Fleets leasing company cars and vans from customers of Fleet Assist can benefit from a special AdBlue tank top-up offer negotiated with Halfords Autocentres.

The new generation of low emission diesel vehicles increasingly coming to market are invariably equipped with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology that requires diesel exhaust fluid - often known by the German brand name AdBlue - to be continuously sprayed into the exhaust gas, upstream of the catalytic converter to assist in the break down of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Research undertaken by Fleet Assist highlights a wide discrepancy in the price of AdBlue sold by franchise dealers as well as at some retail outlets and service stations across the UK.

Now customers of Fleet Assist can obtain a top-up of up to 10 litres of AdBlue for £9.99 including VAT from Halfords Autocentres, a £10 discount on the retail price.

Mark Davies, network development manager at Fleet Assist, said: “Almost every contract hire and leasing company treats AdBlue as a consumable so the cost is excluded from fleet maintenance agreements.

“Therefore, fleets have to pay for AdBlue and we have uncovered examples of drivers being charged almost £200 by franchise dealers for a top-up inclusive of labour charges.”

He continued: “The special offer Fleet Assist has negotiated with Halfords Autocentres is extremely competitive. It enables our contract hire and leasing company customers to direct drivers to use Halfords Autocentres for AdBlue top-ups thus avoiding the risk of incurring excessive charges from other alternative sources.”

Fleet Assist delivers a wide range of services to contract hire and leasing companies, including, managing service, maintenance and repair work through a nationwide network of more than 5,000 franchise and independent garage locations. However, with the advent of AdBlue in passenger cars being a fairly recent addition, many independent garages do not yet stock the fluid.

Samantha Harrison, head of fleet, Halfords Autocentres, said: “We are very pleased to be able to offer a nationwide offering for Fleet Assist and all respective drivers, it’s an example of the valuable partnerships we are keen on building within the fleet industry in the future.”

To benefit from the offer, company car and van drivers should access the Halfords Autocentres website - www.halfords.com - and in a six-stage process:

• Type AdBlue into the search box and press enter
• Type in their postcode and select the most convenient Halfords Autocentre to use
• Key in their vehicle registration number and press confirm
• Scroll down to ‘AdBlue Top-up’ and press select
• Type the special promotional code into the appropriate box, which will discount the fluid to the specially negotiated price of £9.99. The special price only applies if using the website and the promotional code
• Then confirm the booking at the Halfords Autocentre location of choice and pay.

Halfords Autocentres operates an expanding network of more than 300 sites across the UK delivering car service, repair and MoTs to both fleet and retail customers. On arriving at the location of choice staff will be on hand to undertake the top-up if assistance is required.

Fleet Assist delivers a wide range of services to the UK’s major contract hire and leasing companies collectively operating more than 790,000 vehicles.