Fitter, Leaner more agile fleets. Any size fleet can benefit from paying more attention to their Fleet Fitness. Many little changes can add up to big shis in performance, efficiency and endurance. Contact the Fleet Fit team at dfm-uk@daimler.com FleetNews April 23 2020 £6.00 ■ ADVICE ON MANAGING YOUR FLEET THROUGH COVID-19 ■ NISSAN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE PROJECT SHOWS POTENTIAL ■ LAUNCH OF FLEET & MOBILITY LIVE ■ HOW AUTO WINDSCREENS SAVED MORE THAN £150K ■ EX-DRAGON WANTS DRIVE SOFTWARE TO BE GLOBAL LEADER Fleet News April 23, 2020Start finding the marginal gains If you have immediate fleet performance targets to tackle or you are looking for ways to become more agile and ready to respond to changes in legislation, taxation, fleet finance or new technology. Beginning to pay more attention to your Fleet Fitness is a great way to start developing leaner mobility solutions that are more prepared for the future. Working closely with our Fleet Fit coaches or using the free resources and advice available from our website is a fantastic way to start racking up the marginal gains, the small tweaks to fleet operation that can be compounded to create big shifts in overall performance. For any questions on your Fleet Fitness dfm-uk@daimler.comemail: INSIDE FRONT PANELDFM_FN_Cover_wrap_AW_AG.indd 208/04/2020 15:03FleetNews April 23 2020 £6.00 CommercialFleet INCORPORATING My best career move Just 30 months in, Shaun Atton has revolutionised fleet practices to save more than £150k and win most improved fleet of the year Fleet spotlight: Auto Windscreens The UKs most influential fleet event is back with a new name and two days of packed content. Turn to page 28 to find out moreadRocketInternational Truck of the Year 2020. The new Actros. Were proud that the new Actros has won the International Truck of the Year 2020 accolade and would like to extend our thanks to all of our customers for their many years of loyalty! Everyone talks, one delivers. The new Actros. For more information scan the QR code. FP_FLEETNEW_NATOTYUK21id4273259.pdf 04.09.2020 10:28 3fleetnews.co.uk ■ April 23 2020 NEWS AND OPINION 4 Fleet News survey on lockdown 8 SMR challenges of coronavirus 9 Home delivery threat to fleet safety 11 Free2Move Lease looks to mobility 12 Your letters 58 Last word: Keith Cook IN THE SPOTLIGHT 32 Auto Windscreens Automation is the buzzword Drive Software Solutions Ex-Dragons great expectations Multi-award-winning BMW Simplifying its fleet approach COMMERCIAL FLEET 53 Testing the Daf XF FTP 55 The Maxus E Deliver 3 56 Pandemic impact Many new measures on hold TODAYS FLEET 40 Cash vs car The company car fights back 46 Fleet News debates Look beyond 0% BIK on BEVs, say leading fleet managers IGNITION 48 Audi A3 Sportback Improved fleet appeal 49 Peugeot 3008 hybrid Super crossover-type SUV 50 Our test fleet TOMORROWS FLEET 16 Humandrive Project The road to autonomous driving 20 Future transport zones Solent drone trial could save lives THE CASH VS CAR DEBATE P40 ELECTRIC FLEET 22 Salary sacrifice and EVs Together they are a perfect fit 24 Making EVs the No 1 choice Case for increasing fleet uptake 28 Launch of UKs biggest fleet event P14 DIGITAL ONLY FleetNews goes FROM MAY CONTENTSBy Gareth Roberts undreds of thousands of company cars and vans are standing idle as fleets feel the full force of the coronavirus pandemic. Almost three-quarters (72.6%) of respondents to a Fleet News survey said less than 10% of their company cars are being driven for work. Any semblance of normality was reserved for just one-in-20 fleets, which said more than 75% of their company car drivers were still on the road. The impact on van fleets is equally significant, but, due to increases in demand from different parts of the economy, such as home deliveries, fewer vans as a proportion of overall fleet operations are standing idle, the research suggests. Nevertheless, two-thirds (66.7%) of respondents said that less than 10% of their van drivers were working, but almost one-in-five (18.8%) said between half and three-quarters of their drivers were on the road. One in 10 had more than 75% of their van drivers operational. One fleet manager told Fleet News he had mothballed half his fleet due to a lack of work, while another had de-hired all unused vehicles and arranged rental holiday for leased vehicles. Payment deferrals have also been discussed with funders in the event of extended movement restrictions. The Government lockdown, intro- duced on Monday, March 23, has resulted in an estimated nine million employees