Fleet managers turn backs on Europe

Fleet managers turn backs on Europe

UK fleet managers are holding off from importing cars from Europe - despite the often considerable price differences between buying vehicles in the UK and on the continent.

The real-life practicalities of running company car fleets have deterred UK businesses from taking advantage of savings on offer in buying cars in continental Europe, according to a survey by Fleet News.

Issues such as short warranty periods, lack of dealer support and the difficulty of ensuring full UK specification on cars sourced from abroad are deterring fleet managers from looking across the English Channel.

Members of the magazine’s fleet panel also suggested that up-front acquisition savings would be consumed by poorer residual values of imported vehicles. They argued that lower up-front costs could be wiped out over a car’s life.

But over half the members of the panel said they would consider buying cars abroad if they could ‘access equivalent warranties, ensure full dealer support, order genuine UK specified cars, and feel confident about the residual values of the imports’.

So far foreign buying exercises have been largely limited to executive cars where the savings are most substantial and where the driver is more of an ‘individual’ than the driver of mainstream fleet cars and therefore prepared to wait for delivery, the magazine found.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource