A survey of company car drivers by leasing firm ALD has revealed that benefit-in-kind taxation has become the most influential factor in choosing a company car over car specification and fuel economy.
While an identical survey of 1000 fleet drivers a year ago found specification to be the most important factor (25%), beating fuel economy (22%) and BIK taxation (14%), the latest survey has shown that BIK tax is now the most influential factor (39%), with specification (25%) and economy (17%) nudged into second and third places respectively.
Helen Fisk, autosolutions manager at ALD, cited changes to BIK announced in the 2013 Budget as the reason for move.
“Following the Budget we’ve seen BIK propelled to the top of the list of drivers’ priorities as they look more carefully at their opportunities to minimise their exposure”, she said. “It’s clear that drivers are planning for future rises by selecting vehicles with low enough emissions to last a typical three-year agreement period. Even as the economy improves, maximising take-home pay remains a priority for many company car drivers.
“Interestingly, it seems fuel economy is becoming less of an issue for drivers. This could be because drivers have become immune to higher fuel prices, and are therefore switching to fuel-efficient models with a lower BIK rate.”