5.5BN: The cost of people using their own cars for work.
- Ale Marino
- 19 lug 2016
- Tempo di lettura: 4 min
The full extent of the UK’s “grey fleet” is revealed today in the most comprehensive report into private vehicles used for business.
The nation’s grey fleet comprises 14 million cars – 40 per cent of all vehicles on the road – and costs employers more than £5.5bn a year in mileage claims and car allowances.
According to Getting To Grips With Grey Fleet, a new report produced by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and commissioned by the British Vehicle Leasing and Rental Association (BVRLA), some 12 billion business miles are driven each year on Britain’s roads by employee-owned cars. The grey fleet describes the use of an employee’s own vehicle for business purposes. In return for using their own car, employees are reimbursed on a pence per mile basis.
Using government figures and data from real- life fleets, EST researchers were able to produce a profile of a typical grey fleet vehicle and compare it to other alternatives, including rental cars, car club vehicles and company cars. They found that the average grey fleet car was ‘exhausted’ – being older, more polluting and potentially more dangerous than its counterparts.
According to the report, Britain’s grey fleet is responsible for:
Some of the oldest cars on UK roads, with an average age of 8.2 years
3.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent to the average annual emissions of 1.5 million cars
8,156 tonnes of NOx, a dangerous air pollutant and one of the main contributors to the UK’s air quality issues, equivalent to twice the emissions from Transport for London buses
A significant portion of the £2.7bn costs associated with work-related road accidents
£5.5bn-plus worth of potentially unmanaged costs from mileage claims and car allowances
The BVRLA, the trade body for the rental and leasing of cars and commercial vehicles, says this “invisible” fleet is often overlooked by Britain’s bosses.
BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney said: “The invisible grey fleet is hiding in plain sight of Britain’s bosses and is a blind spot in the government’s transport strategy.
“The Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) system used for reimbursing grey fleet drivers is the only part of the motoring tax regime that provides no incentive to drive fewer business miles or use cleaner vehicles.
“This blind spot is wasting taxpayer money, costing businesses millions of pounds, damaging our environment and making our roads more dangerous.”
The BVRLA is calling for a concerted effort from company bosses and policymakers to tackle these issues. The association is targeting a 50 per cent reduction in grey fleet mileage and costs by 2020, and is urging government ministers to help by highlighting the alternatives to grey fleet use and offering best practice guidance, particularly for public sector organisations.
Mr Keaney added: “Cutting grey fleet mileage by just 15 per cent would be the equivalent of taking 225,000 cars off the road in emissions terms.”
Andrew Benfield, EST’s Group Director of Transport, said: “Switching to more modern vehicles for work purposes can lead to significant cost savings, cut vehicle emissions and improve employee safety. Bosses should introduce rigorous electronic mileage management systems to reduce ‘mileage inflation’ by employees claiming a mileage allowance, and remove the incentive to drive unnecessary business miles.
“Car rental should be adopted for any work-related vehicle journey over 55 miles and a vehicle should be leased for employees driving at least 10,000 business miles per year.
“Employers should also incentivise alternatives to driving such as public transport, cycling and walking.”
- ENDS -
Notes for editors
The full Getting To Grips With Grey Fleet report will be available online from 00.01 on Wednesday 20 July.
In the private sector, the grey fleet costs almost £5billion and covers 11bn miles, emitting 3.2m tonnes of CO2and 7,038 tonnes of NOx. In the public sector, use of grey fleet vehicles cost the taxpayer £786m per year with the bulk of the 1.5bn miles driven by employees of the NHS, local authorities and civil service. These vehicles emit 447,000 tonnes of CO2 and 1,118 tonnes of NOx.
The 14 million figure for the total number of grey fleet vehicles in the UK is based on findings from the 2015Lex Autolease Where Next For Company Cars? report. Further analysis identified that of the total; 11.8 million vehicles are associated with the private sector and 2.2 million vehicles with the public sector.
Case studies
A number of companies have achieved significant cost and emissions savings by tackling grey fleet. The report includes case studies from Aylesbury Vale District Council, City of York Council, the Environment Agency, Knight Frank, the London Borough of Croydon, Tusker Direct, the University of Cumbria and Woking Borough Council. Interviews are available with these organisations, as well as BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney and Andrew Benfield from the Energy Saving Trust.
About the BVRLA
Established in 1967, the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association is the UK trade body for companies engaged in the rental and leasing of cars and commercial vehicles. Its 750+ members operate a combined fleet of around 4.5million cars, vans and trucks. BVRLA members buy nearly half of all new vehicles sold in the UK, supporting around 317,000 jobs and contributing nearly £25bn to the economy each year.
By consulting with government and maintaining industry standards, the BVRLA helps its members deliver safe, sustainable and affordable road transport to millions of consumers and businesses. For more information visit bvrla.co.uk.
About the EST:
Energy Saving Trust is an organisation providing evidence-based advice and ground-breaking research that helps people save energy every day.
Trusted by consumers, businesses and organisations for our expertise and independence, its goal is to find new and better ways to drive change and reduce energy and fuel consumption. A major area of the trust’s work is to reduce emissions from road transport, offering advice to individuals about car choice and driving behaviour, and working with organisations to reduce emissions from their fleets.
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