THRIFTY Car Rental and Ford have signed a supply agreement that will see Thrifty take 4,500 new Ford vehicles in a deal worth £50 million at showroom prices - the largest Ford fleet deal Thrifty has signed. Ford has been the key supplier of vehicles to the Thrifty fleet for the last 10 years and the new deal means Ford vehicles will become 50% of Thrifty's planned 2001 acquisitions.

The rental company will take a range of Ford vehicles, including Focus, new Mondeo, Puma and Transit van. Thrifty Car Rental is also poised to increase its fleet base by 1,000 vehicles across its 75 UK locations by 15% this year. Thrifty holds a fleet of 6,000 vehicles but aims to increase its commercial vehicle fleet by 10% and boost its luxury vehicle fleet by 10% during the course of the year.