A weekly round-up of European and UK fleet news including German statistics by sector, UK statistics by reporting body and the fleet management company inline for a Scottish employment accolade.

German fleet market down again in March

The fleet market was down again year-on-year in March, beyond that of overall vehicle registrations, but not by as much as the drop in the private market.

While the private market fell by 22.4% in March to 107,711 units and total registrations by 17.1% to 281,194 units, the fleet market dropped 18.3% to 56,093 units.

Construction vehicles were down 9.5% to 26,183 registrations, trade vehicles down 11.3% to 61,046 registrations and car rentals also down 11.3% to 30,151 registrations.

UK fleet market round up

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The latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association showed a 4% year-on-year dip in the number of new cars bought on finance by businesses to 20,149 in February while used cars jumped 170% to 12,038. In the three months to February, new cars were up 1% to 81,495 registrations while used cars were up 36% to 20,030. In the year to February, new cars were up 4% to 398,900 registrations while used cars were up 48% to 70,785 registrations.

New-car fleet registrations were up 3.7% year-on-year in March to 171,728 units, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The increase was not as sharp as that in the private registrations and the UK vehicle market share held by fleet registrations dropped from 44.4% in March 2012 to 43.5% this year. Business registrations were up 5.5% to 18,779, with market share holding steady at 4.8%

Meanwhile Manheim Remarketing has reported the demand for retail-ready ex-fleet vehicles remains "strong" despite average value at auction dropping 1.5% month-on-month to £6,715 in March. Year-on-year, the average value was up by 4.2%. There was a slight rise in the average age at auction to 52 months and a 3.7% month-on-month rise in the average mileage (down 1.7% year-on-year) to 60,883 miles.

Similarly, the Pulse Report by British Car Auctions registered the average ex-fleet and lease vehicle auction value as down by 1.3% month-on-month to £8,734, but up 12.0% year-on-year. Year-on-year the average age at auction dropped from 41.39 months to 40.37 and the average mileage was down from 48,695 to 46,014 miles. Despite this, the average sale against CAP values fell from 98.32% in March 2012 to 97.68% this year.

Glasgow fleet firm nominated as Employer of the Year

Leasing and fleet management firm Fleet Alliance has been shortlisted as Employer of the Year at the Scottish Business Awards.

The Glasgow-based company was shortlisted for its achievements in staff development, with approximately half of Fleet Alliance staff being promoted internally, including the entire board of directors.

The Scottish Business Awards will be announced at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 21 June, with former US President Bill Clinton as key speaker.

richard.brown@timetric.com