturers Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and DAF all launching Euro6 models, plus new and updated vans from Ford, Mercedes, Citroën, Peugeot and Nissan. The exhibition also featured the usual glimpse of the future, with electric and hybrid concepts catching the eye. These are some of our Hanover highlights.

Ford Transit Connect Making its irst appearance at the show was Ford’s Transit Connect upgrade.

Not available until later next year, the Connect range drops Ford’s venerable 1.8-litre diesel in favour of a new 1.6-litre Duratorq engine. This delivers 76PS, 96PS and 116PS. There will also be a 101PS version of Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine and a 1.6-litre EcoBoost with automatic transmission for the US market.

The Transit Connect will be available in short and long wheelbases, but with a single roof height this time around. Auto Start/Stop will feature on both petrol and diesel engined models and the vans have a completely upgraded interior, featuring greater use of electronic driver aids and communication systems from the irm’s car lines.

Ford Transit Connect

Volvo FH

Mercedes-Benz Antos

Volvo’s flagship FH long distance truck has moved forwards once more, with a larger cab, Euro6 engines and increased use of electronic control systems to increase operating efficiency. With sales of the Euro6 models due to start in Spring 2013, Volvo makes big claims for its I-Torque driveline and I-Shift transmission technology.

“I-Torque delivers high torque from low Volvo FH revs and contains an I-Shift transmission with dual clutch technology, resulting in excellent driveability, quiet operation and great fuel efficiency,” said senior vice president Ricard Fritz. FH trucks will be powered by Volvo’s 13-litre and 16-litre engines, with ratings up to 760PS.

Mercedes-Benz is replacing its mid-range Axor truck with the Antos. Designed to operate at 18-26 tonnes as a rigid, or as a midweight tractor, the Antos range takes on the latest family appearance first seen on Actros and uses 7.7-litre, 10.7-litre and 12.8-litre Euro6 engines delivering 241PS to 517PS. Three cab variants are offered with short and medium lengths. The medium length cab can be supplied with a low roof for use with a refrigeration unit above the cab.

Ford Transit Hot on the heels of the Transit Custom launch last month, Ford has shown its full size Transit for the irst time in Europe.

Though not available in Europe or the US until later in 2013, Transit will be available with a choice of three engine ratings from Ford’s popular 2.2-litre Duratorq diesel of Ford Transit 101PS, 127PS and 157PS. In addition the van will use a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine in the US market, where it will eventually replace the current E Series van line.

The larger Transit will be available in front, rear and all-wheel drive variants, in van, double-cab-in-van, Kombi and minibus models. Both single and double cab chassis cabs and cowls will also be on offer.

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Mercedes-Benz Antos

64th International Motor Show

Citroën Electric Berlingo

Nissan e-NV200 Nissan’s electric van took a step closer to proNissan e-NV200 duction, with the firm showing the e-NV200 for the first time. Prototypes of the electric van, which uses the LEAF’s running gear, are in the final stages of testing with companies including FedEx, and should be on sale by the end of next year.

The e-NV200 uses an 80kW motor with up to 280Nm of torque, and Nissan has managed to package the batteries beneath the van floor, retaining the full 4.2m3 load volume of the diesel van. Nissan also unveiled a larger electric van concept in the shape of the e-NV400 truck, based on the Cabstar model.

Citroën Partner Electric and Electric Berlingo PSA companies Peugeot and Citroen have joined the electric van market with the introduction of the Partner Electric and Electric Berlingo models respectively. Powered by a 49kW motor, with 200Nm of torque, the vans are said to provide a range of up to 170km with a six-nine hour charge. However, they also have a fast charge facility delivering 80% capacity in just 30 minutes, using a 125A electricity supply.

The batteries have been packaged beneath the standard van’s floor, to offer load volumes up to 4.1m3. Payloads of up to 675kg are also possible, with both short and long body models available. The two light commercials should be available by the end of the first half of 2013.

Fiat Doblo Cargo Fiat has added a larger model to its Doblo Cargo range of light vans. The high-roof version of the firm’s long wheelbase Doblo Maxi is called the Doblo Cargo XL and it features a full 5m3 load capacity, or 5.4m3 with the passenger seat folded forwards.

Available with the 91PS and 106PS versions of Fiat’s 1.6litre diesel engine, or the range-topping Fiat Doblo Cargo XL 137PS 2.0-litre motor, the XL has a 1 tonne carrying capacity. Customers who want to carry people as well as loads can specify a Combi version, which is available with a 122PS 2.0-litre petrol engine if preferred.

Iveco concept Looking even further into the future, Iveco focussed its attention on the Dual Energy study, a concept light to Iveco Dual Energy study medium weight commercial that can be run on a combination of electric, hybrid and thermal engine powertrains. Developed in co-operation with a host of component manufacturers, including Brembo, Bosch, Denso and FPT, the Dual Energy study puts forward the concept of a vehicle that can be adapted to suit a range of operating criteria. There are as yet no dates for production, but no doubt much of the technology will find its way into various Iveco commercials over the coming years.

Mercedes Sprinter E-Cell Mercedes is extending its electric van range with the prototype Sprinter E-Cell. Using technology proven on the smaller Vito E-Cell, the larger van packs a 70kW motor with a short-term peak output of 100kW. The full 220Nm of torque is available from standstill and the Sprinter E-Cell will offer a top speed of 80km/h and a range of up to 135km.

Mercedes claims payloads of as high as 1,200kg can be achieved on a 3.5 tonne van, though the driveline can be used in a host of body types.

Of more interest to customers now, Mercedes has also changed the automatic transmission on offer in Sprinter, from its aging five-speed box to the proven seven-speed 7G-Tronic transmission. The company claims the additional ratios offer similar economy as a manual gearbox.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter E-Cell

IFW November 2012

17

2012/13 fleet calendar International Fleet World’s guide to what’s happening in the fleet industry in the comimg months – when, where and how to find out more info...

October 24-4 November São Paulo, 27th International Automobile Trade Show, Brazil (PC, LCV) www.salaodoautomovel.com.br 26-28 Oslo Motor Show, Norway (PC) www.messe.no November 2-11 Istanbul International Auto Show, Turkey (PC) www.odd.org.tr 23-2 December Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition, China (PC, CV) www.autoshow-gz.com 30-9 December Los Angeles Auto Show, USA (PC) www.laautoshow.com December 2-6 Riyadh International Motor Show, Saudi Arabia (PC) www.recexpo.com 7-16 Bologna Motor Show, International Automobile Exhibition, Italy (PC, LCV) www.gl-events.it January 2013 11-20 91st Brussels Show, Belgium (LCV, RV) www.febiac.be 19-25 Cairo International Motor Show, Egypt (CV) www.mondial-automobile.com 19-27 North American International Auto Show, Detroit (Industry Preview, 16-17) (PC) www.naias.com February 8-17 Chicago Auto Show, USA (PC) www.chicagoautoshow.com 15-24 Canadian International Auto Show, Toronto, Canada (PC) www.autoshow.ca March 1-13 Transportec Logitec 2013, Verona, Italy (CV) www.tltexpo.it 7-17 Geneva 83rd International Motor Show, Switzerland (PC) www.salon-auto.ch 22-31 Belgrade International Motor Show, Serbia (PC, LCV) www.belgradefair.rs 29-7 April Seoul International Motor Show, South Korea (PC, LCV, CV) www.motorshow.or.kr April 3-14 Amsterdam International Motor Show, The Netherlands (PC) www.autorai.nl 9-11 The Commercial Vehicle Show, Birmingham, UK (CV) www.cvshow.com 23-26 NAFA Institute and Expo, Atlantic City Convention Center, NJ, USA. www.nafa.org/conference May 11-19 Barcelona International Motor Show, Spain (PC, LCV) www.firabcn.es 31-2 June International Kyiv Auto Salon 2013, Ukraine (PC) www.sia-motorshow.com.ua June 15-23 Sofia international Motor Show, Bulgaria (PC) www.svab.bg 20-30 Buenos Aires International Motor Show, Argentina (PC, LCV) www.elsalondelautomovil.com.ar KEY: PC – passenger cars // LCV – light commercial vehicles // CV – commercial vehicles

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The new

MOKKA

Business is tough. be prepared.

Don’t blend in.

www.opel.com Fuel consumption combined 6.5–4.5 l/100 km; CO 2 emissions combined 153–120 g/km (according to R (EC) No. 715/2007). Efficiency class E–B

EV news analysis

POD Point and ABB to form Europe-wide rapid charging network London-based POD Point and Swiss-Swedish power and automation group ABB have announced a collaborative project to fast-track a Europe-wide network of public access rapid charging points for electric vehicle owners, facilitating longdistance travel across the region.

Most of the network will be made up of ABB’s Terra 51 rapid charger, a unit which is designed to undercut most rivals and improve the business case for having a fleet of plug-in cars or vans. The majority will be located at transport hubs on the busiest routes around Europe, including city centre car parks, airports and motorway service stations, offering an 80% charge in around 15 minutes for most electric vehicles.

POD Point will supply its back-office system, based on the almost industry-standard Open Charge Point Protocol, which allows units from multiple manufacturers to communicate over a standardised platform. The partnership is aimed at offering a European rival to manufacturer Coulomb Technologies, which has begun establishing a similar network across the United States.

Erik Fairbairn, POD Point chief executive officer, commented: ”Networking public charge points will spur the development of location-finding apps, which will benefit the EV driver. Networking is also needed to enable owners to monitor charge point usage, generate income from their charge

points, and perform remote software upgrades and repairs – so avoiding costly on-site maintenance visits.”

Projects already under way as part of the pan-European collaboration include integrating ABB’s chargers with Irish energy supplier ESB’s own software and installing rapid charging units in Norway in partnership with EV Power. In the UK, ABB has already installed charging points in the Midlands, Northern Ireland and Scotland, with further units planned for London and Wales.

Three year project will build Nordic hydrogen refueling network Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with organisations from the Nordic Countries to support the launch of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the region by 2017, including establishing a refuelling network.

Signed at the 3GF Conference, Copenhagen, in the presence of the Danish minister for transport and director of the International Energy Agency – directorate of sustainable energy policy and technology – the MoU sets out a three-year collaborative project due to begin in 2014.

All four manufacturers have firm plans to launch hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Europe in the near future. Honda’s lowerpriced successor to the Insight is scheduled for a 2015 release, matched by Toyota and Nissan’s plans, while Hyundai announced in September that its ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle would be commercially available by the end of 2012 with a second generation version to follow in 2015.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are driven using an electric

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motor, supplied with power generated by a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. The only emission at the point of use is water vapour, and refuelling times are similar to a conventionally-powered vehicle.

Market success will be reliant on establishing a refuelling network for the vehicles, which is at present largely limited to manufacturers' own test facilities.

for the latest news, visit evfleetworld.com

Kia to launch downsized Optima Hybrid in Europe Kia will launch a small capacity version of the Optima Hybrid in left hand drive European markets, the carmaker has announced, offering CO2 emissions of 125g/km, fuel economy of 52.3mpg and previewing technology soon to be available in other models.

