FLEETS need to shop around for the best advice to formulate long-term car policies, according to a leading leasing company. Debis Car Fleet Management points to survey findings which show that most fleets do not foresee a change in their policies to meet developments such as company car tax and Vehicle Excise Duty changes, fuel issues and the new registration system to be introduced in September.

Debis believes there will be confusion from running the four-band VED system based on CO2 emissions which began on March 1, with the existing system based on engine size. The firm's managing director, Geoff Robinson, said: 'The tax changes come at a time of conflicting pressures that make for a difficult and complicated environment for fleet operations.

'The Government, by involving itself so prominently in the new vehicle pricing issue, has only made the situation worse, since major price reductions across the board interfere with a tax model essentially designed to encourage downsizing. There are just too many conflicting messages going out at once.'

While agreeing there are reasons for fleets to delay car policy changes, debis urges long-term planning to accommodate the fact that the tax system to be introduced in 2002 is designed to continually drive down CO2 emission levels.