UK companies are missing out on attainable savings of approximately £400m a year relating to their company cars and vans, according to research from LeasePlan UK.

In a review of over 133,000 vehicles, LeasePlan identified opportunities for its customers to save over £50 million – £390 per vehicle – by making key changes to the running of their fleet.  Across the UK’s total of over one million fleet vehicles, that translates into over £400m of potential savings.

Based on LeasePlan’s review, companies could achieve the greatest savings (39%) by improving technical support, such as automating vehicle servicing arrangements and specifying a partner garage for repairs. A further 20% of savings is typically achieved by changing company policy on replacement vehicle types, and reducing off road time through improved accident management.

Finding the right funding approach for a fleet can also deliver significant savings (27%), optimising tax efficiency accounted for a further 12% of possible savings

Matt Dyer, commercial director at LeasePlan UK said: “In the current economy, cost is a major consideration for most companies. As budgets tighten and tax incentives decline, many companies are looking for savings through their fleet policy.  LeasePlan believes company cars and vans can be a cost-effective productivity tool, and to prove it, we have started rewarding our staff for saving customers money.

“Optimising a fleet depends on a wide range of factors: the type of company, the vehicles involved, and the nature of usage. So while construction companies typically benefited from better technical support savings, tax efficiency was the key issue for the retail sector.

“Through continuous review, we have been able to identify savings running into hundreds of pounds per vehicle and helped customers make those savings a reality. For companies with a large fleet, this can have a significant impact on their bottom line.”

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