This year’s report, supported by Arval, shows that in the UK, being environmentally friendly is not the main motivation for many businesses (especially those with less than 100 employees) and is only the most important criteria in 19% of cases for larger companies and 4% of the time for smaller companies. 

In fact, ongoing costs (total cost of ownership) and tax are also at the heart of the decision-making process, both of which are largely influenced by vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency. In fact in more than 50% of UK businesses with 100 or more employees, environmental impact, tax and Total Cost of Ownership are the key vehicle selection criteria.

Mike Waters, senior insight & consultancy manager at Arval, commented: ‘Effectively monitoring cost and effectively managing environmental impact is now one and the same. Fleets must employ the most efficient vehicles if they want to keep ongoing costs down, while a sustainable approach is likely to result in cost savings.’

The research clearly shows that Government plays a role in encouraging improvement in fleet environmental performance – a fact more prominent in companies with 100 or more employees as 67% agree that tax policy directly encourages better environmental performance.

Likewise, the manufacturers have made great strides in the efficiency of the ranges and models that they have brought to market. In 2000 average new car CO2 emissions were 181g/km by 2012 this average had fallen to 133.1g/km, a reduction of 26.5%. The percentage of low emission vehicles is also growing quickly, with 55.4% of the new cars sold in 2012 now emitting under 130g/km.

Waters concluded: ‘I think it is fair to say that the improvement in fleet CO2 efficiency is ultimately driven by regulation but that vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators have responded extremely well to the carrots and sticks employed. It pays to drive an efficient vehicle and the manufacturers have done a great job of ensuring that you can do so without having to compromise on quality or performance.’