Already a popular model in South Korea and the United States, where it is sold with a 2.5-litre petrol engine, the car will be sold in Europe with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and becomes the first petrol-electric hybrid in its segment, beating the forthcoming Mondeo Hybrid.

The powertrain is otherwise nearidentical to the 2.5-litre model. Combining both power sources produces 190hp and allows the Optima Hybrid to reach 100km/h in 9.4 seconds, while using 10% less fuel and emitting 21% less CO2 than the 1.7 CRDi version with an automatic gearbox.

Ford and Schneider Electric develop Focus Electric charging package Ford has formed its first partnership with a European energy company ahead of the Focus Electric launch, developing a home or workplace charging solution with Schneider Electric.

As part of the agreement, both fleet and retail customers for the Focus Electric will be offered a Schneider EVLINK charging station, including installation and a five-year warranty as part of the purchase or leasing package.

The unit allows a full charge of the battery-electric vehicle in just over three hours, Schneider said, in turn offering a range of up to 100 miles. Ford is planning to offer the same package for customers of the forthcoming C-MAX plug-in hybrid, which launches in Europe in 2013.

Andreas Ostendorf, Ford of Europe’s vice president of sustainability, environment and safety developments, commented: ”Together, we are offering drivers and fleet operators a flexible and efficient solution that allows them to charge their vehicles. The foundation for an optimal zero-emissions driving experience.”

Auris Touring Sports to join Toyota hybrid family Toyota is to launch a hybrid version of the new Auris Touring Sports wagon, the carmaker has revealed at the Paris Motor Show, with CO2 emissions likely to be just over 90g/km.

Revealed alongside the Auris and Auris Hybrid at the event, the Touring Sports variant is aimed at competing for the 25% of meanstream C-segment sales in Europe which are sold as wagons. It measures 285mm longer than the hatchback and will be offered with the same engines.

Fuel consumption and CO2 figures haven’t been released for the hatch yet, but are said to undercut the outgoing car’s 89g/km emissions. As with the hatchback, the hybrid battery doesn’t reduce interior space, which could make this an attractive fleet proposition.

in brief...

GM tests Volt energy usage app in Texas smart grid project General Motors’ telematics subsidiary OnStar is testing an EcoHub app, which will give Chevrolet Volt owners itemised billing to show how much they are spending on electricity to charge their car compared to the rest of their home.

The trial is being conducted at the Pecan Street demonstration project in Texas, which is testing numerous energy conscious technologies.

Diesel-electric V60 Plug-in Hybrid is sold out for now, says Volvo Buyers in the market for Volvo’s high performance V60 Plug-in Hybrid will have to wait until next year because all of the first 1,000 special edition Pure Limited models have already sold out, the manufacturer has announced. For the 2014 model year, production will be ramped up to 5,000 units, available in a choice of colours and equipment levels.

More power for 2013 Honda CR-Z, but no extra CO2 Honda has fitted a new lithium ion battery to its CR-Z hybrid coupe, which together with an engine upgrade helps improve the car’s performance without sacrificing fuel economy or CO2 emissions as a by-product. On sale from January 2013, new models are marked out by refreshed styling and a new Plus Sport button which activates a ten-second power boost for overtaking.

Nissan and Ecotricity launch free fast charging service Nissan has opened its first fast charging points at three Welcome Break motorway service stations on the route between London and Birmingham, as part of a co-operative project with renewable energy supplier Ecotricity. Access is given for free to Ecotricity members, registered online at the company’s website.

IFW November 2012

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fleet strategy

Green shoots of optimism in UK leasing sector UK residual values may be up, but elsewhere in Europe, the struggling economies are maintaining their grip and holding values back, reports Experteye.

Forecasted residual values in the UK contract hire sector have risen by +1.5% in the last quarter, perhaps showing a glint of optimism in the future economy after a year that has seen a fall of -3.1%.

Yet this optimism isn’t shared across other European nations with Italy, Portugal, Germany and Spain showing marginal reductions in their residual value forecasts, and only France joining the UK with a slight increase (+0.2%).

The figures from the Experteye European Leasing index show a relatively stable quarter with the +1.5% UK rise in forecasted residual values being the largest across the European nations surveyed, and Spain reporting the largest fall at just -1.0%.

With only minor movements in servicing, maintenance and repair budgets it is therefore no surprise that rental rates have also remained relatively static with French leet operators suffering the greatest increase at just +1.7% and Spain the largest drop at -0.1%.

The Experteye survey tracks forecasted residual values (RV), servicing, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs and rental rates in six European countries using data supplied by major leasing companies.

In the past year, Portugal has seen the greatest decline in its forecasted residual values with a signi icant -5.1% fall; the largest across the nations surveyed. And whilst the UK (-3.1%), Italy (-2.3%) and Spain (-0.1%) all report annual reductions in RVs, this pessimism isn’t shared everywhere, with France showing an improvement of +2.6% to its residual value forecasts and Germany a +1.3% rise.

has, however, been a fall of -0.6%. German SMR budgets remain relatively stable with a -1.0% fall since July 2012, following a year that saw costs rise by +0.6%. German leet customers had been enjoying a small fall in their rental rates with a -1.7% reduction in the past year, however lease costs have risen by +1.1% in the last three months.

ITALY: Italy has enjoyed a stable quarter since July 2012 with forecasted RVs moving by only -0.1%, SMR budgets by +0.4% and lease rates by +0.4%. Yet the +0.4% rise in SMR costs means Italy has seen its costs rise more than any other nation surveyed, reflecting a very static picture across European repair costs. The twelve months has, however, shown Italian SMR budgets rising by +3.2% (the largest hike of all nations surveyed) with forecasted RVs falling by -2.3% and lease rates dropping by -1.7%.

PORTUGAL: Portugal has reported the largest annual fall in forecasted residual values with a -5.1% drop, albeit steadying to a -0.1% reduction for the recent quarter. Servicing, maintenance and repair budgets have increased by +1.7% since October 2011 which is perhaps why it comes as little surprise to see annual lease rates in Portugal climb higher than any other nation surveyed with a +1.9% rise for the year.

SMR costs for the quarter have only shifted by a small +0.2% and rentals are more steady since July 2012 with a +0.3% increase.

SPAIN: There has been very little movement overall in Spain, the largest shift being SMR budgets which have come down by -2.1% in the last quarter. Otherwise, it is a picture of stability. Quarterly forecasted residual values have moved by -1.0%, annual RVs by -0.1%. Annual SMR budgets have dropped by -1.1% and lease rates have only moved -0.1% for the quarter and -0.2% for the year.

UK: Since October 2011 UK con idence in future residual values has fallen by -3.1% (second only to Portugal at -5.1%), although after a year of pessimism there have been some green shoots of optimism in the future used vehicle market with a +1.5% rise in forecasted RVs. UK SMR budgets have seen the second highest annual increase across the nations surveyed, with a +2.9% rise, albeit calming to a smaller +0.3% increase since July 2012. Rental rates for the quarter have, however, remained static (0%) following a year that saw them fall by -0.5%.

Market summaries – 3 and 12 months to September 2012 FRANCE: Since October 2011 French con idence in the future used vehicle market has been the strongest of all nations surveyed, with a +2.6% rise, continuing in the last quarter with a +0.2% increase.

With its SMR budgets reducing by more than all of its European counterparts, with a -2.1% fall in the last year, it is unsurprising that French leet operators have enjoyed a drop in their lease rates of -2.9% during the course of the year; albeit this has risen in the last quarter with a +1.7% increase in contract hire rentals.

GERMANY: Forecasted residual values have risen in Germany with a +1.3% increase in the last twelve months. In the last quarter there

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

Forecast Service, Maintenance and Repair Costs

Current Rental Rates

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

+0.2% -0.6% -0.1% -0.1% -1.0% +1.5%

+2.6% +1.3% -2.3% -5.1% -0.1% -3.1%

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

• Twelve-month comparisons show change since October 2011.

• Three-month comparisons show change since July 2012.

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-0.1% -1.0% +0.4% +0.2% -2.1% +0.3%

-2.1% +0.6% +3.2% +1.7% -1.1% +2.9%

+1.7% +1.1% +0.4% +0.3% -0.1% +0.0%

-2.9% -1.7% -1.7% +1.9% -0.2% -0.5%

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

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

www.kia.eu

LOTS OF SPACE, NICELY SHAPED.

7-year warranty* From 4.2 l/100 km From 109 g CO2/km Trunk capacity up to 1,642 litres**

THE NEW KIA CEE’D SPORTSWAGON. EXCITEMENT. QUALITY. FLEET-ABILITY. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? The perfect Sportswagon: dynamic on the outside, plenty of space and versatility inside, designed and built in Europe, with low fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions, high residual value and innovative technology backed up by a unique 7-year manufacturer warranty. Voila, here it is - our new Kia cee’d Sportswagon. Want something different? No problem, our fleet range offers enough variety to let each and every employee find the right model. Meet a different kind of fleet: www.kia.eu

* The Kia 7-year/150,000 km new car warranty. Valid in all EU member states (plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Gibraltar), subject to local terms and conditions. ** Maximum trunk capacity achieved by fully folded rear seats.

Fuel consumption (l/100 km)/CO2 (g/km): urban from: 5.0/129 to 8.8/198, extra-urban from: 3.8/98 to 5.3/121, combined from: 4.2/109 to 6.5/146.

interview

IS ONLINE REMARKETING THE FUTURE? Online vehicle auctions are becoming an established part of fleet remarketing operations, with existing auction companies now including them in the services they offer.

Autorola was established from the outset as an online auction house. John Kendall visited the company’s head office at Odense in Denmark to find out more.

A

utorola was founded in Denmark by brothers Peter and Martin Grøftehauge in 1996, as CEO Peter Grøftehauge explains: “Our father was a used car dealer, my brother is a software guy and my background is in engineering. I had been travelling in Australia and when I got back, I was discussing the future with my brother and father and we thought the future was to sell cars electronically. Then we decided to build a platform for that.

“One of the reasons we had the idea for it was because I had been buying cars in physical auctions with my father since I was 5 years old. So for me, this environment – how to buy and sell cars wholesale was more or less in my blood. So I knew the processes that were important. Then it was a matter of how we could pick the right processes and create a solution, so we were able to sell something online. Then my brother Martin worked on developing the first version of the software. When we started, there was nothing to copy, so we invented everything ourselves to get the right structure – how to inspect the car, so we could create the right

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quality to develop trust, and so on.”

In many respects, Autorola was anticipating developments that had not yet happened. In the 1990s the Worldwide Web was still in its early days and many organisations were not connected to the Internet. “I remember I went to a Volkswagen dealer here in Odense and he said ‘Yes I’m excited, I would like to join’, but then he couldn’t connect to it because he needed to dial through his telephone system”, says Peter. Few dealers in Denmark actually had a computer then. “They went to classes in the evening because they could see that when we started to move in this direction they had better learn or they would be out of the business. I think the market in Denmark is one of the most advanced now with online transactions.”

According to Peter, Danish dealers now prefer to buy online and vendors sell all their cars on line. “A customer like Danske Bank, the Danish bank has a leasing company and they sell all their cars on line.

It’s only 5,000 per year, which is not a lot, but they sell every single car online,” he

says. “It’s not like they flood the market.

