FLEETS will be the focus of a ground-breaking internet-based buying service being developed by BMW to be launched next year as part of a pan-European trial of online services.

The manufacturer has already held talks with fleets about their requirements and has briefed its dealer base with a promise that it expects a service to be launched in 2001.

Alan Waldie, BMW corporate operations manager, denied claims a new company car online ordering service was set to go live in January, but added: 'If you recognise the internet is going to be important to people, then you have to see what you can deliver.'

User-chooser fleets are set to be the main target for the system, likely to be called BMWdirect, part of a growing focus on the internet among manufacturers as the European Commission examines the future of block exemption. BMW is working on internet-based pilots throughout Europe, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.