Grey fleet costs UK firms billions, report says
Some 12 billion business miles are driven each year on Britain's roads by employee-owned cars, according to a new report titled Getting To Grips With Grey Fleet.
The report -- produced for the British Vehicle Leasing and Rental Association (BVRLA) by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) -- claims that workers using private vehicles for business costs employers more than £5.5bn a year and is undermining attempts to address environmental and road safety concerns.The BVRLA has called on the Government to tackle the challenges of the UK's "grey fleet", arguing that the average grey fleet car is older, more polluting and potentially more dangerous than alternatives such as rental cars, car club vehicles or company cars.
In total, the UK's grey fleet comprises 14 million cars -- 40% of all vehicles on the road -- which produce an estimated 8,156 tonnes of NOx. That's equivalent to twice the emissions from Transport for London buses.
BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney commented: "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 wants to see a 50% 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.
Cutting grey fleet mileage by just 15% would be the equivalent of taking 225,000 cars off the road in emissions terms,Keaney said.
Andrew Benfield, EST's group director of transport, added: "Switching to more modern vehicles for work purposes can lead to significant cost savings, cut vehicle emissions and improve employee safety."
