•Honda adds Most Improved Manufacturer to growing collection of 2019 awards

•Fleet service offering completely remodelled over past two years

•Fleet sales accounted for 37 per cent of the car maker's overall sales last year

Celebrations are underway at Honda, after the Swindon-based manufacturer took home the Fleet News Most Improved Manufacturer of the Year award last week (20th March 2019), adding to an already impressive list of fleet-focused accolades in 2019.

The judges were impressed with Honda's continued progress over the past 24 months, which has seen its entire fleet service offering remodelled and restructured, ensuring the car maker is truly engaged with all aspects of the fleet market at all levels.

This comprehensive offering, both in terms of cars available and Honda's enhanced service delivery levels, has seen fleet sales (as a proportion of overall sales) increase to 37 per cent in 2018, due in part to an all-new business website; an award-winning virtual account manager tool, specifically designed for time poor, larger fleets; and development of Honda's personalised Platinum Programme for smaller, local businesses.

Marc Samuel, Fleet Sales Operations Manager at Honda UK, said: 'We are delighted to win Fleet News Most Improved Manufacturer for 2019. We have recently re-designed our fleet offering so that our focus is not on volume, but on delivering the right vehicle to every type of customer. We have a clear idea of where our vehicles should be positioned, in order to best serve each industry, and are passionate about doing all we can to support dealer profitability by providing the vehicles they need to ensure our true fleet and end-user customers are in the right car at the right time.'

New and updated models have bolstered Honda's influence on the fleet market. The recently launched all-new 1.6 i-DTEC Civic diesel variant boasts impressive fuel-efficiency, class-leading CO2 emissions and renowned reliability. Now in its tenth generation, the Civic has been redesigned from scratch as part of a project stretching back over seven years. Significantly longer, wider and lower than the outgoing model, the 'sportiest Civic ever' comes with sleek new styling and a spacious interior.

The addition of the hybrid CR-V to the model range will offer an even more efficient option for fleet users and is expected to have a significant impact on sales. As the world's most popular medium-sized SUV, the CR-V hybrid adds an intelligent and highly-advanced powertrain to the popular model's already impressive list of features. Both sporty and luxurious, the CR-V is available with a range of finance options, a choice of either two or four-wheel drive, a variety of seating options and an impressive 1,756 litres of boot space.

Customers of the 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine CR-V can choose from either a manual transmission or CVT, with a BIK starting rate of 29% and P11D value of just £25,735. Available in four trim levels, the highly economical fleet car raises the bar when it comes to advanced safety features. Each model boasts a whole host of advanced features as standard, including parking sensors, rear-view camera and the Honda Sensing package (collision mitigation braking system, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control and traffic sign recognition). SR and EX trim levels also feature blind spot warning and cross traffic monitoring alerts, while the CVT version also features low speed follow.

Honda Fleet users benefit from the manufacturer's unique Platinum Programme, which provides a personalised and localised maintenance and servicing package delivered from its nationwide dealer network.

The Fleet News award is the latest in a series of fleet focused achievements this year for the marque, following the Technology Excellence award at The Great British Fleet awards in January, and second year running win for the Honda Civic as Lower Medium Car of the Year in the Company Car Today Top 100.

For more information on Honda's corporate services, visit www.honda.co.uk/cars/new/corporate-services.html