Transport is a crucially important part of any business – whether for employees travelling to and from clients and the office, executives travelling to meetings or for the safe delivery of goods and services. With businesses opening back up fully following the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and hybrid-working becoming a new normal for many businesses, it may be time to introduce a company car program in your business to facilitate easy travel for yourself and your staff. But choosing which models to offer can be a difficult task. Here are three of the chief things you should consider before choosing a company car.
Sizing
The size of your company car should very much depend on your role, and the kind of tasks you intend to undertake using it. For example, as a tradesperson or travelling engineer, you may need a significant amount of boot space for your equipment – necessitating the use of a van for your work. As a salesperson or executive, you would instead be looking for a statement car, with enough room for comfortable drives up and down the country – meaning an executive saloon car would be better suited for you. Lastly, if your business is entirely city-based, you might want to consider a cheaper – and smaller – hatchback solution, enabling you to comfortably nip down alleyways and fit in compact car parking spots with ease.
Electric, Fuel or Hybrid?
The next consideration for you to make is your new company car’s fuel type. Should you opt for a fossil-fuel powered car, a new electric vehicle or a hybrid model? With the UK government set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030, the country seems to be slowly moving away from fossil fuels as a fuel source for cars, meaning choosing an electric vehicle could be the right choice not only environmentally but also with regard to infrastructure. However, while current electric vehicles have an impressive range, charging points, supported by effective dealer management, are harder to come by than petrol stations – meaning if you’re likely to be making a lot of long journeys, petrol cars could edge ahead. If the kind of driving you would be doing incorporates both city driving and cross-country, consider a hybrid alternative, wherein petrol is used for long-distance, high-speed driving and an electric battery kicks in for more economical city driving.
Cost Efficiency
Cost efficiency is an important factor to weigh up when looking at a company car – the cost of the car in and of itself is not the only cost the car will have to your business. There is road tax based on emissions, service costs, and you will also have to factor in motor trade insurance, a must-have for businesses with regard to company cars. Altogether, will the cost of this new vehicle, and the overheads associated with it, be justified by the use it will receive? If the answer is no, you may have to refine your search for cheaper models, lowering certain expectations in the process. Are you looking for a new company car to help you with your work? Take on some of these considerations when conducting your search and you should be left with the perfect company vehicle.
