VOLVO'S revitalised image and the backing of parent company Ford is helping it to win more and more new fleet business while other manufacturers' sales are stagnating. The introduction of the S80 executive challenger and the growing popularity of the S and V40 ranges has spearheaded Volvo's fleet business this year.

Help from Ford in the executive market, following the demise of the Scorpio, has seen Volvo following up new leads in the segment for the S80. The company has recorded a 21.9% year-on-year growth in the fleet market for the first nine months of 1999, set against a drop of 3.4% in the market as a whole. So far this year, Volvo has sold 12,111 vehicles in fleet, compared to 9,700 last year. In September the company sold 3,113 cars to fleets - an all-time monthly high.

This year has also seen Volvo record one of the top three fleet deals it has ever signed with a £14 million contract to supply 450 S80s over the next 14 months to Virgin Atlantic Airways for its upper class passenger chauffeur service. Corporate sales manager, Alistair Murray, said: 'We are thrilled with our fleet performance this year and are on track to achieve our highest yet annual fleet sales figure of 15,500. We have been working hard to position the S and V40 range in the market as credible company cars and having the S80 is helping us in the executive market.

'People's view of Volvo had got locked in time but our styling now is making our cars more desirable, which is important in the company car market as people have got a wider choice these days. Being part of the Ford family is helping us to win new business, as it is giving us leads in the market for the S80 because Ford no longer produces the Scorpio.'