International Fleet World September 2016

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INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD All that matters in the world of fleet September 2016

The New

HYUNDAI

IONIQ Driven by e-motion

internationalfleetworld.com

THE NEW SEAT ATECA

AN SUV TO SATISFY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS

TECHNOLOGY TO ENJOY The New SEAT Ateca has been designed to make the workday more efficient and what’s more important, enjoyable. It’s the perfect mix of emotional and rational and comes with a confident and practical design that’s packed with all the features needed to help you on the go. It is the lightest vehicle in its segment and has the best residual value in its class when compared to the competitors basket average. What’s more it comes with Full Link Technology, Wireless charger and Traffic Jam Assist. Every aspect combines to make it the perfect partner on the road.

WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY… ILONA PFÄNDER, Fleet Management Director, Prettl Group, Germany.

“The SEAT ATECA convinced me since the very first test drive. Its assistance systems and equipment facilitate our employees’ life for an extremely pleasant driving experience. When it became clear that we would equip our fleet with SUV’s, we very quickly opted for SEAT Ateca, fitting our brand perfectly and offering a remarkably good performance at a great price.”

SEAT FOR BUSINESS

FOLLOW US ON:

SE AT.COM

Average fuel consumption: 4.6-6.6 l/100 km. Average CO2 mass emissions: 94-154 g/km.

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INTERNATIONAL

FLEETW RLD All that matters in the world of fleet

contents

September 2016

The New

HYUNDAI

IONIQ Driven by e-motion

internationalfleetworld.com

Chairman Jerry Ramsdale jerry@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

16 Electric vehicles on fleets.

22 Shell’s Make the Future event.

30 Analysing Suzuki’s fleet portfolio.

36 Behind the wheel of Kia’s Niro.

Publisher Steve Moody steve@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Editor John Kendall john@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Deputy Editor Alex Grant alex@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Business Editor Natalie Middleton natalie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Features Editor Katie Beck katie@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Sales Director Anne Dopson anne@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

04 Fleet Review John Kendall previews the big launches at upcoming motor shows.

Sales Manager Harry Whyte harry@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Circulation Tracy Howell tracy@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

06 Inside Knowledge Partrik Lindergren of Chargestorm on EV charging options.

Dawn Mitchell dawn@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Head of Production Luke Wikner luke@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Designer Samantha King sam@fleetworldgroup.co.uk Web Designer Dan Desta daniel@fleetworldgroup.co.uk

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

16 Electric Vehicles The rise of smart charging for EVs and solutions for urban centres.

20 Electric Vehicles How to decide if hybrid, plug-in or EVs are right for your fleet.

22 Management The highlights from Shell’s annual conference and Eco-marathon.

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

26 Fleet Focus Portugal’s booming rental market and growing manufacturing sector.

30 Profile Suzuki’s landmark year of sales and expansion into emerging markets.

36 Launch Report Renault Mégane / Kia Niro / Hyundai IONIQ. STAG Publications

®

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

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

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fleet review This month, editor John Kendall extols the virtues of Renault’s new Mégane and Kia’s Niro, while analysing the truck cartel scandal.

Show time September is always a busy month in the automotive calendar. The IAA Frankfurt Show, the biggest car show in Europe, alternates with the Paris Show to shake us all out of the summer holiday period. It’s the even numbered years that I dread most in September, when the Paris Show is staged just after the IAA Hanover CV Show. It’s purely selfish as I cover both shows and the press days are just one week apart. From Hanover we can expect to see the new VW Crafter, the first model to be produced since VW and Mercedes have gone their separate ways on producing a large van.

From Paris, the calendar says it all. In the space of three days in the second week of September there are no less than five car launches: Hyundai i30, Opel Mokka X and Zafira, Renault Scénic and Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate. Expect more, much more.

Coming soon...

Opel’s new Zafira.

European truck cartel Trucks don’t make headlines very often and when they do it tends not to be good news. The European Commission’s longrunning investigation into price fixing in the European truck market reached an end for most, with the announcement of a series of fines for operating a cartel. Scania is not covered by the settlement and an investigation is still ongoing. It’s more bad news for the VW group since Scania and MAN are both subsidiaries, although both

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were independently owned at the time the cartel scandal started in 1997 and MAN informed the commission of the cartel’s existence, avoiding a fine in the process.

Daimler Trucks has been hit with the biggest fine so none of the European manufacturers, which incidentally own most of the North American truck manufacturers, come out of this well. The IAA Hanover Show usually has two press days, one devoted to presentations from manufacturers about their market performance in the past year. This day has been cancelled this year. Perhaps the prospect of being bombarded with questions from journalists about the case was not what the manufacturers wanted.

Testing, testing...

It’s almost 30 years since I first tested a car for a magazine and since then I have tested trucks, vans and cars, although I am not sure how many. The highlight was probably driving two McLarens in two weeks back in June, but you won’t find those in the pages of International Fleet World! Cars have undoubtedly got better, but the times when ‘ordinary’ production cars make me sit up and take notice are relatively few. This month I’ve driven two that strike me as significant. The latest Renault Mégane shows that Renault really has been hard at work, delivering an impressive much-improved car.

I don’t particularly like hybrids that keep wanting to tell you they are hybrids so the new Kia Niro really grabbed my attention. It would blend well into a crowd of modern crossovers, but has some up-to-date hybrid technology and clear thinking. It’s how hybrids will all have to be. The technology in the Niro is shared with the Hyundai IONIQ, also in this issue, so hybrid fans, read on.

visit internationalfleetworld.com

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KIA OPTIMA SPORTSWAGON > TOuRER DE fORCE Joining the Kia line-up at the end of the year, Kia’s stylish new Optima Sportswagon is as desirable for drivers as it is cost-efficient for fleets.

Athletic design Building on the design lead of the Optima sedan, the Sportswagon adds the flexibility of a tourer while losing nothing of its stablemate’s athleticism. Heavily inspired by the stylish SPORTSPACE concept car, its lean profile disguises the extra volume with a low roof, swept-back cabin and rising windowline, creating a practical day-to-day car with desirability at its core.

Its long wheelbase and broad stance are highlighted by wide LED-lined rear lamps which cut into the tailgate and the same, optionally dynamicbending, headlights as on the sedan. Drivers can also add their own sense of style, with a choice of nine paint colours and two-tone alloy wheels measuring up to 18 inches in diameter.

Room for life New Optima Sportswagon enables Kia to compete for two thirds of this segment’s volume in Europe, and it’s optimised to provide all the flexibility your drivers’ work and home lives demand. Despite being no longer or wider than the sedan, the generous cargo area offers a capacity of 552 litres behind the rear bench, easily accessed via a low load lip and optionally powered tailgate.

Interior practicality belies its sporty styling. The rear bench conceals a safety net to secure large loads, and folds flat in three sections to enable longer items such as skis to be stowed through the cabin. Sliding luggage rails on both sides of the boot mean the load area can be quickly divided into sections to hold valuables in place, and useful stowage areas include a wireless smartphone charger in the centre console.

For more information, visit kia.com/eu/future/kia-optima-sportswagon advertisement feature

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inside knowledge

Norway leading the charge for EVs Patrik Lindergren, MD of Chargestorm, discusses the future for electric vehicles. t probably wouldn’t be too rash to predict that the power compared to other devices, so you want to be era of electric vehicles will soon be upon us. But able to charge them without having to rewire the parkfleet managers who think of jumping on the ing garage. Some chargers can prioritise between the bandwagon early may be concerned about the vehicles connected, ensuring that frequently used patchy charging infrastructure that exists today. service vehicles are always charged.

Norway may provide an example of how things are Should there be a requirement to charge whilst on likely to develop. the road, Norway shows the way in this case too. With Norway now has more than 100,000 electric vehiincreasing volumes of electric vehicles around, cles on the road, in a country of five million people. commercial operators are developing sites for charge Last year, 23% of new points that can be paid vehicle registrations monthly or by the were electric vehicles. minute and which can This is in no small part often be booked in due to their increasing advance. The astute use as fleet vehicles, fleet manager will map for instance as taxis, charge points along delivery vehicles or for the routes and make a use by tradespeople charge plan. such as electricians.

Sweden is now To get to this point, following in the footthe government has steps of Norway, with used incentives such financial incentives “Sweden is now following in the footsteps as zero VAT, free parkfor organisations wishof Norway, with financial incentives for ing and exemption ing to install charge from congestion stations. Incentives organisations wishing to install charge stations.” charges for electric similar to the ones in vehicles. Another important influence is increased Norway are also being introduced in Germany. With environmental awareness among corporate clients. over 10 times the new car sales of Norway’s, this If your company is certified to ISO 14001, you don’t could create a market with serious volumes, assumwant suppliers delivering goods with belching ing that Germany follows a similar trajectory to the diesel vehicles, as it all counts towards your CO 2 one in Norway. footprint. This has created a niche for environmenSo, as Norway is showing the way for the rest of us, tally friendly transport. what’s next in that market? Well, new registrations of All these electric cars need somewhere to charge. petrol and diesel vehicles will be stopped from 2025. Bad Fleet vehicles tend to run their services out and back news for petrolheads, but good news for all of us who to base, so normally there should be little need for believe in an infinitely more sensible transport system. charging while on the road. With load balancing, up Patrik Lindergren is co-founder and MD of Swedish company to eight times more electric vehicles can be charged Chargestorm, a company that manufactures smart charge back at base, compared to standard charging. Load stations and a leading supplier in the Nordic market. He also balancing also ensures the vehicles are charged sits on the committee for EU directive 2014/94, on the safely and at the correct rate without overloading the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure. electricity supply; electric vehicles need a lot of

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KIA OPTIMA SPORTSWAGON Responsible performance Optima Sportswagon offers performance to suit every journey. Its rigid, weight-optimised bodyshell and the same advanced, fully-independent suspension setup as the sedan provides precise handling and fast responses to driver inputs. Yet it’s also tuned to isolate occupants from rough road surfaces and, with a high level of soundproofing, contributes to smooth, relaxed long-distance cruising. Drivers can also opt for an electronically-controlled damping system, to tailor the handling to the road ahead.

As in the sedan, the driver-focused chassis is matched to a line-up of efficient and responsive petrol and diesel engines. These include a 141hp version of the proven 1.7-litre CRDi, offering impressively low fuel consumption and CO2 with either its six-speed manual or quick-shifting seven speed dual-clutch transmission. Long service intervals and Kia's industry-leading seven-year warranty are included across the range, offering low ownership costs perfectly suited to your business's travel needs.

Kia’s intuitive latest-generation infotainment system with up to an eight-inch touchscreen, while voicecontrolled smartphone integration via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay keep hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Live traffic, weather, speed camera and point of interest information, provided by TomTom, is provided free of charge for seven years.

Intelligent technology also extends to driver assistance systems, including the Around View Monitor to offer an overhead view of tight manoeuvres, Smart Parking Assistance System which finds and actively steers into perpendicular or parallel spaces, and adaptive cruise control. Advanced safety systems also include active lane-keeping, emergency braking, blind spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert to put an extra pair of eyes on the road.

Tech savvy Soft to the touch and accented with metallic highlights, Optima Sportswagon’s high-quality cabin puts a wealth of technology within easy reach of the driver. It features

“Long service intervals and Kia’s industry-leading seven-year warranty are included across the range, offering low ownership costs perfectly suited to your business’s travel needs.”

For more information, visit kia.com/eu/future/kia-optima-sportswagon advertisement feature

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business news

ALD Automotive passes 1.3m milestone LD Automotive's worldwide managed fleet has reached more than 1.3 million vehicles around the world, marking a milestone for the company.

