The start point for the best source of fleet information |
Epyx: Fleets warned of SMR downside to extending replacement cycles
Date: 03 December 2012 | Author: Jack Carfrae
Business car operators are being warned they will have to take on the full impact of increased service, maintenance and repair costs as the temptation to lengthen contracts again rears its head.
Software specialist Epyx said that while replacement cycles are not being extended as dramatically as they were in 2008 and 2009 during the height of the credit crunch, there is still a noticeable pattern emerging.
"During 2008 and 2009, we saw a widespread increase in company car and van replacement cycles as a direct reaction to the recession," said Epyx sales and business development manager David Wallace.
"The profile of most company cars and vans means that if they are extended into a fourth or fifth year, SMR costs start to rise rapidly and fleets adopted strategies to minimise the impact of this."
Epyx's 1link electronic system is used to process SMR for more than two million company cars and vans, and Wallace said his firm has detected the change.
"At the moment, we are seeing something similar happening [to 2008] on a smaller scale," he continued.
"There are fewer contract extensions and, so far, they are not as dramatic, but they are happening and fleets are once again looking at the best way of coping with this change."
Follow BusinessCar on TWITTER.
