(Wed 14 May 08)

Fleet World magazine has held its annual awards ceremony at the Royal Automobile Club in London, and the manufacturer with the best overall result was Ford, which won the Fleet Manufacturer of the Year title.

"Ford continues to lead the way, both in terms of quantity and quality," said Fleet World editor Ken Rogers. "It is easy to see why Ford's fleet sales have remained so high when you look at the tremendous range of cars they now offer. But take nothing away from the company's impressive fleet support operations, from driver contact through the talkback programme, to aftersales and field support. Ford has a fleet operation to be proud of."

Ford also won the Best 4x4 category with the new Kuga and the Best Large MPV title with the S-MAX .

The Best New Car award went to the new Mazda6, largely for its high fuel economy and low tax bills. Renault won the Environment prize for its range of low-CO2 eco2 vehicles, while Volvo's City Safety system (which minimises the effects of low-speed impacts and is due to be introduced in the new XC60 in October this year) won the Technology category.

The Safety award went to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) "in recognition of its work in promoting the management of occupational road risk".

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