TCH Leasing - Fleet Solutions

With summer arriving, you may be planning to take your TCH Leasing vehicle abroad either for business or pleasure, so you will need to ensure you obtain a VE103 Vehicle on Hire Certificate.  This entitles you to drive the vehicle in any EU member state.

If you would like us to issue you with a VE103 Certificate, please call our Travel Abroad helpdesk on 0114 257 4200 or e-mail us at travelabroad@tchleasing.co.uk.  Please allow 7-14 days for post delivery, since only original certificates are valid, and also ensure that your insurance policy covers you to drive abroad.

We can provide AA European Breakdown Cover which is also available to you as a valued TCH customer, please ask our help desk for details.

This level of cover offers benefits such as:

•             Roadside assistance and repairs in over 40 European countries,

•             Tow to the nearest garage,

•             Alternative travel costs,

•             Emergency overnight accommodation costs,

•             Up to £75,000 worth of legal protection to sort out claims, traffic offences & representation,

•             Recovery of your vehicle back to the UK, up to the value of the vehicle,

•             Both single trip and annual trip policies are offered.

It is highly recommended, and sometimes a legal requirement, that you carry certain accessories in your vehicle when travelling in many popular European destinations. The list is quite extensive for each country, so with the help of our European Breakdown Partners, the AA, we have supplied a link to the AA which details what is required by each country, you just select your choice of country from a drop down list by clicking on the AA logo.

http://bit.ly/aUzjbs

We want you to enjoy your holiday and trust the information will assist you. Remember to book the essentials early, plan ahead and ensure that you have any emission zones stickers that are being introduced throughout European cities but mainly in German cities.  Please be sure to find out if this is required in your destined country prior to departure.

This month, our focus on VW continues with the new Golf Match.  Volkswagen is adding a new model to the Golf line-up by using the familiar Match name, the new variant replaces the SE trim level.  The Match also comes with the newly-available option of a 140 PS BlueMotion Technology model for added economy and performance.

On top of the SE’s already generous specification which includes, among other items, ABS, ESP, seven airbags, Climatic air conditioning, alarm, cruise control and multi-device interface for connectivity to iPod or MP3 player, the Match adds unique 16-inch ‘Croft’ alloy wheels, a leather multifunction steering wheel, DAB digital radio receiver, Bluetooth system, front and rear parking sensors and an RCD 510 touchscreen stereo with six-disc CD auto-changer.

The new Match model is available with the same engines as the outgoing SE trim.  This means customers can choose from a 1.4-litre TSI petrol with 122 PS, a 1.6-litre TDI 105 PS or a 2.0-litre TDI with 140 PS.  Both the petrol and the 1.6-litre TDI are offered with Volkswagen’s seven-speed DSG gearbox, while the 2.0-litre TDI can be specified with the six-speed DSG option.

An efficient BlueMotion Technology Match model is also available with the 1.6-litre TDI 105 PS returning 68.9 mpg on the combined cycle and emitting 107 g/km of carbon dioxide.  The BlueMotion Technology models’ enhanced economy comes as a result of a Start/Stop system and battery regeneration.

We are delighted to offer Volkswagen products so please take the time to find out what TCH Leasing can do for you by calling us on 0114 257 4200 or visit us online at our new website www.tchleasing.co.uk.

The new Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivered an austerity Budget recently in a bid to tackle the country’s deficit and measures affecting fleet operators included, a rise in VAT to 20%, confirmation of the increases in NIC and fuel duty announced previously, a reduction in capital allowances from 20% to 18% and a tightening of the company car tax regime.

The measures that will impact most on the operation of company vehicles are as follows:

• Value Added Tax

As widely anticipated the Government will increase the standard rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) to 20% from 17.5% from January 4, 2011.

• National Insurance

Employee and employer National Insurance (NI) rates will increase by 1% from April 6, 2011 as announced in the March Budget by the previous Labour Government. As a result employee rates will increase from 11% to 12% and employer rates from 12.8% to 13.8%.Did employer rates go up??

However, to help offset the 1% rise in employer NI, the Chancellor announced that the level at which employers start to pay their contributions would increase by £21 per week above indexation from April 2011.The Chancellor said that the negative effect of the employer rate rise - the so-called ‘tax on jobs’ - would be largely reversed by increasing the threshold.

• Corporation Tax

A reduction in the main rate of corporation tax from 28% to 24% will take place in 1% cuts over the course of four financial years starting on April 1, 2011.

The Chancellor also announced a reduction in the small profits rate of corporation tax from 21% to 20% from April 1, 2011 rather than rising to 22% as inherited from the previous Government.

• Capital allowances

A reduction in the main rate of capital allowances on plant and machinery, which includes vans and cars, from 20% to18% for cars emitting 160g/km of CO2 or less, and the special rate from 10% to 8% for cars emitting more than 160g/km from April 2012.

• Insurance Premium Tax

The Government will increase the standard rate of Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) to 6% from 5% and the higher rate to 20% from 17.5% from January 4, 2011. The measures will raise £455m in the first year.

But experts say that the increases could have been worse and noted that British IPT still remains low by European standards, where the tax is frequently equal to VAT. The current UK rates are 5 per cent and 17.5 per cent.

• Company car tax

The coalition Government intends to press ahead with the company car benefit-in-kind tax threshold changes that it inherited from the previous administration.

From April 2011, the basic threshold for the 15% band of company car tax will therefore be reduced by 5 g/km of CO2, so that the band applies to cars emitting between 121 and 129 g/km.

Fleets and company car drivers will benefit from Ford’s new pricing strategy for its small and medium cars, which brings P11D price reductions of up to 15%.

The reductions on Ka, Fiesta, Focus and Kuga ranges follows similar action on Ford’s large car range in April when the list prices of all Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy models were reduced.  For instance, the benefit in kind value of a five-door Focus 1.6 TDCi Zetec 110PS drops by 15%, from £20,140 to £17,090, which means a company car driver paying 40% personal tax, will be £158 better off each year because the £1,047 tax liability on the current P11D price reduces to £889.

Fleets will benefit from paying less Class 1A National Insurance contributions for each company car driver because of the lower P11D price. In the case of the Focus Zetec detailed above, the fleet will pay £177 less NI over a three-year holding period.

List price reductions are offset by reduced discounts to support maintenance of residual value.

Ford of Britain managing director Nigel Sharp 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.”

Ford fleet director Kevin Griffin commented: “We don’t want to be disadvantaged by the perception that Ford prices are higher than they are.

“This is a sea-change in the way we do business and it will definitely benefit company car drivers.”

Ford promised its small and medium car customers that they would be next to benefit when it announced in April its ‘Blue Tag Pricing’ for large cars, which meant, for instance, a reduction in the price of a Galaxy Zetec from £26,355 to £22,945.

‘Blue Tag’ has meant that the pricing and value of Ford cars have become more transparent to customers, helping to increase sales of Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy in the fleet market.

After months of research, testing, redesigning and development we have made significant changes so we can give the best experience to all users.

As a company, we value all levels of engaging with our clients, drivers and partners and we have now made it easier to connect with us: Contact us directly with a quote request by completing the homepage form. Interested in an ex-lease vehicle? Tell us to call you back. You don’t even need to visit our homepage as we can interact with various social networking tools to keep you informed. The focus of our new design is to allow us to feature our latest initiatives and keep you up to date with the latest news and developments.

We hope you like the look and feel of the website and can easily find any information you are looking for. Click on the start button below for a first look at our site and see what’s new at TCH Leasing.

If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us with our new feedback form.