Skoda and Licence Bureau were the new company names on the winners’ rostrum at the 34th ACFO Awards last night.

The Skoda Superb was joint winner of the fleet car of the year award with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class - a first win for the fleet model after the marque’s A-Class won the title three years ago.

Meanwhile, Licence Bureau, which provides fleets with a driver licence validation service, shared the fleet service company of the year award with the AA.

A capacity audience of 200 members of the fleet operators' association and their guests attended the annual awards at the St John’s Hotel, Solihull.

Vehicle contract hire and fleet management company Marshall Leasing which has more than 6,000 company cars and vans on its books, notched its fourth ACFO Award winning the fleet leasing company of the year title having previously walked away with trophies last year and in 2013 and 2010.

Road safety charity Brake retained the fleet safety initiative of the year award for providing fleet decision-makers with a range of resources - including events and webinars and expert advice - to further improve occupational road risk management across the corporate sector.

There was also a highly commended in the category for personal technology innovator Apple, which earlier this year on iPhones running iOS 11 introduced a ‘Do Not Disturb’ while driving feature.

ACFO chairman John Pryor said: “The fleet industry continues to evolve and the 2017 results reflect the broadening of excellence across the supply chain with two first-time winners in a marketplace that is frequently considered mature.

“That shows that fleet decision-makers are always prepared to introduce new vehicles to their operations and engage with suppliers that can show they are ‘best-in-class.”

The awards, which are voted online exclusively by the ACFO membership following nominations from across the industry.

 

Results:

Fleet safety service/initiative of the year (sponsored by Suzuki GB)

Winner: Brake

Runner-up: Apple

 

Fleet service company of the year (sponsored by Suzuki GB)

Joint winners: AA and Licence Bureau

 

Fleet leasing company of the year (sponsored by Suzuki GB)

Winner: Marshall Leasing

Runner-up: Zenith

 

Small van of the year (sponsored by Apollo Vredestein UK)

Winner: Ford Transit Connect

Runner-up: Volkswagen Caddy

 

Large van of the year (sponsored by Apollo Vredestein UK)

Winner: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

Runner-up: Ford Transit

 

Ultra-low emission vehicle of the year (sponsored by Tusker)

Winner: Tesla Model S

Joint runners-up: BMW i3 and Hyundai Ioniq

 

Fleet car of the year (sponsored by Marshall Leasing)

Joint winners: Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Skoda Superb