Every week they sell 150-200 cars and they are sold within 24 hours or so. It’s very efficient and tomorrow if they had 10,000 cars, they would be able to sell them because they have such wide buyer interest. When we have discussions in other countries, they consider whether they should take 10% or 20% of their volume and sell it online, but that’s not how it is in Denmark. A new customer here wouldn’t doubt if they could sell 1,000 cars online.”

To use Peter’s words, “Denmark is a nice country, but it’s very small and you could never build a really good business in Denmark.” So expansion was part of the plan from the beginning. How did he proceed from there? “We had this plan to build a European platform and my first thought was that we don’t need people, we just need to build a platform,” he continues, “I used to be a windsurfer so I thought when the platform is running, I can go to Hawaii, lay on the beach, go windsurfing for a few hours every day and the money would just roll into the bank account. That was my naive mindset.

Just to understand the different cultures in the European countries was difficult but I think we have managed that now Peter Grøftehauge, CEO, Autorola

“But you need to be close to the major vendors and customers otherwise you cannot support them. For me it was a very difficult decision to start a subsidiary with a local office in one country. We did that in 2005 when we opened an office in Germany.

Then between 2005 and 2008, I think we opened in 15 countries. Now we have a structure to support them and to go to a global level is a very big challenge, but I think we can do it. Just to understand the different cultures in the European countries was difficult, but I think we have managed that now.

The next challenge is to understand some specific challenges in the BRIC countries.”

Being web-based helps in introducing the system to a new country. The same platform and tools are used everywhere and translated into the required language.

Online remarketing is still in its development phase. “The market today is totally different from 5 years ago,” says Peter.

“When we went to Germany for the first time in 2005, the question very often was, ‘How can I sell a car online?’, it is only in the last 3 years that people really understand

that it does work. It’s still the case that most companies don’t sell a lot of cars online, but what I can see now is that all the top managers know that online is the future.”

Autorola offers a range of options for fleet disposal. These include online sales in a local market, or across Europe, as a closed auction or an open auction and it could carry specific branding if needed. “We have some major companies that say they want to offer their cars to their preferred buyers first, then if they are not sold within 10 days, you can offer them on the open market,” says Peter. “We need to understand the customer and the knowledge they have, then find a way to start so we can be sure that we don’t lose them.

“Then we explain how to configure the processes and we need to understand how the cars are inspected or described, and if they need to be translated into different languages. We can sell using auction, or ‘Buy Now’, or closed auction first, then on the open market. We set clear rules for the buyers. It’s more efficient – you don’t need to move the cars and you can address a much bigger audience.”

MANAGING ONLINE EXPECTATIONS (from l to r) Peter Grøftehauge, CEO, & Claus Christensen, COO, of Autorola.

IFW November 2012

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remarketing

AS THE WESTERN EUROPEAN CAR MARKET STRUGGLES ON, AUTOROLA FRANCE’S MANAGING DIRECTOR, PIERRE-EMMANUEL BEAU, GIVES HIS VIEW ON THE FRENCH USED MARKET. ike so many other European countries, the French new car market is depressed and the number of used cars coming into the market has reduced due to contract extensions and the fall in new car sales three years ago.

Consumer car buyers are more cautious and holding onto cars for longer, while trade buyers are looking to source stock in smaller numbers to ensure they aren’t left with expensive inventories sitting idle on their forecourts.

The aggressive new car offers on the market are also deterring used car buyers from looking at nearly new vehicles which is proving a challenge for daily rental companies.

Where the market is holding up is with three and four year old ex-contract hire cars that are coming through in sensible numbers, so prices and demand are remaining constant. That’s good news for the four main leasing suppliers that make up the majority of the French contract hire market.

Autorola is seeing more cross border business with around 70% of its volumes being bought through its online platform in France and then exported into other countries, particularly eastern Europe. A car purchased in France could be bought, transported and for sale in Poland in just over a week, so more cross border buyers are turning to France for the speed and convenience of sourcing used stock.

Eastern European countries are usually happy to take the older or higher mileage stock that can sometimes prove difficult to shift in a home market. This is helping the French market retain some stability, although the last few months could see the markets change again. Traders stocked up on vehicles in August and September and unless they find buyers for that stock quickly, demand could falter for the remainder of 2012.

One leasing company’s online remarketing strategy is to only sell high mileage 120k+ cars through this channel – one that is working very successfully. Another uses it to sell a mix of stock with a view to finding new buyers for its vehicles that wouldn’t normally visit a physical auction. They have been rewarded with uplifts in prices in the region of €500, which makes online a very viable part of their remarketing strategy.

Online continues to grow in France with Autorola leading the way. ”We will have increased our buyer base over the past year by 35% which vendors have responded positively to,” said Pierre-Emmanuel Beau, managing director of Autorola France. ”More vendors are using our online platform to sell stock and more traders are buying online, which shows the growth in this remarketing channel.”

Like so many other European countries, it’s too early to tell where the car market will go in early 2013, but supply and demand is at a level where there aren’t vast stock issues forecast.

L

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fleet focus S. KOREA

As South Korea’s third-largest auto manufacturer, GM Korea builds a quarter of all the Chevrolet models sold worldwide

AUTOMOTIVE MIRACLE OR MYTH? Is the South Korean motor industry the miracle that many believe?

Roger Stansfield and Tony Lewis investigate.

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BACKGROUND On the eve of this year’s Paris Auto Salon, French industrial renewal minister Arnaud Montebourg accused Hyundai and Kia of ‘dumping’ cars in Europe and said he would boycott their stands at the show. A month earlier he had asked the European Union to monitor Korean car sales throughout its member states with a view to scrapping the free trade agreement that had been in force for only a year.

It was a tactic startlingly reminiscent of the attitude the French took towards Japanese manufacturers in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly after they started to establish assembly facilities in the UK. But this time the French were not only fearful of what might happen: the cat was already out of the bag.

At the time of the Paris show, car sales in France were down 12.4% for the year and PSA Peugeot-Citroën had announced plans to close its Aulnay-sour-Bois plant north of Paris, with the loss of 8,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, Hyundai sales in France were up 24.6% and Kia’s by 37.5%. What Montebourg had failed to take into account is that

70% of Hyundai’s sales were of cars manufactured at its Nosovice factory in the Czech Republic. For Kia, 60% came from the Zilina plant in Slovakia. Both countries are member states of the EU. That’s today, and shows how far the country has come in just four decades.

In the 1960s – just as the fledgling car industry was getting going - GDP per capita wasn’t much better than that in poorer countries elsewhere in Asia and parts of Africa. But by 2004, South Korea had joined the trillion-dollar club and today is among the world's 20 largest economies.

The Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 forced the country to adopt economic reforms which included greater openness to foreign investment and imports and a period of steady growth – averaging around 4% a year between 2003 and 2007 – followed.

Growth fell to just 0.3% in 2009 after the 2008 global crisis but the country recovered quickly, showing growth by the third quarter of 2009, largely export led and much of that from the car industry. Growth last year was 3.6%. Exports apart from cars include semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, computers, steel, ships and petrochemicals with China its biggest trading partner, accounting for 24.4% of exports and 16.5% of imports.

That’s not necessarily all good news since exports compromise half of GDP, a proportion that worries some observers.

Other problems include a rapidly ageing population and a workforce that is notoriously inflexible – strikes over wage deals and working conditions hit both Hyundai and Kia factories earlier this year.

THE CAR INDUSTRY Hyundai and Kia are two of the five auto makers which make up the Korean Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, along with General Motors Korea, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong. The Korean auto industry family tree has some particularly tangled branches, many of which have threatened to wither and die more than once in their relatively short life-spans.

Kia grew out of Kyeongseong Precision Industry in 1962, and is the oldest of the country’s current auto manufacturers. Yet within 25 years it was in such dire financial trouble that it is blamed for dragging South Korea into the Asian financial crisis. Today it is an extremely successful and profitable part of the Hyundai Motor Group.

SsangYong started life as the Ha Donghwan Automobile Industry Company, also in 1962. In 1998 it was in such a parlous

60% of Kia cars sold in Europe come from the Zilina plant in Slovakia

state that it was taken over by Daewoo, which is now GM Korea, but the partnership lasted barely two years as SsangYong continued hemorrhaging cash. It has since had an unhappy relationship with China’s SAIC and is now part of the Indian Mahindra & Mahindra Group.

Hyundai began as a civil engineering company in 1947, but the automobile division – which is now distinctly separate from the heavy industry, construction, electronics and department store companies which bear the Hyundai name – did not come along until 1967. Yet by 1975 Hyundai had become the first Korean manufacturer to develop its own car, the Pony, and in 1982 was the first to start exporting vehicles, to South America. It is now South Korea’s premier auto-maker and operates the single largest vehicle production plant in the world, at Ulsan.

GM has had a presence in South Korea since 1972, when it operated a joint venture with Sinjin Automobiles. At various times it has been known as Saehan Automobiles and GM Daewoo, after taking over Daewoo Motors in 2002. It has five manufacturing facilities in Korea building cars under GM badges, plus a headquarters and design and technical centres at Incheon. It is also responsible for developing the small-car platforms shared by GM divisions around the world.

Samsung Motors had the misfortune to be formed in 1994, only three years before the Asian financial crisis. That meant that by the time it launched its first car, the Nissanbased SM5, in 1998, market conditions were anything but favourable. Samsung immediately began negotiating a buy-out with Renault which came to fruition in 2000. The French company now owns 80.1% of Samsung, which continues to make Nissan and Renault-based products in Bulsan, while its research and development and design facilities are in the capital, Seoul.

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fleet focus S. KOREA

Automotive miracle or myth?

KOREAN CAR SALES 2012 v 2011 Production Cars Commercials

2011 4.657m 4.222m 0.435m

2012 4.750m 4.337m 0.413m

Change % +2.0 +2.7 -5.1

Domestic sales Cars Commercials

1.475m 1.211m 0.263m

1.450m 1.999m 0.251m

-1.7 -1.0 -4.6

Exports Cars Commercials

3.152m 2.981m 0.171m

3.330m 3.132m 0.168m

+4.7 +5.1 -1.8

* Source: KAMA

KOREAN ANNUAL PRODUCTION AND SALES 2005-2011 Production

Domestic

Export

2005

3.699m

1.143m

2.586m

2006

3.840m

1.164m

2.648m

2007

4.086m

1.219m

2.847m

2008

3.827m

1.154m

2.684m

2009

3.512m

1.394m

2.149m

2010

4.272m

1.465m

2.772m

2011

4.657m

1.475m

3.152m

* Source: KAMA

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Even now, Samsung gives the lie to the idea that the whole of the Korean auto industry is booming. Its sphere of operations is limited to just a few Asian markets to protect Renault and its Alliance partners, Nissan and Dacia, in their strongholds.

Samsung sales in 2011 were down by 27% on the previous year to just over 118,000, and are down by a further 41% this year.

Meanwhile Samsung is obliged by Renault to continue investing in electric vehicles which buyers have shown little appetite for. Renault has tried to reduce Samsung’s production costs by sourcing as many components as possible locally, and has announced plans to build a Nissan 4x4 at Busan in 2014, which will also help to overcome the difficulties Nissan is facing from an over-valued yen. In the meantime, however, Renault has initiated a voluntary jobs reduction plan which could see 80% of Samsung’s 5,700 staff leave. The only section which will be unaffected is the

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research and development department.

