Kia cars has appointed Andrew Sellars at its head of fleet and remarketing.
Sellars replaces Bob Austin who has left Kia.
Sellars’ key role will be to make the company a bigger player in the business car market, he will also manage the brands residuals.
Sellars has worked for Kia since 2003 as a regional business manager and was then area manager for the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Kia Sales Director Yaser Shabsogh said: “Andrew is the perfect individual for this role because he has such extensive experience of our dealer network. He has been with the Kia brand throughout the last five years and so has seen how our growth has been built on dramatically improving product quality and a closely focused retail strategy that is delivering sustainable and profitable growth for both the dealer network and the brand nationally.”
Simon McBride

Software giant Chevin Fleet Solutions has launched a new system designed to make managing your fleet of vehicles even easier. The software should help your fleet avoid parking ticket escalation charges.
It is a common occurrence for some employees to pick up several of these parking tickets a week. Now the fleet manager can stamp this out by introducing this new kit.
The new system is called PCNPAL and is designed with delivery drivers especially in mind, as they are more likely to get ticketed when dropping off and picking up goods.
The product is available as a stand-alone system or as a add-on for existing companies that already use Chevin Fleet Solutions.
According to the maker, PCNPAL will reduce administration and manage the procedure including appeal tracking, case numbers and hearing dates. It will also record the driver payment details and keeps an accurate record of the penalty codes to challenge validation criteria where appropriate.
A spokesman from Chevin said “Fleets are wasting large amounts of money by not paying tickets on time and being hit by the escalation charge, which normally doubles the cost of the offence.”
Simon McBride

With the recent Corporate Manslaughter Act it is very important for companies to take preventive action rather than wait and then react to a possible charge to be brought against you or your business.

We have compiled a ten to tick list.
1. You should check all drivers’ licences regularly with the DVLA (don’t just photocopy it)

2. Make sure your drivers are assessed (start with a simple assessment of accidents, then online testing, then driver training)

3. Monitor and record ‘incidents’; readily available fleet software can help with this

4. Act on information that is recorded

5. Keep your driver handbook updated

6. Become familiar with the Health and Safety documents

7. Give your vehicles a regular health check - lights, tyres, oil, screenwash levels and windscreen wipers should be inspected regularly

8. Don’t just include company cars in your checks, also check private cars that are used on work business

9. Ensure all health and safety process records, insurance documents, and driver and vehicle records are stored and accessible

10. Make sure journeys are necessary and sensibly planned

Simon McBride

If your business needs to outsource vehicle accident management then this new service, Total’s ‘Accident Management by Design’ concept may be what you’re after.
The Fleet 1-Call module covers fleets of any size and insurance programme the option to completely outsource its vehicle accident management needs, or choose one or more of the modules to complement an existing operation.
The system is spit up into four modules, with the remaining three including Fleet Indemnity, a specialist Credit Hire, Credit Repair and Personal Injury service for non-fault claims, Fleet Complete, a full accident management service best suited to larger fleets and fleets carrying self insurance or high excesses, and Tpro, a pro-active approach to controlling the cost of Third Party claims
Penny Stoolman, Sales & Marketing Director of Total said, “We became increasingly aware that professional accident management in the SME sector had fallen into a gaping hole! We have designed Fleet 1-Call to plug that gap so SME fleet customers and ECOS can benefit from first class customer care and reduced overall accident management costs normally seen by larger fleets.”
Full details of Total’s products & services are available on its website, www.totalaccman.co.uk.
Simon McBride

 Accidents are a hassle few fleet operators look forward to addressing but it’s an unavoidable part of running a profitable fleet service. Now however, some of the stress has been removed with the development of a new product that plugs the gap in the sector.

Total Accident Management has launched the Fleet 1-Call Service which offers a full claims management service to both small-medium enterprise (SME) fleets with one-20 vehicles and companies that run employment car ownership schemes (ECOS).

With the Fleet 1-Call service both ECOS and SMEs with fully comprehensive insurance or a low excess can benefit from a full and hassle free accident management service that incorporates the collection and repair of a vehicle, along with managing third party claims and providing a hire car.

“We became increasingly aware that professional accident management in the SME sector had fallen into a gaping hole,” said Penny Stoolman, sales & marketing director of Total Accident Management.

“We’ve designed Fleet 1-Call to plug that gap so SME fleet customers and ECOS can benefit from first class customer care and reduced overall accident management costs normally seen by larger fleets.”

The Fleet 1-Call Service is just one of the modules available from Total Accident Management. Others include Fleet Indemnity, which provides credit hire, credit repair and personal injury service for non-fault claims; Tpro, a way of controlling the cost of third party claims; and Fleet Complete, a full accident management service for large fleets.

For more information visit: totalaccman.co.uk.

 Worries over wasted fuel could soon be a concern of the past thanks to a new development from Merridale fuel management.

The company has developed a switching module for commercial diesel pumps that allows users to choose between a low flow rate for smaller vehicles such as estate cars, 4×4s and car-based vans; and a high flow rate for fuelling lorries.

The device could offer an ideal solution for fleet operators who own a mixture of vehicles - such as company cars and service vans.

It works by modulating the output of a standard high flow dispenser - which is typically around 90 litres per minute. It can be adapted for use with new pumps or it can be fitted to existing installations.

The development is the latest fuel management system brought to life by Merridale - a company that aims to offer solutions for any size of fleet whether they are large fleets with multiple depots or small operators. Sales and marketing director Stephen Hannan believes this device is a response to large demand in the fleet sector.

“Customers have asked us to provide this facility, to maximise their utilisation of in-house and depot fuelling facilities,” commented Mr Hannan.

