There are many things to consider when running a fleet of company cars. The cost to the business is usually a high priority, as well as the safety of your drivers, there’s fuel management and in-life maintenance to think about, and you’ll need to keep reviewing the latest technology and your approach to it.
In this blog you’ll learn about how to manage the transition to electric cars, how to tackle fleet maintenance and fuel costs, how to ensure your car scheme is compliant and see the answers to some frequently asked questions.
If you’re a UK-based business looking for a new way to tackle your fleet challenges, click here to see how we can help.
What are the Main Challenges?
Challenges can vary for different fleet sizes and the objectives of each individual business, however, there are some shared pain points for fleet managers.
The Transition to Electric
Electric Vehicles (EVs) that have lower CO2 emissions offer a solution for improving your green credentials, and by 2035 hybrid and full EVs are planned to be the only type of new cars available to purchase, as pure petrol or diesel cars will no longer be manufactured.
However, with EVs being relatively new to the mass market, there are still operational and financial impacts to consider. The charging infrastructure in the UK is a concern for many.
According to ZapMap: ‘At the end of January 2024, there were 55,301 electric vehicle charging points across the UK, across 31,445 charging locations. This represents a 46% increase in the total number of charging devices since January 2023’.
This suggests there’s good progress, however, a recent report released by net zero consultancy Field Dynamics highlights that the UK needs to increase its public charging structure by eight times to stand a chance of meeting charging demand by 2035.
The challenge faced by fleet departments is how to manage this transition. For the time being, the best options might be to offer a mix of full electric, hybrid, petrol or diesel vehicle solutions as employee benefits.
Does your current employee benefit provider offer solutions that includes multiple fuel options? We offered a blended package, click here to discover more about our solutions.
Is Your Vehicle Maintenance Package Cost-Effective?
Your fleet needs regular maintenance and servicing, and naturally as vehicles age and miles on the clock increase, it’s likely costs could rise too.
To help minimise these costs, encourage your employees to regularly inspect their vehicle and ask them to report any issues found to reduce the risk of issues developing into larger problems.
Alternatively, choose a provider that includes maintenance as part of the employee benefit package, so you can spread the cost over the length of the contract, or you could choose to pass on some of that cost to your employees as part of their overall car benefit.
Have You Reviewed All Your Fuel Options?
Depending on where you are on your electric journey, you could be managing multiple fuel types. While there’s no way to control market price fluctuations for petrol, diesel and electricity, there are some options that could help your business reduce fuel consumption and costs.
Evaluate all your fuel options. For the time being petrol remains the market leader with 57% market share according to January figures from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited. However, the popularity of electric and hybrids is growing, so you need to consider charging costs too.
You could carry out vehicle analysis to review if the higher business cost of running electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in comparison to petrol and diesels can be offset by their lower running costs and performance. You should also take your fleet mileage into account and determine if there’s any way to reduce it, perhaps by ensuring drivers are taking the most cost-effective routes.
Are You Confident Your Car Scheme is Compliant?
Maintaining a fully compliant car fleet is no easy task, there’s set criteria you must follow and document so you can produce information for an audit as required, and all checks and reports must be kept up-to-date.
Any legislation changes announced by the Government could also directly impact your business, so it’s important your fleet department is always fully informed.
Fleet Department Challenges FAQs
Still got a question about fleet department challenges? See if the answer is below in our frequently asked questions.
How do I manage a varied driver population?
Try to offer a flexible car scheme solution that is attractive for your different driver needs. Whether that be offering a selection of makes and models and/or a variation of fuel types, having multiple vehicle options should keep your employees happy.
How can I reduce my business fuel costs?
Consider which vehicles are best for your business needs and encourage fuel efficient driving. Make sure routes for business trips are well planned out and keep all your fleet vehicles maintained to a good standard.
What’s the best way to manage grey fleet?
Any vehicles driven for business purposes, whether than be a car benefit that you provide to your employee or their own car that they use for work-related journeys, as a business your responsibility remains the same. This means the driver, as well as the suitability of the car to how it is maintained should all be considered for a grey fleet vehicle in the same way you would assess and manage a vehicle provided by the business.
How Can Car Benefit Solutions Help?
If you’re looking to minimise the challenges of managing a fleet and find a provider that can offer multiple fuel type vehicles for employee benefits, can help to manage maintenance and fuel cost, as well as ensure your car benefit scheme is fully compliance, we can help.
For more information about our solutions, click here or get in touch with us today.