SsangYong has a much larger global market to attack than Samsung, but is still easily the smallest of the five Korean auto manufacturers. Worldwide sales are averaging 9,000 to 10,000 a month in 2012, with around 60% going for export. In Korea, SsangYong is benefiting from the government’s Car Allowance Rebate Programme introduced in July – similar to the scrappage or ‘cash for clunkers’ schemes used to bolster sales in other parts of the world following the 2008 global banking collapse.

Domestic sales are up 34.5% year-on-year.

However, overseas it is suffering from the problems in the Eurozone, just like everybody else, with sales down by 6% on 2011.

The fortunes of GM Korea are inextricably linked to those of GM globally. As South Korea’s third-largest auto manufacturer, it builds a quarter of all the Chevrolets sold worldwide, including the Spark, Aveo, Cruze, Orlando, Captiva and Camaro as well

as the stand-alone Alpheon, which is also sold as the Buick LaCrosse. It also provides CKD kits for assembly in several countries.

GM produces around 1.8 million cars a year in Korea, only about 125,000 of which are for the domestic market. So it is particularly vulnerable to downturns in overseas sales such as those being experienced in Europe, where Opel is suffering from chronic over-capacity. GM simply has to downsize, and rumours keep surfacing that it will shift production from Korea to Europe and China to make more productive use of its global facilities.

When people talk about the Korean auto industry miracle, then, what they really mean is the spectacular success in recent years of Hyundai and Kia. This comes down to strategic decisions made in the first half of the last decade, when the momentum which had carried the group to fifth in the table of the world’s largest auto-makers was starting to fizzle out as a result of dowdy products with no discernible identity.

The group decided to invest heavily in a range of compact and sub-compact models using shared platforms, and did not waiver when the banking collapse came along in 2008. It also decided to build cars in and for the markets where they were to be sold wherever possible.

Hyundai opened its Californian design and technical centre in 2002, its plant in Alabama in 2005, began work on its second Chinese production facility in 2006, opened its Czech factory in 2008 and one in Russian in 2011. It is now close to completing its Brazilian production site. In the same time-frame Kia has built two production plants in China and is currently working on a third, as well as the one in Slovakia and one in Georgia.

Hyundai and Kia both benefited hugely from the scrappage schemes in various countries between 2009 and 2011. Neither has looked back since, setting sales and revenue records for the past two years. In the first half of 2012 they were up again: Kia’s sales of 1.348 million were 12% ahead of the corresponding period for 2011; Hyundai’s were up 11.5% in the same period at almost 2.183 million.

All is not necessarily sweetness and light: domestic sales are slightly down, both companies’ commercial vehicle divisions are struggling and their plants are mostly working at capacity, making continued growth difficult to achieve.

You get mobile, we stay tuned.

Always being close to the client – Alphabet maintains a personal partnership that is highly flexible. One example of this is AlphaGuide, the service app for all drivers featuring comprehensive accident reporting, search function and GPS navigation to service partners, 24-hour service hotline and a checklist for vehicle return.

We call this business mobility: we never stop offering the most personalised mobility solutions based on direct driver contact.

For a direct link: www.alphabet.com

management

DRIVING CHANGE Recent changes in the world of in-car telematics have given the fleet manager a powerful tool to improve fleet efficiency. Glen Smale spoke to some experts in the industry.

New technologies can show if a driver has been hard braking or accelerating too quickly, speeding or idling excessively, even if they’ve been neglecting to use their seatbelt.

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he leet driver risk management market has changed signi icantly in the last ive years, due in part to the introduction of legislation but more importantly to developments in in-car telematics. There has been a general move away from traditional on road training for drivers, towards a more targeted, holistic approach that provides bene its for both the company as well as the driver. While driver training in itself is important, delivering lasting change means looking beyond the driver and into the organisation itself by addressing culture and values.

A report published in 2010 by the European Transport Safety Council on bus and truck drivers stated, “Until now very few EU drivers have followed professional competence training. Only some drivers were obliged by EU legislation to follow any training and in most of the Member States only 5 to 10% of professional drivers underwent such training, which was based upon requirements speci ied in a Directive that dates back to 1976. The vast majority of professional drivers therefore worked solely on the basis of their driving licence.”

Today, technology and telematics allow for the development of a range of new products and services that can help a leet manager more effectively address and deal with issues of driver safety. While creating and enforcing a written driver safety policy has always been, and will continue to be important, technology allows a leet manager to take that extra step to ensure that the policy in place is being followed.

Companies may avoid looking at installing a telematics system because it means they have to invest money, and the tendency is to put off the decision until a later date, which is a missed opportunity.

“For every pound spent in this area, you will get three pounds back, which makes a very strong business case,” Geoff Bray, CEO of ARI Fleet UK, explained.

Most of these decisions are business case driven as unfavourable driving habits make the driver the biggest single influence on cost, so managing the driver is a priority. Introducing change proactively brings the driver into that equation and the more a company embraces its staff in such a programme, this increases the chances that both parties will benefit significantly.

Pat Gallagher, Director – In-Vehicle

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Products at Traf icmaster UK says: “Working with either a multi-national customer with over 30,000 units or a small local business means the demands are dramatically different from customer to customer. The major challenge is to see how technology could help to make the business more ef icient.”

The starting point for most companies is to understand how their vehicles are being used, to see if they are being used correctly and ef iciently and if the company is controlling the vehicles from an unauthorised use perspective. Larger organisations are today using the latest technology that has been released over the last 6-9 months to look at driver behaviour analysis and to make drivers aware when they are driving outside of normal operating parameters.

Gallagher feels that the industry is in the very early stages of the driver alert functionality, but this will become more widespread over the next 5-6 months.

Ed Iannuzzi, Client Support Services Manager, ARI, gives an American perspective: “Consider the increasing use of telematics and the growing amount of information telematics devices can provide a leet manager. New technologies can show if a driver has been hard braking or accelerating too quickly, speeding or idling excessively, even if they’ve been neglecting to use their seatbelt. This kind of speci ic, detailed information empowers a leet manager and allows them to take actionable steps, whether it is sending reminders to the driver about the safety policy or scheduling driver training if needed, ensuring the long term safety of the driver and those around them.”

Telematics and technology can also help leet managers gain the upper hand on lowering accident costs, more ef iciently manage fuel and maintenance spend, maximise routes and travel times, and keep track of mileage so drivers can track their personal and business use (which is important for US tax reporting purposes and compliance), among other things.

Telematics installation can pay dividends

In terms of legislative intervention and the use of telematics, it is anticipated that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the US agency responsible for creating and enforcing safety regulations for commercial motor vehicles, will issue a new proposed rule regarding the use of electronic onboard recorders (EBORs, or telematics devices) during the irst quarter of 2013. FMCSA is considering issuing a mandate regarding the use of EBORs for carriers currently using handwritten records or logbooks which track a driver’s hours of service (HOS). The FMCSA asserts that the new rule would advance safety interests because the technology would allow for accurate capture of a driver’s hours of services and would encourage compliance with HOS rules, leading to a decrease in the number of fatigue-related crashes. Commercial carriers have concerns, however, regarding the accuracy of the technology currently on the market, as well as the cost to install such technologies in existing vehicles.

In America the government has set uniform standards for the CANbus reporting protocols that the engine has to emit and the format in which they are emitted is standardised. By contrast, in Europe the manufacturers have chosen to protect their coding protocols and each manufacturer has an entirely different protocol on every single vehicle, making it dif icult to deliver that really rich source of data. Gallagher feels that one of the advantages in Europe is that emission levels of vehicles is generally well below the US thanks to more sophisticated engine technology, and so the urge to drive European organisations to push manufacturers down the American route is absent.

The adoption of telematics is probably at its highest levels since its introduction and industry statistics indicate that there is a year-on-year 20% uptake in the adoption and use of telematics as a means of running and controlling a leet ef iciently.

Asked if there has been a change in driver’s attitudes towards the introduction of telematics systems, Geoff Bray replied, “You will ind it is an age thing. The younger generation, who are used to social networking and using devices to run their lives, are far more accepting of this technology, whereas the older driver is less so. But it’s the younger generation who will drive the change.”

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operator profile Europcar

The road to profit...

Plucked from Europcar’s German subsidiary in February, Roland Keppler (right) has been at the helm of the largest car rental firm in Europe for just a few months, but comes to one of the car rental industry’s most important jobs with a strong CV. Tim Kendall reports. ver the past three years, Keppler has helped steer Germany’s second largest car rental company to the position of Europcar’s most pro itable subsidiary – contributing 30% of the entire company’s turnover.

As the name suggests, Europcar is a company with its roots irmly in Europe, where it leads the pack with a 27% market share. But its global network now stretches the brand name far beyond its home continent into 140 countries around the world, as far as Australia. Founded in Paris in 1949, it was purchased by Renault in 1970 and began a program of international expansion in Europe, establishing subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain. Acquisitions in Italy and the UK followed in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, before the company was bought by French travel logistics company, Wagon-Lits in 1988.

Today, the French connection is still central to the business – Europcar has belonged to French investment company Eurazeo since 2006 – and its headquarters remain in the French capital. But as Keppler explains, the company has been shaped by strong German connections too. Volkswagen purchased 50% of the business in 1988 from Wagon-Lits and later merged it with its own car and van rental subsidiary – InterRent GmbH – itself dating back to 1927.

Germany remains the company’s largest single market, followed by the UK and its home market of France. “In 27 markets across Europe, no-one is bigger than us – we’re number one in all countries except Germany, where Sixt has the number one position,” says Europcar’s new Chief.

As you’d expect for a Goliath of the car rental industry, much of its strength lies in numbers – Europcar’s global leet tops 190,000 vehicles and that familiar green logo is present in 230 airports across Europe. Employing around 6,500 people, nearly 10 million rental contracts are signed by Europcar every year. Yet the long,

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deep recession, which is still being felt across much of the continent, bites a company hard – regardless of size.

Has Europcar felt the pinch of Eurozone gloom? “At the moment we are facing a slowdown in business travel in southern Europe – but also in some other markets.” comments Keppler. However Europcar’s business is split roughly 50/50 between business and leisure travellers, so the eggs are spread across more than one basket as he explains: “The holiday business in some of the Southern European countries is stronger than expected, which is propping things up.

Customers are avoiding North Africa as a holiday destination and instead spending their vacation in Spain, Italy or Turkey – and renting our cars.”

The latest inancials do re lect a tough picture in Europe though – despite revenue, which dropped by 3.2% in H1 2012 compared to H1 2011 and the average leet size shrinking by the same margin to 174,610 cars, Europcar remains pro itable.

But the market in Europe can’t be described as anything other than challenging. Strengthening its value for money offering via lowcost rental brands like InterRent in Spain and Portgual is helping the business to adapt to market conditions though, reckons Keppler.

