2021 READER SURVEY
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1 Fleet management remains crucial
The majority of organisations surveyed said they still have a fleet manager, though in many cases it’s a role with other responsibilities. Predictably, approaches vary by fleet size. Only 16.2% of small fleets (<25 vehicles) have a full-time fleet manager, compared to 93.7% of the largest (>200 vehicles), and none of the latter said that role was shared.
2 The vehicle mix is changing
Investment has continued. Only a quarter of respondents (25.7%) said they had fewer vehicles than two years ago, and most had scaled back their car fleet. With many employees still working remotely, recent growth is weighted towards commercial vehicles. It’s a potential challenge for a sector where, according to the SMMT, production is facing the biggest challenges due to ongoing semiconductor chip shortages.
3 Company cars are getting a green revival
HMRC data shows the UK’s company car population declined from 950,000 drivers in 2010/11 to 870,000 in 2018/19 – the most recent statistics available. However, most (72.6%) respondents still offer company cars, citing staff retention and employee duty of care as the most important reasons for doing so, while 22.6% said demand had increased during the last two years.
Growing demand is due in part to recent company car tax reforms. New tax bands were introduceGrowing demand is due in part to recent company car tax reforms. New tax bands were introduced in April 2020, including low Benefit-in-Kind rates for vehicles under 50g/km and especially for electric cars – set at 1% until April 2022, and 2% for the following three tax years. Although only half of respondents said they have a CO2 limit for company car schemes, incentives are pushing drivers towards the cleanest vehicles.
