Top 20 leasing player Inchcape Fleet Solutions has won a five-year, 2200-vehicle contract hire and fleet management deal with the Department of Work and Pensions.
The contract will begin in August and involves a sale and leaseback agreement on the existing fleet.
The contract win follows a line of recent wins for Inchcape and builds on the company’s existing portfolio of Government departments, which includes HM Revenue & Customs, Adult Learning Inspectorate, Heath & Safety Executive, Construction Industry Training Board and the Land Registry.
The DWP win covers cars and a small number of vans used by Jobcentre Plus, The Pension Service, Child Support Agency, Disability and Carers Service and the Rent Service.
An Inchcape spokesman said: “On completing the sale and leaseback, Inchcape Fleet Solutions will immediately replace all vehicles that are more than four years old on the date of transfer, which amounts to half the fleet. This will mean orders for around 1000 new cars across the two groups of vehicles operated – official vehicles, which are based at offices nationwide, and private user scheme vehicles driven by employees who are deemed ‘essential users’ and travel more than 6000 miles a year on business use.
“As part of the new fleet management service, Inchcape will provide a total fleet solution that includes: vehicle administration (Vehicle Excise Duty, MoT, etc), day-to-day driver communication via a dedicated helpdesk, SMR management, vehicle breakdown cover, fast-fit services, P46 and P11D reporting and Premier Service (a one call dealer booking service for drivers) and comprehensive management reporting.”
Terry Bartlett, managing director of Inchcape Fleet Solutions, added: “We understand the Government’s vision and objectives for reducing their carbon footprint and are looking forward to working pro-actively with the DWP to assist with the introduction of environmentally-friendly fleet and travel initiatives and manage down the carbon footprint of their vehicles.
“By improving mileage management we will naturally help the Department to reduce the environmental impact of its fleet which will also positively impact on driver safety, as operating within best practice duty of care guidelines is also of crucial importance to the organisation.”
