Latest Fuel News

Fleet Management Group will be launching an insurance product in the next month that will protect leasing companies and fleets against the end-of-lease charges. With the rapidly accelerating bills for repair work on ex-lease cars, Leasecare scheme from FMG comes at the perfect time. For the past two years, the company has been working in conjunction with the Risk Transfer Insurance Management.

FMG marketing director, Stefan Rogers said that the fleet customers were eager to lessen the end-of-lease charges, particularly for items such as bodywork scratches, upholstery tears and rips and alloy wheel refurbishment. He also said that they are looking forward to being able to fix the vehicle cost over its lifetime and Leasecare ensures that they do not get hit with unknown charges at the end of the lease.

According to Manheim, the end of lease charge taken by contract hire organisations from fleets have rose to an average of £290 from £265 per vehicle. Rogers further added that the part of reason is because of the extended replacement cycle which means that the cars potentially subjected to greater damage.

Leasecare will be costing somewhere between £290 and £350 for standard Mondeo-sized fleet vehicle depending upon the period of the policy. It covers repair cost of up to £1,500 and above tear and wears as detailed under the guidelines of BVRLA.

In order to cut emissions by 10% during 2010, fleets have been advised to join national campaigns. Recently, the 10:10 campaign has been started as the world leaders get ready for the December’s climate change meeting in Copenhagen. The campaign has already attracted around 14,000 individuals, 550 companies, 150 schools and 250 other organisations, including the councils and hospitals that have sworn to reduce the carbon emissions. However, it is fleets that have a huge impact and are advised to sign-up.

Daniel Vockins, the 10:10 campaign manager said that as a mass buyer of used vehicles, the fleet sector is completely placed to take instant, achievable and effective action for the 10:10 project. More than 800 organisations and businesses have already taken the 10:10 pledge, and with the momentum building rapidly than ever before, it is the best time to join them.

Over the recent years, fleets have embraced the environmental programme and continue to be opportunists wherever green initiatives are concerned. For instance, according to the recent Fleet News research six in ten fleets have already initiated CO2 emissions cap. Two major drivers are encouraging fleets to go green. Just more than 70% of the fleets state that the green credentials of their company, including the fleet policies have become a vital factor when tendering for business.

The price of fuel has risen considerably over the last weeks and months. As a result it has become increasingly difficult for all us to save money. The price rise has been blamed on the shortages in the fuel all over the world. Due to this, many gas and petrol stations have introduced the new fuel or petrol card.

Nowadays there are different types of fuel cards available. Some cards are for individuals and some of the cards are for business purposes. These cards are very useful especially when the price of the fuel is so high.

These fuel cards will give you relief from the high fuel prices. With a fuel card you can now buy fuel at a slightly lower price. The discount at which you will get fuel card is minimal, but the savings cannot be ignored when considered over a long period of time.

The fuel card helps to buy the fuel without cash and this way it makes easy for you to manage your fuel budget. Managing your budget is essential if you are to make considerable savings when purchasing fuel.

There seems to be no end to the rising fuel prices. The fall of the U.S dollar and global markets decline have resulted in the increase in the price of oil. However some companies are offering fuel card which can rescue you from spending a fortune on fuel. Their functional benefits will help in reducing your fuel costs. Fuel cards will help you to keep track of your fuel expenses.

Along with these factors, the price of oil shot up to 20% more with the breakage of a crude export pipeline in Ecuador because of a mudslide and a UK natural gas terminal was also shut due to a fire incident.

The fire took place at the natural gas terminal destroying Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Bacton terminal which manages the supplies flowing from the North Sea into Europe’s biggest gas-consuming country. The 20% rise caused damage in the plant which was later diffused by fire fighters.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries reported that the prices will perhaps fall in the second quarter of next year. OPEC is the largest oil producing company as it generates 40% of the world’s oil.

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Fuel cards have significantly benefitted car owners. With fuel prices rising at a breathtaking pace, fuel consumption has become a matter of concern. Fleets of vehicles have become a drain on company finances due to the fuel required to run them. Fuel cards are the best option to minimise your costs and also keep a track on your daily fuel expenses. However, many cases of fraud and misuse have been reported enabling fleet card providing companies to tighten their purse strings.

Companies like Esso and BP have taken stringent actions to curtail such activities. Both the companies have dispensed personal identity numbers to avoid misuse. Brian Lackey, Esso sales manager said, that introducing the PIN numbers have greatly helped in reducing frauds and increased customer satisfaction.

BP company too had introduced PIN numbers on 400,000 BP plus and BP bunker cards since 2007. Ranjeev Baines, BP Fuel Cards Manager reported that the company also offers authorised real time transactions security along with the PIN security system. The customers can benefit from the reusing of the same fuel card by resetting the PINs directly without causing any delay in its usage.

These strict safety measures have surely made the usage of fuel cards easier giving a carefree time to fleet owners.

