MG Rover has dramatically scrapped proposals to increase the size of its fleet team just weeks after announcing an expansion plan. Instead, it has slashed the department by half as part of a plan to cut £100 million from costs.

Instead of a planned fleet team of 32 and rising, the firm will now operate with a staff of just 14.

Last week, Rover’s new fleet chief Kevin Brown insisted the company was ‘totally committed’ to fleet, with more than £1 million invested in salaries alone (Fleet NewsNet, January 27).

A spokesman at MG Rover said the original plan had been to increase the size of the fleet department, but as part of a restructuring programme, the number of staff available to Brown was much less than first planned.

The spokesman added: ‘He had hoped to have a fleet department of at least 28 people but that has been pulled back. He does not have the full number of people expected, but the importance of the fleet market remains strong.’