The number of vehicles on company fleets is set to rise in the next three years, but cost pressures will also ratchet up, according to the 2012 Corporate Vehicle Observatory, a survey of industry professionals across Europe conducted by vehicle funding and fleet management firm Arval.
The report found that in the UK, more than a quarter of larger fleets predict an increase in the number of company vehicles over the next
three years, while 16% think it will decrease. That’s slightly less positive than the feeling this time last year, but is the third consecutive year of optimistic predictions.
The cost pressure issue is, though, more worrying. More than half of fleet professionals in larger organisations questioned (54%) think cost pressures will increase, with only 6% thinking they will decrease.
“Given the current economic conditions in the UK, and around the world, it really is no surprise that fleet operators expect cost pressures to increase over the course of the year,” said Arval’s senior insight and consultancy manager Mike Waters.
“However, it is reassuring that they do not plan to respond to this by cutting the size of the vehicle fleet.
“The reality is that companies across the UK rely on their vehicles to operate irrespective of the economic conditions,” he continued. “So while cost pressure creates a focus on the best ways to manage fleet spend, it often shouldn’t translate into a reduction in fleet size.”
The research also found that just 26% of larger fleets have undertaken a CO2 optimisation of their car policy, which compares favourably with only one-in-20 small fleets in the UK that have carried out similar work.
Despite that, 49% of larger fleets and 20% of smaller fleets at least had CO2 limitations in place for car selection. Arval also found that only 10% of larger fleets have grey fleet management in place, and 26% communicate to drivers in order to decrease the operational cost of vehicle fleets.
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