With large corporates trimming back business travel, serving the needs of the SME sector where short-term rentals are increasingly ful illing the mobility needs of growing businesses is another way for Europe’s biggest operator to reap the bene its of its 10,000-strong network of rental stations. “We work very closely with small and medium sized enterprises – and have strength in our geographical spread – many of these SMEs are doing business outside the major capitals and cities, so we are very reachable through our network,” says Keppler.

Like several other global rental operators, franchising has provided Europcar’s expansion route into many new markets, particu-

larly emerging markets like Russia and Brazil. Some of these new territories are providing strong growth opportunities for Europcar: “We’re very satis ied with business in South Africa, South America and the Middle East at the moment, where we’ve seen a year-on-year increase in revenues.

“Most [franchisees] are looking for our brand and the in lux of business that comes from being connected to our reservation system – but we offer support on the IT side and when it comes to the leet itself,” says Keppler.

In terms of the leet composition, the Volkswagen tenure of the company is still in evidence – VW Group brands have a 30% share of Europcar’s global leet. But with cars turned over on average twice per year according to Keppler, the company works with all manufacturers, most notably PSA, Daimler, Fiat and Opel – although precise manufacturer split varies from country to country and local preferences.

Despite the on-going spectre of recession, customers still value quality and prestige says Keppler. Germany’s appetite for upmarket car rental is well known – so Europcar operates prestige leets there and in other territories, including the UK, where Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi and Range Rover are all well represented on the leet. And the more expensive metal is turned over even more frequently – every 3 months.

With an average leet turnover of 6 months, remarketing has to be done sensitively and for Europcar, works via buyback agreements with manufacturers. Once de leeted, cars are re-purchased at an agreed price by the manufacturer – helping to avoid residual value uncertainties and enabling the manufacturer to control market supply of nearly new vehicles.

Direct sales to the public also feature in Europcar’s remarketing strategy – but usually via its rental stations, with a price tag in the windscreen, as opposed to the

web-based auction or direct sales platforms of some competitors.

Europcar acknowledges that downsizing and sustainable mobility are more than corporate buzzwords these days – but it’s not necessarily a customer-driven approach for the company – “it’s very much driven by us,” Keppler admits.

“We have the bene it of a green logo – which signals what we’re about. In Europe, 82% of the leet is made up of cars emitting less than 140g/km CO2.”

That sounds nice in a sustainability report, but does it help the bottom line? Are Europcar customers thinking about the environment when deciding what car they need to get them from the airport to the next meeting, or the holiday villa? The simple answer is no – the customer is ‘not fussed’ and the decision is, primarily, a cost-driven one most of the time, as Keppler admits.

That’s not to say Europcar hasn’t invested in a green leet – the Opel Ampera and Nissan Leaf do feature amongst the conven-

tionally-fuelled ranks of cars – it’s just they aren’t in high demand.

“Customers are relatively reluctant. Our EVs are largely the same cost as conventionally-fuelled alternatives to rent, but at the moment the acceptance of customers is very limited – which surprised us a little following all the EV hype in the press.”

He acknowledges the truth that must be apparent to many other rental operators who have taken the balance sheet hit of introducing high-list price EVs which are no more attractive, or expensive rental prospects for customers: “If you’re a traveller under stress you want to focus on the destination, not the experience of the trip itself – and people tend to want conventional in those circumstances.”

Looking to the future – Keppler’s task is to ind growth – focusing on the corporate

countries where Europcar’s presence is direct to market – and strengthening its brand and sales channels. The other avenue Keppler is pursuing is the expansion of the franchising side – putting the brand into new geographical territories – looking to places where they aren’t present and can target new customers.

As the numbers of most European-based leet and rental operators prove though, the familiar green logo is heading into choppy economic waters. European by name – but global by nature – Keppler and Europcar have their work cut out.

In Europe, 82% of the fleet is made up of cars emitting less than 140g/km CO2.

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fleet profile BMW Group

THE ONLY WAY IS UP BMW seems to have hit upon an unstoppable success formula. Is there no stopping the Bavarian brand? Mark Bursa finds out.

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his Summer’s London Olympics put BMW’s cars in the global spotlight – as well as supplying 4,000 vehicles to transport athletes and officials, BMW cars were used as support cars for the cycling road races and the pre-Games torch relay.

How much of this marketing effort will translate into fleet sales remains to be seen – but success does breed success, and the halo effect of a successful Games is always going to shine on its sponsors too – so BMW’s management is likely to see the €50 million it paid for the sponsorship of the Games as money well spent.

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SALES > RIDING THE LUXURY WAVE The timing was good too, as German luxury brands are gaining ground in the global auto industry, especially in key emerging markets such as China and India, as well as continued strength in the US. America is still BMW’s biggest market, though China actually overtook it in the irst quarter of 2012.

Sales also remain strong in Germany, whose economy has so far resisted the European downturn that has decimated sales in southern European countries. In Italy in the irst quarter of 2012, BMW sales declined 11% and in Spain 3%, but these drops were more than counterbalanced by strong US sales, up 17%; a 44% rise in Japanese sales, and a 37% rise in Chinese sales.

Indeed, all three main German luxury brands – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi have remained relatively immune to the slowdown in Europe, thanks to a broad geographic spread and a premium focus.

Against this backdrop, BMW is outperforming its rivals. In 2011 BMW sold 1.67 million vehicles worldwide, an increase of 14%. This ranked it ahead of MercedesBenz and Audi as the largest German premium automaker in terms of volume.

This has continued into 2012, and BMW expects to set another new sales record this year. In the irst seven months of 2012, BMW Group deliveries rose 7.6% to 1,036,088 vehicles – the earliest in the year that it has ever reached the magic million.

BMW brand sales rose by 7.7% to 860,327

year to date, while MINI’s year-to-date sales were up 7.3% to 173,960 units.

The strong sales performance is translating to the bottom line. An 11.8% return on sales last year exceeded BMW Group’s longterm target of 8-10%. What’s more, pre-tax pro it in 2012 will probably exceed the record level of €7.4bn achieved in 2010. “Very few car companies have so far managed to achieve such a high level of pro itability on a long-term basis. This is an ambitious goal we are aiming for, provided conditions remain stable,” inance chief, Friedrich Eichiner, told investors earlier in the year.

MID-TERM TARGET > TWO MILLION CARS BY 2016 Indeed, so con ident is the Munich management that BMW has brought forward by four years its ambitious target of selling more than 2m vehicles a year, from 2020 to 2016.

Strong sales in 2012 are being helped by signi icant new model launches, notably new versions of its high-volume 1 Series and 3 Series models, together with a further broadening of both the BMW and MINI model line-up through cars such as the X1 compact crossover and the MINI Paceman.

Ian Robertson, board member in charge of sales and marketing, said: “Our new vehicles have been very well-received – the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe has had an excellent start - and we are confident that the new 7 Series and X1 will provide for further success.”

STRENGTHENING THE EUROPEAN FLEET BUSINESS In July 2011, BMW Group announced the €637m purchase of ING Car Lease Group (ICL Group). This addition, combined with the existing Alphabet leet business, increased the number of leasing and leet management contracts handled by the BMW Group to approximately 540,000. ING Car Lease managed 240,000 vehicles in eight countries in Europe.

Prior to the acquisition, Alphabet had a inanced car volume of approximately 200,000 vehicles of all makes, and managed more than 300,000 company car contracts for more than 12,000 customers in 14 countries. The ING Car Lease deal makes BMW one of the top ive leet service providers on the European market, mainly concentrating on the growing sector of full-service leasing.

Following the acquisition, Alphabet is now able to provide its corporate customers with services in 19 European countries.

Alphabet last year launched AlphaCity, a new concept in outsourced corporate car sharing. AlphaCity is believed to be the irst corporate car-sharing scheme in Europe to operate on a leasing model. Customers lease the cars on a normal full-maintenance monthly rental plus a service charge for the AlphaCity elements (reservation facility, invehicle solution, vehicle cleaning etc.).

Customers thus ‘own’ their AlphaCity cars and can therefore offer their staff assured mobility around the clock.

All AlphaCity cars are BMW and MINI models, chosen because they incorporate a proven factory- itted telematics and communication platform (BMW ConnctedDrive/ MINIConnected). This gives Alphabet reliable control over drivers’ access to AlphaCity cars as well as the facility to record each use, and manage utilisation as appropriate.

Following successful pilot schemes in France and Germany, AlphaCity has launched in the UK. Alphabet will roll out the concept across all 19 markets in which it currently operates.

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fleet profile BMW Group

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MANUFACTURING FOOTPRINT The majority of BMW’s cars are still produced in Germany, though the company also has major assembly plants in the US and South Africa, while MINI production is centred on the UK. In addition, the group has several emerging markets CKD assembly operations, with partners in six locations (Thailand, Malaysia, Russia, Egypt, Indonesia and India).

Dingol ing is the BMW Group's largest manufacturing facility. It makes BMW 5, 6 and 7 Series as well as M5 and M6.

More than 343,000 vehicles left the plant in 2011. In addition, body shells for the Rolls-Royce Phantom are manufactured here. Dingol ing has 18,600 employees.

At BMW’s Munich HQ, around 6,800 employees build the BMW 3 Series sedan for LHD European and American markets, as well as all 3 Series Touring

models – Munich is sole source point for this car. Various engines, including highperformance power units for the BMW M3, M5 and M6, originate from Munich.

The success of the BMW 3 Series in the 1970s and ’80s meant BMW needed more capacity, and in 1986, the company opened a plant in Regensburg.

Some 9,000 employees manufactured circa 260,000 BMW cars in 2011, including BMW 1 Series and 3 Series (Sedan, Coupé, Convertible), M3 models and the BMW Z4 roadster.

BMW’s newest plant, in Leipzig, opened in 2005. This builds the BMW 1 Series ( ive-door, Coupe and Convertible) and the BMW X1 compact SUV. In 2011, Leipzig produced a limited test leet of the BMW 1 Series-based ActiveE electric car, while production of the BMW i3 EV and BMW i8 hybrid coupe will start in 2013.

GREEN STRATEGY AND THE i BRAND Under the Ef icient Dynamics philosophy, BMW has established a stronger environmental focus to its strategy. It makes sense, believes BMW chairman, Norbert Reithofer: “It makes our cars even more attractive and keeps their value at a high level for a long time,” he told reporters at the 2012 Geneva Show.

In 1995, BMW’s leet average CO2 emissions in Europe was over 200g/km. Helped by a focus on smaller cars since then, including MINI and 1 Series, this has now been reduced to 148g/km while maintaining an average power output of 173PS across the range.

Reithofer said: “Looking ahead at 2015, the EU has set a new CO2 target of 130g/km for all European cars. We are totally con ident we will meet the target.” However, he admitted that meeting a mooted EU target of 95g/km average across European car leets for 2020 would present “a signi icant challenge”.

While Ef icient Dynamics has so far encompassed a range of initiatives, including Stop Start systems, low rolling resistance tyres and engine management systems mapped for economy rather than outright performance, a second phase of the

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programme includes more advanced alternative fuels vehicles, including petrol-electric hybrids under the ActiveHybrid sub-brand, which will be available on the new 3 Series, 5 Series and 7 Series ranges.