ALD, a subsidiary of the Société Générale Group, said the achievement is the result of the recent acquisition of Parcours last spring, together with continued organic growth. It added that growth was seen across all sales channels, from SMEs to international key accounts through direct and indirect distribution, and was aided by its geographical coverage, with operations in 41 countries across four continents.

The business has already posted a growth of more than 100,000 contracts this year, equivalent to the yearly growth already achieved in 2014 and 2015.

Mike Masterson, ALD International CEO, said: “We are very proud of this new milestone and I would like to thank all the staff for the great work they have done. Today, we all turn towards our ambition: being the worldwide leader in the creation and provision of mobility solutions.”

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Verizon to purchase Fleetmatics erizon is to acquire telematics firm Fleetmatics for approximately $2.4bn (€2.1bn).

VVerizon said the deal will accelerate its position as a

leading provider of fleet and mobile workforce management solutions.

“Fleetmatics is a market leader in North America – and increasingly internationally – and they’ve developed a wide-range of compelling SaaS-based products and solutions for small and medium-sized businesses,” said Andrés Irlando, CEO of Verizon Telematics.

The deal follows Verizon’s acquisition of Telogis – which closed on 29 July – and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Radius Payment Solutions embarks on international expansion adius Payment Solutions has opened new Southeast Asia office locations from its European base, with further growth on the horizon.

The expansion marks the first time the payments and fleet services provider has increased its international presence beyond Europe, with a new Singapore office opened and an additional site to open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Radius founder and chief executive Bill Holmes said: “Our ambitious plans to grow business activity across Southeast Asia shows our intent to not only operate as a market-leading European fleet services provider, but also to expand our global brand and client portfolio.

“Singapore and Malaysia are the first significant steps of our expansion outside of Europe. By launching with a globally recognised brand through Shell, we expect to achieve rapid uptake of Radius’ products and reach a established position within the Asian market."

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FleetCor buys Travelcard Nederland B.V. from LeasePlan leet management and mobility specialist LeasePlan F Corporation N.V. has sold its fuel card business, Travelcard Nederland B.V., to FleetCor Technologies Inc. Travelcard is a leading player in the Dutch fuel card market with more than 295,000 fuel cards in use.

FleetCor has pledged to honour existing commitments to Travelcard staff and ensure continuity for current clients using a Travelcard fuel card.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car expands to New Zealand nterprise Rent-A-Car has entered the New Zealand market with the opening of its first location at the Queenstown Airport.

The new office will offer vehicles ranging from small to large sedans, SUVs and 4WDs, and will be operated by Franchisee Redspot Car Rentals as part of the Enterprise Holdings global network, enabling it to also serve Redspot, National and Alamo customers.

The move into New Zealand marks part of the continued expansion of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand into the Asia Pacific market. Since Enterprise Rent-A-Car entered Australia in February, the brand now serves customers in 18 Australia locations. In addition, Enterprise will expand to additional airport locations in North and South New Zealand in the next year.

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SG Fleet acquires Fleet Hire G Fleet has acquired UK-based contract hire, fleet management and salary sacrifice specialist, Fleet Hire.

The senior Fleet Hire team of chief executive officer, Graham Hale, chief operating officer Chris Joyce, and sales director Nick Poole will remain with the business.

In a statement, SG Fleet said the acquisition provided it with, “critical mass in the attractive UK fleet market and, in combination with our existing local business, will create a profitable platform for future growth.”

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For the latest news, visit internationalfleetworld.com

Dr Jörg Löffler named new CEO of Fleet Logistics Group r Jörg Löffler has taken over the position of chief executive officer at TÜV SÜD subsidiary Fleet Logistics Group, succeeding Rainer Laber.

Dr Löffler joins Fleet Logistics Group from Munich-based braking system specialists Knorr Bremse AG. Commenting on his new role, Dr Löffler said: “I am greatly looking forward to tackling my new responsibilities. In addition to continuing the international expansion of our business, we will focus on deepening customer contacts, and ensuring that we achieve these goals as an international team.”

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fleetinquotes a few soundbites from a month in fleet

Like it or not, the market is still nowhere near the shape needed to at least consolidate at last year’s modest level. There are only so many customers able or willing to spend money on a new car right now.

“

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Joerg Schreiber, chairman of AEB Automobile Manufacturers Committee on Russia's depressed new car market.

TomTom Telematics teams up with Sage omTom Telematics has collaborated with Sage, the cloud accounting T software provider, to combine the WEBFLEET and Sage Live products to offer real-time accounting for fleets.

TomTom’s WEBFLEET solution is used by small to large businesses to help improve vehicle performance, save fuel, support drivers and increase overall fleet efficiency. The combined solution will allow Sage Live customers to automatically view fleet data from connected vehicles – including trucks, light commercial vehicles and passenger cars.

Thomas Schmidt, managing director at TomTom Telematics, said: “The new software integration will offer a vital service for companies that don’t necessarily need to track and trace their sales or engineering teams on a map, but are interested in getting other core vehicle data into their financial systems.”

AirPlus and Enterprise Holdings expand partnership irPlus corporate customers can now use the business travel payments solution to access car rental in 41 countries, as the firm expands its partnership with Enterprise Holdings.

The partnership – originally piloted in Germany and the UK – allows AirPlus users to access the Enterprise Holdings’ network covering Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car. The two firms said the popularity of the pilot scheme underlines how car rental has become integral to international business travel.

The extended network covers countries in Europe, North America and the Middle East, as well as Australia and New Zealand, with additional locations set to be added over the coming months.

By accepting AirPlus, customers with corporate car rental accounts will no longer need a personal or corporate credit card when renting a vehicle from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental or Alamo Rent A Car.

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This is a very important milestone for Parkopedia. Our combined footprint in the consumer and automotive space is huge and this opens the doors to delivering a world of innovative solutions.

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Parkopedia's Christina Onesirosan Martinez on the integration of the company's database of 40m parking spaces into Google Maps.

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The merger of Didi Chuxing and Uber China reflects the incredibly competitive landscape for ride-hailing mobility services in China. It will effectively end the hyper-competition that has been the norm between the two.

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IHS Automotive spokesperson on the selling of Uber China to Chinese mobility giant Didi Chuxing.

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A chauffeur with a pretty high IQ. DRIVE PILOT is making its debut in the new E-Class. The car’s innovative pilot and driver assistance functions make life so much easier for the driver and prevent hazardous situations. Experience the next step on the road to autonomous, accident-free driving. The new E-Class. The most intelligent business sedan in its class. mercedes-benz.com/fleet

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EVNEWS_IFW_Sept16 18/08/2016 18:57 Page 1

environmental news Tesla confirms compact SUV, pickup and heavy-duty vehicles esla has confirmed it will launch a compact SUV, pickup truck and two heavy-duty vehicles, alongside a suite of mobility solutions, according to founder and CEO, Elon Musk.

The announcement is said to be part two of the company’s ‘master plan’ for energy-efficient living, the first part of which was announced ten years ago.

Part one had involved launching the low-volume Roadster, funded using Musk’s profits from co-founding PayPal, then re-investing profit into the higher-volume Model S, which in turn would fund the smaller, massmarket Model 3, launching next year. It was also aiming to launch a solar energy solution.

Part two is a little more wide-ranging. Musk said the company will launch a compact SUV, called the Model Y, which will be based on the Model 3’s platform and compete with cars such as the Porsche Macan and Jaguar F-Pace. There will also be a pickup truck, which is a vital addition in the United States, where the Ford F-150 is the country’s best-selling vehicle.

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Based on data from the ‘Autopilot’ driver assistance system, Tesla will also develop autonomous technology as a core competence, meaning its cars will be able to be ‘summoned’ to collect drivers. The aim is to enable customers to offer their cars via a shared fleet, earning money from them when they would otherwise be parked, which will mean there will be no need to develop a vehicle smaller than the Model 3.

Driverless technology will also underpin Tesla’s planned heavy-duty truck and bus, both under development and due to be unveiled next year. Musk believes these will be able to be operated remotely by a fleet manager, reducing their overall size and improving energy efficiency.

“We must at some point achieve a sustainable energy economy or we will run out of fossil fuels to burn and civilization will collapse,” he said. “Given that we must get off fossil fuels anyway and that virtually all scientists agree that dramatically increasing atmospheric and oceanic carbon levels is insane, the faster we achieve sustainability, the better.”

Free webtool shows fleet business case for EV switch leets across Europe are being offered a free webtool which enables them to find the business case for using electric vehicles, based on a huge range of specific criteria.

Developed by the EU-funded Incentives for Cleaner Vehicles in Urban Europe (I-CVUE) project, the Decision Support Model allows users to compare the total cost of ownership of EVs with petrol or diesel alternatives.

The criteria can be fully adjusted to suit the requirements of the user and is tailored to include incentives and tax differences for all European countries, as well as comparative maintenance and electricity costs and other

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advantages such as inner-city parking availability and toll exemption. Results are presented in easily-read graphics, and can offer cost predictions for charging equipment.

Co-ordinated by the Energy Saving Trust, I-CVUE is aiming to reduce the CO2 emissions of urban fleets by showing a business case for deploying electric vehicles. Project partners, The Energy Saving Trust, Austrian Energy Agency, RACC and FIER are mentoring 59 fleets across Europe – four times the original plans for between 10 and 15 and covering all sectors from city-based businesses to global brands. The results will be used as a case study for others.

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For the latest EV news, visit evfleetworld.com

Nissan prototype makes electricity from ethanol issan has unveiled a prototype electric vehicle which offers a diesel-like range and can make its own carbon-neutral electricity from ethanol.

Based on the e-NV200, it features the same electric motor, 24kWh electric battery with AC and DC charging from the production EV, but with a 30-litre tank for ethanol or ethanol-blended water, which extends the range to more than 360 miles.

The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) system extracts hydrogen from ethanol and uses this to produce electricity to charge the battery.

Although the hydrogen extraction produces some CO2 emissions Nissan claims this is offset by the sugarcane and corn grown to make bio-ethanol.

Field tests will begin in Brazil shortly, and SOFC technology is said to offer potential for electric vehicles in markets such as South America where bio-ethanol is produced in large amounts and available via forecourts, but where EV charging infrastructure is limited.

Nissan expects to launch a production SOFC car by 2020.

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UK to get lounge-like EV charging hubs leets will soon have access to a network of electric vehicle charging hubs, offering retail and business facilities while drivers plug in.

The network will use two-storey, 20x20-metre, modular structures located at transport hubs, service areas and retail parks, and offer payas-you-go rapid charging with shops, coffee shops, gyms and business centres. It will also offer a membership scheme with discounted access, and pre-booking via an app, and each hub will have energy storage to draw electricity from the grid during off-peak times.

With manufacturer funding in place, EV Hub UK will open its first sites in London later this year, 10 in 2017, 20 in 2018 and 2019, on the way to a 50-per-year installation rate by the end of the decade, and is aimed at addressing unreliability and unpredictability issues with the country’s charging network.

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in brief US Government backs EV growth The US Government has signed up almost 50 public and private sector organisations as part of a project to increase EV uptake nationwide.

Funding will cover domestic, public and business charging points, and stage a ‘hackathon’ this autumn to bring experts together for discussions.

Nissan: more UK charge points than fuel stations by 2020 Nissan is predicting charging stations will outnumber petrol stations in the UK by 2020. Decline of the refuelling network will be matched by a doubling of the number of charge sites in the meantime, with both set to reach around 7,900 sites by the end of the decade, it said.

Model X carpool launches in LA Car sharing and carpooling startup, Green Commuter, has deployed seven Tesla Model X electric SUVs in the Los Angeles area. The company said its seven seats made it the only EV suitable for the scheme, and it will be available for hourly and weekend rentals too.

