SMR - Page 14

Six in 10 (61%) drivers would choose to have their car serviced at an independent garage instead of a franchise dealer if the price was identical.

The new ‘driver portal’ launched today by Agnew Corporate designed to assist customers on the road.

By Kyle Pennell content manager at PowerScout

CD Salvage Auction has seen a record number of vehicles sold in January, marking the best sales month in 20 years.

Thirteen has slashed its fleet acquisition and operating costs by 30% - amounting to around £200,000 a year - as a result of working with Venson.

Digraph has announced the opening of 16 new branches in six months in an “industry shake up”.

Arval has announced a range of new offers for fleet decision-makers and their employees after reporting record-breaking growth in its global risk fleet.

Vehicle tracking solution Trakm8 Prime has expanded its offering to include the company’s RoadHawk dashcams.

It has teamed up with garages to provide 10% off service, maintenance and repair bills, including glass and tyres, when using the hybrid Allstar Plus Visa card.

Highway Care and Aftercare Response partnership offers customers extended three-year warranty.

Systems that mitigate driver errors and prevent accidents are now available on almost seven in 10 new cars, according to the SMMT and JATO Dynamics.

Fleets could be faced with having to use significantly smaller dealer networks in the future after UK automotive executives said they expect almost half of all car dealerships will disappear in less than a decade.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has decided to maintain the first MoT at three years, rather than four years, due to safety concerns.

The Ford Focus (2004-08) was the most serviced model in the UK in 2017, according to automotive technical information provider Autodata.

Epyx has announced the release of a new reporting platform designed to give garages an enhanced insight into their business.

Kia Motors (UK) has undertaken an extensive new study, interviewing 150 fleet managers nationwide for its 2017 Fleet Market Attitudes report.

Aftercare Response is pursuing an ambitious growth strategy which envisages a doubling of turnover in five years.

Auto Windscreens has announced they will be adopting CitNOW technology to enhance and aid transparency with their insurance partners.

APD Global Research has launched a ‘live’ tracker on business driver satisfaction which includes franchise dealers and independent service networks.

Fleet Solutions has “responded to the needs of its customers” by opening a HGV garage in the city of Cardiff.

Star, a healthcare outsourcing company, has appointed Selsia to centrally manage its accident and bodywork repairs for its fleet.

Colin Woodcock, a Scania escalation technician for TruckEast, has been awarded the golden spanner award in recognition of his achievements over the last year.

Fleet Assist has won an extension to its contract with SGFleet, which is an expansion of the arrangement previously enjoyed by the company’s long-time customer Fleet Hire.

Autoglass's specialist glazing team has signed a three-year national agreement with TCR UK, the UK's leading provider of ground support equipment, covering all major airports across the UK.

Car brands are expected to put more focus on customer service from 2018 now that the UK’s new car market evidently passed its peak in 2016. This year the total market is in decline and fleet registrations had dropped by almost 23,000 units (2.1%) by the end of September.

Fleet operators are paying less in excess mileage charges on their leased company cars in 2017, although the amount charged for vans has risen.

Damage recharges for defleeted contract hire vehicles reached record levels in 2017, with a higher percentage of cars incurring charges compared with last year.

Epyx says that businesses collecting connected car service and maintenance data often have no means of processing it effectively

Kwik Fit has been named Fleet Service Provider of the Year by Lex Autolease, the UK’s biggest vehicle management and fleet leasing company.

Venson Automotive Solutions has released its top tips for motorists to get cars winter ready.

Software will compare priorities with actual policy and highlight the gaps.

A new tender to supply service and maintenance technology to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) has been won by Epyx.

New consultancy service aims to deliver a more in-depth level of support and advice to the company’s 600-plus customers.

Volkswagen Financial Services Fleet has joined with Škoda to launch SME Direct for businesses running fewer than 20 cars on their fleet.

The finding is taken from transactions through the company’s 1link Service Network e-commerce platform.

A record number of firms are dissatisfied with the state of infrastructure in their region, according to the 2017 CBI/AECOM Infrastructure Survey

Breeze Van Centres in Southampton and Portsmouth have unveiled a new Mobile Service Clinic van for their customers across Hampshire.

Autoglass has unveiled a series of new technologies designed to improve its vehicle glass repair and replacement service for fleets, drivers and insurers.

New website provides an overview of the products and services available to commercial vehicle operators.

MotorEasy has launched a warranty product with a plugin diagnostics tool, which “heralds new era of maintenance and repair”.