Beyond this, a more radical range of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, under the BMW i brand, will follow. Initially the i range will comprise two models, i3 and i8, to be built at a highly ef icient and ecofriendly plant in Leipzig, eastern Germany.

Both cars will be built using a radical new architecture, with the passenger compartment made from high-strength, ultra-lightweight carbon ibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) mouldings, mounted on a frame chassis. The CFRP parts will be made in California by SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers – a joint venture of the BMW Group and the SGL Group.

The BMW i3 will be a battery-electric urban hatchback with four seats, doors that open wide from the middle of the vehicle and a luggage capacity of around 200 litres. It will use a 125kW electric motor with a maximum torque of 250Nm, optimised for urban use.

The more sporty BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid, where the front wheels are driven by a modi ied version of the electric drive from the BMW i3, and the rear axle is driven by a turbocharged 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine, delivering 223PS and a maximum torque of 300Nm. Together, they power the vehicle from 0-100kmh in less than 5sec – at a fuel consumption of less than 3 litres per 100km as determined in the European test cycle. The i8 will have a range of about 35km when driven in purely electric mode.

BMW will make the three-cylinder gasoline engines for the i8 hybrid at its plant in Hams Hall near Birmingham, UK. Production in Leipzig will start next year and the irst cars will go on sale in the second half of 2013. The cars will be premium-priced. BMW has indicated that the i8 would be positioned as a supercar, priced at around £100,000.

Reithofer said: “Through plug-in hybrids and electric cars, such as the i family, we will make further progress towards reducing CO2 emissions across our leet and by 2020 we will have reduced the group leet CO2 average by half.”

The BMW plant near Spartanburg in South Carolina, US, began producing BMW SUVs for world markets in 1994. Today, it manufactures the BMW X3, X5 and X6 models, and the Spartanburg plant has been substantially enlarged. In 2011, over 7,000 employees manufactured 276,065 vehicles, of which 192,000 were exported, making it the leading US automotive export factory.

The Rosslyn plant, near Pretoria, South Africa, was the BMW Group's irst foreign plant. Around 1,700 employees manufactured over 53,000 right-hand drive BMW 3 Series sedans in 2011. A quarter of these automobiles are sold in South Africa; three-quarters of them are exported, mainly to the UK, Japan and other RHD markets.

GREEN ALLIANCE WITH TOYOTA BMW and Toyota announced a ‘long-term, strategic partnership’ in 2011, and agreed to extend it in July. The scope of the agreement covers co-operation on hydrogen fuel cells, vehicle electri ication, lightweight materials and a future sports car.

The deal is not seen as a close alliance of the type agreed between General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroën, or between Renault-Nissan and Daimler, but it is a signi icant broadening of a co-operation agreement between two companies that traditionally steer clear of major alliances. Both companies said there were no plans to build equity stakes in each others’ businesses.

So far, the agreement has seen BMW agree to supply Toyota with 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesel engines for Toyota’s European vehicles from 2014, plus a binding agreement to work together on developing next-generation lithium-ion cells for the batteries used in hybrid and electric cars. It is not the irst engine procurement agreement between the two companies. From 2002 to 2005, Toyota supplied 1.4litre diesel engines to BMW for use in early versions of the new MINI hatchback.

BMW has been shy of establishing partnerships. It has an agreement with PSA on four-cylinder petrol engines, though this is unlikely to expand any further following GM’s acquisition of a 7% stake in the French company. The deal could even be discontinued in the future.

BMW has reduced average CO2 emissions to 148g/km (from over 200g/km in 1995) while maintaining an average power output of 173PS across the range.

IFW November 2012

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fleet profile BMW Group

CHINESE STRATEGY

The Chinese market has experienced exponential growth in the past decade, and one signi icant driver has been sales of large, European saloons and sports-utility vehicles to wealthy Chinese businessmen prepared to pay premium prices for cars that carry signi icant status over localbrand vehicles. Good news for German automakers as these generate high margins.

Audi, with a long-running manufacturing operation in China, is the top-selling premium carmaker in the country, and it increased its sales there by more than 40% in the irst quarter, compared to Q1, 2011.

But BMW is not far behind, growing Chinese sales by 37% during that time, well ahead of Mercedes-Benz, whose sales rose by ‘just’ 20% in the same period.

BMW predicts full-year sales up 20-25% in China, against overall market growth of between 5% and 10%, (Goldman Sachs, for example, forecasts 7% growth in light vehicle sales in 2012). This is further evidence that the top-end of the Chinese market is the place to be right now. LMC Automotive believes the luxury sector should expand by 15% in 2012 to about 1.12m units, and will double to 1.95m units by 2015.

And with analysts variously predicting that the Chinese car market will grow to between 30m and 40m vehicles by the end of the decade, demand for luxury cars in China is likely to continue at a strong rate.

As a result, BMW has now opened a second production plant, at Tiexi in Shenyang in the north eastern part of the

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country, as part of a €1.5bn investment with joint venture partner Brilliance Automotive that will initially take annual capacity up to 200,000 units in China, with the capacity to double that in the future. Output is likely to increase to 300,000 by the end of next year.

The Tiexi factory is building the X1 small SUV and a new long-wheelbase 3 Series, a model specifically designed for the Chinese market, which was unveiled at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. A China market-specific long-wheelbase 5 Series is already built in China at BMW’s existing Dadong Chinese plant, which opened in 2003. The two partners have also begun producing 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engines at a third location in Shenyang, for use in Chinese-built models.

Last year, BMW sold 223,630 vehicles in China, 14% of its global total, including around 100,000 locally made cars. Sales have almost quadrupled in the past ive years – in 2006, BMW sold just 61,195 units in China, or 4% of its global sales total.

MINI is also inding its feet in China after a slow start following its introduction in 2005. Back then it recorded just 430 sales but last year it hit a record 15,500, and sales rose 33% in the irst four months of 2012 to 7,000 units.

BMW remains cautious, however. “We are de initely seeing the Chinese market slowing down somewhat,” said Ian Robertson, “I think we can continue to see a developing business in China but it will probably be at a slower rate than in the past few years.”

EMERGING MARKETS > BRIKTs, NOT BRICs To counter the slower market in China, BMW has earmarked a number of key markets that will provide the strongest growth in the future. BMW dubs these the ‘BRIKT’ countries – Brazil, Russia, India, Korea and Turkey.

BMW used the BRIKT term for the irst time in 2011. It no longer considers China as a ‘new’ market – as China is close to overtaking the US as BMW’s single biggest market. BMW is looking to grow in the ive markets it has identi ied, through a combination of exports and local manufacturing.

BMW has been in discussions about a possible plant in Brazil but is believed to have put these plans on hold for the time being.

In Russia, consumers are hungry for premium large sedans and SUVs, and the company has a CKD assembly operation in Kaliningrad, in partnership with local automaker Avtotor. Likewise, it assembles a range of vehicles from kits in India, including 3 Series, 5 Series, X3, and X1 compact SUV. South Korea is still arti icially closed to foreign vehicle imports, a situation that should change after a new free-trade agreement with Europe comes into effect. The same applies to Turkey, where heavy import duties hinder sales of cars built outside the country, a scenario that would change should Turkey be allowed to join the European Union.

3 Series models popular in Russia and India...

MINI CONTINUES TO GROW BMW’s relaunched MINI brand has been one of the 21st century auto industry’s strongest success stories. From a standing start in 2001, MINI sold a record 285,060 vehicles in 2011, a 22% rise on 2010. And the former Rover plant in Oxford, UK, that produces the small-car brand is pretty much at full capacity, which has already caused BMW to start building some Mini models elsewhere.

The larger MINI Countryman model is made on contract by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria, and 102,000 were built there in 2011. However, this looks likely to be a temporary fix – instead BMW is looking to shift the Countryman, and its new threedoor derivative, the Paceman, to the

Nedcar factory at Born, near Maastricht in the Netherlands.

BMW said its preferred option was to establish satellite production with a contract manufacturer as close to MINI as possible, and that it was in discussions to do this at Nedcar, the one-time DAF and Volvo plant that currently makes Mitsubishi small cars, but is due to stop production by the end of 2012 as Mitsubishi plans to quit manufacturing in western Europe.

It plans to invest another €300m in its UK operations by 2015 – on top of a €600m investment in MINI announced last year – as it expands the brand to include up to 10 models. BMW is planning a van version of the MINI Clubman estate and will launch

two more unspeci ied models for the UK brand in the next 12 months. MINI said that because of the extra production volumes the brand’s growth strategy entailed and the complexity of the new lines, it was looking for additional capacity beyond Oxford.

BMW board member Harald Krueger said MINI’s Oxford hub would continue to provide production expertise for any new operation outside the UK, including dealing with the manufacturing complexity involved in meeting individual customer orders and operating multi-model production lines. “Just as Munich is the centre of the BMW world, Oxford is and will remain the home and the heart of MINI,” Krueger said.

BMW plans to invest €300m in its UK operations by 2015 – on top of a €600m investment announced last year

IFW November 2012

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launch report Mazda6 p44 SsangYong Korando p45 Volkswagen Golf p46 Mercedes-Benz Distribution Vehicles p47

Like each successive generation it’s built on what its predecessor did well, and introduces a few new features along the way. p46

IFW November 2012

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launch report

Mazda6

Mazda’s stylish flagship is an option no company car driver should ignore, says Alex Grant.

SECTOR Upper medium PRICE €24,990 – €34,000 FUEL 3.9 – 5.9l/100km CO2 104 – 136g/km For a relatively small manufacturer, Mazda’s disproportionately large back-catalogue of innovation is impressive and, if anything, rather under-marketed. But there’s a lot of excitement in Yokohama at the moment, and it seems Mazda is about to grab some of the limelight it’s always deserved.

The subject of that excitement is SKYACTIV Technology, a comprehensive package of engine, transmission, chassis and body upgrades which will make all of its future models lighter, safer, more economical and better to drive. Mazda wants to offer enjoyable efficiency, without resorting to hybrid or electric technology for the near future.

SKYACTIV Technology debuted in the CX-5 crossover, and has helped contribute to sales which are exceeding expectations worldwide.

Mazda6 is next in line, and this all-new model arrives in showrooms by the end of 2012 as a well-rounded saloon and estate range that’s going to be very hard to ignore.

Looks are very much on its side, which is a good start. The previous generation wasn’t an ugly car, but if anything it was slightly too understated against the more familiar mainstream. Mazda has delivered on the promise of the Takeri concept, and the new Mazda6 has become one of the best looking in its class. Whether it’s an estate or

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a saloon, this looks great from every angle.

What also bodes well is a marked improvement in interior fit and finish. There’s been a real effort to make commonly-touched parts of the dashboard and door cards softer and nicer to the fingertips. The seats are supportive, especially the semi-bucket versions in the Sport, and the controls are robust and logically laid out. This is an easy car to get familiar with, and comfortable and solid too.

Among the useful features for fleets is Bluetooth connectivity and the option to add the latest version of TomTom’s familiar, accurate and regularly updated satellite navigation built into the infotainment system.

Audio controls are operated via the steering wheel or a rotary commander next to the mechanical handbrake – the latter being a rapidly disappearing feature in modern cars.

