Fleet policies hit as companies cut costs

One in five fleets intends to reduce the choice of cars they offer to employees, while one in four is planning to extend lease periods, as businesses clamp down on company car polices.

Restrictions have also been imposed on the CO2 emissions of cars - 37% of organisations have now placed a cap – and 15% of companies plan to provide cheaper cars, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Company Car UK report.

“For those companies with a large mobile sales force, cars are clearly essential to the business,” explained Matthew Hunnybun, employment solutions partner at PwC. “However, companies are balancing these requirements with the continued need to reduce costs and environmental impacts, as part of their corporate responsibility agenda.”

Certain types of car are also being subjected to restrictions due to safety concerns. For instance, 79% of companies have placed restrictions on sports cars and 76% on convertibles.

The greatest rise in restrictions has been for petrol turbos (45% of companies, up 5% on last year); four-wheel drive cars (34%) and people carriers (14%), both up 4% on last year. These restrictions are likely to be driven more by the green agenda, say PwC.

Generally the greatest rise in car choice restrictions has been among financial services firms. However, for company chairmen and chief executive officers, the choice of car is unlimited in 80% and 75% of companies respectively.

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