Greek motoring tax analysed by Panagiotis Tsouramanis, senior tax manager and Konstantina Simatou, senior tax consultant, at PricewaterhouseCoopers Greece.

PROPOSALS that could see employers dragged through the courts if their staff use hand-held mobile phones while driving have caused a major split in industry opinion.

AN engineering company is switching it 24-vehicle fleet to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in an effort to cut costs.

THE flood of parallel imports of new cars dried to a trickle in the second quarter of this year, indicating that private buyers are starting to share the same attitude as fleet buyers towards sourcing cars abroad.

INTERLEASING enjoyed double success at this year's Fleet News Awards, taking the Toyota Fleet-sponsored Best Contract Hire Company and Nissan-sponsored Best Company Car Tax Initiative awards. The firm's managing director, Nick Brownrigg, talks about the company's winning fleet strategy.

'THREE months ago I returned from a four-year secondment to Central Europe. I lived firstly in Prague for a little less than a year and then in Budapest.'

WHY are new car sales booming? The economy is apparently on the brink of recession, manufacturing is in the doldrums, and mortgage repayments are accounting for an ever-greater share of income as house prices continue their heady ascent.

EMPLOYERS should take responsibility for ensuring all their staff who drive on business have regular eyesight tests after a new survey suggests a third of all motorists would fail a basic roadside check.

VOLVO has embarked on a pilot programme of tours to business parks to show its cars to company car drivers. If successful, the firm will roll its tour out nationwide.

FORD will replace the Mondeo TDdi with a lower-power version of the common rail TDCi engine in the last quarter of this year.

THE new MINI has set new benchmarks for low levels of depreciation in the supermini sector, according to Glass's Information Services.

COMPANIES which opt for solus supply fleet deals for vehicles and maintenance to cut costs must adopt regular reviews of service levels to ensure their suppliers remain competitive, according to fleet consultancy Fleet Logistics.

EUROPEAN Commission changes announced for car distribution block exemption will present motor services group Inchcape with 'new opportunities', the group has said.

A German safety institute has approved a hydrogen storage system developed by General Motors that could allow fuel cell vehicles to achieve a range of up to 480 kilometres.

FIAT has produced an LPG version of its Multipla and aims to dispel what it says is a myth that such vehicles are dangerous.

Saab is confident of reaching its goal of 200,000 sales a year as it prepares to launch its vital new 9-3 range.

A MAJOR route in Paris usually teeming with cars was transformed into a beach resort for the summer, in what has been described as one of the first initiatives to rid the area of motor traffic.

Ford of Europe, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and Renault-Nissan are joining together to develop telematics systems that could dramatically reduce fleet costs.

Renault has abolished plans to introduce a 15-day order-to-delivery system throughout Europe.

A new report highlights how typical fleet models have been hit by a fall in residual values across Europe.

Last year ABN AMRO planned to sell off LeasePlan. But continued healthy profits persuaded the company to change its mind.

Most managers in the European fleet industry have a good idea of how their businesses are likely to evolve over the next couple of years.

'Retail demand at dealers is slowing, so the demand from the trade is also declining.' Martin Ward, CAP national research manager

HONDA has been celebrating after its red-hot Civic Type-R proved slower than rivals in one key area - depreciation.

AN exclusive contract with Motability Finance (MFL) will see logistics company United Fleet Distribution employ its delivery drivers rather than rely on freelance 'platers'.

GE CAPITAL Fleet Services has signed a massive solus deal to dispose of nearly 40,000 vehicles through Manheim Auctions.

POOR quality repairs to cover up minor damage are having a major impact on residual values.

A NEW report from Datamonitor has identified contract hire as the fastest growing form of fleet finance across Europe, with the UK and the Netherlands leading the way.

Companies are endangering the lives of their employees and the public by neglecting the lethal problem of tiredness while driving for work, according to road safety campaign group Brake.

ONE of the UK's biggest suppliers of fruit machines, arcade video games and coin-operated pool tables is switching its fleet to liquefied petroleum gas to slash fuel costs and escape congestion charging in London.