Funding boost for in-wheel motors Protean Electric has received an additional $70m (€62.5m) funding from China to accelerate production of its in-wheel motors for electric and hybrid vehicles. As the motors require no transmission, they are claimed to boost efficiency by up to 15% compared to a centrally-mounted drivetrain, as used in most EVs.

EV

1,400

Electric vehicle specialists to be recruited by Porsche, as it readies for its Tesla-rivalling Mission-E

in numbers

651 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs joining the Ukraine police fleet, replacing AutoVAZ and UAZ models.

Source: Ukraine Ministry of Internal Affairs

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NEWS_IFW_Sept16 18/08/2016 19:04 Page 3

manufacturer news

BMW shows first images of new 5 Series MW has previewed the next 5 Series, showing the newcomer undergoing pre-production testing in Munich ahead of its sales launch next year.

Under a camouflaged wrap, the executive saloon is shown being 3D scanned at its facility in Munich, as part of measures to avoid panel and fitment defects with the production version.

It reveals a little about the way the next car will look, including horizontal rear lamps extending into the number plate tub, and headlights which cut into the front bumper a little like the Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe concept shown in 2013.

Expect the range to include the latest version of BMW’s 20d diesel engine as its biggest fleet seller, as well as a plug-in hybrid drivetrain similar to the X5 xDrive40e, combining a four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor.

It is also likely to benefit from semi-autonomous technologies from the latest 7 Series, including the Remote Parking system which enables the car to back in and out of tight spaces with nobody at the wheel.

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Honda takes wraps off 2017 Civic hatchback onda has revealed the 10th-generation Civic hatchback, as the first SwinHPreviewed don-built production models are shipped to the North American market. with a concept car at the Geneva Motor Show this year, the

hatch is longer, wider and lower than model it replaces, and features larger, wider wheels on a longer wheelbase. Honda is claiming classleading cabin and luggage space.

It also marks the first time that Honda has produced Civics for North America at its plant in Swindon. The five-door hatchback will join the already-available sedan version in the United States and Canada, a model which is built at the carmaker’s plant in Ontario.

However, European buyers will be offered a different engine line-up.

This will include a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and a heavily revised 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel, alongside the 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol which is also available in North America.

in brief Particulate filters for VW Group petrols The Volkswagen Group is to fit all of its direct injection TSI and TFSI engines with petrol particulate filters from 2017. The move will reduce emissions of soot particles by up to 90% and will have a planned roll-out across group models.

New global vehicle hire solution Technology provider Fleetondemand has added new global vehicle hire capability to its growing portfolio of mobility solutions. The software provides global access to multiple rental companies and has been designed to take into consideration multiple supply channels, location data and language packs.

Infiniti reveals new petrol technology Infiniti has developed a productionfirst petrol engine which can vary its compression ratio depending on the driving conditions. It's claimed to offer higher fuel economy under low loads, without compromising performance.

Daimler acquires Hailo taxi hailing app Daimler is to merge taxi hailing app Hailo into its Mytaxi e-hailing service. The merger is expected to be completed in mid-2017 subject to the approval of the European Regulatory Authorities and will create what’s said to be the largest mobility business of its kind in the world.

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thempgmarathon.co.uk

ALD Automotive • Fleet World

MPG Marathon 18-19 October 2016 Heythrop Park Resort Oxfordshire, UK

MPG marathon 2016

WE WANT

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visit www.thempgmarathon.co.uk for more information and to sign-up for free.

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FEATURE Electric Vehicles

EV EV charging times are falling and charging equipment is developing to provide faster, smarter charging, as Steve Banner discovers. erhaps best known in the West for its all-electric buses, Chinese manufacturer BYD has a variety of other products in its armoury. Back in January it delivered 35 battery-powered T3 vans to DHL International Air Express to help the operation handle deliveries in the central business district of the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and the surrounding area.

Looking a little like Nissan’s electric eNV200 light commercial, T3 boasts a 3.5m3 load area and a payload capacity of up to 800kg. Fitted with BYD’s own ironphosphate batteries, it offers a range of over 200km, says the company.

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Battery-powered airmail DHL Air Express has a fleet of 35 battery electric BYD T3 vans at work in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

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City air quality In its own modest way the T3 should help clean up China’s chronic air pollution.

Cities worldwide are attempting to do the same thing, with vehicles (often unfairly) viewed as major culprits, diesels increasingly in the firing line especially so far as NOx and particulates are concerned and zero-emission electric models regularly put forward as the solution.

Germany’s Fritz Kuhn certainly believes they have a key role to play. One of the founding members of the Green Party in former West Germany over a quarter of a century ago, he was an Alliance 90/Green

member of the German parliament and is now the Alliance 90/Green Lord Mayor of Stuttgart. Sitting in a bowl with hills all around, the city can at times suffer from poor air quality.

“Sustainable mobility is a key issue for cities, electric mobility is an important element of it and in Stuttgart we’re showing the way,” he states.

He has instituted a policy of only acquiring electric cars for use by the city council’s various departments and has four battery-powered light trucks on trial in conjunction with Daimler. They are all Fuso Canter E-Cell 6.0-tonners;

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“ Over the next year or so we’ll see cars coming onto the market with realistic ranges of up to 320km between recharges.”

Fuso is part of the Daimler family.

Two of them are bodied as tippers and are being used by road repair crews and landscape gardeners. Fitted with box bodies, their stable-mates are being used to transport everything from furniture to waste bins.

The private sector in Stuttgart has electric power on its agenda too. A fifth E-Cell is in service there with parcels carrier Hermes. Kuhn recognises however that battery-powered vehicles cannot be viewed as truly emission-free if the power they use comes from burning fossil fuels.

“So we are ensuring that the energy provided by our re-charging stations comes from renewable sources,” he states.

Charging from renewables Renewable sources and electric vehicles can enjoy a mutually-beneficial relationship according to Martin Hale, responsible for global technology giant ABB’s UK and Ireland charging infrastructure. While wind turbines and solar power provide next to no energy when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine, when both situations occur they suddenly deliver excessive amounts of power to the grid; more power than it knows what to do with.

“As a consequence a lot of the energy being generated is wasted,” he says.

That need not be the case however, he points out, if lots of EVs are plugged in being recharged because their batteries will be able to help absorb it and contribute to ironing out the peaks and troughs.

A balanced smart grid is required to make this work really effectively. Alfen has been involved in the creation of one in Wageningen in the Netherlands in conjunction with partners GreenFlux and

Enexis, which includes charging points.

It has the ability to store excess electrical energy from renewables which can be released whenever required. Netherlandsbased Alfen supplies a variety of products used by electricity grids, from substations to charging points.

Smart-charging networks that rely on renewable energy to charge vehicles plugged in overnight from, say, 7.30pm to 7.30am can stop charging them for an hour or two – between midnight and 2.00am for instance – if the wind drops. They can then start charging them again when the wind picks up and the turbine blades begin to turn more quickly without leaving the battery depleted when the driver needs to get to work the following morning.

If the driver needs to use the car in the evening, however, or make an early start then this arrangement can be over-ridden, although in some circumstances there may be a charge for doing so. The charging point can then stay switched on all night relying on stored renewable energy or possibly energy from non-renewable sources.

Over-riding may also be necessary if the wind does not start blowing again until the following afternoon.

BYD makes the point that electric vehicles themselves can help balance the load on the grid by funnelling power into it from their batteries at times of peak demand.

They can then have their batteries recharged during off-peak hours.

Improving battery capacity If the use of electrical vehicles increases – along with plug-in hybrids they accounted for 24% of new registrations in Norway during the first quarter of this year – then presumably charging points will be required on every street corner. Improvements in battery capacity mean that this need not be the case.

“Over the next year or so we’ll see cars coming onto the market with realistic ranges of up to 320km between recharges,” points out a senior executive at a major

supplier of charging facilities. With deliveries scheduled to start in 2017, Tesla’s Model 3 for example should be able to travel for 350km before it needs plugging into a charging point.

Longer ranges should mean that fewer interim charging points would be needed.

Many drivers of EVs will be able to keep them topped up simply by using a charging point at home and one at work unless they are going on a very long journey.

That of course pre-supposes that they live in a house with off-street parking as opposed to on the top floor of a block of flats and that their city centre workplace has parking space for electric vehicles.

Only 30% of homes in the Netherlands have off-street parking points out Alfen subsidiary ICU Charging Equipment.

As a consequence publicly accessible urban/suburban charging points are likely to remain necessary but drivers may not need to leave their vehicles plugged into them for hours on end. That is because such points are increasingly likely to be fast charging.

Having recently agreed to purchase solar energy specialist SolarCity, Tesla has been busy creating a network of fastcharging stations in North America, Europe, China, Japan and Australia.

Each station should be able to provide one of its cars with a 270km range boost in as little as 30 minutes. The aim is to ensure they are strategically located so that Tesla drivers never run out of power before they reach one.

New generation charging systems ABB is talking about chargers that will recharge batteries in no more than 20 minutes. “You can go off and have a cup of coffee while your car is plugged in,” says Hale. “You don’t have to stand next to it for three or four minutes holding a nozzle while fuel goes into the tank.”

Even 20 or 30 minutes may start to look irritatingly slow in the near future given the rate at which charging times are

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FEATURE Electric Vehicles

Charging in a flash 12 electric buses are due to enter service in Geneva in 2018 featuring flash charging technology.

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falling. Charging point design is developing apace too with some manufacturers showing an impressive degree of initiative when it comes to designing facilities tailored to local circumstances.

The acute shortage of land in Hong Kong has prompted BYD to develop a vertical charging carousel six stories high that can recharge a dozen electric cars – BYD e6 taxis in this case – simultaneously. It takes up much less room than giving them individual parking spaces on the ground.

Equip the carousel with a 40kW charging box and it can charge 36 cars a day rising to 108 daily if a 100kW box is fitted.

The entire structure is designed to resist the impact of severe earthquakes measuring up to 8 on the Richter scale, says BYD. The near-breakneck speed at which it should be possible to recharge batteries in the near future is illustrated by a project unfolding in Switzerland.

In July ABB was awarded orders totalling more than US$16m/€14.4m by Transport Publics Genevois, Geneva’s public transport operator, and Swiss bus

maker HESS. They are for flash-charging and on-board electric vehicle technology for 12 electric buses, which will run between Geneva’s airport and the city’s suburbs from 2018 onwards.

Thirteen flash-charging stations will be installed along the route, which will connect with the bus in under a second and give its batteries a 600-kilowatt power boost over 15 seconds. A further four- to five-minute charge at the terminus will replenish the batteries completely.

“We’re proud of this breakthrough technology which support’s Geneva’s vision of providing silent and zero-emission mass transportation for the city,” says ABB power grids division president, Claudio Facchin.

Such environmentally friendly systems are likely to figure highly in the sort of minimal-environmental-impact mobility packages for employees increasingly being promoted by companies such as Alphabet. They include everything from the use of public transport to electric cars and car sharing.

It will be interesting to see how easily smart-charging systems based on vehicles being re-charged overnight will adapt themselves to longer ranges and much shorter charging cycles; developments which will undoubtedly be welcomed by drivers.

They might even consign range anxiety to the history books.

ABB charger pic

Smarter thinking With only 30% of Dutch homes featuring off-street parking, fast public charging points are vital.

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Minimising fuel costs

FUEL is the single largest cost to any vehicle fleet and keeping control of that cost is a challenge for even small fleets. How much are your drivers spending on fuel? Are any of your vehicles using more fuel than they should? Are your drivers adding to their journeys by looking for fuel stations?