being furloughed. Many of those still in work, meanwhile, are working from home. An overwhelming majority of fleet decision-makers close to three- quarters (73.4%) said they were working from home; one in 10 were dividing their working day between the office and home, and just 15.4% were still in the office full-time. BENEFIT QUESTIONED The number of employees being furloughed or working from home has called into question the fairness of paying company car tax on a benefit that may be standing idle. Currently, unless a company car is unavailable for 30 consecutive days and is available to the same employee before and after the period of unavail- ability, it is liable to benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax during the whole period. HMRC told Fleet News the benefit charge applies where a car is made available for private use, whether or not it is so used. A spokesman said: A car kept on an employees driveway during a period of furlough would still be considered to be made available. Neither would we accept a SORN declaration as proof of unavailability. Ordinarily, a car would need to be handed back to the employer so it cannot be used. However, HMRC says it recognises under the current circumstances it may not be possible to physically hand the car back. The spokesman said: We would accept that where all the keys (or tabs) are in possession of the employer, and the employee does not have the authority to request the keys are returned to them, the car would be unavailable. However, no official guidance has been published and the suggestion around sending keys back could create major problems for fleets. The Association of Fleet Profes- sionals (AFP) says it has already heard reports of employees pushing their keys back through the letter- boxes of unattended offices. Not only does it make it impossible for fleet decision-makers to create an audit trail to satisfy HMRC, but it could also create a health safety problem if a car needed to be moved in an emergency and the keys were not readily available. OPERATIONAL IMPACT Vehicle deliveries and collections have also been halted, with leasing companies working with fleet deci- sion-makers to extend contracts, where possible, and mitigate poten- tial charges incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they say they are contin- uing to support vehicle deliveries for frontline essential services, public sector customers and key workers. Customer service teams are working from home and are avail- able to assist fleets, while vehicle orders can be made online, but the industry says it recognises fleets will need help negotiating the crisis. Tim Buchan, chief executive of NEWS: CORONAVIRUS UPDATE All areas of the industry adversely impacted as virus lockdown bites One-in-four fleets agree contract extensions; less than 10% of company cars driven for work 4 April 23 2020 ■ fleetnews.co.uk H Are you still working in the office or now working from home? Source: Fleet News What proportion of your company car drivers are still driving for work? Source: Fleet News 15.4%: working in the office 73.4%: working from home 11.2%: a bit of both 72.6%: less than 10% 13.7%: 10-30% 2.9%: 31-50% 5.4%: 51-75% 5.4%: more than 75% 5 fleetnews.co.uk ■ April 23 2020 10.3%: more than 75% Zenith, said: We are operating as near to normal as possible. Customers are still able to order vehicles and speak to our team for any assistance they might need. Customers and their drivers are being kept up-to-date, with regular communications on everything from vehicle availability to servicing and maintenance, explained Buchan. Everyone at Zenith understands how important our role is in keeping fleets operational and were doing everything we can to support them all at this time. Nick Brownrigg, Alphabets CEO, told Fleet News he understood that Covid-19 is an unprecedented, concerning and difficult time for everyone in the UK. Customers that may have an issue with their payments as a result of coronavirus should call to discuss their concerns as soon as possible, he said. We have a range of options avail- able such as the rescheduling of payments which enables us to tailor a solution to the precise circumstances of the business and the types of contract on which the fleet operates. He continued: This is an incredibly difficult moment for many busi- nesses in the UK; however, fleet decision-makers should also remember that there are contrac- tual and regulatory obligations for leased and financed vehicles. Fleets are also being directed to the relevant Government websites and online resources, which detail potential grants and support avail- able to businesses. Almost a third (29.2%) of fleets say they have negotiated vehicle contract extensions with their provider. Brownrigg said, if they have less than three months left on their contract fleets and drivers are being contacted to discuss their options. He added: For customers with vehicles on contracts with beyond three months to run, we are recom- mending they continue to run to their normal renewal cycle, unless there is a specific request for a contract reschedule. Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, like many other leasing companies, is taking a similar approach. Managing director Jon Lawes said: Weve been contacting all of our customers with vehicles due for renewal in the next six months to offer them the ability to extend their contract. This has been done on a case-by- case basis to ensure we consider the most appropriate option for each and every driver. LeasePlan UK is also currently working on extending the contracts of its customers, including key Almost 20% of fleets said between half and three-quarters of their drivers were still on the road What proportion of your company van drivers are still driving for work? Source: Fleet News Have deliveries of new company cars and vans stopped? Source: Fleet News Have you agreed contract extensions with your leasing provider? Source: Fleet News 66.7%: less than 10% 10.9%: 10-30% 3.6%: 31-50% 8.5%: 51-75% Yes: 91.1%No: 8.9% Yes: 29.2% No: 33.3% N/A: 37.5%Fleet industry can be proud as it answers all calls in selfless and capable fashion workers, to keep them as mobile as possible. Attila Dobos, operations director at LeasePlan UK, explained: We are offering a number of options for our customers to choose from, designed to cater to their individual needs and personal circumstances. These include formal and informal extension agreements. If neither option is suitable, we are asking customers to get in touch with us directly where they can discuss further options with our dedicated customer services team. To help any service, maintenance and repair (SMR) needs during the crisis, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solu- tions set up a dedicated operations incident team to contact every supplier across its network, before the nationwide lockdown was announced. It has contacted repairers that cover 84% of its essential services and critical vehicles, of which 83% repairers are available. Our focus remains on making sure we can react to any fluidity within our supplier network be that sourcing alternative garages or recruiting new suppliers, said Lawes. Our teams are also busy maxim- ising workshop availability, with fleets compliance and uptime our main priorities. As a result, fleet availability is 99.5% across our customer base. At Alphabet, Brownrigg said SMR bookings should only be made if they are absolutely necessary. However, he added: If customers have desig- nated key workers that need to remain mobile, were asking them to contact us so we can ensure their continued mobility, despite the restrictions and challenges. Arval UK has also adopted new SMR procedures to support a number of key businesses, including some of the UKs largest pharmaceutical and medical supply companies. Corrine Barton, UK head of networks at Arval, explained: We are having to find service and main- tenance suppliers that remain avail- able for essential work, and then schedule jobs so that downtime is kept to an absolute minimum. Getting this right can literally save lives. (For more on the SMR impact, see page 8). RESIDUAL VALUES The long-term impact on the fleet industry remains unclear, but undoubtedly the length of the lock- down will play its part. Andrew Mee, head of forecast UK at Cap HPI, said: In the short term, when a lockdown of hopefully only a few months starts to be released and the new and used car markets start to come back to life, there is the potential for reasonably steady residual values. This should be the case if the impact on consumer confidence is of limited and pent-up demand is met by a fairly sluggish used supply of ex-fleet and ex-PCP vehicles constrained by the logistics of vehicle collections, inspections and move- ments to disposal channels. Following this, Mee believes a shortfall in new car supply as manu- facturers struggle to re-establish supply chains may make late plate and low mileage used cars very attractive, and good values for these will ripple down to support values of older cars. On the other hand, he said, a longer lockdown