Arval and the Federation of Small Businesses has launched FSB Vehicle Services,to help members source and manage their business cars and vans.

The FSB has around 200,000 members across 33 regions, covering the length and breadth of the UK. 

FSB members will benefit from exclusive offers on specific cars and vans and will be able to access advice and support to analyse their current and future business vehicle requirements, as well as evaluating the options available via a dedicated web portal and a dedicated 24/7 telephone helpline.

Carol Undy, FSB Member Services chairman said: “Most businesses rely on their vehicles to keep employees and goods mobile. Without their cars and vans they simply couldn’t operate.

“Very few SMEs in the UK currently have access to experienced fleet management expertise and most don’t even consider their vehicles a ‘fleet’. As this isn’t a core area for the business, it can be hard to access impartial advice through traditional providers – even if they know who those are.

“Our members tell us they lack the in-house expertise to assess the various choices, and there’s no obvious third party that can readily provide impartial advice. We believe the new FSB Vehicle Services will bridge this gap and help our members save many thousands of pounds a year something in here.

“The introduction of FSB Vehicle Services is a long-awaited benefit, which further enhances the FSB’s portfolio of benefits that help our members to save money and grow their business.”

Elliot Woodhead, managing director of SME and partnerships at Arval added: “SMEs are the driving force for growth in UK business today. Today, over 60 percent of the vehicles we lease are provided to organisations that fund a smaller number of vehicles through us – sometimes one car or van.

“We’ve aimed to channel our extensive expertise in business vehicle finance and operational management in ways that are specifically tailored to the very specific needs of SMEs, effectively trying to remove the hassle from running company vehicles.

“This partnership with the FSB is a major landmark and we feel honoured to have been selected to provide business vehicle advice to FSB members.”

The dedicated online portal has been developed to help business managers without expertise in vehicles to start accurately assessing their needs.

It includes simple online calculators to help analyse their current performance in terms of cost, emissions, tax and other parameters, as well as give an indication of cost.

The portal is backed up by a dedicated 24/7 telephone helpline, where dedicated Arval experts offer more tailored advice as well as a recommendation on next steps and avenues to explore.