International Fleet World September 2015

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD All that matters in the world of fleet September 2015

Business mobility What the future has in store for fleets

Paying a premium Vignale and DS aiming high

X APPEAL Behind the wheel of Jaguar’s fleet-friendly New XF

plus...

New Opel Astra internationalfleetworld.com

ALL-NEW JAGUAR XF

LOWER YOUR EMISSIONS, NOT YOUR PRINCIPLES.

There’s a powerful argument for choosing the all-new XF. With its ultra-efficient Ingenium i4 Diesel engine it achieves up to 4.0l/100km and as low as 104g/km of CO2 . The all-new InControl Touch Pro system with 12.3” TFT instrument cluster brings state-of-the-art connectivity. And its Lightweight Aluminium Architecture combined with our Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) delivers a unique driving experience. Of course the level of distinctiveness and refinement you can only get from a Jaguar is very much business as usual. jaguar.com/xf-for-business

Official fuel economy figures for the Jaguar XF Range in l/100 km (mpg): Urban 4.8-11.9 (58.9-23.7), Extra Urban 3.6-6.7 (78.5-42.2), Combined 4.0-8.6 (70.6-32.9). CO2 emissions g/km: 104-204.

Official EU Test Figures. For comparison purposes only. Real world figures may differ.

LOWER EMISSIONS From 104g/km CO 2 HIGHER FUEL ECONOMY Up to 4l/100km (70.6mpg) LONG SERVICE INTERVALS 2 years or 34,000km/21,000miles

ALL-NEW JAGUAR XF

THIS IS NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL.

LOWER EMISSIONS From 104g/km CO 2 HIGHER FUEL ECONOMY Up to 4l/100km (70.6mpg) LONG SERVICE INTERVALS 2 years or 34,000km/21,000miles

Official fuel economy figures for the Jaguar XF Range in l/100 km (mpg): Urban 4.8-11.9 (58.9-23.7), Extra Urban 3.6-6.7 (78.5-42.2), Combined 4.0-8.6 (70.6-32.9). CO 2 emissions g/km: 104-204.

Official EU Test Figures. For comparison purposes only. Real world figures may differ.

INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD All that matters in the world of fleet

September 2015

Business mobility

contents

What the future has in store for fleets

Paying a premium Vignale and DS aiming high

X APPEAL Behind the wheel of Jaguar’s fleet-friendly New XF

plus...

New Opel Astra internationalfleetworld.com

Publisher Jerry Ramsdale jerry@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

16 Spotlight on new Opel Astra.

30 Tips for a cleaner, greener fleet.

Editor John Kendall john@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Deputy Editor Alex Grant alex@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Business Editor Natalie Middleton natalie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Features Editor Katie Beck katie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Fleet Consultant Ross Durkin ross@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Sales Director Anne Dopson anne@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Sales Executives Darren Brett darren@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

MPG marathon 201 5

30 Sign up for the MPG Marathon 2015.

49 Behind the wheel of Fiat’s new 500.

06 Fleet Review John Kendall highlights JLR’s ever-improving fleet appeal.

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

Claire Warman claire@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Circulation Tracy Howell tracy@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

16 Spotlight An in-depth look at Opel’s high-tech new Astra.

Dawn Mitchell dawn@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

20 UK Case Study Opportunities for manufacturers chasing ‘premium’ status.

Head of Production Luke Wikner luke@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

24 Strategy The environmental management choices future fleets will face.

Designers Tina Ries tina@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

28 Strategy 10 steps to a more environmentally-friendly fleet.

Samantha King sam@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

30 Events MPG Marathon 2015: Sign up now for the UK’s premier eco-driving event.

32 Strategy How anti-pollution laws are changing the Brazilian new car market.

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

34 Fleet Focus The small but mighty automotive industry in the Czech Republic.

38 Inside Knowledge How reliance on in-car connectivity varies throughout Europe.

40 International Fleet Academy The regulatory bodies monitoring global fleets.

42 Profile The importance of Mazda’s SKYACTIV technology and key new models.

46 Launch Report BMW X1 / DS 5 / Fiat 500 / Jaguar XF.

STAG Publications

®

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

04 / internationalfleetworld.com

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

THE NEW SEAT IBIZA ST STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR BUSINESS

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

SPACIOUS AND VERSATILE

YOUR CAR IS YOUR OFFICE

EcoTSI ENGINE

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

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

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

SEAT FOR BUSINESS Average fuel consumption from 3.5 to 5.3 l/100 km. Average CO2 mass emissions from 90 to 120 g/km.

SE AT.COM/BUSINESS

fleet review

This month, editor John Kendall praises JLR’s latest product portfolio, whilst previewing what’s on the horizon in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt Show It is mid-August as I write and one of the quietest months in the calendar, with many people across Europe away on holiday.

That means that so far, information about who will be showing what new products at Europe’s biggest motor show, the Frankfurt Show, is a bit limited. We can expect to see the Infiniti Q30 in production form (see news on pg14). It could be the company’s big fleet launch of the year, aimed at the premium crossover segment. Sister company Nissan will be showing the new Navara pickup and Audi will be demonstrating some innovative lighting as well as the new A4, while Suzuki will unveil the new Baleno. There will be plenty more too, including the new Opel Astra, Kia cee’d and Sportage, the new Jaguar XF and F-Pace – the company’s first compact crossover, revised BMW 3 Series and Hyundai Tucson. If you can’t be there, IFW will have it covered.

Diesel emissions Diesel emissions have come in for a fair bit of criticism this year around Europe, not always with the evidence to support it. Just over 3 years ago, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified diesel exhaust fumes as carcinogenic to humans.

The United States has a low take-up of diesel, but the Health Effects Institute, an independent research body partly funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency published a report earlier this year that challenges that finding. “Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (ACES): Lifetime Cancer and Non-Cancer Assessment in Rats Exposed to New-Technology Diesel Exhaust” conducted a long-term study using rats exposed to diesel exhaust gases from a truck engine meeting the tight emissions control limits in the US. This was equipped with the kind of technology that

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we are now seeing on new diesel cars to control the harmful emissions from diesels – diesel particulate filter and selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The study lasted for 30 months, exposing rats to varying levels of diesel exhaust for up to 16 hours a day. The reported summary states that the high level of exposure to diesel exhaust, “Did not induce tumours or pre-cancerous changes in the lung”, and did not increase tumours considered to be related to the exposure in any other tissue. The report is available at www.healtheffects.org.

JLR continues to thrive I have just attended the new Jaguar XF launch this week and recently spent some time behind the wheel of a selection of Range Rover and Land Rover models. It hasn’t always been easy to be enthusiastic about the company’s products, because in the past, I have been left with a feeling that they could and should have been better.

Hopefully I am not losing my critical abilities, but I came away thinking that JLR really has turned a corner. The XF was a delight to drive and be driven in and the quality of all the products appeared to be notably better than those that I struggled to really like in the past. The company has a long way to go yet to match all that its rivals are doing, but it’s definitely on the right track.

visit internationalfleetworld.com

industry news

LeasePlan sold to consortium of investors for €3.7bn

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utch joint venture Global Mobility Holding BV, which comprises Volkswagen and the Dutch company Fleet Investments BV, have sold their 100% shareholding in LeasePlan to a consortium of investors for €3.7bn.

The consortium is composed of a group of long‐ term responsible investors and includes leading Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM, Denmark’s largest pension fund ATP, GIC, Luxinva SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs and investment funds managed by TDR Capital LLP. LeasePlan said the consortium supports its existing long‐term strategy and growth ambitions and recog‐ nizes the expertise of its workforce as a key asset for successfully executing this strategy.

Vahid Daemi, CEO and chairman of the Managing Board of LeasePlan, said: “The change of ownership marks a new era for our company and will enable LeasePlan to continue our successful journey and focus on executing our long‐term strategy and growth ambitions. We remain fully committed to providing high quality and innovative fleet management and driver mobility services to our clients worldwide.”

Subject to approval by the competent regulatory and anti trust authorities, the closing of the transac‐ tion is expected by the end of this year.

Syngenta appoints Fleet Logistics to manage APAC fleet

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lobal agri‐business Syngenta has appointed Fleet Logistics to manage its fleet of 1,700 vehicles in 12 countries in the Asia‐Pacific (APAC) region.

Under a new four‐year‐agreement, Fleet Logistics will be responsible for managing Syngenta vehicles – cars, motorcycles and buses – in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

This will be supported from a newly established hub set up by Fleet Logistics in Singapore.

Fleet Logistics International sales director, Stuart Donnelly said: “We are delighted to have the opportu‐ nity to expand our collaboration with Syngenta interna‐ tionally, and the experience developed together to support the start of our global operations in Asia‐Pacific is really exciting. This is a further step along the journey for Fleet Logistics in creating a truly global network for our customers.”

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Alphabet explores trademark infringement following Google announcement lphabet International has said that it is exploring A the possibility of any trademark infringement after Google announced that it is to found a holding company with the same name.

The news was announced in a blog by Google CEO Larry Page, who said: “This new structure will allow us to keep tremendous focus on the extraordinary oppor‐ tunities we have inside of Google.”

Although Google has secured the ‘abc.xyz’ domain for its new parent company, BMW’s alphabet.com website was hit by a traffic overload following the Google announcement.

Alphabet added that it is currently reviewing the trademark concerns.

Although it is possible for two companies to operate with the same trading name, this is only the case when there is no possibility of confusion, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. However, Google does have automotive connections in the form of its connected cars technology and self‐driving vehicles.

New EurotaxGlass’s pan-European Automotive Intelligence and Consulting business unit

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urotaxGlass’s has launched a new business unit to provide automotive data and insight on a European basis.

Called Automotive Intelligence and Consulting (AIC), the new unit will expand ETG’s range of consulting and intelligence services as well as provide easier access to ETG data and insights. It will also manage total cost of ownership and car to market solutions as well as live retail pricing.

Dr Christof Engelskirchen has been appointed as managing director of AIC while Steffen Schick, former head of ETG Global Services, has been named as chief strategy officer.

Dr Engelskirchen said: “Providing essential data to international companies is a key activity for ETG and the creation of the new business unit will help us to gain additional focus as well as expand our range of services into new areas.

“This is a very exciting development and one that we are sure will soon have an impact on the market for European automotive data.”

For the latest news, visit internationalfleetworld.com

SmartDrive appoints Aidan Rowsome as VP for EMEA

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elematics specialist SmartDrive Systems has appointed transportation industry veteran Aidan Rowsome as vice president, EMEA. Mr Rowsome brings over 25 years of experience and is a recog‐ nised expert in the application of SaaS and cloud solutions for fleet and risk management, most recently having served as head of cloud practice for Unity Technology Solutions. Previous roles have included senior vice president of sales and general manager, Europe for GreenRoad Technologies; managing director, software solutions for RAC plc; and vice president of global sales for North‐ core Technologies.

His new appointment sees Mr Rowsome assume responsibility for all aspects of SmartDrive’s European operations.

Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive, said: “Given the growing importance of the European market, we recognized the need to recruit a proven leader with technology and leadership creden‐ tials to head our operations in the region.”

LeasePlan Italy inspected by local competition authority

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easePlan Corporation N.V. has announced that the Italian competition authority AGCM has carried out an inspection at LeasePlan Italy.

The company said the inspection forms part of an investigation among a number of companies active in the Italian long‐term renting industry.

The company said in a statement: “LeasePlan takes the investigation by the competition authority very seriously and fully cooperates with the AGCM. LeasePlan’s policy is to conduct business in full compliance with all applicable laws, committed to providing high quality fleet manage‐ ment and driver mobility services to its clients. The company will refrain from further comment.”

Chevin US expands into bigger office premises

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elped by its fleet software sales success, Chevin US has expanded into new offices.

The new premises continue to be based in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, but are four times the size of the previous property.

Ron Katz, SVP of North American sales, said that the company had seen huge growth over the previous 18 months since moving into its previous offices, with a long list of new signings.

He added: “We are now very much ready to enter our next stage of development as a business, looking to build on the gains that we have made. By meeting the changing needs and exceeding the expectations of fleet operators across the US in terms of helping to manage everything from cost control to risk management, we believe that we are well placed to continue to grow.”

fleetweet a few soundbites from a month in fleet

@toyota_europe The official Twitter account of Toyota Europe

The first five #ToyotaMirai have arrived in Europe this weekend.

Soon on the roads

@D4N_J0NE5 Dan Jones, chief product press officer, Ford of Britain

Ford Transit has been around for 50 years! That's 18,250 days or 438,300 hours or 26,298,000 mins (9 Prime Ministers)

@AndrewJordan77 Andrew Jordan, Red Bull Athlete

Ever thought how much carpet you can fit in your car.

No me neither but the MG6 fits a whole house worth in.