A dedicated fuel card is much more than a means of paying for fuel. It could enable a fleet to accurately monitor its fuel spending, allowing the fleet manager to see who is buying fuel, where they are buying it and how often. Gathering that data and presenting it in an easily understood format helps to quickly bring useful information to a fleet manager’s attention.

The rise of the smartphone means that many people carry a small but powerful computer with them for much of the time. This can also help the driver to find a fuel station easily with the help of a relevant app such as the Shell Motorist app, which can also provide navigation to the fuel station and provide information about the facilities available there.

Shell recently carried out an independent study with a wide range of fleet managers in different countries across the world, focusing on fraudulent fuel spending. Speaking at the recent Make the Future London fleet event in June, Scott McGregor, UK Retail B2B Sales Manager for Shell, took up the story, “56 per cent of the fleet managers we surveyed said: ‘I think I could probably save five per cent off my fuel bill, if I had time and the resources to tackle fraudulent fuel spend’.” A fleet manager’s time is increasingly constrained, and it is our job to try to help fleets understand and process data effectively.”

Shell protects each of its fuel cards with an individual

PIN code, so if the card is lost, it is more difficult for it to be used fraudulently. Cards can also be dedicated to a particular vehicle or driver. Controls can be placed on each card to permit or prohibit use in a range of circumstances. Fleet managers can allow specific cards to be used nationally or internationally, for instance.

Restrictions on what can be purchased can also be applied to individual cards, i.e. use can be restricted to buying fuel and oil, or use in the shop can be included.

If fraudulent use is detected, a Shell fuel card can be blocked immediately to prevent unauthorised use.

Controlling card use is simple too because it can all be done on-line using Shell Card Online. This gives fleet managers control over all fleet card usage. With Shell’s Real Time Detection system, fleet managers can be alerted whenever suspicious activity is detected. Shell’s own fraud teams have helped to save their customers millions of pounds through proactive fraud prevention.

Since every single transaction is monitored, fleet managers can see at a glance how much fuel is being purchased and where.

The Management Information system, Shell card online, has just launched its own smartphone and table app, which gives the fleet managers more control of their fleet, on their phones and tablet devices. This allows customers to view their alerts, temporarily or permanently block a card, order new card and set their PIN, access invoices, the site locator, view transactions and much more.

To find out what Shell fuel cards could do for your fleet visit Shell’s dedicated fuel card website at www.shell.com/business-customers/shell-fuel-cards

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FEATURE Electric Vehicles

EV? Plug-In? Hybrid?

EV development is not slowing down, so how do you decide if an EV or hybrid is right for you? lectric vehicle technology is continuing to develop at a rapid pace.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks recently unveiled an electric 26-tonne heavy truck, which will be given its public debut at the IAA Hanover CV Show in September. Such a vehicle would not have been possible a few years ago because of the weight of the batteries. Mercedes reckons that it will offer a 200km range around an urban distribution route and that could increase further by the time the truck enters production around 2020.

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Power density up, battery cost down By then, Mercedes expects battery power density to have taken another significant step forward. Overall, the company expects energy density to rise by a factor of 2.5 from 80Wh/kg to 200Wh/kg between 1997 and 2025. In addition Mercedes expects the cost of batteries to be reduced by the same factor over the same period, reducing cost from €500/kWh to €200/kWh. That opens up the prospect of range anxiety disappearing as an issue. If a range of 300km becomes a realistic possibility in production EVs, it could prove to be a game-changer and really open up the market for EVs, particularly if cost continues to fall as Mercedes-Benz suggests.

For the moment range anxiety remains a factor in the decision to adopt EVs. Among fleet service providers, Alphabet International has looked at the EV sector and alternative mobility in more detail than many.

“The biggest difference between an

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electric vehicle and one powered by a combustion engine is that it’s not one size fits all,” says Uwe Hildinger, chief sales officer at Alphabet International, “You need to look at the usage profile and the needs of the driver first, then you can talk about the best option. We at Alphabet try to cover this most important question by using our Electrification Potential Analysis (EPA).

This gives us fundamental feedback on what we can do for our customers.”

How important is EV range?

Range anxiety can be more imagined than real. For drivers who tend to use their cars mostly for commuting and local travel, current EVs offer a realistic daily working range. Persuading a driver that they could use an electric vehicle successfully may take some work though. “The first step is to put an EV in the car policy of a company so that the driver can choose. I think this is more or less driven by the total cost of mobility on one side and on the other side, the pressure to reduce the carbon footprint,” says Hildinger.

“Let’s assume that everything is done in this case and it is in the car policy. In that case there are two topics. First of all, we need to know what the driving behaviour is.” That can be done by simply using information from a driver’s regular driv-

Uwe Hildinger, Alphabet International

ing patterns to assess how long individuals drive between home and work.

“Then you can check if an electric vehicle would be useful,” says Hildinger, “From our investigations, the average distance drivers drive today is between 60 and 70km a day and this could be covered by an EV anyway. I think it’s just that feeling that there might not be enough range to drive, or that there could be some unexpected needs for longer travel distances that the car could not cover.”

A pool car is often the way ahead, as Hildinger observes, “What we see quite often is that EVs are often a kind of a pool car or used as an AlphaCity car when our car-sharing solution is chosen, as people get used to electric cars. Sometimes they are really afraid – it’s different, it’s new, how can it be charged? Where can it be charged? How long will it take? Is it fun to drive? That’s also a topic. This is a way to get people used to EVs. I think it’s quite a usual practice to have an EV as a pool car in the fleet.”

EVS need a business case Reducing a fleet’s carbon footprint might be the driving factor in deciding to choose an EV but not at any price, “Most of our corporate customers want

ENVIRO_Alphabet_IFW_Sept16_Layout 1 18/08/2016 15:04 Page 2

Copyright: Alphabet International

“If you smartly combine the electric drive with a combustion engine, then you can really close the gap almost completely, from the perspective of fuel consumption and carbon footprint.”

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to see a business case as well,” says Hildinger, “What we see is that in some countries where we see tax reductions or there is government support for EVs, an electric vehicle can at least be on the same level of cost as an internal combustion engine, or even lower.” But it will depend on how the car is used.

“If you look at a typical salesman, driving 50,000km a year, an EV is not really a solution at the moment, but a hybrid could be an intermediate with electric drive in the city and internal combustion engine for when you go outside.”

That advantage is probably greater for a plug-in hybrid offering greater range, “The Netherlands offered a huge tax reduction for hybrids last year and you can save cost if the country provides such a programme,” says Hildinger. “My understanding is that the pure electric range is on average up to 30km, so for small distances you can easily drive as an EV. If you are able to charge afterwards, you can cover these distances by driving electric. Then if you use the internal combustion engine for longer distances, the overall CO2 emissions can be lowered quite significantly, if you use the potential of driving under electric power. We also see that a lot of those hybrids are not used in a proper way, unfortunately.”

Greater choice of hybrids As Hildinger says, the range of hybrid models is increasing and drivers now have a choice of a hybrid model as well as conventional petrol and diesel models. A few years ago, parallel hybrids performed well in stop/start urban traffic, while diesels provided lower fuel consumption over longer distances. Parallel hybrid technology has improved though, as we can see from the Kia Niro and Hyundai IONIQ tested elsewhere in this issue.

That seems to be supported by Alphabet’s experience. As Hildinger suggests, the 50,000km per year sales driver is still going to be better suited to a diesel car, but looking at a car used over 100,000km, he said: “If you smartly combine the electric drive with a combustion engine, then you can really close the gap almost completely, from the perspective of fuel consumption and carbon footprint. It’s a matter of the mix in usage in the end.

“We need to cover both challenges. From one side it needs to be a business case and on the other side there is pressure on companies to reduce the carbon footprint.

Then if you compare a diesel car with a petrol car, it will be more expensive so a diesel and a hybrid could be almost equal.

There is not such a big difference any more.”

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FEATURE Fleet Management

the expert panel Eliron Ekstein, connected customer programme lead, Shell

Wolfgang Warnecke, chief scientist mobility, Shell

Scott McGregor, sales manager UK, Shell

George de Boer, international alliance manager, TomTom

Make the future Held in London this summer, Shell’s Make The Future London 2016 festival incorporated a series of exclusive events, including a fleet-focused panel discussion. The session explored topics as diverse as future mobility, alternative fuels and how data can deliver benefits to business. Katie Beck presents an overview of the discussion highlights.

Keeping order International Fleet World editor, John Kendall, chaired the panel.

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Diversity of fleet portfolio he challenges of meeting the transport demands of an increasingly urbanised population was identified as a key industry trend; “The younger generation in particular is not demanding the traditional models of transportation,” explained Wolfgang Warnecke.

“Very often mixed mobility (cycling, buses), on demand or ‘by the mile’ services are more popular than vehicle ownership, especially in urban centres. I think the pace of change in the mobility and transport sector is incredible; every second day there is a new development underway aimed at meeting these needs.

“For example, with flying drones – a company in China is using them for personal mobility with test flights underway. So, very soon they could not only be used to transport goods, but people too. These kinds of developments might sound ‘space age’, but the technology is already a reality.”

Warnecke also highlighted the expanding portfolio of fuels as an example of the investment being made by manufacturers; “We are living in an age

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of huge opportunity; our colleagues on the automotive side are working on a whole range of engine types – ‘clean diesels,’ efficient petrol engines, hybrids, battery electric vehicles, natural gas, biofuels and synthetic fuels, for example,” he said.

Scott McGregor was quick to point out the potential challenges of employees using a number of different transport methods, however. “It is puzzling when you look at the potential diversity in the fuel portfolio and the challenges that could present to a business,” he said.

“Very often mixed mobility (cycling, buses), on demand or ‘by the mile’ services are more popular than vehicle ownership, especially in urban centres.”

Challenges of ‘clean’ energy ccess to energy and how to produce affordable, clean power was highlighted as a major barrier to progress, with Warnecke explaining that the environmental impact of electric mobility is often overlooked; “There are clear benefits with electric vehicles – there are no tailpipe emissions, for example. The big question, however, is how do you produce the energy to store in the battery or to produce the hydrogen?” he said.

Emissions readings do not currently account for recharging of the battery, ignoring the production of the electricity completely. “If you take into account the production of the energy to the turning wheel, the best diesels in class do not look so inefficient in countries like Britain and China, where electricity is mostly produced by fossil fuels,” Warnecke said. “In France, however, the battery electric vehicle is around 50% cleaner than the diesel because the majority of the electricity is produced by nuclear, which does not emit CO2.”

Warnecke went on to explain that

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diesel is still the best internal combustion engine available in terms of efficiency. However, local air quality pollutants are a concern, and treatment methods can be expensive.

“The problem here is that to clean up diesel the engine will need to become very complex, with lots of sensors in place and almost a small chemical plant under the floor to deal with all the processes,” he said.

“Very efficient diesel engines are possible and are slowly entering the market, but they will need more servicing and maintenance. There are questions over whether diesel makes sense for small and mid-size engines with the tightening regulations, but there is no question that diesel will continue to be the solution for very large vehicles in the foreseeable future, ideally with some biofuel components to help lower CO2 emissions.”

Future fuels Wolfgang Warnecke and Scott McGregor discussed the difficulties of meeting energy demands in a sustainable way.

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FEATURE Fleet Management

Benefits of telematics

Data security concerns longside the perceived issue of managing the generated data, there is still a lingering distrust amongst some users about the ‘Big Brother’ associations of telematics and tracking devices.

“I really do think there needs to be a culture shift, here,” said de Boer. “If we are working in an office, our manager can see what we are doing or when we are going to lunch, so why is it strange that we can see what a driver is doing when he is in the car visiting someone? I really don’t see that it is a problem to monitor what employees are doing during working hours. It is all about explaining the processes around data collection and what can be done with settings, for example private mode for trips outside of working hours.

