Wednesday, July 29, 2009
BSM replaces its Vauxhall fleet with Fiats
Britain's biggest driving school will be replacing its fleet of Vauxhal Corsas with Fiat 500s.
The move ends a 16 year relationship between BSM, formerly the British School of Motoring, and Vauxhall, reports the Times website.
Fiat will supply 14,000 cars to the drivng school over four years in a marketing deal that will attempt to inject some Italian style into the century-old British brand.
A spokesman for Vauxhall said: "We have made a commercial decision to step out of this agreement with BSM."
Within three weeks BSM dealers will begin taking delivery of the Fiat 500 cars to replace the existing Corsas.
The deal will enable BSM students who pass their test to buy a Fiat car at a discount of £500, on top of any dealer's discount.
The list price for a new Fiat 500 is £8,300 with a waiting list of between two and three months.
BSM says about 70 per cent of learners who pass the test buy the model of car in which they learnt.
Abu Shafi, BSM’s chief executive, said the Corsa no longer appealed to its core customers, who tended to be young and female and wanted to drive a fashionable car.
DATED: 29.07.09
FEED: AM