is likely to have a much more negative effect on the economy, and peoples jobs, personal wealth and disposable income. This could see used car supply outweigh demand and so result in a medium- or long-term fall in used values. An inevitable fall in new car regis- trations in 2020, however, could affect used car supply in future years, contributing to future used value recovery. NEWS: CORONAVIRUS UPDATEOPINION: AFP OVERVIEW Weve just lived through a few weeks during which the world seems to have altered completely. Shifts in behaviour and material changes that we might have dismissed as almost unthinkable as recently as early last month have become the norm and look set to remain in place for the foreseeable future. Not that the future seems anywhere near as foreseeable as it once did. In the fleet sector, the impact of coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown have been dramatic. We have switched from being a profession that literally sets business in motion to one that barely turns a wheel. Its quite a transformation. However, there has been a crucial exception to this newfound stillness. That has been the support that we, as an industry, have been providing to key workers. In frequently difficult circumstances, it has meant making sure that we keep vehicles available, safe and reliable, often on a 24/7 basis. For the fleets that really need to keep moving, those that are essential to living and saving lives, we have been in place to help their workers deliver. When the fleet industry was called on to help, it responded in a selfless and capable fashion, and all of those involved deserve some praise. We can take pride in what we have done. There have been other important subjects to tackle, if not as dramatic. Many company car drivers find themselves in difficult financial circumstances, and the work that has been done on benefit-in-kind taxation to minimise their outgoings is extremely worthwhile. Equally impressive has been the way that the majority of fleet industry service providers, from the smallest to the largest, have moved from being traditional, centralised organisations to atomised, home-working operations in a matter of days. Achieving all of these tasks has required often Herculean amounts of work, as I am sure everyone reading this knows. On a personal level, I can vouch that I have never been as busy as in the past month, something that I have heard many other people report. What everyone now wants to know is what the future holds, but the picture is very far from discernible. As I write this, it is becoming clear the lockdown will extend into May. Will it continue beyond then? Will there be a phased reduction? Will we have to live with coronavirus measures until well into next year? The answer is that no one knows. However, from what I have seen over the past few weeks, it is very obvious to me that whatever is asked of our sector, we can answer that call. With the flexibility, goodwill and ingenuity that we have shown, the fleet industry can tackle anything. Everyone, please stay well and safe. CAROLINE SANDALL, CO-CHAIR OF THE ASSOCIATION OF FLEET PROFESSIONALS (AFP) 6 THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT MOMENT FOR MANY BUSINESSES IN THE UK NICK BROWNRIGG, ALPHABETadRocketFORD HYBRID Model shown is an All-New Kuga ST-Line 2.5 PHEV Auto with optional Lucid Red Exclusive Body Colour Paint. Weighted Fuel economy mpg ( l/100km ) , ( Combined ) : 201.8 ( 1.4 ) . Weighted combined electricity consumption: 26.88 kWh/100 miles. Weighted CO 2 emissions: 32g/km. Equivalent all-electric range: 35 miles. These figures were obtained using a combination of battery power and fuel. The Kuga Plug-in Hybrid is a plug-in hybrid vehicle requiring mains electricity for charging. Figures shown are for comparability purposes. Only compare fuel consumption, CO 2 and electric range figures with other cars tested to the same technical procedures. These figures may not reflect real life driving results, which will depend upon a number of factors including, accessories fitted, variations in weather, driving styles and vehicle load. KUGA PLUG - IN HYBRID 1 OF 14 ELECTRIFIED VEHICLES IN 2020 A full charge of the electric powertrain gives you a range of up to 35 miles with zero emissions whilst driving. Re-charge via mains power or let the 2.5 litre Duratec Petrol Engine take over. Search All - New Ford Kuga PHEV to discover more. BIK £194.20 per month for 40%CO2 32g ( WLTP ) COMBINED MPG 201.8mpg * using the electric range FP_FLEETNEW_294825KUGAid4275108.pdf 04.14.2020 14:41 Next >