@PeterMcKayWords Peter McKay, motoring journalist

When original Mazda MX-5 launched in Oz in 1989, it was priced at $29,990 (about $54K today). New model starts from $31,990 (for manual 1.5)

@CARPhilMc Barack Obama, president of US

Levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere are higher than they've been in 800,000 years. 2014 was the planet's warmest year on record

@POTUS Official Twitter account for Renault EVs

Passenger cars are responsible for 15% of all greenhouse gases emitted each year. An #EV can reduce these emissions by as much as 45%

@SrenBernt Søren Bernt, E-mobility specialist

Future #Volt owners will drive 95% on electricity. #PHEV will be the bridge the #ElectricCars will use to beat conventional cars

internationalfleetworld.com / 09

The most important meeting of 2015.

The new CLA Shooting Brake.

A Daimler Brand

Space and design meets less emission. Take a decision for comfort and an intelligent energy management. www.mercedes-benz.com/fleet

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

environmental news Unbalanced surge in European plug-in sales during H1 2015

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ales of hybrid and plug‐in electric vehicles totalled 190,936 units in the EU and EFTA countries during the first half of 2015, a 37.5% increase, but with demand heavily weighted towards specific markets according to ACEA data.

Helped by a package of incentives for owners, Norway continues to be the biggest market for electric and plug‐ in vehicles. Registrations totalled 16,990 units during the first six months of the year, comprising 22.8% of all vehi‐ cles sold in the Norwegian market. Of the 72,742 plug‐ins registered across the EU and EFTA, almost a quarter (23.4%) went to Norway.

However, the largest volume growth was in the UK, where 14,838 plug‐ins were registered in the first half of 2015 – an uplift of 10,742 units (262.3%) year on year, largely driven by the popularity of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. From the fifth largest EV and PHEV market, by volume, in 2014, behind Norway (10,231), the Netherlands (8,273),

Germany (5,807) and France (4,968) last year (4,096) the UK is now Europe’s second‐largest. France and Germany are the third and fourth largest markets, each recording significant rises in registrations year on year.

Hybrid technology, which is more established, recorded a 21% uplift to 118,195 registrations in the first half of the year. By volume, France continues to be the largest market for hybrids in the EU and EFTA region, and was also the country with the biggest growth in registrations – a rise of 6,562 units. The UK is the second largest, at 23,065 units, up 3,850 year on year and significantly ahead of Italy with 12,937 registrations.

Overall, ACEA data shows a significant shift towards plug‐ins. Omitting LPG and CNG‐powered vehicles, 29.6% of the 138,813 alternatively‐powered models sold in the first six months of 2014 had fully electric or plug‐in hybrid drivetrains. In 2015, 37.9% of the 190,436 alternatively‐ fuelled vehicles registered feature a plug‐in drivetrain.

Range and performance upgrades for Tesla Model S

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esla has extended the Model S range to include a higher capacity battery, two‐wheel drive entry‐level model and even more performance for the most powerful version.

New and existing customers can swap from the 85kWh battery to a larger‐capacity 90kWh unit, which features improved cell chemistry and offers a 6% increase in range to 502km on the new Model S 90 kWh, 528km on the 90D and 491km on the new P90D. The new battery also underpins a new P90D high‐perfor‐ mance version with a ‘Ludicrous Mode’ which reduces the 0‐100kph sprint time from 3.1 seconds in the existing ‘Insane Mode’ to 3.0 seconds. Musk said this was achieved by upgrading the 'smart fuse' in the battery, plus the use of

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Inconel super‐alloy in the main contractor instead of steel, which can cope better with heavy current.

At the entry point of the range, the 70kWh Model S will be offered with a single motor option having only been available with dual‐motor four‐wheel drive since it launched in April. As with other two‐wheel drive models, the range drops slightly without the second motor – 420km, instead of 442km for the 70D. Further software updates are also in the pipeline.

Announced on Twitter, Elon Musk said cars with the AutoPilot camera and sensor package will soon get active lane keeping and autonomous parking. Calibration for both is now underway.

For the latest EV news, visit evfleetworld.com

Queensland to get solarpowered EV charging network

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lectric vehicles in Queensland, Australia could soon be able to travel the length of the state using a network of solar powered rapid chargers along major routes, with the first likely to be located in Townsville, close to the Bruce Highway and central business district.

The initiative, launched by the state government, is unusual in that some of the charging points will be located alongside conventional fuel stations, and incentives will be offered to encourage retailers to become part of the network.

Utility company Ergon Energy is providing a 100% lease option on a 25kW solar array, while Economic Development Queensland is supporting businesses with the cost of the charging equipment.

The electric vehicle sector is growing in Australia, and public charging infrastructure is following suit. Five stations went live on the west coast, establishing a network connecting Perth and Augusta last month, and Tesla Motors is rolling out its first Supercharger units with ten locations now confirmed.

Draft bill to push plug-in vehicles on German fleets

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he German Federal Council has submitted a draft bill which will offer incentives for businesses to use plug‐in vehicles on their fleets, as well as calling for more action to promote electromobility.

This proposes a tax exemption for businesses to provide workplace charging for employees, as well as a 50% incentive against charging equipment. Each year, the available discount will decline by ten percentage points, settling at 20% in 2018/2019.

It also calls for a subsidy of €5,000 for private buyers against purchasing a pure electric vehicle, and €2,500 for a plug‐in hybrid if it emits less than 50g/km or can travel at least 40km on electricity, as well as for rapid charging infrastructure to increase massively on Germany’s major routes.

The Council said fiscal incentives will be important if the country is to reach one million plug‐in vehicles by 2020. There are 12,000 registered at the moment.

EV in numbers

in brief OLEV boost for UK hydrogen network Air Products has won a grant from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles to upgrade two of its hydrogen stations in London and roll out a mobile filling unit.

The latter will enable on‐road vehicle testing away from the UK’s small hydrogen network.

Volkswagen shows robot-assisted rapid charger Volkswagen has demonstrated an autonomously operated rapid charging point for electric vehicles which is assisted by a robot. The e‐smartConnect system is a solution to the heavy cables needed for rapid charging large batteries, and enables vehicles to be unplugged once filled, leaving the charger free for another user.

Northern Ireland's charging network transferred to ESB The Energy Supply Board (ESB), has taken over operation, maintenance and development of 334 government‐owned ecar electric vehicle charging points in Northern Ireland. Established in 2011, the network will get a new operating system enabling it to be run commercially.

EVtweet of the month @RenaultZE Passenger cars are responsible for 15% of all greenhouse gases emitted each year. An #EV can reduce these emissions by as much as 45%.

$57,000 (€52,500)

Price of the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car in California, including $15,000 free fuel and customer support services.

90% Source: Toyota

Source: Chargemaster

Share of electric vehicle charging in the UK which takes place at home – a 163% increase since 2014.

internationalfleetworld.com / 13

business news

Audi, BMW and Daimler to coacquire Nokia mapping subsidiary

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udi AG, the BMW Group and Daimler AG have acquired mapping company HERE from the Nokia Corporation, aiming to create an open platform for next‐generation connected mobility.

HERE offers a multitude of services based on historic and real‐time traffic movement data, including last‐mile navigation and the ability to predict delays based on the user’s normal routes and departure times.

The company is also developing a cloud‐based platform for sharing data from vehicles’ on‐board sensors, which would give an even more accurate view of how the road network is flowing and conditions ahead, possibly utilised by in‐car systems and overhead gantries. This mapping and traffic flow data is also the foundation for driverless vehicles.

Audi, BMW and Daimler will each hold an equal stake, with the transaction expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.

Infiniti reveals Q30 ahead of Frankfurt

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nfiniti has taken the wraps off the production version of its Q30 crossover hatchback prior to its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The new model – dubbed the Q30 Active Compact – will be shown two years after the Q30 Concept was revealed at the 2013 Frankfurt Show and remains faithful to the concept.

The carmaker said the Q30 will bring dynamic drive charac‐ teristics in line with “Infiniti‐typical confident and responsive performance as well as excellent ride and handling”. It will also offer “crafted trims and expressive interiors”.

The Q30 has undergone final testing and development in Europe and will be built in Sunderland in the UK.

in brief Fleetio launches fuel tracking app US‐based Fleetio has launched Fleetio Fuel, said to be the first fuel tracking app designed specifically for fleets.

Free for all Fleetio users, the app allows drivers to log fuel in seconds using a mobile phone or tablet and provides fleets with comprehensive data like cost per mile, mpg and distance between fill‐ups.

Tanguy van de Werve leaves Leaseurope Tanguy van de Werve, director general of Leaseurope and Eurofi‐ nas, is to leave both organisations and join the Association for Finan‐ cial Markets in Europe (AFME). Mr van de Werve has been appointed as managing director, advocacy and head of AFME’s Brussels office.

Daimler and Renault-Nissan establish Mexico JV plant Daimler and the Renault‐Nissan Alliance have built on their existing cooperation with a new manufactur‐ ing joint venture in Mexico. Located in Aguascalientes in central Mexico, the new JV is owned 50:50 by the two firms and will produce the next generation of premium compact vehi‐ cles for Mercedes‐Benz and Infiniti.

JLR launches fleet sales programme in N. America Corporate customers in North Amer‐ ica can now gain from special pricing on select models under a new Corpo‐ rate Fleet & Business Sales Program, beginning immediately. The new programme is aimed at both end‐user fleets and drivers who receive a vehi‐ cle allowance as part of their compen‐ sation package.

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SIMPLY CLEVER

INVEST IN THE SPACE PROGRAMME.

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

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

facebook.com/skoda

SPOTLIGHT Opel Astra

For drivers Targeting a bigger share of the C-segment’s user-chooser volume, the new Astra has put an emphasis on appealing to drivers, while offering attractive whole-life costs for fleets. Alex Grant explains.

Technology The Astra is the first Opel to get GM’s OnStar technology. Standard on Dynamic and INNOVATION models, and optional on Essentia and Enjoy models, this includes a human personal assistant which can send destinations to the navigation, eCall with automatic emergency services calling and a 4G/LTE WiFi hotspot.

Fleets can also use on-board sensors to monitor economy, mileage, wear and driving style, which can be fed back to their telematics system.

IntelliLink-equipped infotainment is fitted across the range, with all equipped Astras offering Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration from Enjoy upwards, enabling smartphone apps and telephony functions to be controlled via the touchscreen – including connected navigation. Optional LED Matrix headlights – familiar from executive cars – mean any one of 16 parts of the high beam can be dipped to avoid dazzling other road users.

Whole-life costs Improving the efficiency of the new Astra has helped to cut whole life costs. It is smaller and up to 200kg lighter than the model it replaces. It is some 5cm shorter, 2.5cm lower and 0.5cm narrower. This has enabled Opel to fit smaller wheels, smaller brakes and to use a more common, lower-price tyre size without affecting the way it drives. The smaller dimensions have also helped to improve the aerodynamics of the standard car with a very low drag coefficient of 0.285cd. Even the under-body was aerodynamically optimised to avoid the extra weight of full under-body panelling.

Lower weight, better aerodynamics and more efficient engines ensure new Astra uses less fuel. Opel has also made sure the new on-board technologies are affordable. The IntelliLux LED headlamps cost €100 less than the bi-xenon option in the current Astra.

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Engines At launch, diesel engine options are familiar from the outgoing car, comprising three versions of the 1.6-litre ‘Whisper Diesel’ with 95, 109 and 134bhp and CO2 emissions from 94g/km. These will be bolstered in early 2016 by a BiTurbo version of the same engine, producing 158bhp and available in multiple trim levels for the first time, and the ecoFLEX. Contributing to whole-life cost savings of between €3,500 and €7,000 over a typical fleet life cycle, Opel expects the latter to be the engine of choice for many Astra drivers. It returns up to 2.6l/100km with CO2 emissions from 82g/km. However, with fuel economy at 3.4l/100km and 96g/km CO2 emissions, the 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol offers another tax-efficient option for fleet customers with CO2-based taxation..

FLEET FACT Forthcoming Astra ecoFLEX models will offer CO2 emissions from 82g/km.

What we think...

Opel has its sights set on the ‘true fleet’ sales of the Ford Focus and VW Golf with its new Astra, and that’s meant focusing on the low running costs and combination of style and technology that drivers want in this segment. The innovative OnStar system is a unique selling point, and whole-life costs are aggressively low. It stands to put the Astra in a good position as it aims for user-choosers. AG

internationalfleetworld.com / 17

REMARKETING BCA Strategy

The balance of risk and reward How do major leasing companies in Europe re-market end-of-lease vehicles? Peter Dietrich, BCA European sales director explains.

“WHILE a variety of approaches are employed, the major leasing companies across Europe have a common strategic view when it comes to remarketing their end‐of‐lease cars," says Peter Dietrich.

