New DIRECTIONS
Environmental concerns, new forms of taxation and changing consumer habits are prompting a sea-change in car hire, says Catherine Chetwynd
That some car rental companies have added the word ‘mobility’ to their name says it all. The boundaries between fleet, car rental and mobility have blurred to the point that they are jointly managed to reduce cost, administration and complications for travel managers, meet employees’ requirements, and at the same time cover duty of care requirements. Companies have long ceased to own their own fleets of cars and where some form of vehicle perk exists employees either pay for it via salary sacrifice, take a personal lease, or use their own cars for business trips (the so-called ‘grey fleet’). And where staff members take cash instead of a company car, the risk is that they do not have their own vehicle regularly maintained, leaving employers exposed.
“Rental vehicles have the latest equipment and a structured programme of regular maintenance and repair,” says Assistant Vice President of Business Mobility UK & Ireland at Enterprise, Adrian Bewley.
“They are generally less than a year old, so they will also have lower emissions compared to the average privately owned car. It is often difficult for businesses to confirm that grey fleet cars are regularly serviced, maintained or even insured for business use.”
Research published in a white paper
this year by Europcar Mobility Group UK found that more than one quarter (28%) of companies with 10 to 25 staff relies on grey fleet vehicles, rising to 40% for firms with 26-50 employees. And nearly one third of companies with 10-25 employees said that up to a quarter of their staff choose cash for cars.
“These factors can present significant health and safety challenges, which is why so many fleet managers look for options such as car clubs or daily rental, which can be particularly valuable for employees who might not drive enough to justify a dedicated company car, while still requiring regular transport,” says Bewley.
“Businesses want flexibility in length of contract and how it is budgeted; rental achieves both these goals.”
Multiple routes
Rental companies are now the ultimate flexible friend, providing traditional rental, car clubs, pool cars and long-term leases covering every vehicular eventuality. In addition, technology continues to move on apace: booking engines can have policy embedded, increasing
compliance and traceability while giving drivers a wide choice of cars with attendant cost implications, and this is all backed by first class management information.
Enterprise Travel Direct (ETD) is a booking platform that allows drivers to compare the cost of a journey, depending on whether they use private vehicle, car club or daily rental car. They can choose by lowest rate or most sustainable option. It even manages grey fleet, requiring users to confirm their vehicle is suitable for business use, so that this complicated area is monitored and recorded from the off, rather than after the event.
“Our Launchpad tablet technology enables employees to conduct a speedy rental transaction anywhere worldwide – even without wifi. It pre-fills customer
Rental companies are the ultimate flexible friend, providing traditional rental, car clubs, pool cars and long-term leases covering every vehicular eventuality”