“It’s important to help change the collective mindset and the perception of telematics. Incentivising employees can really help – some companies offer bonuses for the most efficient driver at the end of the month so that they directly benefit from cost-savings alongside the company, for example.”

Concerns about data security were also highlighted, with Wolfgang Warnecke stating that further clarification about ownership rights and regulation is required. “Most connected modern vehicles have about 60 controllers inside the vehicle, used for processes such as emissions control,” he said.

“These controllers process hundreds of pieces of data per second. There have been huge changes in data management, and all these questions about who owns the data really need to be dealt with.”

“There are also many questions about who owns the interface on connected cars – the OEMs, the technology company or the customer,” added Ekstein. “We are at the beginning stages of dealing with these issues, and it will be very interesting to see how they evolve.”

A Broadening appeal Eliron Ekstein spoke about the real-world benefits of telematics.

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anellists agreed that while many fleets are aware of the benefits of using telematics, there are still concerns about the real-world relevance of the data generated. “There is no shortage of data available – our systems today can produce a wealth of different data parameters that with investigation and analysis can provide real opportunity for savings,” said Scott McGregor.

“I am conscious, however, that how you remove complexity and make the system as simple to use as possible is key. Given the wealth of information and data we now have access to, how can we harness that most effectively for our customers?

It’s something we are really going to have to think through as we see greater diversification in the fuel portfolio, the removal of paper, how we manage our own fuel card system... This is a very exciting time with many opportunities.”

George de Boer added that more still needs to be done to educate fleets on the wide-ranging business benefits of telematics systems, beyond simple vehicle tracking.

“It’s about informing customers about the wider benefits of using telematics, like having a better customer experience, for example or reducing fuel fraud,” he said. “We have recently installed our solutions with a fire department. The commander-in-chief can now see where all the vehicles on the fleet are, and before any firemen get into the vehicles they know exactly where they are going using traffic information, with in-depth details such as road works to avoid.

“These are real-world uses for telematics that do not specifically involve cost-saving, and are more business-need or customer-need focused. It’s not just about control, it’s about improved convenience, too.”

“I would suggest that simply changing the name ‘telematics’ would help,” added Eliron Ekstein. “It is difficult to get people excited about what is quite an abstract description.

We need to start thinking of telematics as a data-enabled mobility service.

“A cheap OBD device plugged into the dashboard can read vehicle data very easily, diagnose what the issue is and get biddings from local mechanics to deal with the problem.

That’s useful, and offers real opportunities for savings. If we turn our attention to the specific services that are useful to different types of businesses and simplify the packages, we have a better chance of optimising services and making real savings to the bottom line.”

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Importance of education George de Boer explained that resistance to technology stems from a lack of understanding.

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“Over 200 student teams from 29 countries competed to see whose vehicle could travel furthest on the least amount of fuel.”

Eco-marathon Europe 2016 hell’s Eco-marathon Europe competition also took place during the Make The Future festival. Now established for over 30 years, the competition challenges student teams from all over the world to build, test and drive ultra-efficient vehicles.

Held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, over 200 student teams from 29 countries competed to see whose vehicle could travel furthest on the least amount of fuel; including petrol, diesel, other liquid fuel made of natural gas, ethanol, hydrogen and electric power.

Winners Lycee Saint-Joseph La Joliverie, from France, broke the CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) record by travelling 2,606.4 km using the equivalent of just one litre of fuel in the Prototype category. Also achieving success was Lycee Louis Delage, from France who travelled a distance of 445.7km using the equivalent

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of a litre of fuel in the petrol-powered UrbanConcept car.

The Make The Future London festival also saw the introduction of the Drivers’ World Championship – a head-to-head race against the 2016 UrbanConcept winners from North America, Asia and Europe to find the quickest and most energy-efficient driver. The winning team was Universitas Pendidikan from Indonesia, and their prize included a week’s training with Scuderia Ferrari in Maranello, Italy.

Commenting on the achievements of the competitors, Erik Bonino, Shell UK chairman, said: “Showcasing some of the brightest energy ideas and supporting entrepreneurship is an essential part of the journey to a low-carbon future. Shell is committed to inspiring and supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs as we tackle the world’s energy challenges.”

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FLEET FOCUS Portugal

The road to recovery?

Growing registrations, investment in EVs and a thriving manufacturing sector look good for Portugal reckons John Kendall.

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MOBI.E. Portugal also has one of the largest solar power ortugal is the western-most country in Europe, a stations in the world, the Amareleja solar power station and south-western portion of the Iberian Peninsula. It is also has a plan to produce over 7,000MW of power from far smaller than its neighbour Spain, but both counhydroelectric schemes by 2020. tries are home to a number of automotive manufacturers Portugal has offered a series of financial incentives and and suppliers. For Portugal, the majority of production is tax relief for individuals and companies to encourage the concentrated on cars. According to the International Organtake-up of EVs. isation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), Portugal produced 115,468 cars in 2014, a reduction of -1.9% REGISTRATIONS compared with 2014, 37,134 light CVs, a -9.1% reduction, In terms of car registrations, Portugal is roughly comparable and 4,024 heavy trucks, an increase of 38.9%. with the Czech Republic and Denmark – one of the smaller By volume, the largest manufacturer is the Volkswagen markets in Europe. For 2016 from January to July (YtD) Group. The Autoeuropa plant on the coast at Palmela, near Portugal registered 134,263 cars according to ACAP, a Lisbon builds the VW Sharan, Seat Alhambra, VW Eos and 16.5% increase over the same period in 2015. Light CVs VW Scirocco. Further north at Mangualde, PSA builds the registered a similar percentage increase with registrations Berlingo and Partner small van and passenger model. up 15.4% to 19,419.

Further north at Vigo, just across the Spanish border, PSA For 2015 in total, 178,496 cars were registered in Portugal, has another assembly plant for the Partner and Berlingo.

25% more than the 142,826 registered in 2014. This made it To the north-east of Lisbon at Tramagal, Mitsubishi the highest number of new registrations in Portugal for the Trucks, part of Daimler Trucks, builds the Canter light truck past five years. The lower rate of growth in 2016 may reflect for Europe and buses. Further north on the coast near Porto, a degree of economic uncertainty in the country.

Toyota builds the Hiace van and Dyna light truck in relaAs the table below shows, Renault is the car market leader tively small numbers at the Salvador Caetano plant. Salvador with 16,698 registrations, a 24.6% increase over the same Caetano is the Portuguese importer and distributor for period in 2015. Peugeot took the second place followed by Toyota and Lexus and has a number of other automotive Volkswagen, with Mercedes-Benz in fourth place, followed interests including bus and coach manufacture.

by BMW, suggesting that there is a healthy market for According to the Automotive Association of Portugal premium brands in Portugal.

(ACAP), the single largest destination for Portuguese manufactured vehicles in 2014 was Germany, which took 21.2% of exports, followed by China Passenger car registrations Portugal January to July 2016 (16.4%), France (12.7%), the UK (10.4%), 2016 Share % Change % 2015 2016 Manufacturer Spain (8.6%), Austria (5.8%) and Italy (3.2%).

12.44 24.6 13,406 16,698 Renault Portugal also has a thriving components sector, which according to ACAP has grown 9.43 13.5 11,147 12,657 Peugeot by 200% in the past 15 years. International 8.31 suppliers include Bosch, Borg Warner Turbo -1.1 11,290 11,161 Volkswagen Systems, Delphi, Visteon, Faurecia, Mahle, 7.28 20.3 8,123 Mercedes-Benz 9,774 TRW Automotive, Yazaki and many more.

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BMW EV SECTOR INVESTMENT Opel Besides component production, Portugal is a source of lithium, widely used in EV batterNissan ies. The country is the largest producer of Fiat lithium in Europe according to ACAP, with estimated reserves of 60,000 tonnes, accordCitroën ing to the US Geological Survey.

Audi Portugal has also made a significant Source: ACAP investment in electric mobility through its MOBI.E programme, designed to position Portugal as a pioneering country in the development and adoption of new energy models for sustainable mobility.

According to ACAP, any user can charge any vehicle at one of the 1,100 or more charging points, operated by any company with a single subscription. Users can access the network with a pre-paid MOBI.E charge card. The charge points are located in a wide variety of places including houses, private garages, public parking areas, shopping centres, car parks, hotels, airports and fuel stations.

Almost 50% of Portugal’s electricity comes from renewable sources including the Alto Minho wind farm, which with 120 wind turbines is the largest in Europe, according to

9,302

8,117

14.6

6.93

8,268

6,722

23.0

6.16

7,565

6,879

10.0

5.63

7,535

5,865

28.5

5.61

6,452

5,975

8.0

4.81

5,693

5,976

-4.7

4.24

The table shows quite strong growth in new car registrations in 2016. Manuel de Sousa, General Manager ALD Automotive Portugal (pictured), offered an explanation. “Portugal went through a long period of crisis and difficult access to financing, which has caused a strong contractual extensions period rather than new contracts.

RECOVERING MARKET “However, for some years now, more revealing from 2015, the market has been recovering and increasing in terms of new contracts/acquisitions, which also reflect the trend and

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FLEET FOCUS_Portugal_IFW_Sept16_Layout 1 18/08/2016 18:59 Page 3

FLEET FOCUS Portugal

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is in line with the reality of the Portuguese new car registrations market. It is also relevant to point out that the renta-car market also had a significant impact on the increase in new registrations.”

While SUV registrations are rising strongly across the world and in many parts of Europe, de Sousa explains why other types of car are favoured in Portugal. “Vehicles like station wagons, sedans and hatchbacks tend to be favoured and represent the largest share in operational leasing. Due to the higher taxation, constraints on car policies, higher levels of fuel consumption or CO2 emissions, the SUV and crossover segment has no significant expression in the Portuguese market.” It will be interesting to see if Portugal can resist the SUV/Crossover segment for any length of time, particularly as models become lighter and more fuel-efficient.

In terms of fleet business, de Sousa tells IFW that the market for full service leasing is similar to that in Portugal’s neighbouring countries, but with one notable difference, fleets prefer to own their cars. “As a result of the experience in other countries and the assessment made of the Portuguese market, we are committed to developing fleet management solutions, where the car belongs to the customer but the management is our responsibility.” The market for this kind of leasing is expected to grow in the future.

Overall, de Sousa reckons that full service leasing accounts for around 16% of the total car market, representing around 21,500 cars YtD in 2016.

“The full service leasing fleet sector has been experiencing growth, year after year, either in new or managed fleet. In terms of global values, Full Service Leasing grew by 5.8% on new contracts and about 4% in installed fleet to the end of May 2016, which confirms the sustainability of this market even in uncertain times. For companies, outsourcing the fleet management has become a reality rather than an internal option.”

LIGHT CVS Renault also enjoyed leadership of the light CV sector with 4,079 registrations YtD, a 25.5% increase on 2015. Perhaps displaying loyalty to the light CVs that are made in Portugal, Peugeot and Citroën respectively occupy second and third places, with Fiat and then Ford making up the top five.

De Sousa suggests that small vans such as the Renault Kangoo and Peugeot Partner sell well in Portugal. This may explain the success of Renault, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Ford and Volkswagen, all of which produce small light CVs. De Sousa sees growth in smaller models too, “The new segments characterized by models like the Peugeot Bipper and Citroën Nemo have been experiencing significant growth.”

Even so he explains that light CVs used to be more popular than they are now, “LCVs lost their relevance some years ago due to the ending of some fiscal benefits. Actually, this segment represents 26% of the total fleet/business vehicle market, which we believe represents the real market needs.”