“There is a strong requirement for a clear audit trail to meet both the needs of the business and the appropriate tax regulations in the markets they are operating in. And there is a clear understanding that the remarketing choices made for their de‐fleeted vehicles play a significant role when it comes to setting front end leasing rates and managing in‐ lease‐costs. It is a hugely competitive industry where small margins across large volumes can have a substantial effect on the company bottom line and overall profitability.”

Once an asset is not ‘working’ and earning money for the lessor, there is the potential for holding costs that will nibble away at the profit that vehicle has made over its two or three year working lifespan.

Dietrich comments, “Time is of the essence and working capital is increasingly important, so there is a strong desire to minimise and streamline the processes from the lease‐ end position to vehicles being sold and funds back on the company bottom line. There is a drive to prevent additional expenditure – the often invisible holding costs – after the lease‐end, so reducing storage requirements, avoiding the need for double‐inspections and keeping transport costs to the minimum are increasingly important.”

“With this in mind there is a strong focus on online and digital platforms to shorten the selling cycle and reduce these holding costs. Many leasing operators develop their own remarketing online‐platforms and set up their own ‘Cross‐ Border’ departments (or even separate companies) to manage elements of the remarketing function, often in part‐ nership with existing remarketing specialists such as BCA. Success in these endeavours requires the specialist volume

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buying power to ensure a steady churn of used vehicles.”

“There is also a move towards multi‐platform selling with ‘simultaneous bidding’ – where leasing‐companies share vehi‐ cle sales data with several suppliers at one time to achieve the best price or quickest sale for fixed price vehicles,” he adds.

“A similar strategy may be employed by leasing companies working with specific remarketing partners, offering vehicles in multiple channels ‐ fixed price ‘buy it now’, online and physical auction, for example – to ensure a swift sale.”

Dietrich sees a variety of approaches from leasing compa‐ nies across Europe, but all with a similar goal to sell vehicles for the best possible price in the shortest possible time. He added: “Some leasing companies have a 100% B2B ‘sold and gone’ strategy, whereas others introduce an element of ‘retail‐ ing’ certain high‐demand stock direct to consumers through outlet centres. It’s the balance of risk and reward – the bene‐ fit of the typically higher retail price against a potentially longer time to sale, the need for trade ins and the added post‐ sale responsibilities of warranties and after‐care.”

As well as a comprehensive Europe‐wide remarketing programme for the leasing industry, BCA offers complemen‐ tary services for outlet centres serving the sector, providing valuation and appraisal services for the trade‐in and handling the remarketing of the trade‐in vehicle where appropriate.

BCA also offer platforms to sell non‐runners and total loss vehicles for those leasing companies that self‐insure, reaching the specialised buyer base for these vehicles.

Dietrich concluded: “The critical activity for the lessor is to sell a valuable asset at the end of its first working life and then put that capital back to work for the benefit of the busi‐ ness. This is how the long‐established partnership between the leasing industry and the remarketing sector was founded – the combination of the need to sell large volumes of vehicles and the channels and buyers that want to buy them.”

UK CASE STUDY Premium vehicles

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Premium Ford and Citroën have both recently moved upmarket, in their own ways, but will the obsession with being ‘premium’ make any difference? Mark Nichol investigates the UK perspective.

A

pple Inc. has a lot to answer for.

Obviously there were desirable phones and there were upmarket products before the iPhone, but it’s by far the best modern example of the way companies approach the marketing of their wares today.

Made in China for a few pounds and sold to you for hundreds, the iPhone is the handset of paupers and kings. It is everyman’s premium product. Cool as ice; common as. And it’s the reason why Ford has scrapped the ‘Titanium Sport X’ trim from the Mondeo lineup.

In its place comes the Mondeo Vignale and it’s a name that will soon become synonymous with the upper echelons of Ford’s bigger passenger car ranges, start‐ ing with the Mondeo and soon appearing on S‐MAX, Kuga and Focus, and a reaction to the increasing pre‐eminence of premium brands in the car market.

But Vignale is not just a trim level, it’s “a high series execution [of the Ford brand], the ultimate expression coupled with an enhanced ownership experi‐ ence,” says Jon Wellsman, Ford of Britain’s director of customer service.

The company is adamant that it’s not “going upmarket”, and that even without the Vignale brand the Mondeo has attracted class leading – and premium brand beating – residuals. This, it says, is more thanks to a decision to reduce the number of short cycle, cash‐burning daily rental and internal staff sales from around 6,000 per year with the outgoing Mondeo to 2,000.

And with around 30% of true fleet Mondeo sales last time around being Tita‐ nium X Sport (top‐of‐the‐line) models, Ford sees the shift to Vignale, with its “enhanced” purchase and ownership expe‐ rience, as a way of keeping existing customers with the brand who are on their second, possibly third Mondeo in a row.

So, it’s not competing with BMW and Audi as such, but instead giving the average SME middle manager a reason not to jump ship. But also, you know, allowing them to spend over €45,000 on a Mondeo. There’s profit in all that extra equipment.

The car itself is classic mutton‐ dressed‐as‐Wagyu‐beef: the Vignale dashboard is leather, the paint is thicker and the chrome is more exten‐ sive – but it’s backed up by the sort of customer care hitherto unseen from any Ford dealership.

It includes the establishment of 55 nationwide ‘Ford Stores’ whose staff are trained specifically in the ways of Vignale. They include special customer care managers and fancy waiting areas – areas a driver can avoid entirely if needs be, because the Vignale service includes free delivery and collection for servicing, and a single, named point of contact for them, who’s always on call.

“It’s about becoming a professional and contemporary retailer, so as you would go and buy your iPhone from a beautiful looking store with great serv‐ ice, we want our Ford dealerships to be comparable with the other class‐leading retailers,” says Wellsman. “We’ve taken our inspiration not from Vauxhall or Peugeot but from what’s going no on the high street and what very successful other retailer brands are doing.”

Plus, the Ford Store concept will be extended to Focus RS and Mustang owners, giving Ford showrooms a two‐ tier class setup and helping to justify the investment.

It’s not just Ford. Modernising the retail experience is something that Volvo is at too, recently announcing its inten‐ tion to calmly revolutionise all its show‐ rooms with a comfortable “premium living room” vibe by 2020.

internationalfleetworld.com / 21

→

UK CASE STUDY Premium vehicles

Premium →

Which brings us onto DS – a brand that Citroën believes will compete with Audi and BMW. Recently Citroën erected a big tent in the middle of Paris to celebrate ‘DS Week’ – a display, open to the public, of all things DS and ostensibly the official launch of ‘DS Automo‐ biles’ as a standalone premium brand. The company prefers the term “avant garde” to premium because it’s more, well, French.

In a Toyota/Lexus type separation, Citroën wants DS to become independent, and by 2020 DS Automobiles will have launched six new models in Europe, most of them coming to the UK and a couple of which will be of the extremely on‐trend premium SUV variety.

“Clearly, margins on premium cars are greater than on mainstream product,” says John Handcock, head of communications for DS Automobiles (and also Citroën) in the UK. The ability to make more money out of each unit, without hugely more expensive produc‐ tion costs, while higher residual values reflect the status of the cars among used buyers is the holy grail for volume brands.

The creation of DS Automobiles is one third of an overall PSA Peugeot Citroën company restructure that will see it more aligned with the Volkswagen Group – pitch‐ ing different brands at different, but comple‐ mentary, customer bases. A strategy that has seen Volkswagen Group become the world’s second biggest carmaker.

So while DS tackles the upper end, Citroën itself stays with the mainstream (the Kore‐ ans and the Vauxhalls), and Peugeot sepa‐ rates the two, itself having moved upmarket to become a ‘upper mainstream’ kind of rival to the Volkswagen brand itself.

And while the ‘Apple effect’ (or the “democratisation of premium”, as Ford’s Wellman puts it) goes some way to explain‐ ing the desire for car companies to move upmarket it’s actually our car buying patterns that are really forcing change.

There are two possible explanations: one, that the ever‐improving ‘value’ cars (those from Korea, for example) are push‐ ing the likes of Ford and Citroën upwards to a more aspirational, higher‐cost product.

Or two, that the traditional premium manufacturers are diversifying to the extent that it’s they who form the biggest

22 / internationalfleetworld.com

threat to the traditional mainstream.

Ford flat denies that the former is having any impact, while the latter is the way Matt Friedman of automotive analyst CAP sees it: “The premium brands are colonising the entire industry,” he says. “Now you walk into a BMW showroom or an Audi showroom and it’s absolutely full of everything, from superminis all the way up.

“If you are Ford and you traditionally relied on Fiesta and Escort, the lower segments, you’ve suddenly got to compete with these people who’ve just come down from on high and started stealing your lunch.

“The British are quite premium brand conscious. Given the choice most customers would aspire to own a premium branded car over a mainstream, and now they have that opportunity. They will pay the extra, and they’ll certainly pay the extra in the used market.”

What’s difficult is quantifying a move to premium in pure profit terms. In the UK the Citroën DS3, for example, outsells the Citroën C3 considerably, but the DS4 and DS5 models are slower sellers.

So we have to look beyond the UK to make sense of Citroën’s plan. In 2012 Citroën moved into China, partnering with Dongfeng to make Citroëns, and with Chang’an Auto Group to make DS models – two separate entities into one massive market with no historical brand prejudices.

The size of that market means that, ulti‐ mately, the UK is a single cross‐stitch in a lucrative French‐Chinese tapestry; DS is a standalone luxury brand in China, so Citroën might as well do it here too.

And if there’s the temptation to get a little sniffy about DS Automotive’s chances of ever establishing itself as a premium brand, CAP’s Friedman goes back to Volkswagen Group.

“The test case is Audi, which took decades of very, very sustained work across every facet of business – the product, the styling, the engineering, motorsport, quality – it had to do everything consistently for something like 20 years in order to move itself securely into the premium space.”

Sustained work is what it will take for Citroën’s avant garde gamble (and, to a lesser extent, Ford’s premium one) to pay off.

Premium flops four upmarket failures Ford and Citroën’s upmarket ambition isn’t especially new, and history shows us that it’s a journey fraught with difficulties. So here are five car manufacturers that tried to chase the premium pound in the past and failed.

Maybach In 1997, Mercedes‐Benz revived the 90‐year‐old Maybach name for a pair of ultra‐luxury concept cars, the Maybach 57 and 62, based obviously on the S‐Class but at three times the price. Having stated its intention to sell 2,000 Maybachs per year, in 11 years Mercedes managed to sell just 3,000 in total. The whole project was cancelled n 2013, although the name was revived this year for a range‐topping S‐Class.

Lagonda Like Maybach, Lagonda was formed early in the 20th Century but sat doing nothing for decades before being revived by a big brand in catastrophic fashion – but under Aston Martin, the Lagonda revival lasted days rather than years. When Aston announced it was planning something big for Lagonda during the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, in strict proportional terms that turned out to be true, but the massive Lagonda Concept 4x4 was an absolute monstrosity. Both the car and the name were quickly ensconced back into the bottom drawer of Aston’s Gaydon factory.

Renault At around the turn of this century, the company released the Avantime coupé and Vel Satis luxury hatchback. Expensive and with challenging styling, they both flopped – the Avantime lasting just two years in production.

Edsel Ford has attempted to go upmarket before, and in doing so created perhaps the most famous commercial flop of all time. The Edsel brand, born in the late ‘50s, was supposed to sit above the Ford brand but below Mercury and Lincoln in the company’s product portfolio. Unfortunately, both the first car – the Edsel Corsair – and the brand positioning were poorly judged, confusing Amer‐ ican buyers and forcing Ford to write off a $400m investment – the equivalent of $4bn today.

internationalfleetworld.com / 23

STRATEGY Environmental Management

What future for business mobility?

Operating cost or mobility cost? The choice for future fleets will probably not be as clear as before, reckons Steve Banner.

Electric vehicles?

How can fleet operators determine whether or not it makes sense for them to operate electric vehicles? Alphabet Interna‐ tional believes it can help them decide with its Electrification Potential Analysis (EPA) scheme.

“Our objective is to bring comprehensive, forward‐thinking, eMobility to our clients in a way that’s in line with their targets, be it reducing CO2 emissions or decreasing the total cost of mobility,” says Alphabet’s head of marketing and business development, Carsten Kwirandt.

EPA involves temporarily fitting removable data loggers into a fleet’s existing cars and using them to record distance trav‐ elled, speed, rate of acceleration and various other relevant parameters. Armed with this information Alphabet says it can determine how best a client can integrate battery‐powered or plug‐in hybrid models into its operation.

Alphabet has carried out an EPA at several companies including Deloitte Italy. Its analysis revealed that 30% of the accountancy practice’s 800 cars could be replaced by electrics.

At the same time it introduced Deloitte to the idea of integrating electric vehicles with the AlphaCity corporate car‐sharing programme. As a consequence, the practice has

24 / internationalfleetworld.com

decided to make BMW i3s available to all staff at its Milan site under an AlphaCity programme.

