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Just two years ago, barely one-quarter of all fleet managers were actively keeping tabs on the emissions they were responsible for producing. Now, close to half of businesses are measuring those emissions, according to a new survey out from fleet management company PHH Arval. Of the 49 percent of fleet managers who say they measure emissions, approximately two-thirds are tracking actual fuel data, the survey reports. PHH Arval believes this is one of the most accurate ways to measure driver behavior and fuel economy, which are some of the first things companies focus on in an effort to curb emissions. Almost 70 percent of the survey respondents say they have an environmental goal for their fleets, which was up slightly from the 2009 Green Survey. Most were either focused on fuel efficiency or curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

UK car production fell in July, dropping 8.9 percent on the same month last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have reported. Just over 98,000 cars were produced in the month. “UK car and engine production was down in July for the first time since October 2009. The easing of demand was anticipated following the end of scrappage incentives in markets around Europe,” said SMMT Chief Executive, Paul Everitt. “UK vehicle production is more than 40 percent up on last year’s levels and whilst we expect some challenging conditions, economic growth has returned in all major markets around the world.” Car production was down 8.9 percent for the month but rose 41.7 percent year-to-date. Commercial vehicle output grew by 10.7 percent in July and by 43.2 percent in first seven months. Engine production fell 3.4 percent but was up 28.7 percent over the January to July period

Two leading automotive brands have appointed Birmingham-based Wyatt PR for a push in the UK market. Meguiar’s, the premium car care range has appointed Birmingham-based Wyatt PR, part of Wyatt International, as its UK PR agency following a multi-agency pitch process. Since it was established in the USA in 1901, Meguiar’s has grown to become a dominant force in the car care market. Meguiar’s UK is based in Daventry. The agency has also been appointed by automotive Valeo Service as its UK PR agency. The company, part of French-owned Valeo, is a supplier of Original Equipment Manufacturer parts to distributors, garages and autocentres across Europe. With a portfolio of products and new innovations ready to launch to the UK market, Wyatt has been called in to deliver the UK launch of several highly-anticipated products for the automotive aftermarket.

China will spend $15 (£10) billion over the next three years developing and improving electric and hybrid vehicles.

And the government will reportedly issue regulations in October relating to the charging infrastructure for the planned electric car development programme.

The sizeable sum will be provided once recharging points can ensure compatibility with electric cars.

The news underlines a recent report that shows China is set to become the world's leading market for electric car charging equipment, possibly accounting for 48 per cent of global sales by 2015.

Annual sales of electric vehicle charging equipment are also anticipated to reach £1.2 billion within the next five years.

A 100km long traffic jam in China has entered its ninth day and drivers are being warned the bottleneck could continue for a month.

Hundreds of trucks heading for Beijing on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway have been at a standstill because of roadworks in the capital.

Small traffic accidents or broken-down cars are aggravating the congestion which started on August 14. But those affected have been taking the disruption in their stride. Drivers have been playing chess or cards, with some joking "concerts should be held at each congested area every weekend, to alleviate drivers' homesickness". And local residents have been benefiting from the queue too by setting up temporary stalls selling food and drink to the car owners. There has been anger that some vendors have been making a small fortune by overcharging drivers for items including noodles and hot water. Around 400 police officers are at the scene 24 hours a day to make sure the situation stays calm. It is hoped the roadworks will be completed by the end of September but congestion and road safety are a huge concern for Chinese motorists. Traffic jams have been frequent since May due to the rapid increase of trucks to a daily peak of about 17,000. Niu Fengrui, director of the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times poor road planning was part of the problem: "If there's no traffic jam in the city, that would be news. "Our government should pick up the pace of urban infrastructure construction and spend some of its budget." Source : Yahoo News

