BUILDER'S merchant Jewson is switching its fleet from Ford to Vauxhall in a solus badge fleet deal worth more than £18 million at showroom prices.

Jewson will take on 600 new Vectras as part of the deal, the majority of them 2.0 litre DTi Vectra Elegance and Elite diesels, to be used by branch managers, sales representatives and back office staff.

The bulk of the remainder of the 1,500 vehicle fleet will be 2.0 DTi Astra Comfort and 1.7DTi Astra LS models, operated on a three year/75,000 miles replacement cycle.

A further 200 are executive cars for senior managers. All the vehicles are contract hired from Solihull-based Lombard Vehicle Management.

Jewson commercial manager Jo Wareham said his drivers have been very impressed with the new Vectra's handling capabilities.

'They have really rated the car's ride, drive and handling and I personally have been very impressed with it aesthetically both internally and externally,' he said.

'We opted for Vauxhall to supply all our work cars under a three year solus badge agreement because of the suitability of the vehicles for the purpose, and because of the excellent fit with all our job grades.'