The Lex Auto lease Report on Company Motoring found that as employment rates rose in 2015, a third of drivers claimed that they felt more secure in their job than they did in the 12 months previous, but how does this affect the use of company cars?
One reason for this is due to the improved economic situation which has resulted in a month on month rise in new car sales, over the past three years. This is significant as new car sales are often seen as a measurement of the wider economy.
This economic growth has also resulted in a growth within the company car market. For example, 38% of Fleet Managers reported an increase in the number of company cars in their fleet.
One reason for this may be that employees feel that a car is a necessity. Results showed that 59% of company car drivers and 20% of those who had their own private car stated that a car was essential for their job.
Other findings stated that 45% of company car drivers saw their car as an extension of their workplace and 41% said that it was a haven from the outside world.
This was also confirmed by the fact that only 5% of those who have a company car and 38% of those with their own car, stated that they never use their car for business; therefore the majority use their car for the daily commute.
The report also found that some would prefer a cash alternative if given a choice, in particular, younger drivers. Those aged 17 -34 stated that they saw a car as a mark of achievement (42%) but would rather receive a cash alternative if given the option.
Benefits Package:
The report also found that even though a company car can be an important part of an employee’s benefits package, people would like more choice from their package and cars.
But this does not dissuade those who view a company car as an important element when choosing a career. 64% stated that receiving a company car would be a deal breaker when deciding whether or not to take a job.
It seems that Fleet Managers also agree, 43% stated that company cars are becoming more important in recruiting and retaining employees.
Company cars of the future:
As technology evolves, there’s no doubt that monitoring company cars and their drivers will become common practice, however, at the moment, this is not the case.
Results showed that only 9% of drivers stated they had driver monitoring technology in their company car and 2% have cameras installed to record incidents.
Nearly half of company drivers asked were happy for their fuel consumption and mileage to be recorded, however, fewer were happy to have cameras (36%) installed or telematics (23%) in their vehicle.
Results also indicated that younger drivers were less happy to have such devices installed compared to older drivers.
In addition, results also found that Fleet Managers who are not currently installing such systems hope to do so in the next two years.
This is because 18% of Fleet Managers strongly believe that installing telematics devices would improve safety and driver behaviour, with a further 37% agreeing.
Automation of vehicles:
We’ve all heard of the driverless Google car and with the UK government agreeing that the UK is a great destination to trial such technology, it may not be long before we start seeing them on the roads within the next two to five years.
However, in the meantime drivers were asked how they felt about the levels of automation on cars currently and the findings were surprising.
85% supported the introduction of warning systems which detect when the driver is losing attention, 75% supported the use of automatic braking systems and 685 supported the use of automatic steering systems which prevent cars veering into the other lane.
However, there was less support for more fully automated vehicles such as ‘road trains’ where the car takes over from the driver once in designated lanes or fully automated, driverless cars.
The report found that only 38% supported the ‘road train’ idea and 25% supported fully automated vehicles, similar to the Google self-drive.
In conclusion, the report raises many questions as to whether the company car is a luxury that some expect for a ‘good job well done’ or if one day, our cars will be fully automated, resulting in a more enjoyable daily commute.’ It’s perhaps too early to tell but it’s interesting to see where drivers currently stand on such issues.
*Source: Lex Auto lease Report on Company Motoring 2015