TAXATION Fleet and business cars attract separate taxation from private cars in the form of TA (autonomous taxation). De Susa explains that this consists of, “a tax paid by companies on all the costs of the use of vehicles. This tax is banded depending on the investment value of the vehicle.”

Accountants PWC give a bit more detail. Mileage allowance is taxed at 5%. Company car expenses include depreciation, rentals, leasing, insurance, maintenance, repairs, fuel and taxes. Fully electric cars are exempt as are vehicles that are taxed as income in kind for personal income tax purposes. Otherwise, for cars costing less than €25,000, tax at 10% applies, for cars costing between €25,000 and €35,000 the rate is 27.5% and for cars costing more than €35,000 the rate rises to 35%.

Light CV registrations Portugal January to July 2016 2016 Share % Change % 2015 2016 Manufacturer Renault

4,079

3,249

25.5

21.01

Peugeot

3,129

2,682

16.7

16.11

Citroen

2,976

2,397

24.2

15.33

Fiat

1,612

1,216

32.6

8.3

Ford

1,499

1,028

45.8

7.72

VW

1,315

1,309

0.5

6.77

Mercedes-Benz

967

977

-1.0

4.98

Opel

917

1,081

-15.2

4.72

Toyota

731

1,127

-35.1

3.76

Iveco

600

434

38.2

3.09

Source: ACAP

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Peugeot Partner PSA builds the Berlingo and Partner small van and passenger model at it’s Mangualde plant in Portugal.

AUTOROLA_IFW_Portugal_Sept16 18/08/2016 18:54 Page 1

REMARKETING Portugal

Digital remarketing The Portuguese automotive market is embracing the digital transformation, explains Miguel Vassalo, country manager of Autorola Portugal. he Portuguese automotive market suffered badly during the recession, with a significant reduction in new car sales in 2012 when only 100,000 new passenger cars and 20,000 light commercial vehicles were sold.

Four years on, Portugal’s new car sector is booming, with 137,751 cars sold in the first half of 2016, an 18% increase over the same period in 2015, while total new car sales are forecast to reach between 230,000 and 240,000 by the end of 2016, and again in 2017.

This is representative of Portugal’s rapidly growing economy, with the Association of Specialised Credit Institutions (ASFAC) reporting a 40% increase in granted credit for the purchase of vehicles in May 2016, compared to May 2015.

It also demonstrates the growth of the Portuguese tourism industry with a corresponding increase in the number of vehicles purchased by rental companies. Such is the growth in this sector, that passenger rental vehicles accounted for a fifth of all new cars sold in the first six months of 2016.

At the heart of the growing used car market is Autorola’s online auction platform, which is helping to further digitise stakeholders in the Portuguese automotive market, providing national and continental-wide access to used vehicles through the pan-European auction portal.

Thanks to a closed market because of high taxation, consumer demand is heavily outstripping supply for used vehicles, causing prices to rise. According to Miguel Vassalo, Autorola Portugal’s country manager, “Demand for used cars

T

is forcing buyers to look towards other nations in continental Europe, such as Germany, France and Belgium, for importing vehicles.

“We expect used car imports to equate to 55,000 by the end of 2016, with vehicles such as the Renault Megane, Peugeot 508 and BMW 1 Series all proving popular with buyers in the C and D segments.”

As a result of the current digital transformation in the automotive industry, many OEMs and dealers are being heavily influenced by Autorola introducing the INDICATA business intelligence platform in 2015, which Vassalo describes as a, “game changer for the Portuguese automotive industry.

“Introducing INDICATA has been the main catalyst for growth in multiple companies; by analysing live used market data, it provides valuable insight on demand, supply and pricing in the market for OEMs and dealers.

“This can also be assessed at a local level, enabling dealers to not only ensure their vehicles are priced correctly, but to help them decide which cars to stock through analysing the dynamics of local demand and supply,” he added.

Streamlining the whole remarketing process for fleet owners is Autorola’s Fleet Monitor that manages the storage, logistics, appraisal and damage calculation, which allows all processes to be managed by a single system and provider.

“With more models becoming available in the coming years in Portugal, independent and franchised dealers will be able to continue using the Autorola remarketing portal to fill their forecourts with the exact used stock they require,” said Vassalo.

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PROFILE_Suzuki_IFW_Sept16_Layout 1 18/08/2016 15:34 Page 1

PROFILE Suzuki

Swift success Suzuki defied a depressed home market to set a series of sales records in 2015, including reaching five million global sales of Swift. A series of new, fuel-efficient engines and plans for several new vehicles before 2020 should help the brand maintain its upward trajectory…

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PROFILE_Suzuki_IFW_Sept16_Layout 1 19/08/2016 13:31 Page 2

Manufacturer Suzuki Global sales 2015 2,878,515 Headquarters Hamamatsu, Japan Global market share 4% No. of models 16

view from the top

Dale Wyatt, director of automobile Landmark year of sales... uzuki recorded a positive sales performance in all global territories apart from the home market of Japan in 2015, due largely to a hike in light motor vehicle tax and a resulting downturn in domestic sales. Despite this, the brand made efforts to expand its sales and strengthen the product lineup, including the launch of Solio, Escudo (Vitara), Ignis, and Baleno compact cars in Japan.

Despite concentrated efforts to grow a dwindling market share, the brand withdrew from the USA and Canada in 2013 after almost three decades on sale to focus on defending its lead in India, Europe and emerging markets.

Europe remains an important market for Suzuki, with the well-established fleet market contributing strongly to business sales in 2015. The UK was Suzuki’s largest market in Europe, contributing 34,437 sales, followed by Germany at 30,903, Italy with 18,681 and France at 18,506 units. Suzuki reported particularly strong sales of Vitara in a market crowded with similarly small SUVs, including Renault Captur and Nissan Juke. Initially offered from launch in mid-2015 with a choice of two 1.6-litre engines, the range was bolstered later in the year by the arrival of the fleet-friendly 1.4-litre BoosterJet engine.

The Suzuki Corporation continued to expand its presence in emerging markets such as Myanmar in 2015. Myanmar is now the third country to produce the Ertiga seven-seater MPV after India and Indonesia. As part of an initiative to increase local market share, SMMC (Suzuki Myanmar Motor Co.) has ramped up production at its plant located in South Dagon, Yangon.

Swift, Suzuki’s flagship supermini, reached cumulative worldwide sales of five million units in early April 2016 (eleven years and five months since the start of sales in 2004). Swift is currently produced in countries including Japan, Hungary, India, China, Pakistan, and Thailand, and sold as part of Suzuki’s global range.

The company estimates that Maruti Suzuki India accounted for 54% of the five million units sold, while Europe contributes 17%, Japan 10%, and other markets 19%.

In May 2015, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, the country's largest car company, celebrated another milestone when it became the first car manufacturer in India to produce 15 million cars, and the 100,000th Celerio was sold in July. Launched at Delhi Auto Expo 2014, Celerio is credited with introducing Auto Gear Shift Technology to the Indian automobile industry, and a diesel variant soon joined the range.

Within a year of its launch, Maruti Suzuki’s share in the lower hatchback segment grew to 71% from 61%, and Celerio is now the only car in the market to be made available in petrol, CNG and diesel fuel variants and offer two transmission options (Manual and Auto Gear Shift).

During the celebrations, Maruti Suzuki revealed the company’s medium term goal to achieve two million vehicles per annum by 2020, using a combination of an expanding product profile, a foray into the SUV segment and strengthening of the sales and service network.

S

SUZUKI Global sales, by territory Territory Japan Europe Asia (of which Maruti Suzuki India)

Other Total *Financial year – April-March.

2014* 1,054,321 314,197 1,111,626 (788,031) 221,796 2,701,942

2015* 1,010,976 347,764 1,299,466 (948,810) 220,307 2,878,515

% change -4% +10% +16% +19% +1% +6%

for Suzuki GB, on the success of the BoosterJet engine range and plans for hybrid technology.

Has the BoosterJet range increased the fleet-appeal of Suzuki’s petrol engines?

Yes, the BoosterJet engines are of 1.0 and 1.4 litre capacity and have relatively high power output whilst also being very fuel efficient. With a combined fuel consumption of 62.7 mpg (3.75l/100km) for the Baleno 1.0litre model, we feel our latest technology models are ideal for fleet users.

These engines will follow in the SCross from mid-October. They are compact and also work well combined with the latest generation lightweight platforms that Suzuki is phasing in over the next three years. Baleno was the first new model to incorporate this.

What role does Baleno play within Suzuki’s fleet line-up?

Baleno is the first ‘B’ Segment model that Suzuki has offered that is more relevant to fleet users. It has a larger boot capacity and extra interior space versus Swift, together with a Mild Hybrid option offering low BiK and emissions of 94g/km.

What fleet-specific services do you offer through dealers, and is this due to expand?

Suzuki is in a better position to offer more fleet specific services; it now has a designated fleet department and with further plans to develop from its current fleet percentage of just over 10% up to a maximum of around 20% in the longer term.

Does Suzuki see a near-future role for fully-electric vehicles?

In the short to medium term, Suzuki will concentrate on its high efficiency petrol engines and further mild hybrid adaptation which will be introduced in the Ignis Compact Crossover in January 2017. Full hybrid systems and electric vehicles are also under consideration in the longer term, and Suzuki has previously tested a range extender Swift model in Japan.

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PROFILE_Suzuki_IFW_Sept16_Layout 1 18/08/2016 15:54 Page 3

PROFILE Suzuki

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Where are they made?

6 Manufacturing plant locations 14 1

FIN fleet in numbers

94g/km CO2 emissions of new Baleno with SHVS mild-hybrid engine.

30% The percentage of Suzuki’s annual global sales provided by Swift.

Two million Maruti Suzuki’s predicted annual sales by 2020.

32 / internationalfleetworld.com

Suzuki Takatsuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan

2

Suzuki Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

3

Suzuki Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

4

Suzuki Sagara, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

5

Suzuki Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan

6

Magyar Suzuki Corporation, Esztergom, Hungary

7

Chongqing Chang’an Suzuki, Chongqing Province, China

8

Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki, Jiangxi Province, China

9

Suzuki Myanmar Motor, Yangon, Burma

10

Suzuki Motor Thailand, Rayong, Thailand

11

Suzuki Motor Vietnam, Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam

12

Suzuki Maruti India, Manesar, India

13

Suzuki Maruti India, Gurgaon, India

14

Suzuki Pak Motor Co. Ltd, Karachi, Pakistan

7 8 12 13

9 10

11

5 2 3 1 4

Suzuki sets out ‘Next 100’ plans... uzuki unveiled its mid-term management plan, dubbed ‘Suzuki Next 100’ at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Aimed at strengthening the company’s base for sustainable growth over the next 100 years, the plan puts a priority on, “quality, the production of original products, and the fortification of technological developments.”

The newest of 20 key models to be introduced worldwide by 2020 is new Baleno, on sale in India since late 2015, but only available in Europe from April this year. 31,000 Balenos have been sold in India as of January 2016, and the hatchback is now on sale in over 100 countries and territories worldwide.

New Baleno features three new technologies developed with the aim of achieving improved fuel efficiency and driving performance. The 1.0 direct-injection turbo engine offers high torque output coupled with CO2 emissions as low as 105g/km.

New Baleno is the second model after Vitara SUV to launch with BoosterJet technology, which works by closing the wastegate valve to create higher boost pressure during heavy load operation and remains open during normal driving.

Baleno is also available with the new 1.2 DualJet engine, a dual-injection petrol engine with CO2 emissions from 98g/km. The SHVS mild hybrid system uses an Integrated Starter Generator (known as ISG) to assist the engine during vehicle launching and accelerating and to generate electricity through regenerative braking.

