Features
18 oct 22

Exclusive: The results of biggest ever survey of multinational fleet managers

The world’s largest multinational fleets are heading to the same destination, but on different trajectories, according to the biggest ever survey of global fleet managers.

The Global Fleet Survey questioned 127 international fleet decision makers responsible for a combined total of more than 1 million company cars and 300,000 light commercial vehicles.

DOWNLOAD THE GLOBAL FLEET SURVEY 2022 HERE

The survey found that decarbonisation is the number one priority of multi-national fleets, as businesses look to meet corporate sustainability objectives, but the pace of electrification varies widely from continent to continent.

CO2 emissions

Fleet operations in Europe have made the most progress towards zero emission motoring, with 90% of fleets adding electric vehicles (EV) to their operations this year, ahead of the 61% of fleets in North America, 45% in Asia Pacific, 25% in Latin America and 27% in Africa Middle East. Overall, the 127 fleets forecast that 36% of their vehicles will be electric by 2025.

European fleet operations also have the most ambitious carbon reduction targets, with 33% introducing a maximum CO2 threshold of 60g/km by 2025, compared to 29% in North America, 20% in Asia Pacific, 18% in Latin America and 15% in Africa Middle East.

These CO2 targets are significantly lower than today’s average CO2 emissions of 119g/km in Europe, 159g/km in North America, 136g/km in Latin America, 135g/km in Asia Pacific and 141g/km in Africa Middle East.

5.5% cost savings

With procurement departments leading 58% of global fleet teams, it is no surprise to see cost savings appear high on corporate agendas. On average, multi-national fleets are looking to shave 5.5% from their costs this year, despite inflation hitting the global economy, with vehicle choice, OEM discounts and leasing companies expected to deliver the savings.

The survey found that the decision to organise a fleet on a global basis is driven primarily by a desire to harmonise processes, minimise total costs of ownership, and share best practice.

Fleet finance

Full service leasing accounts for the lion’s share of vehicle funding in Europe (95%), Africa Middle East (74%) in Asia Pacific (74%) and Latin America (71%), but the majority of fleet vehicles in North America are on finance leases. Across all regions, apart from North America, multi-national fleets have reduced the number of their finance providers in the past 12 months.

And these huge fleet customers, each running an average of 9,400 cars and 3,600 LCVs, are looking to their leasing companies rather than specialist suppliers to deliver mobility solutions, as they seek lower carbon alternatives to company cars. As many as 44% of these fleets believe that the growth of working from home will lead to fewer benefit cars, which will be replaced by alternative mobility solutions, although this figure drops to 31% for essential work vehicles. Only in Europe, however, do a significant percentage (22%) of fleet decision makers expect their vehicle numbers to shrink this year.

Download your copy of the Global Fleet Survey today!

Authored by: Jonathan Manning