Reliability, whole life costs and CO2 emissions head the list of factors considered essential by company car operators when setting fleet policies.

Topping the list for more than half (53%) of the respondents questioned was reliability, although almost as many (48%) opted for whole life costs, according to the latest quarterly Company Car Trends research from GE Capital Fleet Services.

In third place, thanks to its impact on taxation and overall fleet performance, was the continued significance (32%) of CO2 output.

Vehicle purchasing price, along with the discount received, is also seen as relatively important (30%).

Residual values were named by more than one in five respondents (22%) while fuel consumption was cited by a similar percentage (19%).

However, on many fleets, this factor is already effectively managed through choosing low CO2 vehicles.

Just 10% of those taking part in Company Car Trends said that corporate brand and image are essential when drawing up policies.

The overall results were: 

1 Reliability 53%
2

Wholelife costs

 48%
3 CO2 emissions 32%
4 Vehicle purchase price and discount 30%
5 Residual values 22%
6 Fuel consumption 19%
7 Corporate brand and image 10%

                                                                      ​

Gary Killeen, managing director at GE Capital Fleet Services, said: “This research really underlines the role of the company car as a practical working tool for UK businesses.

“Image-based considerations are placed at the bottom of the list while practical factors such as reliability, whole life costs and CO2 emissions head the table. At a time when the economy is improving, this shows how fleets continue to manage with a mindset that is only just moving out of recessionary mode.”

Killeen said the responses were underlined in a further question posed within the Company Car Trends research, asking which factors were included in vehicle selection policies for employees eligible for company cars.

He said: “The top factor named here is ‘fitness for purpose’ which is mentioned by 64% of those who took part in the survey, while 60% also cite ‘CO2 emissions limit.’ These answers very much underline our other findings.”                                   

Company Car Trends is a quarterly survey carried out for GE Capital Fleet Services that looks at the key issues facing car fleets.