“The main advantage of the switching module is to make self-serve fuelling easier, and less wasteful, for office staff and other personnel, using company cars and vans.”

For more information visit: merridale.co.uk.

 There’s a new ‘must-have’ in the fleet sector - with one in four UK fleets now utilising tracking systems within their vehicle operations.

The research, conducted by fleet solution provider DigiCore, has revealed that three quarters of those using the technology are reaping the rewards with the value gained. Payback on their investment has been achieved in numerous ways including increased productivity (54 per cent), reduced costs (44 per cent), lower overtime claims (13 per cent) and reduced fuel costs (12 per cent).

Eighty five per cent of those that had invested in the technology claimed to be satisfied with their current provider and stated that service levels are much more important than competitive pricing.

Take-up has been particularly large among commercial vehicles (30 per cent) and fleet operators with more than 100 vehicles (31 per cent).

However, there is still some way to go to break down negativity towards tracking devices despite the generally positive response by those currently using them. Of those not using vehicle tracking currently, only 48 per cent believed tracking could benefit their business while a mere 44 per cent believed it could offer a return on the investment.

DigiCore UK Ltd Managing Director Tom O’Connor said: “There is still much work to be done by solutions providers to enhance the image industry and develop systems that best meet the needs of the fleet sector.”

For the full results of the survey visit digicore.com.

Fleet management giant Trafficmaster has signed a deal to supply 300 Nottingham City Homes vans with its new tracking and telematics system – Fleet Director.
Fleet Director was launched last year and there are presently 300 customers using 1200 units in the UK, the majority commercial vehicle operators.
A third of this business is due to the alliance that Trafficmaster has formed with Citroen vans. Every new Citroen van is fitted with the technology, and it’s then up to the customer if they want to switch the service on.
Simon McBride

Fleets should not use the delay on fuel duty included in the Budget as an excuse to postpone action on petrol and diesel costs, warns cfc solutions.
The April 1 fuel duty rise previously announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling has been put back to October 1 in recognition of recent spiralling fuel costs – since the last 2007 Budget, petrol has risen in cost by around 17 pence per litre and diesel by 20 pence.
However, the fleet software market leader says that upward pressure on oil prices will see pump prices continue to rise during 2008, and that a structured approach to fuel management should be adopted by fleets who have not done so as soon as possible.
Alison Southcombe, marketing leader, said: “The delay in the two pence per litre duty rise gives fleets a little breathing space but the fact is that price rises seen in the last year dwarf the duty that has been delayed.
“While there is no evidence to suggest that we will see a further 20 pence per litre price rise repeated in 2008, two pence might not make that much difference. Instead, a structured fuel plan is needed.”
cfc has a standard five point plan to fuel management that it uses to introduce its fleet customers to the basics of fuel management.
Southcombe added: “There is a perception among many fleets that you just have to grin and bear rising fuel costs but, in fact, there is much that can be done to manage down the amount of fuel your vehicles use and the pump prices that you pay.”
1. Measure your fuel use

A large number of fleets simply don’t know how much fuel they use overall or per driver or per vehicle. You need to put a monitoring system in place. The easiest way to do this is to buy all petrol and diesel through specialist fuel cards. You can then access the information collected as paper or software generated reports that will give you an overall picture and highlight individual problems.

2. Formulate a fuel policy

Having a policy on fuel use is a signal to your organisation that you are taking the issue seriously. There are a number of areas to consider but even simple steps can produce good long term results - for example, don’t add cars to your fleet that do not meet a pre-agreed Government combined average fuel consumption figure.

3. Manage the issue

With the information provided by your fuel cards, you will be able to manage your fuel use proactively. Software is useful here. For example, you can set up what you believe to be acceptable bands of fuel consumption for different types of vehicle and ask the system to notify you when drivers or vehicles fall outside of these. You can also use your fuel card to closely manage fuel spend - for example, by specifying that drivers only use outlets that you consider to be price competitive, such as supermarkets.

4. Consider the green angle

One of the good things about taking a proactive stance on managing fuel use is that you will also be able to manage your carbon footprint more effectively. This can make the whole issue easier to deal with internally because you can stress the importance of corporate responsibility - for example, it may be easier to encourage drivers to share cars or take more care planning routes on environmental than cost grounds.

5. Cancel out fraud

Most fleet managers will tell you that rising fuel prices also tend to lead to higher levels of fraud among drivers. If you operate a fuel card system and link each card to a vehicle, then fraud is almost impossible. However, if you simply allow drivers to reclaim fuel from receipts submitted, it is all too easy for them to fill up their spouse’s car using company money once a month. The administrative burden of a pay-and-reclaim system means that it is unlikely they will ever be caught.
Southcombe added:”These are all relatively simple steps but they will help you to control fuel expenditure and also cut your carbon footprint. Like many areas of fleet management, it is all about taking a methodical approach and implementing measures thoroughly.”
www.cfcsolutions.co.uk

Fit TRACKER Reporter to each of your vehicles and you’ll have all the fleet information you need at your fingertips - all day, every day.

So far, TRACKER Reporter has helped thousands of customers realise cost saving benefits for their business.

You get vital information on your fleet from reports such as:

• Fleet Utilisation Reports - to plan and optimise your fleet activity
• Travel Cost Reports - to accurately analyse the profitability of each job
• Travel Reports - to verify timesheets and mileage claims
• Time Sheet Reports - to monitor and control staff costs and fleet usage

TRACKER Reporter gives you access to information that can help you run your fleet more efficiently and effectively.

For more information, visit www.TRACKERfleet.co.uk