SOUTHERN Midlands-based estate agents chain Connells is switching the bulk of its fleet from Vauxhall Corsas to Astras in a move to improve staff benefits and retain key staff.

It operates a fleet of 360 vehicles across its chain of 150 estate agents on a Vauxhall single badge policy, the majority of them being Corsas which are supplied to sales staff, while office managers receive Vectras.

The company has decided to switch from Corsas to 1.6-litre five-door Astra Envoys for sales personnel in a move that signals a major investment in recruiting and retaining its key staff. It also offers employees a cash-for-car scheme.

The first batch of 60 models for the contract have just been delivered.

Connells chief executive Stephen Shipperley said: 'Over recent years we have found that an increasing proportion of our sales staff are older and many have families. Therefore upgrading from Corsas to Astras was a practical consideration.

'In addition, while the Corsa is a good car in its own right, all the additional features of the Astra make it a really class car. While we never consider cars themselves as an investment, we see this expenditure as an investment in our staff.'