PeugeotCompare

Peugeot has just launched their new PeugeotCompare website which helps business customers choose their next company car or van, by providing key facts and figures about Peugeot models, plus that of the nearest competitor in each vehicle range. You can prioritise key elements that may affect your choice for example the P11D cost of the vehicle, Company Car Tax, CO2 and MPG.

Phil Robson, Director, Fleet Sales, Peugeot UK, said,”At a time when we and our competitors offer our customers such a wide choice of models, I think it is important they get to evaluate the merits of our products in a way that suits them, and the “PeugeotCompare” website brings an ease of use solution to an otherwise complicated dilemma”.

Once you have chosen your next car or van don’t forget your vehicle leasing requirements (on all makes and models) can be found back on Comparecontracthire.com.

Vauxhall Vivaro

Vauxhall has announced that the production location for the new Vivaro, which is scheduled for a 2013 production, will be from their plant at Luton,which is great news for their UK workforce.

Vauxhall (Opel) and Renault will also continue with their collaboration of producing vehicles in the Light Commercial Vehicle Segment (LCV), which has been ongoing since 1996. Renault confirmed that the Renault Trafic model will continue to be produced at their plant in Sandouville, plus the H2 (high roof) version of the Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro as well. Vehicle leasing prices on all Vauxhall and Renault commercial vehicles are on the site now.

Hyundai i10 Blue

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered his second Budget yesterday and said his intention was not to create further pain, on measures that had already been announced. However there are some changes that will affect UK company car drivers at small fleets.

Here are the headlines affecting company car drivers and small fleets;

• There are no further increases in fuel duty until January 2012.
• Fuel duty was cut by one pence per litre from 6.00 PM last night.
• There will be an increase in the fuel benefit charge from the 6th April 2011.
• A rise in Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) comes into place from the 6th April.
• Vehicle Excise Duty on cars and vans to increase by the rate of inflation.
• £100 million is being made available to repair the potholes on UK roads.

The above changes make it even more important when choosing your next vehicle, to select a car or van, that has a low CO2, high combined mpg and low running costs, to ensure your business saves money in the long run.

The Vehicle Leasing Body Type shopper allows you to do just that. Just select the body style you are looking for i.e. “hatchback”, tick “all manufacturers”, select the combined MPG range you want to look at (i.e. “60mpg -Upwards” for example), then select the CO2 range you want to look at (0g/km to 100g/km of CO2 for example) and finally click business contract hire to see the results. There are currently 104 hatchbacks that fit the search criteria. You can also add “with maintenance” to your lease rental once you get a set of results.

If you are wondering what your taxable benefit will look like after all the changes, then visit www.comcar.co.uk where you can perform a calculation.

Sub 100 g/km cars

CAP provides us with the latest information on all new and current cars and if you are looking for the lowest CO2 car on the market, then try the Leasing by Vehicle Type Shopper.  Just choose your body style, for example hatchback, then choose which manufacturers you like (or all), select your CO2 range less than 100g/km, then click the business contract hire button to see your results.

All results can be easily modified to suit your own terms . If you want further details or other prices just fill out the Contact Form and the relevant finance partner will be in touch.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has reported that the European Parliament has officially voted to set short term and longer term CO2 targets for Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs). The LCV legislation is set to mirror the New Car CO2 regulation. Each manufacturer will have their own overall European fleet average CO2 target, based on the weight of each new LCV it registers in the EU in a given year.

Short term the target is proposed at 175g/km of CO2 and 147g/km for the longer term. Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, said,”Industry is pleased that the European Parliament has come to a decision on CO2 emission targets for LCVs as vehicle manufacturers are committed to lowering emissions as part of ongoing introductions 0f low, lower and ultra-low carbon vehicles”.

Key points from the ruling released by the SMMT are below.

Initial target and phase-in – 2014 to 2017: 175g/km CO₂ (phased in with 70%, 75% and 80% of each manufacturers’ fleet complying in 2014-16 respectively and 100% from 2017 onwards).

• Long-term target – 2020: 147g/km, to be confirmed in a review in 2013.
• Derogation: independent manufacturers registering less than 22,000 vehicles per year (in the EU) can apply to the Commission for an individual target that is consistent with its economic and technological potential for CO₂ reduction and the characteristics of the vehicles’ market segment. Mirroring the cars regulation.
• Super credits: as an incentive for selling low carbon LCVs (₂. They can be counted 3.5 times in 2014 and 2015, then 2.5 (2016), 1.5 (2017) and 1.0 in 2018. There will be a cap on super credits at 25,000 vehicles per manufacturer over the super credits period to 2018.
• Eco-innovations: certain innovative technologies deliver a real-world CO₂ benefit, but this is not reflected in the CO₂ result from the type approval test. Manufacturers can be granted a credit if they equip vehicles with innovative technologies. The credit will be based on independently verified data and depends on how many vehicles the technologies are applied to. The credit is limited to a maximum of 7g/km on average for each manufacturer’s fleet.
• Multi-stage vehicles: manufacturers of incomplete vehicles will take responsibility for meeting the CO₂target for the base vehicle. The Commission will make a proposal by the end of 2011.

Finding a van with a low CO2 emissions output can be a time consuming search so why not try our Vehicle Type Leasing Shopper, select vans, tick all manufacturers, choose how much you want to spend per month, set your CO2 rating, then search for business contract hire leasing results. For example,  for vans with a CO2 less than 160g/km, under £250+VAT per month, on a three year contact, there are 94 results. You can amend your results to four years and a higher mileage if required.

The new tax changes that come into play in April, may push many company car drivers into the 40% tax bracket, according to CAP, the car price experts. This problem could cost an affected company car drivers with 3 children around £2,500 a year.

From April, the 40% tax threshold falls from £37,500 to £35,000 and this should increase the number of higher rate tax payers as a result. However many fleet drivers may not have considered the BIK (Benefit-in-Kind) changes in rates for cars emitting more than 120g of CO2 per kilometre or less.

In 2012/13, when the Benefit in Kind CO2 thresholds are reduced from 120g/km to 100g/km, this will increase the taxable benefit of many cars that were originally chosen because they currently enjoy a preferentially low tax rate.

CAP’s Mark Norman said,”Although the increase in higher rate taxpayers in relation to company car taxation has been widely reported the real financial impact story is the loss of Child Benefit for many. Unless there are changes in future budgets, it means that even when somebody crosses into the 40% threshold by just £1 they will lose £20.30 per week for the first child and £13.40 for each subsequent child.

He went onto say,”It will have a devastating financial impact on many drivers who will have no opportunity to change their car in time. And the lack of information on the basis of BIK rates from 2013 means it is impossible for anybody to order a new company car today which will help them to avoid the issue”.

Choosing your next company car by the lowest CO2 emissions is one way to ensure you pay less tax and the Vehicle Type Leasing Shopper makes this process really easy for you. Just choose the body type of car you are looking for, your preferred manufacturers, your budget range and then select the CO2 range you are interested in. This will display all cars that fit this criteria.

Fuel prices rising

A new survey conducted by RoadPilot, the GPS speed camera application for smartphones, has found that 46 per cent of motorists have reduced their average speed in the past 12 months, with fuel costs listed as the main reason.

This was ahead of speed cameras and congestion and it demonstrates how UK drivers are monitoring their fuel consumption more closely than ever.

The number of motorists who have reduced their average speed due to fuel prices was 33 per cent, 22 per cent cited greater “road congestion” and just 13 per cent  said “traffic enforcement” was the main reason.

The study also found that 40 per cent of motorists are monitoring their vehicle’s fuel consumption more closely than they did a year ago. In addition, 86 per cent of motorists said fuel efficiency and emissions were “quite or very important” when buying a car.

James Flynn, CEO of RoadPilot said,”The cost of filling up seems to be a more effective deterrent to speeding for most drivers than the possible risk of incurring a speeding fine. It appears that motorists are putting their own driving driving techniques under greater scrutiny than ever before, and as a result their average speeds have started to come down, which can only benefit road safety.

