Businesses are naturally gravitating towards lower-emitting vehicles rather than consciously aiming to improve their environmental credibility, according to top five leasing company Arval. The firm highlighted the trend in its Corporate Vehicle Observatory (CVO) research, which surveyed 4863 fleet operators in the UK, mainland Europe and further afield and included a cross-section of SMEs and large corporate businesses.
The results showed companies were moving to more economical vehicles in greater numbers but that “being environmentally friendly” was not considered a priority, and that total cost of ownership and tax were driving the move.
The CVO research also showed that businesses were keen to adopt alternative fuel vehicles on their fleets and were even willing to pay a premium for them.
Senior insight and consultancy manager at Arval, Mike Waters,
said: “I think it is fair to say that the improvement in fleet CO2 efficiency is ultimately driven by regulation but that vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators have responded extremely well to the carrots and sticks employed.
“It pays to drive an efficient vehicle and the manufacturers have done a great job of ensuring that you can do so without [compromising] on quality or performance.”