The recession is reducing the mileage and emissions in car fleets according to ALD Automotive as companies look to reduce fuel bills and move to lower emission vehicles.
According to ALD Automotive the changes to business car capital allowances in April this year are beginning to impact on a businesses choice of car and it now sees a clear trend towards low emissions car as a fleet choice. New figures from ALD Automotive, which operates a fleet of 50,000 vehicles, shows that average CO2 emissions of new company cars added to its fleet in 2008 dropped to an all-time low of 150.6 g/km.
This compares with an average figure of 155.8 g/km in 2007 and 166.8 g/km in 2003, the year ALD began recording CO2 emissions data. The data also reveals that the average emission level of company cars added to ALD’s fleet is lower than the national average of new car CO2 figures as produced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Last year average CO2 emissions for all new cars taking to the UK’s road fell to 158 g/km (2007: 165 g/km), according to SMMT data.
Further, over the six-year period 2003-2008, company cars added to the ALD fleet are also doing fewer miles. The survey reveals that in 2003, the average annual contracted mileage for company cars was 22,475 miles, but in 2008 the average had fallen to 19,049 miles - a reduction of almost 3,500 miles a year.
Figures just released for the month of December 2008 confirm that the recession is biting with the average CO2 emissions figure for a new company car added to the ALD Automotive fleet at 147.28 g/km and annual contracted mileage averaging 18,109 miles. That compares with January 2003 when the equivalent CO2 emissions figure was 166.87 g/km and the equivalent mileage figure was 23,782 miles.
Lower emission cars have the added benefit of improved fuel economy, savings in company car benefit-in-kind for drivers, National Insurance savings for firms, reduced Road Fund Licence and residual values that are likely to hold firmer than those of higher emission models.
