A NEW Vauxhall Insignia – a major updating of Vauxhall’s key company car competitor – will launch in Q4 2013 and will include better whole life costs as part of the improved package.

Whole life costs – which are a combination of all the costs associated with running a vehicle from finance to fuel and depreciation to servicing – will be crucial to maintaining new Insignia’s appeal to SME companies wishing to keep a lid on company car running costs.

“We’re really focused on getting whole life costs nailed,” explained Paul Adler, fleet marketing manager at Vauxhall.

“We started in 2011 and have continued ever since, with a major focus on improving the residual value of our cars.”

Paul said the benefits to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) was in the region of £10-£15 a month on a Vauxhall business car lease as a result of improved whole life costs.

“With the Insignia update in quarter 4, that whole life costs story will continue,” said Paul.

The new Vauxhall Insignia is said to feature a major design refresh, both outside and in, and will feature Vauxhall’s new low emissions 1.6 diesel engine (see our news story Vauxhall boosts business car appeal with new 1.6-litre diesel).

In addition, the new 1.6 petrol engine, launched in the Vauxhall Cascada convertible, will be available for the first time in the Insignia (see our news story Vauxhall Cascada’s soft-top chic offers a great deal to business buyers).

Other updates are likely to include Vauxhall’s low cost IntelliLink multimedia interface which is debuting on the new Vauxhall Adam supermini.

The coloured touchscreen infotainment centre allows connectivity of smart phones with both Andriod and Apple iOS as well as a satellite navigation facility via a downloadable app. Vauxhall says the benefits are lower cost – on the Adam the unit costs £275 while the BringGo app costs around £25 – enabling turn by turn navigation, and constantly updated mapping and traffic information without requiring a dealer visit upgrade.

The new Vauxhall Insignia is likely to make its first appearance at the Geneva Motor Show this coming March.