VOLKSWAGEN is toasting a 30-vehicle fleet deal with international wine importer Pieroth. The company confirmed its confidence in Volkswagen by replacing a third of its 100-vehicle Volkswagen fleet with new Golf CL TDs purchased on contract hire from Volkswagen Financial Services.

JERSEY has become the second place in the world to ban metal bull bars from vehicles. The island - which will now only allow mock-bars made of soft materials - has instigated the ban because it is not a member of the European Union.

DEALER representation for Fiat and Alfa Romeo throughout Greater London - within the M25 motorway system - has been awarded to dealership group Pendragon and will result in the development of 15 new retail locations over the next two years.

YORKSHIRE dealer group DC Cook was fined £17,000 after it admitted selling 'clocked' cars. Two of the group's Barnsley dealerships were prosecuted by Trading Standards at York Crown Court after selling cars whose odometers were subsequently found to have been tampered with.

UNITED Dominions Trust's new contract hire and fleet management company will be called First Service Management and be based in Harrogate.

FLEET Cost Management has won the contract to supply fuel and maintenance management to office equipment distributors the Danwood Group. The deal covers Lincoln-based Danwood's nationwide 150-vehicle fleet which is mainly cars but also features several commercial vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes. FCM will authorise all maintenance for the fleet from its Solihull headquarters and drivers will buy all fuel through the company's fleet card.

MAZDA is bidding for a residual value premium with its new 121 supermini over the near-identical Ford Fiesta by restricting fleet business.

THE Government is hoping to reintroduce the new emissions test to the MoT in July following its suspension in February.

A BOARDROOM shake-up at United Kenning Rental Group has seen David Hardman relinquish his position as group managing director.

THE British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has relocated to new premises in Amersham.

SECURITY specialist Tracker has reported increased sales and turnover but recorded an overall loss of £1.6 million in the year to December 31, 1995.

VELO, the UK's leading provider of fleet accident and insurance management services, has won a major contract with chartered accountant and management consultant Coopers & Lybrand.

THE newly-elected chairman of Fleetnet has had to give up the position after being recruited to a new position outside the fleet industry.

VAUXHALL'S new Vectra made a solid auction debut at ADT Measham with the dozen examples on offer averaging more than 85% of list price.

FLEET car drivers could be wasting a staggering 40 million gallons of fuel a year according to the Automobile Association.

COWIE Interleasing's latest edition of its Company Car Comparisons Guide has highlighted further glaring disparities between up-front purchase prices and overall running costs.

BRITAIN'S motor dealers are 'generally pessimistic about profits', according to the latest Dealer Attitude Survey from the National Franchised Dealers Association.

THE Government must spend an extra £2 billion a year on transport - including roads - says the CBI. The CBI also urged businesses and individuals to make better use of existing local and national roads and public transport.

GE CAPITAL Fleet Services is investing £650,000 in new workshops and facilities to refurbish end-of-contract vehicles in a bid to boost residual values.

BRITAIN'S biggest selling fleet cars have failed to make the top 50 in a customer satisfaction survey carried out by the American J D Power research organisation.

THE Transport Research Laboratory is shortly to publish a report on the effectiveness of driver training and other fleet management safety policies.

FLEET sales in 1996 are taking a near 50% of the total new car market as private buyers continue to stay away from showrooms.

A BRACE of new personal contract hire schemes has hit the market as Lease Plan and Motorent enter the cash-for-cars sector of the fleet market.

POOR and ill-informed decisions on company car acquisitions continue to add huge unnecessary costs to UK business, according to Leasecontracts, part of GE Capital Fleet Services.

MORE than 1,000 fleet managers have voted the new Peugeot 406 the 'best all round car' in head-to-head challenges with its chief rivals.

MOBIL has reiterated predictions that more than 50% of diesel cars, vans and trucks will fail tighter emissions tests after a nationwide survey of more than 1,500 vehicles.

BRITISH business and communities would benefit dramatically if fleets introduced vehicle safety policies, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

DEMAND for car leasing finance continues to grow as a result of the August 1995 VAT changes, according to new figures from the Finance & Leasing Association.

LEADING academics predict the end of consistent growth in new car sales as the pan-European vehicle market reaches saturation point.

A NEW campaign is being launched by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in a bid to cut the number of road deaths and injury accidents involving company car drivers.