According to the EU Sixth VAT Directive, all the state members of the EU need to charge VAT in a similar manner. This means that in the UK, this directive would stop regaining VAT on invoices that do not come in the registered company name. Presently, UK companies can reclaim VAT on several items and one of these items is fuel.

The EU Sixth Directive can stop this process and possibly every litre of fuel would cost extra 17.5% (reduced VAT rate to be levied from 1st January 2010). There is no better reason for companies to implement VAT compliant solutions and look at their fuel management procedures.

The Directive of EU states that VAT can only be recovered if the transaction takes place between two establishments that are enrolled for VAT. This can be easily achieved by purchasing mechanisms such as fuel cards that allow billing to be prepared in the name of a company. Under a business reclaim and expenses pay system where employees directly make payments to the supplier, the potential to regain VAT would be lost.

Using a fuel card can prevent organisations from losing out financially whenever their employees fill fuel. According to calculations, a company that runs a fleet of 100 vehicles with drivers averaging about 15,000 miles per year would reclaim around £23,000 per year from the HM Customs & Excise.

It has been reported that a West London petrol station located on Holland Road is selling petrol and diesel at a price which is 30% above the national average. The national price on average is about 106.66 pence per litre of petrol and 107.12 pence per litre of diesel.

However, filling petrol in the aforementioned petrol station can cost you 139.9 pence a litre, while for buying diesel you would be paying 145.9 pence per litre.

Fuel cards allow you to buy fuel at a cost which is lower by a few pence from the prevalent market price. Thus, with a fuel card you can avoid paying fuel prices above the national average rate anywhere in UK. These fuel cards are the perfect choice for companies that deal with a fleet of vehicles for their business.

Although the savings are not always very high, over a period of time they become a considerable amount that you can use for buying fuel later on. Moreover, fuel cards offer a cashless transaction, similar to many other card payment types. So, when you have a fuel card you can refill your vehicle even if you are not carrying cash.

In the beginning of this year the price of petrol was as low as 85 pence per litre. In the last few months the cost of petrol has been increased by a few pence a number of times. The buzz is that with a coming rise of oil prices, the cost of one litre of petrol might soon go up to £1.10 and above.

Rising petrol price has been a great problem for commercial companies that own a large number of vehicles. The latest news has been a further blow to these companies which are already fighting with the after effects of global recession.

Under such circumstances, if you want to help curtail your company’s fuel expenses, then you must opt for fuel cards. Fuel cards offer numerous advantages along with saving money. Every time you buy fuel using fuel cards, the cost of per litre of petrol is charged at the current petrol price, so when you come to refuelling you won’t be paying for any petrol increases.

For companies that operate large number vehicles these small savings pile up to be a considerable amount with time. Moreover, fuel cards allow cashless transactions which enable the drivers to refill petrol without having to handle cash. This is highly beneficial for company authorities in many ways. So, use fuel cards and enjoy the benefits.

According to the recent research by Fleet News magazine, as many as 6 in 10 fleets have presently introduced CO2 emissions caps in reply to the government tax incentives. The magazine’s environmental survey also reports that around 65 per cent of fleets have selected the 160g/km cap. For CO2 discharge above this level, just 10 per cent of the depreciation value of the vehicle can be written off against the tax.

A further 10 percent preferred the 120g/km level. However, till date, none of the survey respondents have selected the 110g/km emissions cap. Fleets that operate at this level can write down 100 percent depreciation against tax in the first year. A little more than 70 percent of the respondents agreed that ecological factors have now become a crucial element of their business offering.

Julie Jenner, ACFO Chair said that there is a specific drift away from higher emitting cars because directors have now become aware of the direct relationship between high fuel usage and high CO2. With fleet managers initiating CO2 caps, it is good to witness that company directors are presently leading by example.

According to the recent report in the Financial Times, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) lobby group released EU plans to introduce firm environmental standards for light trucks and vans within 4 years.

Getting a fuel card for your business has become more essential than ever. Nowadays, with the increase in fuel prices more and more people are thinking about cutting fuel expenditure. This is the primary reason behind the fact that fuel cards are increasingly becoming more popular with every passing year. Consumers these days are more aware than ever about current fuel prices and methods by which they could maximise their fuel savings.

There are a variety of fuel cards available on the market. All these fuel cards however, serve the same purpose, which is to replace cash transactions during the fuel filling process. The fuel card lets you to pay the amount at a later date and the purchasing limit can be set as per the user’s choice. With the help of a fuel card, you will also be able to make your fuel purchases cash-free. Thus, you will be able to give your drivers fuel cards so they will not have to carry cash with them to purchase fuel.

Fuel cards have numerous benefits for both individuals and fleet businesses. Fleet business can save a whole lot of money on their annual fuel expenditure when using fuel cards. They will also be able to make all their fuel transactions cash-free while and periodic bills, which can show the fuel spending habits of the individual drivers.

It can then be safely said that fuel cards enable both individuals and fleet owners to save money and keep their fuel transactions cash-free.