Rational appeal hasn’t been neglected. In Europe, Mazda6 features the same 2.0-litre petrol and both 2.2-litre diesel engines offered in the CX-5, each with a choice of slick automatic or short-throw manual gearboxes.

There’s a marked difference in straight line urgency between the 175PS and 150PS diesels, but while the 104g/km lower-powered version is the real cost-cutter it’s no longer a punishment to size up. Even in its most powerful form, and with an automatic

gearbox, the Mazda6 saloon returns 4.8l/100km with 127g/km CO2 emissions.

Driver involvement has been engineered into every part. It’s as sure-footed as its predecessor, but feels noticeably more mechanical. Each touch of the pedals or turn of the wheel results in an entirely predictable response, which makes it a real pleasure to drive. Details such as the layout of the automatic gearbox and the two different engine notes for aggressive or relaxed driving are signs that Mazda really cares for the experience of being behind the wheel.

Finding faults comes down to nit-picking.

Nothing here is poorly made but small parts of the cabin don’t feel as upmarket as, say, a Passat. There’s also a substantial penalty in ride quality for drivers opting up to the Sport with its 19-inch wheels, which large-wheeled rivals such as a Mondeo doesn’t suffer from.

Ultimately, though, Mazda has a real opportunity to steal sales from the rest of the D-segment with its new flagship. And so it should.

verdict With the new Mondeo delayed, Mazda has a real opportunity to get new fleet customers behind the wheel of its strong newcomer. They'll love it.

SsangYong Korando

Can a new lower spec diesel AWD model appeal to fleet customers? Dan Gilkes finds out.

SECTOR Compact 4x4 PRICE from €23,300 – €24,500 (approx) FUEL 6.20l/100km CO2 157g/km SsangYong has responded to both dealer and customer demand by creating a lower priced 4x4 version of its Korando compact SUV. UK dealers in particular have been calling for a sub-€25,000 all-wheel-drive diesel model, to pit against lower powered versions of Hyundai’s ix35 and Kia’s Sportage.

While SsangYong has offered a lower specification model before, this has only been available with two-wheel drive. With the arrival of the new lower spec diesel all-wheel-drive model, SsangYong has hit the ground running with an all-wheel drive model from around €23,300.

This model is based on the two-wheel drive model’s specification, with the lower powered 151PS version of SsangYong’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel. However, despite giving away 26PS to the top spec model, the new model offers the same 360Nm of torque as the more powerful motor, so should be an equally proficient towing car.

As with all Korandos, this model is front-wheel-drive in normal road use and does without a transfer gearbox when calling the rear axle into play, so there is no option to change to lower gear ratios.

Instead this Korando uses what SsangYong calls ‘Torque On Demand 4x4’, with a

multi-plate clutch pack mounted in front of the rear differential.

When sensors detect a potential loss of grip, the system automatically connects the rear axle through the electro-magnetic clutch pack.

As grip varies between the wheels, the system uses the car’s ABS to brake individual wheels, passing drive to those tyres that still have grip. In this way the Korando will continue to pull itself forward even when only one wheel has traction.

Off-road the system actually works very well, and the compact SUV can pull through worse conditions than many customers will ever try to tackle. With standard Hill Start Assist and ESP, this Korando offers a 2,000kg towing capacity and the traction to actually pull it across a wet field or a muddy track.

As befits its status in the line-up, the specification does without the leather seats of the top spec model, going with sturdy looking cloth instead. You still get driver’s lumbar support though, and it comes with electric windows all round, cruise control, heated and electricallyadjustable mirrors, puddle lamps in the mirror casings, manual air conditioning and a Kenwood stereo with six speakers,

iPod and Bluetooth connectivity.

Roof rails, 16-inch alloys, an alarm and immobiliser and a host of airbags complete the specification, so this Korando is hardly a poorly equipped model. Indeed for many people, particularly those looking to spend less than €25,000 one would imagine, foregoing a few of the luxuries of the more expensive models in favour of that strong towing ability and all-wheel drive chassis, will no doubt be a compelling argument.

Of course this model is never likely to be a big seller in the fleet market, but by offering a lower priced alternative, SsangYong may well appeal to a wider audience of user choosers. And as with the higher priced versions, this Korando also gets SsangYong’s five-year, limitless mileage warranty, in some markets, which provides a lot of peace of mind for those thinking of opting out of their company car scheme safety net. In conclusion then, a useful addition to the range.

verdict A competitive price without sacrificing the towing capacity that could draw potential customers to the diesel Korando, could be just what some people are looking for.

IFW November 2012

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launch report

Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen hasn’t done anything radical with the new Golf, but why would it, says Alex Grant.

SECTOR Lower medium PRICE €16,975 – €28,825 FUEL 3.8 – 5.3l/100km CO2 99-123g/km Ageless, classless and robust, six generations and 38 years of the Volkswagen Golf have bred a sense that you always know what you’re going to get from the marque’s biggest-selling model.

That familiarity has helped sell 29 million worldwide, representing a quarter of its European sales.

So it should come as no surprise that the seventh generation Golf, at least visually, isn’t that different from its predecessor.

The updated styling is so subtle that it could almost be a mid-life facelift of the outgoing car, or missed altogether.

That’s doing it a disservice. The bodywork isn’t a radical change, and with the Golf’s sales record it’s unlikely to ever be, but everything underneath is entirely new, and very clever. This is the first Volkswagen to get the Group’s modular platform, which will allow component sharing between multiple sectors, cutting development costs and enabling a diverse range of powertrains to be fitted in the future.

An electric Golf is 18 months away, and a plug-in hybrid is coming too.

For the short-term, though, it’s all very conventional. Engines at launch comprise 1.2 and 1.4-litre TSI petrols with between 85 and 140PS, and two diesel

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engines at 1.6 and 2.0-litres with 105 and 150PS respectively.

But there’s already new technology to be found here. The 140PS 1.4 TSI is Volkswagen’s first car with the ability to shut off two of its cylinders when the engine isn’t under load, saving fuel and reducing CO2 emissions to 112g/km. It does so imperceptibly, and there’s no power loss for the extra economy, which could make it a viable alternative to the more expensive equivalent diesel.

Volkswagen is cautiously predicting sales could shift slightly back in favour of petrol engines during the Mk7’s life cycle, but for now diesel is the most popular option for fleets. The smaller engine, a more powerful version of which will power the BlueMotion model from next summer, is likely to be the most popular for business users but wasn’t available to drive at the press launch.

However, the 2.0-litre is a smooth, powerful unit and with 106g/km CO2 emissions it’s tax friendly too. Having shaved 100kg off the kerb weight, drivers already familiar with this engine should find it’s a little livelier and more efficient in the new car.

There’s a feeling of effortless practicality and solidity inside. The rear bench folds flat with the boot floor, which now has a com-

partment for the parcel shelf underneath, and a folding passenger seat is optional too.

A new compartment for smart phones or media players, complete with a USB connection, has replaced the ashtray.

Most markets will get three trim levels, with the majority of buyers expected to opt for at least the mid-range model. All now feature selectable driving modes, and a new touch screen infotainment system upgradeable to include satellite navigation. This now uses smart phone-esque finger controls, which makes it really easy to use, and the menu only pops up as you’re about to touch the screen, so it doesn’t clutter the display when it’s not in use.

There are no surprises from the new Golf, and perhaps that’s a good thing. Like each successive generation it’s built on what its predecessor did well, and introduces a few new features along the way. You always knew exactly what you were going to get when you chose a Golf, and you still do.

verdict The Mk7 Golf follows the old formula of not being flashy or radical in its looks, while offering the practicality and solidity buyers have come to expect.

Mercedes-Benz Distribution Vehicles

Mercedes launched a range of models at the Hanover CV Show. Dan Gilkes drives them.

SECTOR Light Truck PRICE Canter list price + €8,500 FUEL 3.8-6.6l/100km CO2 99-152g/km Mercedes-Benz has introduced a host of new and improved vehicles specifically designed to cope with the changing face of urban delivery and distribution. With the growth of internet shopping and individual multi-drop deliveries, combined with congestion and emission regulations, Mercedes is broadening its offering, with electric, hybrid and Euro6 diesel powered vans and trucks to meet the changing needs of customers.

Urban Sprinter drivers will be pleased to see the adoption of Merc’s proven 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic transmission in the big van, replacing the previous five-speed offering. The firm claims the additional ratios and smooth shifting deliver almost manual gearbox levels of economy.

Certainly, once on the move gear changes are barely perceptible and the engine revs remain commendably low, even when pulling away. The driver can manually select the desired ratio, but it is easier to simply leave the transmission to its own devices and concentrate on road conditions.

Thanks to the greater choice of gear ratios it is possible to opt for a longer axle ratio, further reducing fuel consumption when on the move. As with all Sprinter models, adaptive ESP is standard on the automatic transmission vans.

Slightly higher up the weight range, the Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid is now commercially available to European buyers. Unlike the test vehicles that were run in London over the last three years, the latest Eco Hybrid uses a Euro5/EEV 3.0-litre diesel engine, delivering 152PS and 370Nm of torque.

In addition, the truck has a 40kW electric motor putting out a healthy 200Nm of torque.

These two power sources run through a sixspeed, dual-clutch Duonic transmission. The driver treats this transmission as a two-pedal automatic, but without any of the losses associated with a torque converter.

When pulling away and under acceleration, the electric motor assists the diesel engine, reducing fuel consumption. As higher speeds are achieved the diesel engine takes over drive totally. However as soon as the truck decelerates or brakes, the electric motor acts as a generator, to recharge the lithium-ion batteries. These deliver 33% more performance than those used on the prototype vehicles.

The result is up to a 23% drop in fuel consumption over a diesel drive truck, when operated in an urban environment.

Mercedes says that this will result in a payback period of around three to four years for the €8,500 premium purchase price.

A five-year battery warranty is included, with an additional five-year term available as an option. However, some countries, Germany and the UK included, will make the 10-year battery warranty period standard, to provide customers with peace of mind.

Eco Hybrid Canters will be built on the same line as the regular trucks in Tramagal, Portugal, and Mercedes expects up to 10% of sales to be the hybrid truck in Europe.

The third new line in the Mercedes distribution range is Antos, a replacement for the Axor rigid and tractor truck range. Powered by a choice of Euro6 diesel engines and driven through the Powershift 3 automated transmission only, Antos becomes the first distribution truck range to offer an automatic-only transmission solution.

Available as two and three-axle rigids with weights up to 26 tonnes, or as a lightweight tractor, Antos is available with three cab options and a wide range of chassis configurations.

verdict €8,500 is a high premium to pay for a light truck, but if Mercedes calculations are right, operators could recover that in 3 to 4 years through lower fuel consumption.

IFW November 2012

47

S.W.O.T.

In association with

Range Rover Evoque

RUGGED REFINED EVOQUE There’s more to the Range Rover Evoque than meets the eye, suggests Stephen Dilley of Fleet Influence.

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Among the RR traditionalists, the first expectation of the Evoque was that it would represent form over function. References to design input from Victoria Beckham certainly helped that perception.

But then, much the same was said when the original, ground breaking Range Rover was first launched. Now the brand offers much more than a single, posh yet proper off-road vehicle. Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and now Evoque all show how a single model can burgeon into a chic yet practical family.

