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Covid-19 to change working practices and fleet car strategies forever

UK companies will adopt more flexible approaches to working practices and company car provision going forwards as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

GCM says businesses will start to explore the options available to them to create a segmented approach to corporate mobility

According to Goodwood Corporate Mobility (GCM), businesses will look to provide a more ad-hoc approach to corporate mobility to keep employees mobile only while needed.

“The hundreds of thousands of company cars currently parked on British streets and driveways being paid for by businesses without turning a wheel will inevitably drive a change in mindset. No two businesses have the same car operational need and that’s why they will start to explore the options available to them to create a segmented approach to corporate mobility,” explained Tony Donnelly, chief executive of Goodwood Corporate Mobility.

Donnelly also said the increases in Benefit-in-Kind on petrol and diesel cars as a result of the new WLTP-based company car tax rates announced in the Budget could drive the trend further, although drivers would still be interested in zero BiK EVs.

And a more flexible mobility approach could accommodate employee who need a car to get to work during the week, but at weekends or holidays needs something larger.

However, there will still be a large section of the company car driver population such as service engineers or public service workers who need to be mobile all their working hours and may need to transport equipment to carry out their work. These would fall into the medium- to longer-term leasing contracts section of a new modern-day company car policy.

Donnelly also said mileages will continue to fall in the future now that more businesses can see employees efficiently working from home. Technology will make this transition process the new ‘norm’.

“Businesses are beginning to learn how to enhance the productivity of their people as a result of working from home, with procedures put in place to protect us all from the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of these will continue which means drivers will travel less on company business. It will change working practices for ever which will in turn fuel new employee mobility strategies,” said Donnelly.

“The company car industry hasn’t changed much in many years, but businesses are already telling us that they are planning for change, not just in the way they run their company cars, but also how working from home will become an integral part of their employment proposition,” he added.

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.