How does your fleet measure up?

March 5, 2020

Erik Dopper International Sales Director, LeasePlan International

As a fleet manager there are often many external sources of information which can make you question the right way forward for your fleet strategy. What is the market doing and what are the competitors doing? Are you performing well? Are you lagging behind and need to make improvements to catch up with your industry peers?

Benchmarking is a recurring request in my conversations with international customers. In my experience working closely with them, it is clear that each fleet is unique in what needs to be benchmarked. This is why we develop tailor-made benchmark reports together with our International Consultancy Services. This involves capturing, recording and reporting on crucial fleet line items for our customers. LeasePlan manages a large fleet worldwide which constitutes a great source of information. By analysing the fleets of our international clients within a specific industry, we are able to identify trends and how a customer stacks up against peers which can help them in improving or changing their fleet strategy.

For a large international customer the in-depth benchmark helped in defining their vehicle selection policy in line with the industry

Compare your fleet against industry peers

Average contract term and mileage trends (and how do you compare to the industry). This comparison can help you manage your fleet more cost effectively.

Average fuel mix trends. Over the next few years, governmental efforts to discourage both diesel and petrol will increase (higher CO₂-based taxation and the introduction of more Low Emission Zones) as will incentives to opt for PHEVs and BEVs. Countries which have incentivised PHEV in the past, like the UK and the Netherlands have significantly reduced these incentives. Given the promising outlook for BEV (lowering price, increasing range, increasing maturity of charging infrastructure and increase in offering), it is expected that BEV will surpass the PHEV share in the coming years. How is your company dealing with this and can you learn from the competition?

Average CO₂ trends. In September 2018, the new Worldwide Harmonized Light-vehicle Testing Procedure (WLTP) was introduced in Europe. The old NEDC test allowed for increasingly unrealistic reported CO₂ levels, thus creating the need for an improved and more dynamic test cycle. As a result, vehicles sold since September 2018 are listed with a higher CO₂ level, which could lead to an increase in the industry’s overall CO₂ levels. Some companies are struggling with adjusting their car choice and keeping their CO₂ thresholds, or they will be raising their CO₂ thresholds if they stick to their car choice.

Depending on your challenges, the reports can be bespoke ultimately supporting your needs as a fleet manager. Feel free to contact me to further discuss this topic.