EPA is an approach that among other things addresses one of the key concerns that fleet drivers still have when consid‐ ering electrics; whether the range between recharges will be sufficient to meet their requirements.

LeasePlan’s global MobilityMonitor survey carried out earlier this year revealed that while a growing number of company car drivers want to switch to battery power, the limited range and the immature charging infrastructure in so many markets continues to deter them. Nissan’s target of a 200‐mile range for the next LEAF EV with the aim of compet‐ ing with the forthcoming Chevrolet Bolt could of course prompt them to change their minds.

Taxation, subsidies and regulations While usage is a major factor in determining whether or not fleets should acquire electric vehicles, taxation and the avail‐ ability of subsidies are considerations that both they and their suppliers have to bear in mind.

Past rises in the price of petrol and diesel have certainly

vehicles according to their supposed pollution levels.

Surprisingly, the programme will see Euro 6 diesels excluded from Category 1; the cleanest category listed.

Not surprisingly, the move has been roundly condemned by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

Says secretary general, Erik Jonnaert: “Policy should be tech‐ nology‐neutral to ensure the uptake of the latest low‐emission vehicles and there is no reason to discriminate against clean diesel technologies. This does not make sense from either an environmental or health point of view and could be detrimen‐ tal to the mobility of cities and businesses.”

Jonnaert and his colleagues go on to stress that as diesels have lower per‐kilometre CO2 emissions than their petrol‐ powered equivalents, they can make a significant contribu‐ tion to the motor industry's aim of reaching the EU’s 2021 CO2 fleet average targets. They can also help the industry meet any post‐2021 CO2 goals.

Jonnaert has a point in insisting on a policy of technologi‐ cal neutrality.

While battery‐powered cars and their plug‐in‐hybrid counterparts may be worthy of consideration, other options should be presented to operators by suppliers at the same time; compressed natural gas (CNG) being among them.

Biomethane CNG is especially worth considering given that it can be produced from landfill gas.

prompted companies to look at alternative fuels says Lease‐ Plan chief commercial officer, Nick Salkeld. “However local tax incentives as well as European Union (EU) and US regu‐ lations that aim to bring down CO2 emissions have been a far more important rationale,” he observes.

The impact that such incentives can have is amply illus‐ trated by the situation in Norway.

Electrics and plug‐in hybrids accounted for one‐third of new vehicles registered there during the first quarter of this year, a total of slightly over 8,000 units. This was a 41% increase over the same period in 2014.

A key reason according to the IHS Automotive Plug‐in Electric Vehicle Index is the absence of an import tax on elec‐ tric vehicles. It should be noted that Norway is outside the EU. It should also be noted that Norway is the most expensive place in the world to buy petrol according to a survey conducted earlier this year by Santander.

Pollution categories Other pressures intended to drive fleets towards alternative fuels include a scheme mooted in France that will colour‐code

EV rejection Domenico Gostoli, Fiat Professional’s head of brand for Europe, the Middle East and Africa has publicly rejected elec‐ tric light commercials, at least for the present, in favour of those powered by CNG. The Fiat Professional range is being developed accordingly.

“Electric van technology is not sustainable at the moment because of the extra cost unless there is support from govern‐ ment and I have yet to see a boom in electric van sales,” he states. “We are ready to react if and when a market develops however and this may happen from 2021 onwards when CO2 limits become tighter.”

The difficulty with such a stance – and one that fleets need to be made aware of if they are not aware of it already – is that CNG is not widely available on public forecourts in a number of countries; the UK for example. All countries have an elec‐ tricity system however, even though the public supply in some countries – Nigeria for example – is not always dependable.

Reducing your carbon footprint The answer has to be for fleets to work with suppliers willing to entertain all possible options with a view to shrinking the customer’s carbon footprint. That is the approach taken by leading 3D design, engineering and entertainment software specialist Autodesk.

In partnership with Hertz it has increased the use of vehicles powered by alternative fuels – electric and hybrid models in particular – and made greater use of vehicles offering high MPG figures. Autodesk’s overall CO2 emissions are down as a result.

As a consequence last year saw Hertz and Autodesk jointly win the Global Business Travel Association’s Project ICARUS award. It recognises best‐in‐class corporate sustainability programmes across North America.

internationalfleetworld.com / 25

→

STRATEGY Environmental Management

Charging ahead Electrics and plug-in hybrids accounted for one-third of new vehicles registered in Norway during Q1 2015.

Hertz was recently ranked 54th in Newsweek’s 2015 Green → Rankings – a widely‐recognised assessment of environmental performance – out of the 500 largest publicly‐traded compa‐ nies in the USA accordingly to market capitalisation.

One way of reducing your environmental impact and one advocated by responsible suppliers is to reduce the number of vehicles you run if at all possible before you start considering alternative sources of power. That’s the route Denver, Colorado, USA‐based South Metro Fire Rescue Authority (SMFRA) has gone down in conjunction with Enterprise Fleet Management.

After discussions with Enterprise SMFRA discovered that it could reduce its fleet of non‐emergency SUVs and pick‐ups from 51 to 31 without compromising efficiency. Enterprise is providing the 31 under a lease agreement in a move that looks set to save the authority $15,000 (€13,540) annually once fully implemented.

Another way of reducing your carbon footprint and one put forward by LeasePlan among others is to install telematics equipment in your existing vehicles.

LeasePlan Spain recently developed an app based on telem‐ atics data allowing approximately 7,000 drivers (75% passenger cars, 25% light commercials) to monitor their own driving behaviour. The initial results include an 8% cut in fuel consumption and thus CO2 emissions.

A further approach is to introduce mobility budgets that give employees the opportunity to use the most environ‐ mentally friendly way to get to business meetings or to visit customers. That may involve using the train, the tram or a pedal cycle rather than a car; and where cars are used, many of them may be offered under a car‐sharing scheme.

Car sharing Referred to earlier, one of the best‐known car‐sharing programmes to be introduced by an industry supplier is AlphaCity from Alphabet.

It involves Alphabet providing its client with a fleet of leased vehicles. After registering and confirming their iden‐ tities employees can then book any car online through a booking portal for a time they have requested.

Cars can be booked for use during the evenings and at weekends as well as during the working day and access to them is keyless. This means that users do not have to waste time picking up keys from a specific location then dropping them off once they have finished with the vehicle.

Alphabet contends that by using AlphaCity companies can cut their fleet costs by up to 70%.

AlphaCity is available in a number of key European markets including Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Users include Germany’s Serviceplan and France’s Accenture.

One of the largest privately‐owned advertising agency groups in Europe with more than 40 specialist agencies and over 1,300 employees, Serviceplan has been using AlphaCity since 2012 and operates it under its own ‘weDrive’ brand.

The move has been a success, says Serviceplan’s head of purchasing and facility management, Axel Schorner, and proved popular with employees. “The income returned through private use currently finances almost 100% of

26 / internationalfleetworld.com

our leasing costs,” he reports.

E‐bikes are included in the weDrive offer.

With some 280,000 employees worldwide, management consultancy, technological services and outsourcing specialist Accenture introduced AlphaCity as a consequence of the total cost of ownership savings it was sure it could achieve and the ease of collecting vehicles.

“With AlphaCity you simply reserve the car on the inter‐ net then pick it up five minutes later,” says Accenture geographic services lead, Mark Thiollier. “That’s something we really appreciate.”

LeasePlan’s MobilityMonitor shows that almost 10% of company car drivers with vehicles that are leased are interested in car‐sharing.

“This is a relatively high percentage for people who are used to having their own cars,” says Nick Salkeld. “Younger generations are relatively more willing to share cars however and we believe that interest will increase in the coming years with more and more people living in cities.”

Providing mobility LeasePlan intends to introduce a new car‐sharing scheme later this year. Last year saw Enterprise Rent‐A‐Car Canada acquire AutoShare CarSharing Network, which serves over 12,000 local members in Toronto. Enterprise already owns Enterprise CarShare.

Frost & Sullivan highlights the number of automotive leas‐ ing companies that are transforming themselves into busi‐ ness mobility providers offering a variety of travel solutions with the accent on minimal environmental impact. “The number of companies entering the corporate car‐sharing market increased from 13 in 2013 to 20 in 2014 with most car rental and leasing firms present and the entry of Audi and Daimler,” says partner and global practice director, automo‐ tive and transportation, Sarwant Singh.

Perhaps the answer then for fleets that wish to reduce their environmental impact is not to debate with suppliers as to whether CNG may have advantages over hybrids or whether modern petrol engines now have the edge over diesels, but to adopt a holistic approach and consider their transporta‐ tion requirements in their entirety in conjunction with their chosen partner. If the answer is to make more use of trams or e‐bikes and to adopt a car‐sharing scheme, then so be it.

The new Hyundai Tucson

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

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

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

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

STRATEGY The Environment

Keep it

clean Managing environmental matters around your fleet is not something that fleets can ignore.

Here’s 10 tips to help you stay green...

1. Stay alert Do you know how many vehicles you have, what they are doing and how they are being driven? You may have too many, or if you have a delivery fleet, it might be based in the wrong place. If you use telematics, this will help give you a picture – your service provider can advise. Or you could use a company that specialises in fleet optimisation, which would equip your fleet with data loggers for a set period then analyse the results to see what your fleet does each day.

Your fleet service provider should also be able to help in assessing your needs.

2. Review usage Having carried out a review you should have gathered the information to show how well your fleet is being utilised. It may show that you have too many vehicles, or that there are areas where two people or delivery routes overlap. Revising responsibilities could help to reduce distances driven, by eliminating the overlaps. If you have a delivery fleet, you may find that some vehicles are based in the wrong place, or that you don’t need all those that you have, or that you could oper‐ ate with fewer vehicles supplemented with pool or rental vehicles, or that you are using the wrong type of vehi‐ cles on some operations.

28 / internationalfleetworld.com

3. Are company cars always the best solution?

Allocated fleet vehicles are likely to remain as part of business mobility solu‐ tions for a long time to come. If popula‐ tions are becoming more urban as some suggest, other mobility solutions such as air, rail, car share and taxi may provide a better solution for some. There are indi‐ cations that younger employees may find mobility schemes to be an acceptable alternative to a company car. Several fleet operators such as Alphabet, ALD Auto‐ motive and LeasePlan are offering such schemes or trialling them. A mobility budget with a smartphone based system for booking could offer an alternative.

4. Could you use electric vehicles as part of your fleet?

Electric vehicle range is likely to increase over the next few years as new battery technologies come to market. In the meantime, careful consideration is still needed to assess how viable an electric vehicle (EV) could be, either for individual fleet cars or as pooled vehicles. Where cars are used solely or mostly for commuting, an EV could provide a viable alterna‐ tive. Leasing providers would be happy to advise on EVs and hybrids and help identify the cars that could be most easily replaced with EVs.

5. How many hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles could you use?

Hybrids are another possible means of greening the fleet. Hybrids rely on stop/start traffic to charge their batter‐ ies with energy that would otherwise be lost in braking and slowing. These may provide another alternative for drivers who are mostly office bound and use the car mostly for commuting. Plug‐in hybrids cost more but could offer a greater electric range and offer lower exhaust emissions. Commuting drivers might only need to use electric power.

Again, leasing providers would be happy to advise on appropriate use of hybrids.

6. Fleet monitoring Once you have established whether you have the right vehicles in the right places, it is worth considering the impact driv‐ ers can have on fuel consumption and emissions. Drivers who exceed the speed limit, accelerate rapidly and brake harshly will be wasting fuel, as well as causing rapid wear to the vehicle. Is the most direct route to destinations chosen?

Telematics can monitor what drivers are doing behind the wheel, where they are, where they are going and where they have been. Some systems give drivers feedback about how well they are driving and can be highly effective in improving driver behaviour.

7. Train your drivers in eco driving techniques.

It may be necessary to give driver training with an instructor to those who are the poorest performers, but many drivers may benefit from being given some simple advice on how to drive defensively for optimum fuel consumption. This might be possible through an online training course or interactive package that can be followed in the office or at home. It may be appropriate to repeat sessions from time to time to ensure that driv‐ ers maintain good performance.

“Incentive schemes for good drivers, such as league tables or monthly reward schemes.”

8. Incentivise your drivers.

Incentive schemes for good drivers such as league tables or monthly reward schemes are an effective way to keep drivers motivated about good driving practice. Some organisations have a ‘Driver of the Year’ award to reward the best drivers and identify other good performers. The benefits extend beyond reducing emissions and fuel consumption because acci‐ dent rates among the best drivers are likely to be lower. This could also mean less accident damage and fewer insurance claims, which may help to lower insurance premiums.

Insurance companies may be able to offer advice.

