Alfa Romeo "Test Me" campaign

Alfa Romeo’s latest television commercial, entitled ‘Test Me’, will be launched this month in a year-long marketing campaign focused on highlighting the reasons why people should buy or lease an Alfa Romeo car. Alfa Romeo recorded impressive UK sales figures in 2011 and wants to  build on this success with the new advertising campaign.

The marketing initiative  compares the MiTo and Giulietta against their closest competitors to emphasise why you could choose an Alfa Romeo instead of a BMW for example. There is also a dedicated website where you can find further information on the campaign at www.alfaromeo.co.uk/testme. 

Some of the comparisons where Alfa Romeo is offering head-to-head examples against BMW and Volkswagen are as follows:

• The Alfa Giulietta 1.4 TB MultiAir 170 bhp ALFA TCT (semi-automatic transmission) is currently the best-in-class for CO₂ emissions at just 121 g/km against the Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 160 DSG at 139 g/km for example.
• The Alfa MiTo 1.3 JTDM-2 85 bhp Sprint possesses fuel efficiency of up to 80.7 mpg on a combined cycle. The Mini One D achieves 74.3 mpg as a direct comparison model.
• The Alfa Giulietta, with a class leading Euro NCAP crash safety score of 106, is higher than the new  BMW 1 Series score of 103.
• All MiTo and Giulietta models offer 3 years complimentary servicing. This is available at an additional cost on VW Polo and Golf models.

Damien Dally, Head of Brand for Alfa Romeo UK comments: “Customers appreciate the stylish lines and sleek design of an Alfa Romeo, but due to preconceived misconceptions, some turn to our competitors, wrongly believing they offer a better proposition”.

He went on to say, “With the new ‘Test Me’ campaign, we can prove that Alfa Romeo offers customers significantly more than the likes of our key German competitors, together with Alfa’s passion, heritage and design flair inherent in every model.  We also boast class-leading economic credentials such as fuel efficiency and environmental considerations. Our customers are able to drive away in something extra special which possesses the perfect combination of style and substance”.

If you want to compare contract hire prices for Alfa Romeo, against the likes of Audi, BMW or Volkswagen, try our Vehicle Type Shopper and select those manufacturers. This quote engine will then display the monthly lease prices and you can see which models offer the best value for money, as well as CO2 and combined mpg.

BMW 1 Series

The new BMW 1-series has just been voted the “2012 Business Car of the Year”, after the readers of BusinessCar magazine and www.businesscar.co.uk chose it as the best product that meets the needs of a company and their drivers alike. 

BMW had a successful awards ceremony, with the German brand also collecting the Manufacturer of the Year prize, plus the Green Model of the Year for the ultra-efficient 320d ED model. There there were also sector wins for the BMW 3-series, BMW 7-series and BMW X5, as well as the BMW-owned Mini hatchback.

“BMW’s impressive and class-leading combination of desirability, efficiency and driving pleasure has again shown itself with this haul of awards, decided by the readers of BusinessCar, proving that the brand is at the forefront of the company car market,” said BusinessCar Editor Paul Barker. “Across the range there is a model for every level of employee, each one offering low tax bills, good running costs and the premium BMW badge. The people running these vehicles and giving them to their staff obviously appreciate the job BMW is doing.”

The BusinessCar Awards are awarded with votes entirely by the readers of the publication and their website, so therefore the BMW range was recognised by the very people that are likely to use the cars on a daily basis. We have the full range of BMW 1 Series models on BMW contract hire on the site now.

For the full list of winners see http://www.businesscar.co.uk/awards

BMW ActiveHybrid 5

BMW is taking the next-generation BMW ActiveHybrid technology, new four-cylinder petrol engines with BMW TwinPower Turbo and a six cylinder in-line diesel engine with BMW BluePerformance technology, to the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show in December.

The star of the BMW stand is the world premiere of the new BMW ActiveHybrid 5 (sedan) saloon which offers a six-cylinder in-line petrol engine coupled to an electric drive system, eight-speed automatic gearbox and a lithium-ion battery. The new BMW ActiveHybrid 5 also comes with a new intelligent energy management system that works in tandem with the navigation system, to prepare how the car performs and drives in advance of upcoming road conditions.

BMW 1 Series Sport Line

The next generation four-cylinder petrol engines will be on show in the new BMW 1 Series and BMW X1 xDrive20i, with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology on display in the new BMW 6 Series Coupe. The advanced diesel technology will be showcased in the BMW X5 xDrive35d with its BluePerformance diesel package and AdBlue system combining a sporty, commanding appearance with its powerful 3.0-litre six-cylinder in-line engine.

CLICK for the offer

Our Partners have just refreshed their pricing and having a look through the site we came across these BMW diesel car leasing offers. All the deals shown are based on 4 years, 10,000 miles per annum, non-maintained business car leasing on a three month initial rental followed by 47 payments. Other terms are available on request from our car leasing Partners. Just click on the Partner name below to get straight to the offer. BMW Corporate Finance also offer metallilc paint free of charge (terms and conditions apply) and you can also ask for other contract terms on request i.e. 3 years etc.