The system also uses a compact lithium-ion battery placed under the front seat to store energy. The SHVS system reduces fuel consumption of new Baleno to 4 litres per 100km, whilst adding just 6.2kg to the overall weight.

Maruti Suzuki also continues its focus on reducing emissions in response to India’s air quality crisis, and has been successful in bringing down the weighted average of CO2 emission by over 12% in five years. The three most fuel efficient cars on-sale in India are currently all produced by Maruti Suzuki: Celerio, Swift and Ciaz.

New Swift is due in global markets mid-year 2017, and is expected to be slightly longer, lower and wider than the outgoing model. The light-weight chassis it shares with new Baleno hints at significant weight savings, and the new model will be offered with Baleno’s new 1.0-litre three-cylinder BoosterJet engine from launch.

The mild hybrid powertrain is also expected in selected markets, and a Swift Sport variant will follow in 2018.

S

PROFILE_Suzuki_IFW_Sept16_Layout 1 18/08/2016 19:25 Page 4

SUZUKI fleet model range

Wagon R

Spacia

Lapin

Variants: Kei car Markets: Asia Fuel: 3.0-4.2l/100km* CO2: 69-96g/km*

Variants: Kei car Markets: Asia Fuel: 3.1-3.9l/100km* CO2: 71-89g/km*

Variants: Kei car Markets: Asia Fuel: 3.8-5.3l/100km* CO2: 89-122g/km*

Alto

Solio/Bandit

Hustler

Variants: Kei car Markets: Asia Fuel: 2.7-4.3l/100km* CO2: 62-98g/km*

Variants: : Kei car Markets: Asia, Oceania Fuel: 3.6-4.5l/100km* CO2: 82-103g/km*

Variants: Kei car Markets: Asia Fuel: 3.1-3.6l/100km* CO2: 71-82g/km*

Celerio

Ignis

Swift

Variants: 5dr hatchback Markets: Europe, Africa, South America, Oceania Fuel: 3.6-4.3l/100km CO2: 84-99g/km

Variants: : Crossover Markets: Asia, Europe Fuel: 3.5-3.9l/100km* CO2: 80-89g/km*

Variants: 3/5dr hatchback, 4dr sedan Markets: Global Fuel: 4.3-6.4l/100km CO2: 100-147g/km

Baleno

Ciaz / Alivio

Everywagon

Variants: 5dr hatchback Markets: Europe, Asia, Oceania Fuel: 4.0-5.4l/100km CO2: 93-126g/km

Variants: 5dr hatchback Markets: Africa/South America Fuel: 5.4-5.5l/100km CO2: 125-131g/km

Variants: 7-seat MPV Markets: Asia Fuel: 6.2-6.8l/100km* CO2: 142-155g/km

Jimny

Vitara/Escudo

SX-4 / SX-4 S-Cross

Ertiga

Variants: Mini SUV Markets: Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, South America Fuel: 7.1-7.3l/100km CO2: 162-167g/km

Variants: Crossover Markets: Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, South America Fuel: 4.0-6.2l/100km CO2: 106-145g/km

Variants: Crossover Markets: Africa, Europe, Oceania, N. America Fuel:4.1-6.2l/100km CO2: 108-146g/km

Variants: 7-seat MPV Markets: Africa, Asia Fuel: 6.6l/100km CO2: 153g/km

*converted from Japanese JC08 test cycle

internationalfleetworld.com / 33

ROAD_IFW_Megane_Sept16 18/08/2016 19:14 Page 1

Renault Mégane The latest Mégane shows that Renault can take on the class leaders, reckons John Kendall.

SECTOR Lower Medium PRICE From €15,680 approx. FUEL 3.7–6.0l/100km CO2 96–134g/km

evolutions are comparatively rare in the C-segment.

There was the 1998 Ford Focus, which redefined design as well as ride and handling in the segment and that’s about it for the recent past. You can guarantee that any new model will be better than its predecessor, but most manufacturers play safe, not pushing design parameters too far, or delivering step changes in any particular area for fear of frightening core customers away.

So the arrival of a new Renault Mégane, the fourth model to appear in a run of 20 years, was not guaranteed to set pulses racing. There would be predictable engines – 1.5dCi and 1.6dCi diesel, with 1.2TCe turbo petrol engines at the core of the fleet friendly models – no more than we have already seen in the Kadjar and elsewhere in the Renault Nissan Alliance ranges. There’s a new sporty 205hp GT model, while there will also be a 48V micro-hybrid based on the 1.5 dCi 110 engine – a first in the sector, as well as a 165hp twin turbo 1.6-litre diesel, both due to make an appearance over the next few months.

In appearance, Renault seems to have followed the route the Renault Nissan Alliance’s CMF architecture, a similar set by the Kadjar last year and new Scénic, which was concept to the VW Group MQB architecture where common unveiled at the Geneva Show earlier this year, with simiparts positioning provides a fair degree of flexibility and lar, distinctive front end treatment. Otherwise economies of scale. Espace, Kadjar, and Talisthe Mégane comes with a fairly familiar fiveman also use the CMF architecture.

FLEET FACT door format. A fresh, stylish face for a car that It’s inside where more change becomes is longer and lower than its predecessor. The apparent. Mégane will be offered with Renault’s wheelbase is longer and the track wider front R-Link 2 connectivity system, coupled with New Mégane and rear. Renault claims it now has the widest either a 7-inch landscape or 8.7-inch portrait comes with a track in its class. touchscreen. According to Renault, this and its 5-star Euro Mégane models will be permanently illumicapabilities is a product of the CMF architecNCAP rating. nated front and rear, not just with front daytime ture. Renault’s Multisense system allows drivrunning lights; rear LED lamps will also be ers to choose different driving modes, still constantly lit. Higher spec models get LED headlights. Note relatively unusual for C-segment models and there is a wide too that the body shell is stiffer, window glass thicker and degree of customisation permitted as well as a tablet-style door seals more substantial. The latest Mégane is built using format for the touchscreens designed to be familiar to tablet and smartphone users. It doesn’t take long to learn how the different screens work. There is also a choice of instrument packs: analogue with lower specification models and digital for higher specification models. The digital pack appearance changes according to the drive mode selected, both in colour and layout, so you can choose what you like best.

Renault makes much of the seating - similar to that from the Talisman, providing more comfort particularly for front seat occupants. It certainly adds comfort for those spending a long time behind the wheel.

We focussed our driving on the dCi 110 diesel models in UK Dynamique Sport Nav spec and it doesn’t take long to appreciate that Renault has made some step changes with the new Mégane. The low noise levels from the engine would be impressive enough for a diesel that has been around for a while, but that is accompanied by very little wind or road noise. By any standards, it must be one of the quietest diesels in its class. It is very impressive. Mégane has a great deal to offer fleets.

R

34 / internationalfleetworld.com

ROAD_IFW_Megane_Sept16 18/08/2016 19:14 Page 2

what we think

highlights

The new MĂŠgane gives Renault a car that can challenge the market leaders. Both design and execution make this a must for fleet choice lists.

Very low wind, engine and road noise levels, particularly from 1.5 dCi 110 diesel.

1.5dCi diesel consumes 3.7l/100km, or 3.8l/100km with EDC dual clutch transmission.

Based on CMF architecture shared with Espace, Kadjar and Talisman.

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ROAD_IFW_Niro_Sept16 18/08/2016 19:18 Page 1

Kia Niro The new Kia Niro brings an impressive, competitive hybrid to the market, says John Kendall.

SECTOR Crossover PRICE From €24,990 approx. FUEL 3.8–4.5l/100km CO2 88–101g/km

round of anti-diesel sentiment has followed the Volkswagen emissions scandal, which broke in September last year. For anyone who has watched the diesel car market for a while, that may not be much of a surprise, but it is ironic given that diesel and petrol emissions post Euro6 are more or less equal and lower than they have ever been. Diesel may be the fuel of choice for many fleets, offering generally better fuel consumption than most hybrids over long distance running, but there are those who don’t like diesel and for drivers whose routes involve a fair bit of stop/start urban traffic, hybrid technology offers a good alternative.

The new Kia Niro is a good example. Unveiled at the Geneva Show in March, the compact crossover model shares a new platform with the Hyundai IONIq and it has been designed specifically as an electric vehicle platform.

First to market is the conventional parallel hybrid, due to be followed by a plug-in hybrid model in 2017. A battery electric variant is also scheduled for the future, although no launch date has yet been announced.

Sportage but offers slightly more headroom for front seat Toyota has driven the parallel hybrid market across the passengers. The boot space is acceptable and fairly typical world, with the Prius, marking its credentials out with for a compact crossover at 373 litres, extending to 1,371 distinctive, or, if you prefer, quirky design, to litres with the rear seats folded. Remove the optimise its aerodynamics although both the under floor tray and these figures increase to FLEET FACT Auris and Yaris hybrid models are conventional 421 litres and 1,425 litres respectively. looking cars. It would be difficult to pick the Niro There is just one powertrain option combinout from a crowd of similar compact crossovers, ing a 104hp variant of the Hyundai/Kia 1,580cc CO2 emissions as yet it comes with a low 0.29Cd drag coefficient, direct injection Kappa engine with a 43hp low as 88g/km ensuring that it's a slippery shape. Aluminium (32kW) electric motor. Either motor in combishould mean for panels such as the bonnet and tailgate, the nation or separately can drive the front wheels low taxes. use of high-strength steels and aluminium through a six-speed dual-clutch automated components do their bit to counter the weight transmission. The car’s on-board control of the battery pack, mounted beneath the rear seats. system will determine which motor operates when and also The 2,700mm wheelbase ensures there is legroom for handles battery re-charging with relevant information adults front and rear. The car is slightly smaller than the displayed in the instrument cluster. The Kappa engine has been especially calibrated for the hybrid powertrain, offering optimised operation. Wheel size dictates the CO2 emissions; either 88g/km (16-inch wheels) or 101g/km (18-inch wheels), both looking attractive for CO2-based tax regimes, although 88g/km is likely to yield more tax benefits.

The drivetrain is very impressive. Gear changes are almost imperceptible. By default the car will operate in Eco mode.

But it will also pull away briskly if you want, using both motors together. Drivers can also make manual gear changes if they want and again, shifts are very smooth. There is little noise from the engine too so refinement is good. Wind and road noise are apparent though, less so in the higher specification models we drove. Ride quality is good too, with the car absorbing most surface irregularities well. Generally, ride and handling are comparable with most crossover rivals.

There is very little apart from the instrument pack to suggest the car is a hybrid. We recorded an indicated 4.6l/100km on a mixed route of fast dual carriageway urban and country roads, a good result.

A

36 / internationalfleetworld.com

ROAD_IFW_Niro_Sept16 18/08/2016 19:18 Page 2

what we think

highlights Smooth DCT transmission offers seamless power delivery

Kia has served up an impressive hybrid crossover with the Niro. It offers spacious accommodation, a broad range of specification options and low CO2 emissions at a competitive price. It looks set for success.

16-inch wheels bring CO2 emissions of 88g/km with 3.8l/100km (EU combined) Dedicated electric vehicle platform shared with Hyundai IONIq. Plug-in and all-electric versions to come

internationalfleetworld.com / 37

ROAD_IFW_IONIQ_Sept16 18/08/2016 19:09 Page 1

Hyundai IONIQ The IONIQ has electromobility’s front-runners in its crosshair, says Alex Grant.

SECTOR Upper Medium PRICE €22,000–€34,000 FUEL 3.4–3.9l/100km* CO2 79–92g/km*

etrol, or diesel? It’s been a binary choice for most fleets until recently, but the growing choice of hybrid and plug-in models are adding shades of grey into that decision. With the IONIQ, Hyundai is offering an entirely different set of options.

