RESEARCHING the options is of paramount importance to a successful review of an organisation’s company car scheme.

Tony Leigh, head of car fleet services at PricewaterhouseCoopers and chairman of the Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO), explained the process behind PwC’s recent review of its car ownership scheme to delegates at the Employee Benefits Conference in London.

He said: ‘We looked at every possible way we could acquire and fund our vehicles. These included contract hire, contract purchase, finance leasing, VAT efficient schemes and employee car ownership schemes.’

Leigh said that after six months of investigation into the pros and cons of each scheme, PwC decided contract hire was the best way to go.

But he added: ‘The PwC solution was contract hire but it is not the answer for everyone.

‘A full review is essential. The only way we got to where we have now is to do that full review and it took us about six months. We went to various providers, and you do the best solution for your organisations at the end of it. One size certainly does not fit all.’

Also speaking at the conference was Peter Cooke, professor of automotive industries management at Nottingham Business School, who stressed the need for boards of directors to take responsibility for fleet.

He said: ‘The board should know, and needs to know, what’s going on with the fleet.’