With 12 billion miles driven each year in grey fleet vehicles, it comes as no surprise that employers are paying out more than £5 billion a year in mileage claims and car allowances. 

And, with recent news suggesting that grey fleet drivers may be over-claiming on their mileage accounts, this adds up to a lot of extra costs for businesses across the country. 

Having a grey fleet is most beneficial for businesses that do not have high business mileage. This is because drivers make fewer journeys, which will hopefully lead to fewer risks. 

However, for larger fleets, and ones who travel further distances, grey fleets can be harder to manage.

With around 40% of business owners estimated to not check whether their grey fleet drivers have correct business insurance or MOT, this is a mistake that can be easily avoided by carrying out necessary checks and documentation from the outset.

You should also assign the responsibility of grey fleet to an employee. This team member should be responsible for creating a framework of policies and procedures within which employers and employees can successfully operate.

If you’re looking for an alternative to grey fleet vehicles, you could consider leasing, renting or even wider use of public transport. However, employers must take care with hire cars. 

When an employee is using a hire car rather than their own for business journeys, it is important that the car is booked and hired to the company, not the individual. Otherwise the car will be listed under retail, not business, insurance.

One benefit of cutting down on the number of grey fleet vehicles and offering greener alternatives, is the obvious subsequent benefits to the environment.

In a recent BVRLA report, figures showed that mileage driven in the private sector adds up to around 3.2 million tonnes of CO2.

Ultimately, for those operating grey fleet within the business, the key to smooth management is to ensure all the correct checks are in place to avoid any unnecessary costs. 

For vehicles in the fleet that are owned by the company, businesses owners should consider using a fuel card to keep costs to a minimum.

By Robert Pieczka, managing director of FuelGenie

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