Arval reduces average fleet CO2 to sub-130g/km

Arval’s average fleet CO2 has fallen to 128g/km after it refreshed its own company car choice list for employees to include a wider variety of the lowest emitting vehicles on the market.

As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to limit its environmental impact, Arval’s fleet & road safety manager worked with the Arval Consulting team to set maximum CO2 limits for each entitlement band as well as pulling the most efficient vehicles into a special ‘ECO group’ which is made up of a range of sub 110g/km vehicles, with some emitting less than 99g/km.

Cars within the ‘ECO group’ include the BMW 320 Efficient Dynamics, VW BlueMotion and Ford Econetic models as well as efficient versions of the Mini Cooper and the Audi A3 1.6 with a CO2 of 99g/km. Hybrid models such as the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius are also featured on this list.

As well as the normal tax breaks and reduced running costs that low emitting vehicles bring, nearly all employees selecting a vehicle from this group receive the incentive of a trade down allowance from Arval; a monthly payment included within their salary. In fact 25% of drivers that have taken delivery of a new company car in the last 12 months at Arval have chosen a vehicle from the ECO group.

This approach is designed to give the fleet manager the power to ensure that vehicles used by company drivers provide acceptable mpg performance and CO2 emissions as well as making the move to a lower emitting, more efficient vehicle an attractive option for Arval drivers.

For Arval, this has had a very positive impact with average fleet CO2 quickly falling to 128g/km which is 16g/km below the average for new car sales in 2010.

Tracey Scarr, fleet & road safety manager at Arval, said: “Our new choice list has proven to be very successful in influencing the vehicle selection habits of many of our employees and reducing the average emissions of our fleet. With average CO2 falling to 128g/km in less than a year, this provides a clear demonstration of how a well thought out choice list can positively shape behaviour.”

She added: “Our whole life cost approach means that the choice list remains broad and we are by no means forcing drivers to select the greenest vehicles. However, with environmental performance and costs directly linked, selecting more efficient cars has become a compelling choice for many Arval employees.”