9. Ensure vehicles are properly maintained and drivers regularly check tyre pressures.

CV drivers may be obliged to make daily vehicle checks to ensure that vehicles are roadworthy before setting off and it is good for car drivers to follow similar practice. Regularly checking tyre pressures will help to keep fuel consumption low. Keeping a check on vehicle mileage to ensure that it is serviced at the recommended intervals will also help to ensure opti‐ mum fuel consumption. Using telemat‐ ics and fleet software to download and record mileage and fuel use automati‐ cally would help to make this a manageable task.

10. Monitoring vehicle performance.

Despite high production standards, some vehicles don’t match up to others on the fleet. If you are satisfied that your drivers are doing what they can to minimise fuel use, but the vehicle still seems to be underperforming, it might be easier to de‐fleet it and move it on, rather than spend excessive amounts of time trying to find out why it is not performing as expected. If you think that is the case, it is worth discussing it with your vehicle provider. They may be as keen as you to remove an under‐ performing vehicle from their fleets.

internationalfleetworld.com / 29

EVENTS MPG Marathon

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STRATEGY Brazil

Brazil’s rocky road Big changes are on the way for the Brazilian new car market, reckons Dave Moss.

I

n 2012, with annual light vehicle sales approaching 3.65 million units, the Brazilian government announced its complex INOVAR‐Auto tax‐credit scheme. This was designed to improve national motor industry competitiveness by encouraging automakers to produce more efficient, safer, and more technological vehi‐ cles through major investment in Brazil’s national automo‐ tive industry. By the end of 2014, industry analysts PwC estimated that INOVAR‐auto had prompted around 30 car companies to announce 50 major improvement projects, including 13 new local assembly plants.

Since its introduction, INOVAR‐auto has become just one part of a fast‐changing motor industry picture. PwC Auto‐ motive Partner Phil Harrold identifies a range of problems, emerging from an economic downturn, which also began in 2012: “Its impacted business and consumer confidence,” he says. “There’s high inflation, high interest rates, and the cur‐ rency has fallen against the dollar. With auto purchases, most people buy when they feel confident... but the gov‐ ernment has recently introduced austerity measures. Cou‐ pled with this, manufacturers and suppliers are working with steep taxation, presenting a challenge: how to avoid passing on rising costs to the consumer.”

The downturn led to falling car sales in 2013 after ten years of continuous growth – and the scale of the fall has brought much comment: Frost and Sullivan’s programme manager for Latin American Research, Automotive & Transportation, Yeswant Abhimanyu, says: “What started as a 1 to 2% sales decline deepened in 2014 to almost 7%.

This phase, expected to last up to a year and a half, is now continuing well beyond expectations into a third straight year of decline, which we estimate at over 15%.” Accord‐ ing to industry association Associação Nacional dos Fab‐ ricantes de Veículos Automotores, (ANFAVEA) registrations fell around 200,000 units last year: this year a similar fall has taken just six months – to a total already 19% lower than 2014.

Economic factors – including price increases estimated by some at over 7% in just 12 months – are certainly affecting demand, but other considerations are also now influencing purchasing patterns. New anti‐pollution laws and changing customer attitudes to factors such as product quality and desirability, fuel consumption, reliability and even vehicle

32 / internationalfleetworld.com

style are beginning to re‐shape Brazil’s long‐stable market.

The slump is having most effect in key high volume small to medium size classes, and impacting hardest on manu‐ facturers most active in these sectors – Fiat, Volkswagen and General Motors. Each has lost over 50,000 sales and 2% market share in a year according to FENABRAVE, Brazil’s dealer association. Fiat Group has better news elsewhere: its locally built Jeep Renegade sold almost 3,000 units in June, taking Jeep to number 11 in Brazil’s list of top selling marques – its highest ever position. Meanwhile JATO Dynamics figures show that during 2014 Fiat’s Palio model ended the VW Gol’s 19 year reign as Brazil’s best selling car – its figures charting the Gol’s remarkable fall during the downturn from 255,000 units in 2013, to under 45,000 so far in 2015. The Palio continues its strong performance in 2015, and other notable successes include the Hyundai HB20 and Ford’s latest Ka, together with the new, locally built Honda HR‐V, which has helped the company improve year‐on‐year sales against the market trend.

Big change is also underway in sectors popular with com‐ pany fleet and contract purchasers. The Fiat Strada – a styl‐ ish pickup truck – was Brazil’s overall best seller in March 2014, and reportedly ended the year as the top selling fleet vehicle. Amongst less price‐sensitive premium models, Audi sales rose 85% to a record 12,486 units last year, with Mer‐ cedes‐Benz and BMW recording useful gains – but by March 2015 Mercedes‐Benz sales were up 10%, enough to over‐ take BMW and become Brazil’s top luxury brand.

Unidas operates one of the largest fleets of outsourced cars in the country, and almost 20,000 daily rental cars.

Despite the current downturn, the company expects future business growth, particularly in long term corporate fleet contracts, an area with relatively low take‐up, which it sees as ready for development. The company believes a return to more predictable economic conditions will bring growth through improved confidence amongst businesses making forward plans for future vehicle needs. The company reports the industry growing annually by almost 13% since 2010 – accounting for over 12% of national car production last year. Unidas believes the car rental business will con‐ tinue expanding, though its operations are currently frag‐ mented, with over 5,600 companies operating around 7,300 rental desks nationally.

“Fiat Group’s locally-built Jeep Renegade sold almost 3,000 units in June.”

Future developments...

Opinions over future developments vary widely. INOVAR Auto is seen by some key industry figures as a bonus in difficult times by driving technical innovation forward to bring benefits as the economic situation improves. But as the market slows and enters a period of change, and big name vehicle manufac‐ turers look to cut capacity, smaller makers of entry‐level cars are being cautious. Several recently arrived Chinese brands have begun operations in Brazil – but plans to open new plants are mostly on hold, and FENABRAVE, Brazil’s dealer associa‐ tion, has figures suggesting why. The most prominent marques are Chery, JAC and Lifan cars – but their combined June sales

totalled under 1,200 units. Frost and Sullivan’s Yeswant Abhi‐ manyu believes this will eventually change: “Strong competi‐ tion from established names in entry‐level vehicle segments is a factor,” he says. “But with local manufacture, more vehicle choice and tailor‐made technologies for Brazil, Chinese brands are building a strong position for future market growth.”

Meanwhile ANFAVEA has lowered its 2015 sales forecasts, exports have been hit hard by Argentinian problems, and show‐ rooms are closing. But Yeswant Abhimanyu sees a brighter long‐ term future for Brazilian vehicle buyers: “We expect the market to stabilise by the end of 2016, and resume growth thereafter.”

internationalfleetworld.com / 33

FLEET FOCUS Czech Republic

High Flyer The Czech Republic may be one of the smallest EU States but it’s a big automotive player, reports John Kendall.

T

he Czech Republic as we know it today has only been in existence since 1993, following a variable 75 year period after the end of World War I, when on 28 October 1918, the Czech and Slovak people established Czechoslo‐ vakia and declared independence from the crumbling Aus‐ tro‐Hungarian empire. The new country did not survive the pressures of its varying ethnic makeup and in 1939, Nazi occupation again divided the country into Czech and Slovak States. A smaller re‐united Czechoslovakia fell under Soviet influence after 1945, starving the once mighty Skoda man‐ ufacturing concern of funds to develop its various interests.

In little more than 20 years, unrest built into the move‐ ment that became known as the Prague Spring of 1968, under the reformist Alexander Dubček who was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in that year. The Soviets eventually suppressed the move‐ ment. Although the reforms of the Prague Spring were reversed, Czechoslovakia was one of the first former Soviet states to emerge from communist rule 21 years later, after the non‐violent Velvet Revolution of 1989.

THE VELVET REVOLUTION The country again split into twoduring the Velvet Revolu‐ tion, with the Czech Republic and Slovakia established in 1993, pursuing a course of economic liberalisation. The Czech Republic today is a comparatively small, central European, land‐locked buffer state bordering Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria.

34 / internationalfleetworld.com

The country is one of the smaller European nations with a population of around 10.6 million. Most are in the 25–54 age range. A population growth rate of approximately 0.16% means that the population is ageing, with a smaller number of younger people to support this middle‐aged population as it grows older. The Czech Republic has a highly urbanised population, with the capital city Prague home to a population of around 1.3 million.

The Czech Republic joined the European Union in 2004 and was inevitably affected by the 2008 financial crisis.

The CIA reports that the country fell into recession, like many other European countries at the time, with slow recovery through 2009 and weak growth in 2010 and 2011. A combination of the continuing financial crisis in the EU and Government austerity measures saw the Czech economy slip back into recession again in 2012 and 2013.

Weak growth returned in 2014.

SKODA'S BEGINNINGS Skoda was originally founded as Laurin and Klement early in automotive history in 1895. The company was estab‐ lished some years after another Czech motor manufacturer Tatra, which also continues to this day. Tatra was best known as a maker of advanced streamlined cars in the 1930s and providing the design that formed the basis of the Volkswagen Beetle. The company has been focussed on truck production since 1999, specialis‐ ing in heavy vehicles with off‐road capability.

Today, the automotive industry is the largest single industry in the country according to the CIA, responsible for 24% of all Czech manufacturing. Car production exceeded 1 million in 2010 for the first time and over 80% of that production was exported.

Skoda remains the backbone of the Czech automotive indus‐ try. After the Velvet Revolution, the company had begun to modernise its model range with the launch of the Favorit to replace the ageing rear‐engined models. In 1991, the Volk‐ swagen Group was chosen by the Czech Government as a for‐ eign partner for the company and assumed a 30% stake. This stake was progressively increased through the 1990s and the Volkswagen Group took complete control in 2000.

Volkswagen has positioned Skoda as a less prestigious brand than Volkswagen and as a more conservative alter‐ native to its Spanish subsidiary SEAT. Production takes place at three production sites in the Czech Republic at Mladá Boleslav, Kvasiny and Vrchlabí. The company head office is at Mladá Boleslav some 60km north‐east of Prague. Like all Volkswagen Group’s mass‐market brands; Volkswagen, Skoda, SEAT and Audi, there is extensive pow‐ ertrain and component sharing as well. The company has a global fleet department to handle fleet business.

In the first half of 2015, Skoda delivered 544,300 vehi‐ cles, an increase of 4.2% compared with H1 2014, accord‐ ing to the company. This has helped to boost sales revenues to €6,421m, an increase of 7.5% and operating profit to €522, a 22.8% increase over H1 2014.

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY As well as Skoda, Hyundai also builds cars in the Czech Republic. Five models are produced at the Nošovice plant:

i30 (3 and 5 door), ix20, i30 wagon and ix35. Production reached 166,830 cars in H1 2015, with 53% of production turned over to the ix35. The joint venture between PSA Peugeot Citroën and Toyota produces the Citroën C1, Peu‐ geot 1008 and Toyota Aygo at Kolin. The plant produced 114,694 cars in H1 2015, 38% more than in H1 2014.

According to ACEA, total vehicle production in the Czech Republic in 2014 reached 1,162,017, making it the 5th largest vehicle producing State in the EU. Of the total, 1,157,371 were cars, 3,826 were light CVs and 820 were heavy commercial vehicles. The Czech Republic has the highest percentage of the population directly employed in automotive manufacturing of any EU member state at 2.7%. The industry employed 143,227 in 2012, according to ACEA data, a number that seems to have fallen. AIA data suggests that at the end of 2014, 112,877 people were employed in automotive manufacturing.

RISING VEHICLE SALES Between January and June 2015 (H1) total new passenger car registrations in the Czech Republic reached 113,261, a 20.4% increase over H1 2014. According to data from the Czech Automotive Industry Association (AIA), January to July 2015 new car registrations reached 134,676 and for the whole of 2014, the total was 192,314. According to LeasePlan, quoting data from the Czech Car Importers Association (SDA), Skoda was the best seller in 2014 with 58,091 registrations and a 30.2% market share, far ahead of second placed Hyundai with 18,934 registrations, keep‐ ing Hyundai just ahead of Volkswagen with 18,281 regis‐ trations. AIA data suggests that in total there are 4,893,562 cars on Czech roads with an average age of 14.5 years.

internationalfleetworld.com / 35

→

FLEET FOCUS Czech Republic

2014 PASSENGER CARS Make

Registrations

Share

Škoda

131,254

30.21%

Hyundai

85,140

9.85%

Volkswagen

81,783

9.51%

Ford

73,880

6.54%

Dacia

59,689

4.83%

Peugeot

49,909

3.73%

Opel

48,004

3.59%

45,581

3.48%

Renault

44,005

3.28%

SEAT

39,263

3.20%

Registrations

Share

Fiat

2,037

15.47%

Ford

1,826

13.87%

Volkswagen

1,631

12.39%

Peugeot

1,431

10.87%

Renault

Kia

Source SDA 2015

2014 LCV Make

1,320

10.03%

Mercedes-Benz

1,152

8.75%

Citroën

1,127

8.56%

Iveco

631

4.79%

Dacia

499

3.79%

Opel

349

2.65%

Source SDA 2015

→

By comparison, the Czech light CV market is quite small, but LeasePlan comments that the segment grew in 2014 with the number of registered vehicles reaching the volume sold in 2011. The company suggests that in H1 2015 strong growth has continued. Registrations reached 9,316 and look set to exceed the 2014 total of 13,165. LeasePlan sees poten‐

tial to reach 15,000 registrations.