1. BMW 1 Series 116d ES 3-door hatchback from £219.04+VAT per month – BMW Corporate Finance
2. BMW 3 Series 316d ES 4-door saloon manual from £286.61+VAT per month - BMW Corporate Finance
3. BMW 3 Series 320d EfficientDynamics saloon manual from £295.10+VAT per month – BMW Corporate Finance
4. BMW 3 Series 318d ES 5-door Touring from £308.36+VAT per month – BMW Corporate Finance
5. BMW 5 Series 520d SE 4-door Step Auto from £378.00+VAT per month – BMW Corporate Finance

CLICK for details of the offer

The BMW 1 Series 116i (2.0-litre) ES 3-door hatchback oozes quality and you could be driving this car from only £75 a week, including all routine servicing, mechanical repair, tyres, batteries, exhausts plus the Vehice Excise Duty, all in.

This BMW personal car leasing offer is based on a four-year term, 10,000 miles per annum, 3 rentals in advance followed by 47 subsequent rentals at £298.73 per month, including the VAT. The BMW 1 Series 116i (2.0-litre) ES 3-door hatchback returns 46.3 combined mpg and emits 143g/km of CO2 making it kind on the pocket too.

BMW 5 Series Saloon

BMW has had seven awards given to them by BusinessCar, on the of the UK’s fleet news publications, mainly due to its EfficientDynamics programme. They picked up “Manufacturer of the Year”,”Environmental Award of the Year” plus five other product specific awards as follows.

1. MINI was awarded “Supermini of the Year”.
2. The three and five door BMW 1 Series models won “Lower Medium Car of the Year”.
3. The BMW 3 Series Saloon and Touring models took the “Medium Car of the Year”.
4. The BMW 5 Series Saloon and Touring was jointly honoured with “Executive Car of the Year”.
5. Finally the BMW X5 picked up “Large 4×4 of the Year”.

Sean Green, Sales Director of BMW UK, said:”The corporate customer is an extremely important one for BMW which is why it’s fantastic to be honoured by BusinessCar in so many categories. But with 166 BMW and MINI models emitting 160g/km of CO2 or less it is hard not to see why our products are so popular”.

BMW availability

The following list will provide you an update on BMW car availability, courtesy of Inchcape Retail, one of the UK’s largest dealership groups. If you are looking for a new BMW then you may find you have to wait quite a few weeks before your new car arrives, unless you are flexible on your vehicle specification, so it is always best to order early and specify your future delivery date.

BMW stock availability and factory order lead times

BMW 1 Series Convertible and Coupe – low stock with 10 weeks factory order.

BMW 1 Series Hatchback, 3 Series Saloon, 3  Series Coupe, 3 Series Convertible , 3 Series Touring and all 5 Series – low stock availability with an 8 week factory order lead time.

BMW 6 Series- average stock and 8 weeks factory order.

BMW 7 Series- high stock and 10 weeks factory order.

BMW X1 – low stock and 12 weeks factory order.

BMW X3 - high stock and 8 weeks factory order.

BMW X5 – high stock and 12 weeks factory order.

BMW X6 and BMW Z4 – high stock and 10 weeks factory order.

CLICK TO QUOTE

BMW car leasing offer for a 1 Series 118d ES Coupe 2-door from £259.78+VAT per month (3+35 payments). Combined mpg is 62.8 and CO2 emissions are only 199g/km.

The BMW car leasing terms are based on the following;

- Non-maintained business contract hire over three years at 10,000 miles per annum.

- Three rentals in advance followed by 35 subsequent rentals. (38 payments in total)

- “With maintenance”, metallic paint and other vehicle options can be added at an extra cost.

- The image shown may not represent the exact model.

BMW 116i

The least expensive BMW offered on Comparecontracthire.com, following the latest pricing downloads, is the BMW 1 Series 116i 2.0-litre three door hatchback.

This car offers a combined mpg of 46.3, a CO2 figure of only 143g/km and has a manufacturer list price of £15,555. And for only £1 more per month plus VAT you can step up to the five door version, that lists at £16,080.

Using the £ Shopper price guide is great way to find a bargain. Just select Car, then BMW, then your price range, then business contract hire and finally press the proceed button to see all the results.

You will be surprised at cars that actually cost more to buy, may cost less when contract hiring. On the  example above, the difference between the manufacturer list price is £525 but the rental difference for the more expensive BMW is only £1 a month more, (i.e. £38 paid over the contract life).

The terms are as follows; 

- Non maintained business contract hire car leasing.

- Three year contract at 10,000 miles per annum.

- Rental terms are three in advance followed by 35 subsequent rentals (38 in total)

- Metallic paint will be an extra cost.

Don’t forget that if you are a normal VAT registered business, only 50% of the VAT that is added to the rental can be recovered. If you are a sole trader and do not pay VAT then you should add the full VAT to the rental above as this is what you will pay.

The SMMT has reported that new car registrations were up 11.4% in September to 367,929 units sold. The car scrappage scheme has continued to supply a stimulus to this growth and in particular registrations from private buyers and of small cars rose strongly.

The average car CO2 emissions continues to fall with a 4.9% reduction of the year to date position, to 150.2g/km.

SMMT chief executive, Paul Everitt said,”New car registrations rose for the third time in a row in September. Market conditions remain challenging with demand being underpinned by the extremely successful scrappage incentive scheme. The extension of the scheme will help to sustain demand through the latter part of this year and into 2010″.

Top ten best sellers in September

1) Fiesta – 22,635

2) Corsa – 16,379

3) Focus – 13,622

4) Astra – 13,190,

5) Golf – 11,787

6) Peugeot 207 -9,161

7) MINI – 8,634

 8) BMW 3 Series – 7,465

9) Yaris – 6,896

10) BMW 1 Series – 6,671