There will be no conventional petrol or diesel version of this car. Instead, the range is launching with petrol hybrid and fully electric versions, to be joined by a plug-in hybrid next year. Aiming for 32g/km CO2 emissions, low tax is likely to make that third piece of the jigsaw the most popular. Think of this as a Korean rival for the Prius and LEAF, under one line-up.

The IONIQ occupies a similar footprint to the latest Prius and has a similar aerodynamic silhouette. It uses a lightweight platform re-engineered to accommodate the bulky parts of an electric drivetrain, with EV versions marked out by copper accents instead of blue for the hybrid, and a closed grille. These are variants, not different models.

But there are big differences underneath. The Hybrid is expected to be the bigger seller at launch, and it’s offered pushing the gear lever to the side – sharpens steering, in a choice of three trim levels, with the option to add throttle and gearchanges for bursts of acceleration. larger wheels to the top-spec version. There’s a compact The IONIQ Electric is a little less conventional to drive. It battery underneath the rear bench, charged uses a 120hp electric motor, supplied with using regenerative braking, which supplies energy from a 28kWh lithium-ion polymer FLEET FACT energy to a 43hp electric motor. In turn, the battery under the boot floor and rear bench. motor can power the wheels for short While that’s slightly less capacity than the distances and at low loads, or take some of the latest LEAF, the IONIQ is energy-efficient The EV’s copper work off the 1.6-litre petrol engine with which enough to return a claimed 174-mile range, accents are it shares a six-speed transmission. which puts it among the best in on the market, inspired by This works almost seamlessly. Torque from and DC rapid charging via the port under the electrical cable. the motor fills in for the normally unwilling fuel flap can restore 80% of the range in low-rev performance of the engine, particuaround half an hour. larly around town, and the dual-clutch gearbox means it’s It’s easy to get used to, despite dispensing with a not prone to droning like Toyota and Lexus hybrids while conventional gearstick in favour of a bank of buttons on accelerating to motorway speeds. Sport mode, available by the centre console. The motor delivers strong straight-line performance, even up to cruising speeds, and the lack of engine rumble doesn’t expose wind or road noise. Paddles behind the steering wheel mean drivers can vary regenerative braking power, it feels a little slowing through the gears of a conventional gearbox.

But there are compromises. Accommodating the large battery means the IONIQ Electric misses out on the Hybrid’s sophisticated multi-link rear axle, and it feels noticeably more unsettled on rough surfaces as a result. It also gets less boot space, the centre console is more plasticky, and prioritising aerodynamics means both versions of the IONIQ are tight on headroom.

All of which makes this a very tightly focused environmental choice, and that’s no bad thing. The IONIQ is a car for fleets and drivers with green credentials at the top of their priority lists and, once all three drivetrains are available, it’s got the potential to offer an eco-friendly alternative for most drivers’ needs. Shades of grey that are well worth considering.

38 / internationalfleetworld.com

* IONIQ Hybrid

P

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what we think highlights The ďŹ rst car to be available with hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric drivetrains Sat nav with TomTom live updates on all except entry-level hybrid 32g/km plug-in hybrid launching in 2017

Clever and genuinely effective technology, packaged in a car which is ruthlessly pursuing efficiency, the IONIQ should have no problems muscling in on cars like the Prius and LEAF. But the platform-shared Kia Niro crossover is a more versatile car which perhaps has wider appeal.

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fleet in figures

European truck cartel disbanded The EU Commission finds that the European Truck manufacturers operated a cartel for 14 years. Meanwhile, is the global car market slowing down? John Kendall looks at the numbers.

Costly mistake European truck manufacturers have been fined over €2.9m for colluding on pricing and compliance with stricter emissions regulations.

uropean truck manufacturers supply most of the vehicles used for road transport in Western Europe and all these companies operate globally. DAF is a wholly owned subsidiary of US PACCAR, which owns the North American truck brands Peterbilt and Kenworth. Daimler owns Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Freightliner and Western Star in North America, Fuso in Japan and Bharat Benz in India. The Volvo Truck Group includes Volvo

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Trucks, Renault Trucks, UD Trucks in Japan and Mack Trucks in the US. Iveco owns the Astra and Magirus specialist truck brands and is part of CNH, Case New Holland, effectively the heavy vehicles division of the Fiat Chrysler group.

MAN and Scania are part of the Volkswagen Group.

Fines total €2.9 million All these manufacturers have been under investigation in Europe for price

fixing and in July, the European Commission announced that fines totalling €2,926,499,000 had been imposed on Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF for breaking EU antitrust rules. MAN was not fined because it revealed the existence of the cartel to the European Commission, but the company had taken part in it. All the companies acknowledged their involvement and agreed to settle the case.

The European Commission found that

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the truck makers had colluded for 14 years between 1997 and 2011 on truck pricing and on passing on the costs of compliance with stricter emissions regulations. Speaking at the time the European Commission’s findings were published, the commissioner for competition, Margrethe Vestager, said: “We have today put down a marker by imposing record fines for a serious infringement. In all, there are over 30 million trucks on European roads, which account for around three quarters of inland transport of goods in Europe and play a vital role for the European economy. It is not acceptable that MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF, which together account for around nine out of every 10 medium and heavy trucks produced in Europe, were part of a cartel instead of competing with each other. For 14 years they colluded on the pricing and on passing on the costs for meeting environmental standards to customers. This is also a clear message to companies that cartels are not accepted.”

Since most manufacturers cooperated with the European Commission, they were granted reductions in their fines under the Commission’s Leniency and Settlement notices, with Volvo/Renault, Daimler and Iveco

receiving reductions of 50%, 40% and 20% respectively. Individually Volvo/Renault was fined €670,448,000, Daimler €1,008,766,000, Iveco €494,606,000 and DAF €752,679,000.

Scania investigation continues Scania is the other large truck maker in Europe and according to the Commission, “Proceedings were also opened with regard to Scania. Scania is not covered by this settlement decision and therefore the investigation will continue under the standard (non-settlement) cartel procedure for this company.”

The Commission’s investigations revealed that the manufacturers had engaged in a cartel relating to three specific areas: co-ordinating prices at ‘gross list’ level, effectively the ex-factory price of vehicles, the timing for the introduction of emissions control technologies and passing the cost of the emissions technologies to customers. The Commission is satisfied that there was no attempt at avoiding or manipulating compliance with emissions standards.

The infringements covered the entire European Economic Area. From 2004 onwards, the European Commission says that the cartel was organised via the manufacturers’ German subsidiaries, with information gener-

ally exchanged electronically.

With luck the settlement of this long running case will mean that ACEA once again identifies individual truck manufacturers in its registration data. This was suspended several years ago when the investigation was started. For now we must carry on with the broad outline that ACEA provides.

Data for the EU, covering the first six months of 2016 (H1) shows that overall commercial vehicle registrations rose by 13.5% in H1 2016 compared with H1 2015. Italy posted strong growth of 30.8%, with Spain recording 14.0% growth, France 12.7%, Germany with 10.4% and the UK with 3.6% compared with H1 2015. In total 1,170,263 CVs were registered in the EU in H1 2016, compared with 1,030,747 in H1 2015. Some 94% of these were light CVs, below 3,500kg gross vehicle weight (GVW).

Registrations for light CVs in H1 rose by 13.2% to 968,791. Italy posted the largest percentage increase amongst the larger markets with a 31.3% increase in registrations to 83,297. All markets posted increases in H1 apart from Greece and Latvia where registrations fell by -12.4% to 2,870 and by -15.1% to 1,021 respectively.

France remains the largest LCV market

Fiat 500X Fiat posted the biggest market share growth among the top 10 brands.

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with 215,135 registrations, followed by the UK with 191,966 and Germany with 126,260.

The picture is similar for both heavy CVs (more than 16 tonnes GVW) and medium and heavy CVs (over 3.5 tonnes GVW). Across the EU, heavy truck registrations in H1 rose by 17.6% to 147,012. Lithuania posted the largest percentage increase with registrations up 96.3% to 3,125. Germany leads the market with 34,111 registrations, a 9.7% increase over H1 2015. France is the second largest with 21,611 registrations (+18%) and the UK in third place with 16,941 (+8.4%) Registrations for medium and heavy CVs in the EU rose by 16.5% to 182,706 in H1 with all markets experiencing an increase except for Cyprus, a very small market where registrations fell by -12.0% to 22. Germany has a decisive lead with 47,603 registrations, up 8.7% compared with H1 2015, followed by France with 25,249 (+17.0%) and the UK with 23,121 (+10.1%).

US market slowing?

Is the long period of sales growth in the US coming to an end? Scotiabank’s Auto news Flash from 3 August suggests not, with vehicle sales climbing to the highest level in eight months in July. According to Scotiabank, sales reached an annualised 17.8m in July. Retail sales are leading the way, but with fleet sales actually running below July 2015.

But LMC Automotive is sounding a note of caution where the US is concerned. The organisation has revised its US auto sales forecast from 20162023 because it has seen the year on year sales growth, witnessed since 2009, starting to plateau. In addition, LMCA has factored in growing economic and

political risk, both in the US and globally.

LMCA’s forecast has been reduced by nearly 250,000 units each year from 2016-2023 with a larger reduction for 2016 and 2017. For 2016, LMCA has cut its US forecast by 300,000 units to 17.4m, down from 17.7m. That places the 2016 US market slightly lower than the total for 2015 (17.44m). Most of this reduction is reckoned to be in retail sales, reducing the forecast for retail light vehicle sales to 14.0m from 14.3m.

“Our latest forecast now reflects the reality that the growth track that the US market has been on since 2009 has stalled and appears to be levelling off, but it does not necessarily signal that further contractions or an automotive recession is imminent,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president forecasting at LMC Automotive.

“Volume and growth risks in the second half of 2016 are running higher, as monthly US market results will be compared to a very strong second half of 2015 and as the global economy grapples with the impact of the Brexit result and the unknown of the upcoming US election.”

We reported on the Frost and Sullivan Intelligent Mobility conference last month and on F&S’ forecast that some 7m cars globally could be removed from the road, per year by 2025 as the global population becomes more urbanised and people give up car ownership for car sharing. That’s in addition to 8.7m vehicles given up in urban areas by 2020 as residents opt for ride-sharing services.

Big Five July registrations down Are we starting to see those effects now? JATO reports that car sales in the European Big Five markets of France,

Ford Kuga

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Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK fell on average by -2% in July. In France the fall in July registrations reached -9.6% compared with July 2015. Volkswagen continues to lead the European market, but experienced a -13.9% reduction in registrations compared with July 2015.

In fact registrations in Italy, Spain and the UK rose by 3%, 4% and 0.1% respectively but the reductions in Germany and France brought the overall total down. Even so, all five markets are posting growth over the January to July period. Total July 2016 registrations reached 836,431 in the big five compared with 853,701 in July 2015.

Despite the reduction in VW registrations in the five markets, VW is still decisively the strongest brand, followed

by Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Audi and Renault. According to JATO, Fiat posted the biggest market share growth among the top 10 brands, with the new Fiat Tipo and the 500X partly responsible, while 500 sales fell back.

The market share for SUVs across the five markets continues to rise. JATO points out that in July, these models accounted for 25.8% of the market.

With models such as the updated Ford Kuga, new MInI Countryman and Dacia Duster unveiled over the next few months, continued growth is assured.

Golf on top The VW Golf continues to be the best selling car in the Big Five despite volume declining (-24.3% compared with July 2015). The new Opel/Vauxhall Astra saw registrations rise by 17% at the same time. The nissan Qashqai regained its status as the best-selling SUV in the Big Five in July, after being displaced for some months by the Renault Captur.

MINI Countryman

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