Fleets, contract extensions and downsizing to face Phase 2

Fleet managers are ready to extend the duration of existing contracts, to reduce the number of cars in company sharing and to promote choices of new smaller cars. Maximum attention to the sanitization of vehicles.

Here are the main trends contained in the post-Coronavirus corporate mobility research 'The Fleets Don't Stop?', Promoted in mid-April by Top Thousand, the Corporate Mobility Observatory composed of Fleet and Mobility Manager of large companies, in collaboration with Sumo Publishing .

In detail, the research took into consideration a sample of 35 fleets and mobility managers of large and medium-sized Italian companies (also outside the Observatory), with a total fleet of 56,240 vehicles. A certain starting point: Coronavirus also upset the work of companies and fleet managers: only 24% of the sample replied that there had been no blockages in their company's activities, while 12% declared a total standstill. The remaining 64% indicated a partial stop. Therefore, the repercussions on the management of the vehicle fleet are also evident, with many cars forced to remain parked (in 44% of cases the fleet manager's activity was blocked, for 16% totally, for 28% only in part), also if more than half of the interviewees (56%) continued to carry out their activities, above all thanks to the formula of smart working. When asked what the main consequences will be on their company's car policy, 61% said they were ready to resort (many have already done so) to contractual extensions; 12% estimate there will be a sharp reduction in car sharing vehicles, the same percentage foresees the down-sizing of cars and a slowdown in green projects.

A new challenge to face in the so-called 'phase 2' will certainly concern the sanitization of vehicles; a topic that has been in the limelight since the first days of the emergency and which in company situations mainly concerns cars in the pool and in car sharing. Three out of four fleet managers (76% of the sample) said that sanitization procedures will be established for vehicles destined for sharing in the company. Over 20% will carry them out after each use, most of them weekly.

The last topic at the center of the investigation concerned electrification (electric and hybrid plug-in). Until March, finding a balance between the need to maintain the right mix of engines within the fleet and the adaptation to the current energy transition was a top priority for many fleet managers. One in three fleet managers are also convinced that this change process will slow down.

There is still a lot of work to be done within the companies regarding electrification: it is significant that 48% of fleet managers have reported that they have not yet adopted solutions for charging electric and hybrid plug-in vehicles. The journey will continue, but now, inevitably, there are other priorities.