Polestar has nine operating sites across the UK with a total of 2,500 employees, and has an 88-strong vehicle fleet, including three vans and 85 company cars.

Following a detailed review of the Polestar fleet, CLM has introduced a series of cost-saving measures in June, which have generated considerable identifiable savings in the third quarter of 2010.

The largest savings came from the introduction of competitive tendering for new Polestar vehicles. On one batch of 12 new vehicles, for example, CLM was able to reduce rental costs by five figures across the contract terms of the vehicles.

CLM manages the competitive tendering process on behalf of the client and only accepts the most competitive quote from the panel of supplying leasing companies being used to fulfil the Polestar fleet policy, thereby maximising price efficiencies.

Another area of cost saving came from switching the Polestar fleet policy to sub-160g/km vehicles to take advantage of the enhanced leasing disallowances available for this class of vehicle. This helped generate a four-figure saving in a single quarter, as well as delivering better fuel consumption and lower fuel costs. CLM also achieved fuel savings by recommending that Polestar drivers only filled up at reduced price fuel outlets such as supermarkets.

In addition, Polestar switched its tyre policy from premium to budget brands, which gave a projected four-figure saving for a 12-month period. Cost savings were also generated for vehicle service, repair and maintenance work. Polestar already had in place a policy of using franchised dealers for SMR and warranty work on premium-brand vehicles throughout their lives, with all other marques going to independent garages once the warranty period had expired. However, CLM was able to deliver additional savings on top of this by improved service scheduling and booking.

Savings were also generated on hire cars by restricting the choice of vehicles to 1.6-litre engined models unless specifically authorised.

Rob Wentworth-James, head of sales and marketing at CLM, said: 'The Polestar example shows that, with even a relatively small fleet such as this, it is possible to generate substantial savings from introducing the most appropriate and timely fleet efficiency measures.'