LeasePlan estimates that in total the Czech business car and LCV sectors have 918,500 vehicles in use, 91% being pas‐ sengers cars and 9% LCV. Among the factors influencing the sector are a large‐scale renewal of fleets at some key state owned companies, including the Czech Post and Railways.

BUSINESS CAR MARKET Looking at 2014 registrations, of the 192,314 total volume of registered passenger cars, some 75% is of the business car market, reckons LeasePlan. The company says that reg‐ istrations have been affected by an increase in registrations from SMEs and a shortening of the replacement cycle of cars in the segment. The business car segment is also influenced

by Czech state owned companies and new short‐term (12 months) leasing products. In total, the Czech economy expects growth of 4% after six years of both decline and sta‐ ble development, reckons LeasePlan.

It is perhaps no surprise that Skoda’s strength in the Czech car market is also reflected in the business sector.

LeasePlan’s fleet is 58% Skoda. Second placed Volkswagen has a 9% share and all others have single digit percentages.

The Skoda Octavia is the business car favourite on the LeasePlan fleet, followed by three other Skoda models: Fabia (10%), Superb (7%) and Rapid (6%). LeasePlan reports that generally, C‐segment models are the most pop‐ ular among business users, with an almost equal share for B‐segment models and SUVs. Station Wagons are the most popular body style, followed by hatchbacks.

Road tax for cars is based on engine size and LeasePlan reports that for an engine between 1,500cm3 and 2,000cm3, the annual cost is €111 (3,000 Czech Crowns) and for a light CV with 2 axles and a gross weight between 2.0 and 3.5‐tonnes, the tax would be €133 (3,600 Czech Crowns). Certain vehicle categories are excluded from road tax, including electric and hybrid electric vehicles as well as those powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or ethanol.

LeasePlan suggests that finance leasing is a popular method of vehicle finance, but that this is mostly for retail customers. The data suggests that full service leasing is more popular though, particularly if combined with the operational leasing total. Relatively few vehicles are oper‐ ated under fleet management only.

The Hyundai i30 is built at the Nošovice plant in Czech Republic along with the ix20, i30 wagon, and ix35.

36 / internationalfleetworld.com

INTERNATIONAL

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NEWS from the global fleet community

INSIGHT from experts into the fleet industry

ADVICE best practice for running your fleet

inside knowledge

The future is Apps As the smartphone becomes an essential tool for business travel, consumers in Germany and the UK outline technology preferences for new vehicles. Colin Bird, senior analyst, automotive software, apps and services at IHS Automotive reports.

A

s the rate of smartphone use in vehicles continues to grow rapidly in nearly every major market, vehicle manufacturers and suppliers are rushing to integrate and incorporate design and connectivity elements into new vehicles to address the market demand. More than 85% of people who intend to buy a new car in Germany and the United Kingdom have a smartphone, according to recent research from IHS Automotive.

A recent report, Apps in the Car 2015, includes regional preferences from a recent consumer study conducted by IHS Automotive. More than 4,000 vehicle owners who intend to purchase a new vehicle within the next 36 months were surveyed, representing four key automotive markets – the U.S., China, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Across the UK and Germany, we saw very similar results.

Consumers in these countries rely on their phones for in-vehicle connectivity and use a variety of apps while driving.

way with just over 50% of respondents compared with just 30% iOS users.

More than 80% of respondents in the UK indicated that using their smartphone while driving is distracting, while just over 75% of respondents in Germany found it distracting. Interestingly, just over 60% of respondents from the UK indicated they prefer controlling their smartphone with in-vehicle voice controls, while nearly 80% of respondents in Germany indicated they prefer to do so. In both countries, about 65% of respondents reported using their phone as a navigation aid while driving.

Consumers in the UK and Germany also indicated preferences for interacting with smartphones in the vehicle through an in-vehicle touchscreen and steering wheel controls, each of which were cited by more than 60% of respondents.

Carrier and data plans vary by country

83% of respondents in the UK indicated their mobile phone package Samsung devices most included a data plan, while just preferred; Various in-vehicle 60% of respondents in Germany uses reported reported having one. This could be Among new vehicle intenders in a sign that German respondents Germany, Samsung smartrely more heavily on Wi-Fi “In the UK and Germany, phones led the way with 49% of networks when they travel with consumers rely on their respondents, indicating their phones, suggesting that phones for in-vehicle Samsung as the brand they embedded connectivity might be owned and used most often. of more value in Germany. Alterconnectivity.�

Apple ranked second at just 21%. natively, UK-based respondents In the UK, ownership of may be apt to use tethered infoSamsung and Apple devices were nearly equal with tainment apps and CE telematics more often.

Samsung edging out Apple by just a percentage point When asked about carrier use, top mobile carriers margin (34% Samsung to 33% for Apple). Respondents were very competitive among UK-based responfrom the UK also showed the largest variety of smartdents, with O2 having 25% share, Vodafone at 18% and phone brand ownership in the survey.

EE used by 17% of respondents.

Operating systems also varied, with 67% of In Germany, however, T-Mobile led among carriers, German consumers reporting Android use with 25% share of the market for respondents. O2 and compared to just 21% for iOS systems. In the UK, findVodafone followed closely behind, with 22 and 21% of ings were not as dramatic, though Android led the respondents, respectively.

38 / internationalfleetworld.com

FLEETW RLD FRIDAY 23RD OCTOBER 2015 AWARDS DINNER THURSDAY 22ND OCTOBER 2015

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NAFA International Fleet Academy

Harmonising global standards CHAPTER 16

Regulatory network In order to operate internationally, companies must be aware of the regulatory environment in which they are operating, the complex set of contract and employment laws which apply, and be able to show cultural awareness. This chapter will introduce the regulatory organisations in charge of supporting and super� vising the activities of global fleets.

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

40 / internationalfleetworld.com

“ The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations brings together vehicle manufacturers, users and consumers from 27 nations and the European Union. These global regulations are extremely important for vehicle safety the protection of the environment.”

Supervisory organisations There is no single set of rules that govern business relations everywhere in the world. There are, however, within the auto‐ motive industry, and the general business community, attempts to codify or regulate certain business relations in specific areas of the world. The global financial crisis encouraged efforts to reform and modernise regulatory and supervisory structures.

The result is a series of regulatory efforts led by various organ‐ isations within the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the Inter‐ national Sale of Goods (CISG), was signed in Vienna in 1980 and was endorsed by 59 nations over the ensuing 20 years. The convention may be applied, at the discretion of the contract signatories, to contracts where the parties are located in sepa‐ rate nations. The advantage of applying this convention is that parties do not have to agree to the laws of a foreign nation.

Instead, they can apply the provisions of an international convention, which contains uniform clauses and was adopted by a great number of states. This can foster greater trust in international business relationships.

Setting global standards The United Nations Economic commission for Europe (UNECE) has a Transport Division with the mission of facilitating the international movement of persons and goods and improving competitiveness, safety, energy efficiency and security in the transport sector. One of the mechanisms in place to accomplish this is The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regula‐ tions. This Forum is responsible for the adoption of global vehi‐ cle regulations to date on subjects ranging from motorcycle brakes to heavy‐duty vehicle emissions.

The Forum brings together vehicle manufacturers, users and consumers from 27 nations and the European Union. These regulations are extremely important for vehicle safety and for the protection of the environment on the global level.

Readers can review the full article – and much more – by purchasing the Global Guide through the NAFA website: www.nafa.org/

Cooperation at a European level The Cars 21 initiative plays an important part in providing increased coherence to automotive policy and regulatory activity at the European level. It allows industry stakehold‐ ers to meet and determine common approaches to impor‐ tant issues such as internal EU sales, road and vehicle safety, and emissions.

This serves to highlight only three of the many efforts at international regulation in the automotive industry. In general, the purpose of regulation is to ensure equality by framing laws, acts and regulation. The international business community could certainly benefit from this but care must be taken to consider the culture, beliefs, and language of all parties and not impose a westernised regulatory framework.

Areas that are obvious starting points for global regulation include the environment, financial reporting standards, and intellectual property.

Environmental legislation Most nations have some sort of environmental legislation.

The disparity in these laws, however, as well as increasing cross‐border trade has led to the desire to create greater standardisation. In many cases this issue has been addressed through Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) formed under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Some of the work of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations is in the area of environmental standards.

For example, there is a new global technical regulation on the commercial vehicle certification procedure that mandates new test cycles for the measurement of pollutant emissions from heavy‐duty vehicles. These new test cycles are said to better represent actual driving conditions in real traffic.

The new regulation reflects new exhaust emission meas‐ urement technologies with the potential for accurately measuring the emission of pollutants from future low emis‐ sion engines.

Next month...

We look at the legal and employment obligations that an international fleet must meet.

internationalfleetworld.com / 41

PROFILE Mazda

Sky-high ambition Following a busy schedule of launches across a number of key segments, Mazda now has one of the industry's youngest line-ups. These impressive new models partnered with innovative SKYACTIV Technology engines should help the brand to meet its ambitious global sales targets, particularly in the corporate sector...

“The new MX-5 comes to market 25 years after the original and is 100kg lighter than the outgoing model.�

42 / internationalfleetworld.com

Manufacturer Mazda Total sales 2014 1,331,000 Headquarters Hiroshima, Japan Global market share 1.9% No. of models 11

view from the top

David McGonigle, director sales

Global availability of Mazda3

M

azda launched the new Mazda3 (badged Mazda Axela in Asia) to the global market during the March 2014 fiscal year. The third model to be equipped with the full range of SKYACTIV Technology engines, the Mazda3 was also made available with a hybrid drivetrain licensed from Toyota Motor Corp in the home market of Japan, to become Mazda’s first electric‐petrol vehicle.

A new plant capable of producing upwards of 10,000 Mazda3’s a month was opened in Mexico to supply the United States, a market where the model has historically performed very well – at the time of launch, the outgoing 2010 Mazda3 was the manufacturer’s best‐selling vehicle in the market. Strong competition from the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic has meant that sales of the new model have been somewhat slower than predicted, and the Mazda3 was narrowly overtaken by the CX‐5 as the brand’s most popular model in July 2015, recording 9,504 sales versus the CX‐5's 9,504.

In Europe, Mazda’s sales volume increased 21%, to 207,000 units in fiscal year March 2014, thanks to the introduction of the new Mazda3 and strong sales of SKYACTIV‐equipped models, such as the CX‐5 and the Mazda6. In Germany, Mazda’s sales volume was up 20% year‐on‐year, to 47,000 units. Sales of the Mazda3 increased 36%, to 10,000 units, due to strong sales of the new model following its full‐scale introduction in the third quarter.

Elsewhere in Europe, sales were strong in key markets; sales volume was up 35% in the United Kingdom, to 35,000 units, and by 5% in Russia, to 44,000 units. Mazda is forecasting corporate demand to accelerate 25% in 2015/16 on the back of a busy new model launch schedule, including the imminent launch of the all‐new Mazda CX‐3. Continuing corporate demand meant that in the 12 months to 31 March 2015, Mazda’s UK fleet sales totalled 11,876, up 43% on the previous year.

The brand saw continued demand for the Mazda6 – up 10%, the Mazda CX‐5 SUV range – up 19% and the Mazda3 – which secured a strong foothold in the corporate sector with volume up more than five times versus the previous model.

The Mazda3 also performed well in Mexico, where sales increased 37% year‐ on‐year during the March 2014 fiscal year to a record‐high 35,000 units, thanks in large part to improved brand awareness following the start of production at a local plant. The brand struggled to maintain sales volume in China before gaining trac‐ tion following the introduction of locally produced CX‐5 in September 2013. Mazda is targeting growth in the region through the addition of the locally produced CX‐ 7 to the range, and the continuing promotion of Atenza (Mazda6) and Axela.

A sales slump of 45% in Thailand due to political unrest and the conclusion of the subsidy program for first‐time buyers meant that Mazda’s market share in the ASEAN region was hit hard in fiscal year March 2014. The brand aims to increase its sales volume by increasing supply of the CX‐5 and full‐scale sales of the new Mazda3.

MAZDA Global sales, by territory Territory USA Japan Europe China ASEAN Markets Total

2013 372,381 215,929 171,074 175,000 100,000 1,232,407

2014 391,000 244,000 207,000 196,000 74,000 1,331,000

% change +5% +13% +21% +12% -26% +8%

& aftersales operations at Mazda Motor Europe, on the fleet appeal of new CX-3 and the efficiency benefits of SKYACTIV Technology.

