Philip Hammond, Transport Secretary, confirmed that motorists will be eligible for up to PS5,000 in January 2011 towards the purchase an ultra-low carbon vehicle. This initiative is open to private and fleet buyers. This is a confirmed fact. How could it impact your fleet management decisions? What effect will it have on commercial fleet coverage?
This announcement was made by the Government even before the end of the spending review to support the ultra-low carbon car market. The cost implications for more polluting vehicles will continue to rise due to the Budget changes in road tax.
The “showroom tax” is a one-time fee that applies to new cars with high CO2 emissions. Those who purchase a car with less than 130g/km will not have to pay this.
According to the Department of Transport, making your fleet green doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to change the vehicle class. The Act on CO2 website has a helpful tool that allows you to compare different classes of vehicles and fuel types and determine how they perform in terms of tax bands and CO2 comparison.
You can choose the small family category and select all fuels. The top cars are the Seat Leon and Ford Focus, as well as the new Volkswagen Golf, Volvo C30, and the new Volkswagen Golf. All of these vehicles use diesel fuel and there is no tax for the first year. These cars all fall under the 99 CO2 (g/km).
The Volkswagen Passat Saloon 1.6 TDI 102PS BlueMotion is the best choice for a family car. It is tax-free and has a low emission diesel engine. This search tool is useful for planning purposes and can be used to do research.
Although there are no direct effects on commercial fleet insurance evaluations, there may be indirect ones. In times like these, when fleet managers are forced to reevaluate due to economic and environmental factors, it is important that the indirect effects be considered.
Professor Peter Cooke’s report on the future of fleet states, “A company car will need to earn its keep economically in the future more than it did in the past.” We now get to the question of who needs company cars and how can we reduce both the size of our fleets and the vehicles that are being used.
These decisions can be made strategically from an insurance perspective and should result in significant reductions of insurance premiums. The environmental and economic aspects of vehicle selection will be considered. A global assessment will also be required to evaluate the fleet policy of the company, including the potential economic benefits and cost implications.
The Department of Transport suggests that logistics management be reevaluated and encourages companies to consider moving freight by rail, water or other than road. Freight Facilities Grants are available to assist organisations in making these changes. Government-funded training is also available for HGV and van drivers. It helps reduce fuel consumption by 16%, and faults by 56%.
To be able to adapt to the changing times, it is necessary to make tough decisions. If these strategic decisions are made strategically, businesses can create plans that can benefit from green initiatives, eliminate deadwood type fleet usage, and profit economically by using other transport options where possible. You can reduce the cost of commercial fleet insurance by choosing different vehicles and drivers. Also, you can be more strict about what is required to be in your company’s fleet.