The Evoque is no shrinking violet. The tall, blunt frontal treatment is a bit of a boxer’s nose. The enormous wheelarches, brim full with wheel and tyre, dominate the flanks and the floating roof tapers down as the rear flanks taper up to produce the neat rear end and shallow rear screen (thank goodness for the optional reverse view camera).

To drive, this is no SUV. It is much more like a sports saloon. The Evoque in 2.2l SD4 diesel guise, offering 195PS not only has ample power, it enjoys supple handling, sharp steering and a compliance in its suspension belied by its wheel and tyre set up.

The engine options also include the 154PS 2.2l TD4 and the 246PS 2.0 petrol Si4.

Across the European territories, the 155PS

diesel is available in both two and fourwheel-drive, with the exception of Italy which offers only the full 4WD. Both higher power engines are only available in 4WD in every territory.

Of course, it is not just about the way the car performs and rides, it is as much about the living accommodation. The cabin is relatively spacious and, despite it’s ‘cut-roof ’ appearance, the Evoque offers ample headroom. The dashboard and console area have a clean, structured layout of controls and switches – pleasing to the eye and ergonomically effective. The front seats have supportive side bolsters and plenty of seat adjustment for both occupants.

Then there’s the sound system – you cannot under value such equipment in this level of car. It does not disappoint, offering great sound quality and the ability to play most media through simple and effective connectivity.

Sadly, some of the materials are not as robust as they might be. The rear luggage area is upholstered with lightweight material, the rear parcel shelf is flimsy. Yet there is no evidence that any other element of the construction will be anything but long-lived.

From the concept LRX, Evoque has managed to mix sporting style (and delivery) with reasonable practicality to achieve a

truly global success story. Tata have pushed Range Rover to another level.

STRENGTHS Bold, loud, yet totally refined. The Evoque is such a blatant box-ticker, evidenced by its international success. It has a great badge, a powerful heritage and a brilliant focus on its market. Shame its previous owners were not able to deliver this.

WEAKNESSES ‘Bespoke’ – a dangerous term. A delicious range of options will test your pocket. Even at the entry level eD4, it takes no time at all to add the best part of €6,000 for what seem like minimum requirements on a car like this.

Some quality issues with trim materials – come on Range Rover, you can do better.

OPPORTUNITIES Right now, the world is Evoque’s oyster.

Managing demand is a nice problem to have.

THREATS Competition from the likes of Audi Q3 is the only visible threat currently, although Evoque may need a little more help on the economy and emissions front to keep its strong position.

CROSS BORDER COMPARISONS List Price

UK

Portugal

Spain

Italy

Germany

France

Euro – Low end

33,366

43,633

34,730

41,320

33,400

33,200

Top end

46,505

61,774

52,820

50,400

49,400

48,600

£S – Low end

28,695

-

-

-

-

-

Top end

39,995

-

-

-

-

-

Pure

Pure

Pure

Pure

Pure

Pure

Prestige

Prestige

Prestige

Prestige

Prestige

Prestige

Dynamic

Dynamic

Dynamic

Dynamic

Dynamic

Dynamic

Spec & Trim

Engines Petrol

2.0 Turbo 243hp

2.2 Turbo 152hp

2.2 Turbo 193hp

Diesel

IFW November 2012

49

fleet in figures

Global sales recovery continues, Europe still weak Europe’s five year decline continues, but elsewhere, new vehicle registrations are buoyant, despite weakening growth in China. John Kendall reports.

In Europe, only the Toyota Yaris registered a YtD increase with registrations up 29%

“With sales on a downward trend for the past ive years running, most automobile manufacturers are losing money in Europe at the moment. And the outlook is far from rosy, as we now expect new car registrations to decrease by between 8-10% compared to 2011. It is a question of survival for many manufacturers who are struggling to sustain the same level of capacity as in pre-crisis times.” That blunt assessment of the situation facing vehicle manufacturers in Europe was made by Sergio Marchionne, ACEA President and CEO of Fiat, speaking in October.

Marchionne needed to look no further than his own back yard to illustrate the extent of the problem. Between January and September 2012, Fiat Group registrations in the EU 27 nations were down 17.3% compared with the same period in 2011, with Fiat registrations down 17.0% and Alfa Romeo registrations down 31% for the period.

These statistics are about as bad as it gets for manufacturers in Europe, topped by

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Renault with registrations down 21.2% for the period. It’s hardly surprising that merger rumours are beginning to circulate, with speculation of some kind of a merger between Opel/Vauxhall, GM’s loss-making European subsidiary and PSA Peugeot Citroën, the loss-making French manufacturer.

Press speculation presents a range of shareholding scenarios and both companies are keeping quiet about any deals. Whether two loss-making businesses make a recipe for success is another matter, but the reduction in costs from platform sharing, which the two companies have already begun, joint powertrain development and sharing of other resources should help to reduce costs.

Both companies are scheduled to close one plant each too, but would that be enough?

Additional weight for Marchionne’s view is given by the latest Industry Report Card from Standard and Poor’s. The ratings agency bases its outlook for Europe on the, “Assumption that Europe will face very challenging eco-

nomic conditions in 2012 and possibly 2013, resulting in passenger vehicle registrations declining for the ifth straight year – with potential declines in some countries in the double digits. Our economists have con irmed a double-dip recession in Europe. Our Eurozone base case is for GDP growth is –0.8% for 2012 (followed by lat growth in 2013), compared with our previous expectations of 0% growth in 2012 and 1.1% in 2013.”

Putting igures on European registrations, the report expects light vehicle demand to shrink by about 6.5% in 2012 to around 13.4 million vehicles, with a return to 0.4% growth in 2013. Sales in the EU 27 are expected to fall by around 6% in 2012 including in markets such as Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia where growth had been maintained.

Regarding the southern European debt crisis, Standard and Poor’s expects growth to be limited in the short to medium term, with expected negative growth in Spain,

Portugal, Greece and further north in Ireland. Growth in France and Germany is expected to stay “slightly positive”. “We expect a similar north/south divide in terms of car market developments in the eurozone over the coming quarters”, says the report.

The situation is different in other parts of the world with 2% GDP growth expected in Japan this year, 1.6% in 2013 and less than 1% in 2014 with stronger growth in vehicle sales.

The report paints a better picture for Brazil and China, with GDP growth of 1.5% in Brazil in 2012 and 3.5% in 2013. For China, expected GDP growth is 7.5% in 2012 and 8% in 2013, supporting a continued rise in vehicle sales in both countries.

Turning to North America, the Standard and Poor’s report expects US light vehicle sales to keep rising in 2012, following the 9.5% increase in 2011. The report forecasts 14.2 million sales in 2012, which would set a new sales peak not exceeded since 13 million in 2008. Annualised sales for the first nine months of 2012 were running at about 14.9 million.

Scotiabank’s October Global Auto Report points to an 8% year-on-year increase in global vehicle sales during July and August, with double digit gains in South America, “fuelled by a stimulus package in Brazil worth some €7.67bn in Brazil.”

Chinese market growth in August was running some 11% higher than in August 2011, while the market was softer elsewhere in Asia, thanks largely to a sales decline in India. Sales were also down in Japan in September, reports Scotiabank, due in some part to the end of government subsidies for eco-friendly vehicles.

Scotiabank reckons that the US market is bene iting from record low loan rates, which has stimulated the market for new fuel-ef icient models. This resulted in a rise in small car sales of 43.5% in September 2012, compared with September 2011, while mid-sized models were up 17.5% in the same month.

Europe certainly seems out in the cold.

JATO Dynamics has worked through the data from ACEA and offers four key indings: • The European new car market declined by 11.2% in September, its biggest drop in sales this year to date, and 9.4% in Q3 2012 compared to the same period last year.

• Great Britain is the only market out of the big ive to see growth at the end of Q3 2012, Italy and Spain experienced the greatest reduction in sales during the same period.

• Among the top ten brands, Audi and BMW recorded a sales increase in September compared to last year, but only Audi saw

Top 10 Models Sept 2012

Sept 2011

% Change Sept

Sept YtD 2012

Sept YtD 2011

Volkswagen Golf

38,669

49,172

-21.4%

340,448

376,912

-9.7%

Ford Fiesta

31,468

36,386

-13.5%

238,345

275,419

-13.5%

Opel/Vauxhall Corsa

30,581

34,820

-12.2%

211,088

245,559

-14.0%

Ford Focus

24,061

31,868

-24.5%

190,418

225,439

-15.5%

Peugeot 208

23,225

1

-

97,228

1

-

Opel/Vauxhall Astra

22,092

27,277

-19.0%

183,028

230,938

-20.7%

Volkswagen Polo

20,571

31,778

-35.3%

225,044

274,623

-18.1%

Renault Clio

19,988

28,286

-29.3%

180,130

228,829

-21.3%

Nissan Qashqai

18,828

20,086

-6.3%

160,968

162,671

-1.0%

Toyota Yaris

17,933

10,638

+68.6%

134,066

103,938

+29.0%

Make

% Change YtD

Source - JATO Dynamics

Top 10 Brands Sept 2012

Sept 2011

% Change Sept

Sept YtD 2012

Sept YtD 2011

% Change YtD

135,017

157,268

-14.1%

1,249,292

1,292,622

-3.4%

Ford

93,397

110,081

-15.2%

747,718

855,137

-12.6%

Opel/Vauxhall

83,219

99,030

-16.0%

659,573

778,999

-15.3%

Peugeot

68,160

73,072

-6.7%

620,692

718,925

-13.7%

BMW

64,950

59,566

+9.0%

480,986

486,516

-1.1%

Audi

64,647

64,529

+0.2%

550,340

522,967

+5.2%

Renault

62,085

91,719

-32.3%

629,673

796,767

-21.0%

Mercedes-Benz

55,594

60,104

-7.5%

454,254

451,044

+0.7%

Citroën

53,754

60,564

-11.2%

528,726

601,196

-12.1%

Fiat

50,678

59,669

-15.1%

452,100

545,072

-17.1%

Make Volkswagen

Source - JATO Dynamics

an overall increase for the quarter.

• Volkswagen’s Golf remains the top selling European model, despite a 17.2% decrease in sales in Q3 2012 compared to 2011.”

The decline in registrations across the European Union reached 7.6% for 2012 year-todate (YtD) at the end of September, recording a total of 9,368,327 according to ACEA data. Germany, France, Italy and Spain recorded decreases of 10.9%, 17.9%, 25.5% and 40.9% for September 2012 compared with September 2011.

The UK ended September with registrations up 4.3% YtD compared with 2011 to 1,620,609. Much of the September boost –

the market was up 8.2% to 359,612 for September, compared with the same month in 2011, is attributable to the twice yearly registration plate change in the UK, which took effect from the beginning of September.

Even so, the UK is the only large European market to record growth so far this year.

Audi and Mercedes-Benz are the only brands to record growth for 2012 YtD, with Audi registrations up 5.2% to 550,340 and Mercedes up 0.7% to 454,254.

Among the top selling models in Europe, only the Toyota Yaris is registering a YtD increase with registrations up 29% to 134,066.

IFW November 2012

51

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