What type of customer do you expect the CX-3 to attract?

As our contender in the burgeoning small SUV segment, the all‐new Mazda CX‐3 will widen Mazda’s customer base and should appeal above all to dynamic young families and active young people. In many ways, the CX‐3 has more in common with premium B‐SUVs than its mainstream competi‐ tors, and it’s one area where this model is a viable alternative for corpo‐ rate as well retail buyers.

Has the powerful 2.2-litre SKYACTIVD engine been a barrier to fleets?

No – fleet buyers look at a number of factors such as total cost of ownership and compliance with emissions regula‐ tions, and the SKYACTIV‐D 2.2 does very well in these areas despite the displace‐ ment. One USP of our SKYACTIV power‐ trains is real‐world fuel economy, and another is outstanding linear perform‐ ance. Nevertheless, smaller displace‐ ments bring tax benefits in certain markets, so the SKYACTIV‐D 1.5 does of course remain an option.

Does Mazda see a role for alternative fuel technologies in Europe?

In Europe, our best prospects currently are to continue improving the efficiency of diesel and petrol engines. Today, internal combustion uses at best only some 40% of the energy in the fuel. This is one of the core principles of SKYACTIV Technol‐ ogy. Our goal by the end of the decade is to offer internal combustion power with the same emissions as today’s electric vehicles, which are only as clean as the electricity they use. That said, Mazda is by no means ignoring alternative propulsion. We offer hybrids in Japan, and we’re also working on other options such as an electric drivetrain with a hydrogen‐ powered rotary range extender.

internationalfleetworld.com / 43

→

PROFILE Mazda

→

Where

Manufacturing plant locations

6

are they made?

7

Hofu Plant, Yamaguchi, Japan – Mazda3, Mazda6

8

FAW Car Co. Ltd, Changchun, Jilin Province, China – Mazda6, Mazda8

9

Changan Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd, Jiangsu Province, China – Mazda2, Mazda3

10

Ford Lio Ho Motor Co., Ltd, Chung Li, Taiwan – Mazda3, Mazda5

11

AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co, Ltd, Rayong, Thailand – Mazda2, Mazda3

12

Vina Mazda Automobile Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Quang Nam province, Vietnam – Mazda2, Mazda3

13

Mazda Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Selangor, Malaysia – Mazda3

4 8 1 9 11

2 1

2

Mazda de Mexico Vehicle Operation, Guanajuato, Mexico – Mazda2

3

Compania Colombiana Automotriz S.A, Bogata, Colombia – Mazda2, Mazda3, BT-50 pickup

4

FIN fleet in numbers

No.1

The MX-5’s position in the Guinness World Record’s list of bestselling two-seater sports cars.

105g/km CO2 emissions of the 2015 CX-3 crossover with 2WD diesel engine.

15% The improvement in fuel efficiency and torque calculated by comparing the SKYACTIV petrol engine to the outgoing unit.

44 / internationalfleetworld.com

The Americas AutoAlliance Intentional, Flat Rock, Michigan, USA – Mazda6

10

7

6

12

3

Europe Mazda Sollers Manufacturing, Primorsky Region, Russia – CX-5

13

5

5

Asia Hiroshima Plant, Aki-gun, Japan - Mazda RX-8, Mazda CX-7, Mazda5, Mazda MX-5

Africa Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries (PVT) Ltd, Harare, Zimbabwe – Mazda3, BT-50 pickup

New and improved range...

M

azda showcased five new models at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2015, including the Mazda CX‐3. Marking the carmaker’s fifth model launch in six months, Mazda's first small SUV joined the range in June and is based on the same SKYACTIV chassis as the Mazda2, but is longer and slightly taller. The brand’s newest crossover is offered with AWD and FWD, and is signifi‐ cantly smaller than the CX‐5. Mazda’s baby SUV is designed to appeal to buyers of the Renault Captur, Vauxhall Mokka and Nissan Juke.

Also on display was the revised Mazda6, which went on sale in many markets at the beginning of the year. The revised model gains a clearer dashboard layout and new i‐ACTIVSENSE safety technology, including blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, lane keep assist and driver attention alerts.

Diesel Mazda6 wagon models are now available with Mazda’s latest all‐wheel‐ drive system, similar to that used on the CX‐5. The head‐up display first used on the Mazda3 is now available for the Mazda6, alongside Mazda’s MZD Connect system with a seven‐inch touchscreen display and Bluetooth connectivity.

The fourth‐generation Mazda MX‐5, which brings a new exterior design and SKYACTIV engines, was also showcased at Geneva. Launched to the European market at the end of August, the latest roadster comes to market 25 years after the original and is 100kg lighter than the outgoing model, with its lowest‐ever centre of gravity. Options include a SKYACTIV‐G 1.5‐litre petrol engine and six‐speed SKYACTIV‐MT manual gearbox, rear‐wheel drive layout and 50:50 front‐rear weight distribution.

The new MX‐5 is shorter (by 105mm), lower (by 20mm) and wider (by 10mm) than the current model, with its wheelbase reduced by 15mm (to 2,315mm) and overhangs (front and rear) cut by 90mm. The new model gains a sharp new look, with Mazda citing a more sculpted, aggressive design.

Inside, the MX‐5 remains focused on a snug two‐seater approach with an empha‐ sis on quality. Design changes include a lowered bonnet height and repositioned A‐ pillars and windshield header to provide greater visibility.

Mazda recently announced that the Mazda Koeru crossover SUV concept will be unveiled at a press conference during the 66th Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The name Koeru, Japanese for ‘exceed’, or ‘go beyond’, has been selected for Mazda’s latest venture into the crossover market. Designed using the KODO – Soul of Motion design language, the model will receive the full line‐up of Mazda’s latest SKYACTIV Technology engines.

MAZDA fleet model range

Mazda2 / Demio

Mazda Verisa

Mazda3 / Axela

Mazda6 / Atenza

Mazda CX-3

Mazda CX-5

Mazda CX-9

Mazda5 / Premacy

Mazda8 / MPV

Mazda Biante

Mazda MX-5 / Roadster / Miata

Variants: 3/5dr hatchback, 4dr sedan Markets: Global.

Fuel: 3.4-5.0l/100km CO2: 89-124g/km

Variants: 4dr sedan, wagon Markets: Global.

Fuel: 4.1-6.6l/100km CO2: 107-155g/km

Variants: SUV Markets: Global.

Fuel: 11.0-11.3l/100km CO2: 259-262g/km

Variants: MPV Markets: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania.

Fuel: 9.1-9.4l/100km* CO2: 211-218g/km*

Variants: 5dr hatchback Markets: Asia.

Fuel: 6.1l/100km* CO2: 142g/km*

Variants: Crossover Markets: Europe, Asia, North America, Oceania.

Fuel: 4.0-6.7l/100km CO2: 105-160g/km

Variants: MPV Markets: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America.

Fuel: 5.2-6.9l/100km CO2: 138-159g/km

Variants: 5dr hatchback, 4dr sedan Markets: Global.

Fuel: 4.1-6.5l/100km CO2: 107-153g/km

Variants: Crossover Markets: Global.

Fuel: 4.6-7.4l/100km CO2: 119-172g/km

Variants: MPV Markets: Asia.

Fuel: 6.8-10.6l/100km* CO2: 157-246g/km*

Variants: Roadster Markets: Global.

Fuel: 6.0-6.9l/100km CO2: 139-161g/km

*Figures are calculated from non-NEDC combined cycle tests.

internationalfleetworld.com / 45

BMW X1 Platform sharing with BMW’s MPVs has made the X1 a much better product, reckons Alex Grant.

SECTOR Crossover PRICE €32,900–€42,760 FUEL 4.1–6.6l/100km CO2 114–152g/km

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Yet, visually, it’s more obviously an SUV this time. BMW MW managed to beat its direct rivals to the is offering a choice of Sport or xLine trim levels over the crossover segment with the X1, and the outgoing entry‐level version, the latter adding aluminium and black car has performed well. Despite a lukewarm recep‐ plastic cladding to give it a hint of off‐road ruggedness. tion from the press, 730,000 have found homes globally An M Sport trim will be available this autumn. since 2009 and it outsells the X3 in some markets.

Engine options vary by market, but the range will Most wouldn’t have noticed, but the old X1 was a include four two‐wheel drive options by the end of the mechanical oddity. Though only slightly larger than a 1 year – two of which use BMW’s new three‐cylinder Series, the platform, engines and wheelbase were taken engines. Four‐wheel drive is expected to account for the from the last 3 Series, and it managed to offer neither the majority of sales in Europe, and buyers get a choice of the extra glazing nor interior versatility that usually comes 192hp 20i and 231hp 25i petrol engines, and the 190hp from sizing up to a crossover.

20d or 231hp 25d diesels.

The new car is entirely different. It As the four‐wheel drive system spends uses platform from the 2 Series Active most of its time directing 100% of the Tourer and Grand Tourer, which means power to the front wheels, but is capable two‐wheel drive versions are front‐ of shifting everything to the rear axle wheel drive. This makes the X1 depending on available grip, real‐world mechanically similar to newer rivals, economy should be impressive. the Audi Q3, Mercedes‐Benz GLA‐Class However, there was only one diesel to and the Range Rover Evoque. test on the launch; xDrive25d, equipped Almost identical in footprint and with variable dampers and the xLine wheelbase to the 2 Series Active Tourer, bodykit. With a platform derived from there’s some clever MPV functionality the latest MINI, BMW has a track record on board too. It’s smaller overall but for fine‐handling front‐wheel drive cars the seating position is higher, it’s and the X1 is no exception. It feels light brighter inside than the old car and the and sure‐footed while cornering, with Active Tourer’s two‐piece sliding rear The outgoing X1 sold plenty of grip and minimal body roll bench is an option. well despite its flaws, much like a smaller hatchback.

Boot capacity is 505 litres – 85 more which bodes well for its Of course, these are attributes which than the old car – the rear bench folds are also true of its nearest rivals, but no using switches inside the tailgate and well-rounded replaceother premium SUV offers quite the there’s an under‐floor compartment for ment. Flexible, efficient, same level of interior flexibility as the the tonneau cover. With a dashboard laid stylish and great to drive, X1. Having had a generation to perfect out almost identically to the Active Tourer it should prove popular. its offering in this segment, BMW may and an optional folding passenger seat, the have taken the lead again.

X1 is a convincing alternative to an MPV.

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DS 5 The DS flagship might not be perfect, but it’s a desirable alternative, reckons Alex Grant.

SECTOR Compact Executive PRICE €29,550–€47,500 FUEL 3.8–5.9/100km CO2 100–136g/km

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ith its own website and the beginnings of a the top versions which benefit the most from the recent dealer network, DS Automobiles has been refresh, getting the new wheels and headlamps, leather taking steady steps away from Citroën for just upholstery and the very useful reversing camera. over a year. But it’s the flagship DS 5 that’s leading the Selected markets also get specific versions aimed at French premium brand’s separation, and the first Euro‐ fleets, offered in a high and low grade but with both pean model not to feature the double‐chevron badge. versions including equipment such as navigation and So this is DS staking its claim on the executive segment, cruise control, ideal for long‐distance drivers, as well and putting the 5 up against some formidable rivals – A4, 3 as a wider choice of engines and the option to retain the Series and C‐Class among them – in a market where others 17‐inch wheels to maximise fuel economy. have tried, failed or spent decades trying to get to the top.

It’s reckoned that the 2.0‐litre BlueHDI 150 diesel engine The DS 5 makes no attempt to look or feel like a will be the biggest seller. Offered with a manual gearbox and German. Part sports tourer, part coupe, in all trim levels, this consumes part hatchback in profile, it’s different 4.0l/100km and emits as little as enough not to blend in, but still just 103g/km CO2, which is competitive in about conservative enough not to be this class. Acceleration is smooth, though challenging. The new DS grille and it’s a little gruff under load, and the jewel‐like LED‐lined headlights haven’t convenience of an automatic gearbox is blunted its unique sense of style. the only real benefit of the BlueHDI 180.

But its key strength has always been But it’s the 1.6‐litre BlueHDI 120 the cabin. Wrapped around the driver which feels best tuned to the car. It like an aircraft cockpit – something feels more eager off the mark than the alluded to by the horizon line on the larger engines and, as it’s only available digital dials – and offered with a smor‐ on the smaller wheels, the ride quality gasbord of leathers, milled aluminium is sublime. For that alone, it’s worth and seat finishes, it’s an environment downsizing and cherry‐picking a few which delights on small details. options from higher models.

