SWEDISH furnishing giant IKEA is now offering its company drivers the choice of two manufacturers.

SUBARU is offering drivers two packages that make driving an Impreza both faster and cheaper.

VOLKSWAGEN Fleet Services has joined forces with accountants Deloitte & Touche to produce the 2003 edition of 'Tax and the Business Car'.

PRACTICAL Car and Van Rental has opened 10 new franchises. The new locations include two at airports, Manchester and Liverpool, and one at a classic car specialist in West Yorkshire that attracts customers from around the world.

GWR Vehicle Hire, part of van rental company Northgate, is contributing £500 worth of equipment to Stratton Crosslink Football Club (previously called Raychem).

GREEN at the gills company car drivers can take solace in fresh advice from the RAC Foundation on how to avoid car sickness.

A COMBINATION of poor design and incorrect positioning of head restraints is causing thousands of avoidable whiplash injuries to fleet drivers every year, a new report has discovered.

THE new seven-seat XC90 sports utility vehicle will be one of the most company car tax-friendly 'soft roaders' on the market, Volvo claims.

HERETICAL thoughts are starting to circulate among the UK's mainstream fleet manufacturers that the days of the D-sector upper-medium car may be numbered.

A SURGE in registrations from the fleet market made September a record-breaking month for sales and has prompted the industry to revise its forecasts for the year upwards to an all-time record of 2.5-million units.

COMMERCIAL vehicle suppliers would have been hard-pressed to beat last year's surge in sales during September, so a drop in sales last month was no surprise.

A TOP-10 list of strategies for fleet decision-makers has identified key areas where businesses can save money on their communication costs.

FLEET drivers could be risking serious injury because some hands-free kits fail to comply with European safety standards.

A NEW invention to protect hi-tech equipment against water is being targeted at fleets.

A NEW report has predicted that more than 60% of vehicles sold to fleets will be fitted with telematics hardware by 2005.

A NEW web-based job management system has been launched for small courier and transport companies.

A DIRECTIVE on motor insurance from Europe is helping to push up the sales of fleet software in the UK.

IN a modern day version of the tortoise and the hare, Fleet News' managing editor John Maslen in a satellite navigation-equipped MINI Cooper takes on a Ferrari 550 Maranello equipped with a road atlas in a cross country race.

The latest appointments in the fleet industry.

THE German new car market is continuing to improve, a new study into European car sales shows.

INTERNATIONAL automotive data and residual value specialist EurotaxGlass's has acquired a Netherlands-based data company as part of its ambitious growth plans.

THE European Commission is investigating German plans to grant almost 52 million Euros in regional aid for a proposed DaimlerChrysler plant in Berlin, Germany.

CONCENTRATING on the premium segments of the markets has paid dividends for German manufacturer BMW, says its designated chairman of the board of management.

TOYOTA has acquired complete ownership of its sales and servicing activities in Spain.

AUCTION firms are investing millions of pounds in expansion in a battle for business that is improving choice and service levels for fleets.

LOMBARD and BCA recently staged a 400-car sale at a race day at Southwell Race Course near Nottingham. As well as the auction, buyers were treated to a champagne breakfast and an afternoon at the races.

THE premier of the new VW Polo and Passat W8 on the auction market saw all the vehicles on offer sold during a sale at Manheim Auctions Bristol.

IT IS simple enough. A customer goes into a car showroom and buys a new car, gives in a part-exchange and off he or she goes. But how did he/she come to be in that showroom in the first place? Mainly through marketing and advertising.' Martin Ward, CAP national research manager.

Stefan G Hart, owner of HSL Associates, specialists in staff selection, training and development, says firms must invest in qualified staff to run their fleets.

THE Fleet News' Facing the Future conference is offering fleet decision-makers the opportunity to question Transport Minister David Jamieson.