On its 20th anniversary, FleetEurope’s CEO, John Yarroll, looks at what has changed and what hasn’t in the fleet industry.

The biggest fleet market change over the past two decades is the growth in market share of diesel cars across rental, leasing and the private sector. 

Initially brought about by environmental concerns around petrol emissions and fuelled by perceived efficiencies, the change has now come full circle with health concerns surrounding diesel particulate emissions and improved economy and refinement from petrol engines radically set to change the dynamics once more.

The biggest hype by far over the last 20 years has been around electric/hybrid vehicles, which have promised to change the motoring landscape for many years and only recently has enough investment been made in the infrastructure and technology to make them a viable fleet option.  In our opinion, it will be the way forward in the longer term with electric/hybrid paving the way in the coming years.

Drivers now have a lot more say in their vehicle choice, whereas 20 years ago they had little influence.  These days it is being seen as a tool for recruitment and retention by businesses, in addition to a working vehicle.

Consequently, businesses are spending more money on company cars as drivers choose premium brands, such as BMW, resulting in higher purchase, insurance and repair costs, though the CO2 conscious driver has helped keep fuel costs down despite high pump prices recently. 

This rise in cost has widely led to the implementation of fleet policies which influence driver behaviour in how they drive and manage their vehicles through training, fines and disciplinary action.  Couple this with the kudos of driving a premium brand car and drivers are looking after cars much better than they were two decades ago.

From a financial point of view, the company car tax system has also changed significantly from one that rewarded drivers with lower personal tax based on driving more business miles to one that is CO2 based to temper the car’s impact on the environment. 

An increase in the number of dedicated fleet managers has impacted positively on the market.  Previously the domain of the MD’s secretary, professional fleet managers now rule with a rod of iron and can make a substantial impact on the bottom line if they can make even a 10% saving on their annual fleet running costs.  

Looking to the future, fossil fuelled cars will continue to become more fuel efficient and compete strongly with electric/hybrid cars on both cost and convenience and despite communications advances. People do business with people and prefer to do it face to face, which means company motorists using their car to travel.  However, in the future, that may mean mixing it up with other forms of transport with a view to further reducing a company’s environmental impact.