Luxurious, generously The downside is, function has The DS 5 is an executive car built as equipped and with a followed form. It’s comfortable up front only the French would build one. It isn’t competitive engine range, perfect, nor is it as practical or good to but there’s limited rear headroom, no grab handles, the cup holders are drive as the segment‐defining Germans, the DS 5 is a leftfield poorly positioned and the split A‐pillars but it’s a choice which hinges on aesthetic choice which doesn’t fall create huge blind spots at junctions. A appeal. Buy into its modern interpreta‐ down in the real world. smaller, more dished, steering wheel tion of well‐heeled 1950s automotive Desirable and different. would also be welcome. chic, and you’ll find it’s a characterful Trim levels vary by market, but it’s alternative to the obvious choices.

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Fiat 500 Very little of the ‘new’ 500 is unfamiliar, but that’s no bad thing, says Alex Grant.

SECTOR City car PRICE €12,250–€19,150 FUEL 3.8–4.9l/100km CO2 88–111g/km

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aunched in July 1957, the Nuova 500 – ‘new’ coloured dash pad, boiled sweet switches and concentric because it replaced the 500 ‘Topolino’ – was a semi‐ instruments, the 500 still feels upmarket. nal moment for Fiat. It was the car that put many There's no change to the driving experience either. The Italians on the road for the first time and, in doing so, laid 500 rolls through corners, its steering setup is nicely out the foundations for its retro‐inspired namesake to weighted but offers little feedback and the gear throws are spearhead of the brand’s recent renaissance. long. It's not a driver's car like the MINI, but that's never This September, there’s another new Fiat 500 on the been a problem for the outgoing car's target audience. way and, tasked with maintaining still‐growing sales All UK trim levels feature a five‐inch infotainment momentum, it’s an important newcomer. However, this screen in place of the old LCD display, and it’s one isn’t quite as ‘Nuova’ as its predecessors. touch‐responsive on the most popular, range‐topping It has no reason to be. Sold across most of the world, Lounge version. Slightly sluggish TomTom navigation consistently setting new sales records is a €250 option, and the Lounge’s and still entering new markets, the 500 system can stream apps to its screen, enjoys strong residual values, a great but the CD player has been replaced by image and is the spearhead of an entire a USB port. family of products with the 500L, 500L With sales heavily weighted towards Trekking and 500X. Fiat pitched the young retail customers, it’s the 69hp 500 perfectly in 2007, so you can 1.2‐litre petrol engine which sells in understand why it’s trodden so care‐ the biggest numbers. On paper it’s the fully with the new one. least efficient, but it’s also the cheapest The reshaped nose, a nod to the 500X, by €1,300 and an Eco pack will take it features projector headlights and new down to 99g/km CO2 later this year, spotlights lined with LEDs in the shape which is good news for user‐choosers of the zeroes of the 500 logo, while the who can live with its lack of torque and rear lamps have been hollowed out to unwillingness to rev. make room for a body‐coloured centre The TwinAir petrol is the pick of the Cute and stylish, Fiat section. It’s subtly more modern, but range, and still offered with 85hp or hasn’t tipped the 500’s still a pretty small car.

105hp. Both offer spirited performance apple cart here. But with a Otherwise, with ostensibly the same and that unique flat mechanical growl bodyshell, the good and bad points are under load, while CO2 emissions start winning formula it could carried over. So boot space is limited, at 90g/km. Real‐world fuel economy arguably have changed the driving position is off‐centre and isn’t great, but the Benefit‐in‐Kind even less and would still the cabin has plenty of hard, textured advantage offsets the price hike against enjoy strong sales. plastics – normal for a city car, but not the 1.2, and the driving experience is at this price. However, with its body‐ far more enjoyable too.

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Jaguar XF The new XF offers the fleet-friendly power option its predecessor lacked and more, reckons John Kendall.

SECTOR Premium saloon PRICE From €37,230–€58,900 FUEL 4.0–8.3l/100km CO2 104–198g/km

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tion (75%), partly using recycled material, cuts the weight ncompetitive CO2 emissions from the outgoing of 2.0‐litre diesel manual models by 190kg. This and an Jaguar XF did not help fleet sales. The 2.2‐litre aerodynamic drag factor of 0.26 help to bring emissions for four‐cylinder diesel was an afterthought; aimed at the same manual diesel down to 104g/km with combined making it more fleet‐friendly for a car bought mostly by fuel consumption of 4.0l/100km. These figures alone should retail buyers, but its rivals offered lower CO 2 emissions be enough for many fleets that would not have looked and the XF struggled to make an impression in fleet circles at the XF before to consider it as an option. That steps up against its Audi A6, Mercedes E‐Class and BMW to 114g/km CO2 for the 180hp version and 4.3l/100km 5 Series competitors. fuel consumption. CO2 emissions for the V6 petrol are Jaguar hopes this is about to change with the new model, 198g/km with combined consumption of 8.3l/100km. now going on sale. It’s shorter (‐7mm) and lower (‐3mm) Comparable figures for the V6 diesel are 144g/km CO2 and on the outside, but a longer wheelbase (+51mm) and atten‐ 5.5l/100km combined. tion to detail offers more head (+27mm) Inside, Jaguar offers a 10.2‐inch touch‐ and rear seat legroom (+15mm), with screen in the centre of the dashboard and knee room in the back a generous 24mm a 12.3‐inch virtual instrument cluster. In more than its predecessor.

Jaguar language, this is called InControl Jaguar Land Rover’s new 2.0‐litre Inge‐ Touch Pro. All control is from the screen nium diesel is available from the start, which features gesture commands as initially in 163hp and 180hp forms, but on a tablet computer. There’s a 60GB with more power to come. There will also solid‐state drive to give rapid access to be variants of the Ingenium petrol engine navigation and other apps. The virtual based on the same architecture, but these instrument cluster is configurable to suite are not available yet. The XF’s XE sibling the driver and the graphics give excellent suggests that there will be around 200hp definition. It’s easy to forget that these are on tap from the 2.0‐litre petrol engine. As not real instruments. befits a car aimed at competing with its There’s much more too including LED premium rivals, more powerful 380hp With fleet-friendly 2.0headlamps and electric power steering, 3.0‐litre supercharged V6 petrol and 3.0‐ litre diesels, smooth V6 but in short, the Ingenium diesel has litre 300hp Diesel engines are available. petrols and an excellent the refinement that the 2.2‐litre diesel The supercharged V6 is shared with the lacked. The V6 diesel is a model of F‐type sports car and XE, but take‐up is chassis, the new XF refinement and performance whose likely to be small in fleet circles. The V6 impresses on all fronts. effortless torque makes it preferable to diesel is based on the same engine that A genuine alternative the supercharged petrol engine. And the also powered its predecessor, but with to German rivals. chassis has impeccable behaviour, a fine 25hp more and 700Nm of torque. ride/handling compromise.

Jaguar’s mostly aluminium construc‐

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fleet in figures

Sales drive ahead The downturn in China is unlikely to slow global car sales growth, reckons John Kendall.

Volkswagen The Golf remained the best selling True Fleet car in the top five EU markets.

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he stock market crash in China is not something that is likely to make a serious dent in the global car market in 2015, reckons Carlos Gomes at Scotiabank. He notes that the 2% gains in global car sales during the first half of the year were lower than expected, but are still likely to set a new record, for the sixth consecutive year.

“Purchases are being supported by strengthening job creation in developed

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markets, improving household balance sheets, low interest rates and rising consumer confidence across much of the globe — our esti‐ mate includes the euro zone, the US, China and Japan, and remains 5% above a year earlier,” comments Gomes.

He also points to rising household incomes and low fuel prices.

Overall, global light vehicle sales rose 1.1% in the January to July (YtD) period

to 51,310,129, according to data from LMC Automotive. The US and Western Europe led the progress.

Incentives help fuel US growth The company points to the strongest July sales in the US since 2005, helping to bring YTD sales to 10,017,076, up 4.5% on 2014. LMC identifies midsize SUVs and large pickups as benefitting from US OEM incentives and low fuel prices.

Not surprisingly, LMC notes that the Chinese market continued to slow down through July. “The July selling rate was at a two‐year low of 21.3m units/year and down over 7% from June. Sales also declined by 7% in July — the second consecutive month of year‐on‐year decline, with both passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles lower. In the first seven months of the year, sales increased by a mere 1.5% relative to last year.” Even so YtD sales in China reached 13,579,720.

Rising income and low fuel prices feed European growth The rising household incomes and low fuel prices noted by Gomes at Scotia‐ bank are factors that are certainly having an impact in Western Europe.

Fuel prices have fallen to their lowest for many years. It is Western Europe that Gomes identifies as the automotive industry growth leader in 2015. “Wages and salaries across the Eurozone are advancing at the fastest pace since 2008. Income gains are much stronger in the United Kingdom, leading to a record 1.4 million cars sold in the first half of 2015, exceeding the 2004 peak,” he observes.

LMC Automotive is of the same opin‐ ion and has revised its full year forecast for Western Europe back up to 12.9m, having lowered the forecast in the previous month in the wake of the on‐ going financial problems in Greece.

“While recent results suggest we could potentially break the 13.0m unit barrier this year, risks to economic growth (both in Europe and elsewhere) remain skewed to the downside. Bearing this in mind, 12.9m units represents a balanced outlook, in our view.”

LMC points to Western European car sales growth of 8.8% in July. Among the strong performers was Germany, where according to LMC, the selling rate was the best since the company oper‐ ated a scrappage scheme in 2009. Janu‐

ary to July, year‐to‐date sales rose by 5.6% to 1,909,145.

Strong growth in Italy and Spain Italy and Spain are also making good progress. “In the case of Spain, an econ‐ omy outperforming the Eurozone and the government scrappage scheme (PIVE) continue to provide support to car sales. Sales in Italy have been helped by generally improved consumer confi‐ dence from the start of the year, while the economy has finally come out of recession,” comments LMC. To date, the Italian market has grown 15.2% YtD, to 1,005,409, while growth of 22.2% in Spain has boosted YtD sales to 658,134.

Amongst the smaller markets, Ireland is enjoying 30.8% growth to bring YtD regis‐ trations up to 110,341. In Portugal, 29.1% growth has brought YtD registrations to 116,173. As already noted, the UK has enjoyed continuing strong growth, “UK car registrations continued to climb last month, though this was mainly down to fleet sales — the selling rate slowed too, though the three‐month average for this market was still near 2.6m units/year,” commented LMC. UK YtD registrations are 6.5% up on 2014, reaching 1,555,309.

European fleet sector growth Dataforce has been analysing the True Fleet market in Western Europe for the first half of the year (H1) and also singles out the performance in Spain and Italy, where true fleet growth of 32.0% and 19.4% respectively was recorded. Dataforce describes this performance as remarkable, but notes that stronger performers, such as France, Germany and the UK also regis‐ tered fleet increases. Where the top five fleet markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK were concerned, Dataforce identifies the fleet sector as driving the growth because the retail market, growing at an average of 6.1% in these markets, is lagging behind fleet growth. For France, Germany and Italy,

Dataforce says that the fleet share was higher than in all previous half years.

From the top 15 manufacturers in the top five markets, Dataforce identifies 14 as improving fleet registrations in H1.

Top ranked Volkswagen saw H1 True Fleet registrations rise by 15.9%. Other big percentage rises were recorded by fifth placed Mercedes‐Benz (21%), eighth placed Peugeot (+18%) and 14th placed Hyundai (+39.1%). Smaller True Fleet gains were also posted by Audi, Jeep, Land Rover, MINI, Mitsubishi and Renault.

Golf tops European fleet sales The Volkswagen Golf remained the best selling True Fleet car in the top five EU markets. It was the fleet best seller in the UK and second placed in Germany and Spain, while taking fourth place in Italy. It was the most successful imported model in France behind nine French models from Renault, Peugeot and Citroën.

The best selling True Fleet car in Germany was the Volkswagen Passat.

Launched in the last year, the new model achieved 33% growth across the EU top five markets. The Mercedes‐Benz C‐Class could better this performance through more than doubling its sales growth by 102%, taking it from the 24th best‐seller place to fourth. The Peugeot 308 also climbed up the True Fleet Sales chart in the EU top five markets, jumping from 20th to sixth, with sales growth of 77.2%.

The 308 enjoyed top five positions in Italy, Spain and France, where it was only outsold by the Renault Clio.

The Nissan Qashqai was the only SUV to feature in the European top 10 True Fleet best sellers with registrations growth of 32.1%. Dataforce reports that SUVs accounted for more than 21% of all new European True Fleet registrations in H1 2015. The company notes that in both Italy and the UK, SUVs are already the largest segment in the True Fleet market.

The Jeep Renegade has played a big part in this performance in Italy.

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THE NEW BENCH MARK

Opel’s compact-class masterpiece.

Meet Opel’s new flagship compact with premium-class German engineering: the new Astra combines striking design, first-in-class IntelliLux LED® Matrix headlights and unprecedented connectivity with sporty handling.

Find out more at opel.com

The new Astra.

Fuel consumption combined 5.5–3.4 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined 128–90 g/km (according to R (EC) No.715/2010).