Women are being encouraged to sign up for motor industry training apprenticeship schemes by one provider. S&B Automotive Academy is undertaking a drive to bring more student females into the service car dealer arena. To do so, the Academy is working hard to dispel the ‘just for men’ image of the car industry – and is using 17 year old college student Zoe Scully to front its campaign. She is using part of her studies in business and finance to figure out the best ways to attract more females; only 20 percent of the automotive sector workforce is female, despite HALF of the customers being women. ‘The main reason for my placement is to look at ways to attract more females into the sector from school age,’ she said. ‘Hopefully, the research I’m doing and recommendations I’ll come up with will help encourage more women to consider a career in the industry.’ She’s already started her research. ‘I’ve been speaking to a number of women who are studying courses at the academy and who all think more women should consider a career in the automotive sector.’ So what does she really think? ‘Those who think they might find it intimidating should think again. The atmosphere is really friendly and professional, and the team is very welcoming.’ Richard Pope, sales manager at the Academy, said attracting more females was a key priority for the car sector. ‘Zoe has already made some interesting observations and we’ll certainly take on board her recommendations before she goes back to college in September.’

Linde Material Handling (UK) has been awarded a five year contract to supply more than 800 forklifts to TDG sites throughout the UK. TDG, a third party logistics and supply chain management specialist, works at almost 100 of its customers’ sites across the country, including Weetabix, Sainsbury’s and Argos. Jonathan Fletcher, TDG procurement director, says Linde’s sophisticated fleet management system, its excellent customer support services and its willingness to work with TDG to find the most cost-effective solution, resulted in the renewal of the contract. “Linde’s sophisticated fleet management systems helps us optimise utilisation but, perhaps equally important, is the superior support Linde can offer our operations which enables us to pass on these efficiencies to our customers.”

There is a significant gender bias within most occupations in the automotive retail sector with men outnumbering women in almost all occupations. Women make up the majority of workers only in administrative and secretarial roles where they account for 70% of workers.  In an initiative designed to address this, six women took part in a ground breaking challenge designed to encourage females to consider more technical roles within the industry. At an event run by Southgate College, in partnership with the IMI and supported by automotive paint suppliers the Morelli Group, six women from different employment sectors took part in a paint spraying course which was designed to highlight the skills required to work in an automotive bodyshop.  Some of the tasks undertaken included; masking techniques, polishing and paint formulation and mixing. The event was supported by local MP, Nick de Bois who also joined the trainees (pictured).  Commenting on the day, Nick said: "I congratulate Southgate College and the IMI for working so hard to put this imitative together. By highlighting the spray painting skills required for the automotive body shop industry and in particular the opportunity for women, they have shown what a fulfilling and rewarding career woman can have as well as men in this industry. It was a very successful day and great fun." One of the female trainees was Alivia Paver who currently works as a Business Development Manager for the Stoneacre Group.  Speaking about the event, Alivia said: "I am sure that many of us are ignorant of the dedication to detail and the skill that is required to produce the end result.  Talent in this area is often overlooked, but I can understand why those that carry out this role have so much job satisfaction, and pride in their work." Andrew Moring, Marketing Director for the Morelli Group said: "In over 20 years of working for Morelli Group I have only seen a handful of female productives, a more male dominated trade would be hard to find yet there is no real reason why women should not be able to do the job as has been proven today by the ladies taking part in this challenge. It is great to see Southgate College taking the initiative to highlight this issue and for Nick de Bois to support the event, Morelli Group are fully behind the need to increase female interest in bodyshop jobs." The IMI continues to actively promote the Women and Work funding programme.  Now in its fourth phase, the scheme is designed to encourage employers in England to take advantage of the opportunity to receive funding towards the cost of developing the skills of women in our industry.

The World Food Programme, a UN organisation, is implementing Chevin’s fleet management system in all of the 82 countries the WFP operates in. The web-based application, FleetWave, was designed by asset management consultancy Chevin Fleet Solutions. It was first used in Uganda during July 2010 and will roll out across the whole organisation by the end of the year. The system should improve visibility of fleet requirements, promote consistent working practices and reduce costs. The world food programme has previously relied upon a paper-based fleet management process. The new software will give drivers, engineers and fleet managers access to real-time data anywhere in the world via a web connection. The ‘specific trips’ module allows fleet logistics teams in each country’s office to input their own data such as vehicle routing, journey duration and fuel consumption. A ‘way bills’ module gives fleet managers access to an audit trail of when and where deliveries have been successfully dropped off, providing full chain of custody records for all aid donations.