You would think that levels of enquiries for car leasing would drop with Christmas looming and pretty much the whole of the UK either in grid lock or choosing to stay at home and avoid the snow. Well it is partly true as levels of traditional business vehicles has dropped, but what has been areal surprise is the an uplift in leasing requests for 4×4 vehicles.

Obviously as 4×4 vehicles just drive past our slippery normal vehicle, has raised many eyebrows to what car they want to own for 2011. Lets be honest, by the time many order their vehicles the snow will be gone, so this is not a case of leasing to get through this cold snap. Most popular stuff is the Audi Q7 and loads of Land Rovers have gone through the Leasebam system.

Getting the right derivative is crucial when looking at large engine vehicles especially when it comes to fuel type. Diesel may be the fuel of the devil according to Jeremy Clarkson, but there is no doubt that diesel cars hold their value better than petrol with larger engine 4×4’s and so normally would mean cheaper monthly premiums.

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Two Luxury cars worth almost £1.2m were clamped out side the prestigious Harrods Store.  

The cars, a Koenigsegg CCXR and Murcielago LP670-$ Supervoice were clamped after being illegally parked outside the London store.

Clamped: illegally parked

The Koenigsegg CCXR and a £350,000 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce were both clamped on the afternoon of 22 July.   Both cars are rare the Koengsegg is one of only six in existence.

In commenting the Kensington and Chelsea Council said:

“The vehicles were in serious contravention of parking rules.  Our priority is our residents.  T0o keep space available for the, we must deter visitors from taking up residents bays and our experience is that clamping is simply the most effective deterrent.” 

A spokes men for Harrods said that the responsibility for parking enforcement in front of the store, rested with the council. 

The cars were released after the owners paid a £70 fine. 

Source: BBC

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Ford announced that they will be dropping the price of their small cars.

Large automotive producer Ford will be lowering the price of their small and medium sized models.

Seasonal promotions featuring discounts of up to 15% were first introduced across the Ford UK dealer network in March. The prices will be coming down approximately £1,500 on the Ford Ka, Focus, Kuga and Fiesta.

Ford of Britain’s Strategy manager, Nick Thomas said “The Company has had to deal with a 30% devaluation of the pound against the euro but Ford has also had to respond to competition, particularly following the end of the UK’s scrappage scheme.”

Thomas Also commented on the recommended list prices will also reduce P11D tax liability, which will increase the appeal of Fords small and medium cars to company car drivers and fleet managers.

In April, these promotions effectively became permanent on Ford large cars and now they are being applied across the entire range to make pricing more transparent.

Nigel Sharp, managing director Ford of Britain, said: “The traditional way that the car industry has operated in the UK - with high recommended list price matched to high discounts - is causing confusion for consumers.

“Together with our dealer partners we are determined to change that formula and make the whole purchase process more transparent and the value of Ford cars more obvious.”

If this official then it is possible that the Ford Car Lease will also reduce in terms of monthly premiums.

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As part of the government’s cutbacks David Cameron has announced that ministerial cars to politicians who are not at risk to security will be cut and will account for a third of the budget for cars. Only those who need bullet proof vehicles will get a car on a regular basis. Financial stressed times or boom, it is still surprising to here there were around 171 cars being paid for by the tax payer, to be used for whatever purpose they needed.

Now politicians will need to use whatever is available from the pool of cars or in most cases get public transport. The saving will account for around £2m plus not a great saving, but save the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves as they say.

It does ask the question though, how are these vehicles bought of financed and are there better options out there, such as leasing or contract hire. Of course we are biased, but at the same time curious to see that even if the current set up saves money, could more be saved by better vehicle management, it is amazing how better deals can appear if it is your money you are spending and not others.

There is another argument, that it is not just MPs who should lose their car perks, there are other civil servants out there being ferried around in expensive cars and when other options could be considered. MP Chris Mullen Makes his point on this BBC magazine report.

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All businesses look for confidence in the economy before making long term commitments, they need to make sure they can still survive when the going gets tough and financial pressures are high. The UK now has a new coalition government and is not shy in telling the masses that as a country we are broke and before we move forward there needs to be some serious savings in public spending and difficult choices.

Listening to the doom and gloom does not inspire confidence to small businesses although the financial market probably like what is being said.  If unemployment rises from the cuts, will it spread into the private sector and are businesses prepared to commit to long terms financial decisions like car lease? These are all questions car lease brokers are asking themselves as they listen to the new coalition being sworn in today, just after £6.2bn are announced to the world, with a statement that suggests this is just the beginning.

We already know that up to now the Business Sector will get the biggest cuts and we are still unsure how this affects local RDA’s which many small businesses rely on for support. It is a wait and see game, that many car lease suppliers just don’t want to wait for, they want to see optimism and businesses ready to commit to their new executive car.

The good news prior announced recently but relates to a period before the election, is that car production is once again up and even though there is caution in the figure, it is a far cry from how the motoring market was a year ago. An indicator of how things will pan out will be next months figures, will production continue to rise or will it level off showing a lack of confidence? A lot of questions where only time has the answer.

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Would you believe it, some more good news for the motor industry, figures show that car production rose 90% in March compared to March last year. This is the 5th piece of good news, as production has risen gradually over the last 5 months.

Many would have expected production and sales to drop after the scrappage scheme stopped recently, manufacturers clearly see the better times coming, although no one is popping any champagne corks and inn fact many still say times are still tough even though this 70% rise year on year is the best ever recorded.

Figures by the Society Of Motor manufacturers

Commercial vehicles also did well with a 45% rise so progress is being made. You can read the full story from This is Money Car Production Soars

How this affects car lease business and how this increase in manufacturing is directly related to company car sales and car lease contract is yet to be discovered, but residual values will be the key factor to car lease buyers, will a flood of new cars reduce the value of used cars, making leasing more expensive, or has the recent rise in production not enough to fill the void of reduced production in 2009 and the quantity of cars over 10 years taken off the road through the scrappage scheme.

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