Choosing your next car (or van) by its fuel efficiency can be a laborious process if you are looking at several models and that’s one of the reasons why the Vehicle Type Shopper on the site is so useful. Just select the manufacturers you are interested in (or all) and then set what combined mpg and what CO2 emissions you want from your next vehicle and see the results. You can also see the monthly vehicle leasing rental for each vehicle as well.

Skoda GreenLine technology

Skoda Auto is unveiling their second-generation GreenLine models at the 2010 Paris International Motor Show with the Yeti crossover and Superb Estate enjoying world premiere’s of the new technology. The new second generation Skoda GreenLine models now offer a start-stop system and braking energy recuperation.

The updates to the Skoda range have significantly increased fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions, with the Fabia GreenLine and Fabia Estate GreenLine offering a remarkable 83.1 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of just 89g/km. The Roomster, their compact MPV, has a fuel consumption of 67.3 combined mpg, with CO2 emissions at 109g/km, which is among the best in its class.

The Skoda Octavia is available in both hatchback and estate, with the hatchback returning 74.3 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of 99g/km while the estate offers 67.3 combined mpg and CO2 emissions at 109g/km. The Yeti GreenLine remains a very agile car so performance is not compromised, yet still returns 61.4 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of 119g/km. The Skoda Superb GreenLine option in the saloon and the estate both have a combined mpg of 64.2 and CO2 emissions of 114g/km. Skoda now offers GreenLine options across eight versions of their model range and Skoda vehicle leasing prices on the new models should be on the site shortly.

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has called on the HMRC to make VAT recovery on leased cars more fairer, as currently the numbers of businesses recovering the appropriate VAT is too low. Businesses that lease cars are currently only allowed to recover 50% of the VAT portion relating to the finance element of their rental payments and this assumes a level of private use of the vehicle. On contract hire the true cost to a business is sometimes called the “Effective Rental“, so be aware that if you are VAT registered, you will not be able to recover all of the VAT, that is added to a monthly lease rental.

The BVRLA has written to HMRC asking them to change the 50% VAT recovery rate as they have calculated (on data from over 120,000 drivers covering nearly 2.5 million miles) that the business mileage usage (excluding commuting) is around 70% and that personal mileage usage is around 30%. VAT will also rise to 20% from January 1st 2010 and this issue is likely to be exacerbated.

John Lewis, chief executive of the BVRLA said,”There is nothing we can do to prevent VAT rising to 20% in January, but we will do our utmost to ensure that leasing customers are treated fairly when it comes to paying it. ” HMRC has chosen to ignore the very robust data we provided in favour of a much smaller sample of 418 drivers based on an anecdotal survey conducted by the Department of Transport, which conveniently backs its own position”.

Auto Windscreens

Auto Windscreens, the UK’s automotive glass repair company, has found that the introduction of tints, heating, solar reflection and GPS technology into the windscreens of modern cars, has led to windscreen replacement costs increasing. The research has shown that costs have increased as much as 68% in only 10 years and larger windscreens are more susceptible to stone chips as well.

For example the windscreen of a Citroen C4 Picasso has 20% more glass than the old model, a Volkswagen Golf has 68% more glass, a Ford Mondeo 59% and a BMW 5 Series by 50%.

Glass replacement is not usually covered under a maintained vehicle leasing contract and therefore this cost has got to be borne by you, the Company. Many insurance policies cover glass replacement  but the knock-on effect is that car insurance premiums may increase as a result. In fact the findings have shown that the price of car insurance has risen by 4.3% during the first quarter of 2010.

Auto Windscreens recommends that drivers should look after their windscreens by following a few simple action points:

1. Make sure you get any chips repaired as soon as possible before they crack.
2. It is best to replace wiper blades every six months, to avoid the blades scratching the windscreen. If you lease your car on a maintenance contract however, you have to get the leasing company to approve this, otherwise you will have to pay yourself.
3. Top up your liquid windscreen washer bottle using screen wash (and not washing up liquid). Washing up liquid could damage your windscreen and leave a film across the glass.
4. Always use a proper ice scraper and not anything else i.e. a credit card, as you can damage your windscreen.
5. Finally, never pour boiling water onto an icy screen as it could crack.