Implementation of mobility solutions such as rental, salary sacrifice and car sharing is to roughly double among UK businesses over the next few years, bouncing back following the downturn in the pandemic.

Top of the list of mobility solutions planned by fleets was traditional short- and mid-term rental

The 2021 Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer surveyed fleets of all sizes on seven potential mobility solutions and found every single one was mentioned by between 52-62% of respondents as having already been implemented or planned for use in the next three years.

Top of the list was traditional short- and mid-term rental, taking precedence over other, newer mobility solutions. In total, 62% of respondents said they had already implemented a short- or mid-term rental solution or planned to do so within the next three years.

It was followed by private lease or salary sacrifice (61%), ride sharing, a mobility budget and public transport (all at 56%), then corporate car sharing (55%) and an app to book mobility solutions (52%).

Shaun Sadlier, head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said the research showed that the pandemic appears to be having a limited strategic impact in the medium to long term.

“Many mobility options rely on shared transport assets, which during the last year have been viewed as potentially increasing the risk of infection, but employers clearly don’t believe this will be a problem beyond a certain point in time.”

He added that while traditional short- and medium-term vehicle rental looks an unlikely candidate to be a leading option, it remains an excellent solution for any flexible, short-term business journey need.

“This is especially the case with mid-term rental, which is increasingly being used to bridge the gap between car or van requirements that are measured in weeks and months and those that are measured in years – a requirement that may be growing as a result of the impact of the pandemic.”

Sadlier also said it was unsurprising that planned adoption of mobility is much more pronounced among larger businesses.

“Mobility is very much part of a structured approach to corporate transport needs and bigger employers are bound to lead the way. However, we don’t believe that this means smaller businesses will be left behind, just that the implementation of these ideas will be a little slower among SMEs.”

Which of the following mobility solutions have you implemented or planning to implement in the next three years?*

*Respondents that have already implemented a solution are shown in brackets as a subset of the larger percentage.