80% of company vehicles in Spain belong to the employees themselves
Eight out of ten company vehicles on Spanish roads correspond to the so-called "gray fleet": private vehicles of employees used for professional activities, according to a study carried out by Gebta. This fleet is four times larger than the official fleet of Spanish companies. Sixty-five percent are more than 10 years old.
The conclusions of the ‘2º study of road mobility for business trips in Spain’, elaborated by Gebta in collaboration with Europcar Mobility Group España highlight the opportunities for improvement in the management of business mobility, a market worth nearly 1.1.9 billion euros.
The so-called ‘grey fleet’ has a older age than the official one. It is estimated that 65% of unofficial vehicles are over 10 years old, well above the corporate passenger car fleet, more than 70% of which is under four years old.This leads to major problems, as the performance of the two fleets is not comparable in terms of efficiency, safety and emissions.In addition, it is necessary to take into account the intensive use of the vehicle for professional trips, which exceeds 2,350 km per month, and the increasing limitations on the circulation of the most polluting vehicles.
SUSTAINABILITY ON THE RISE
Another of the conclusions of the study is the growing weight that Spanish companies are giving to the sustainability and environmental impact of their fleets, particularly among large companies;
Sustainability will be the main area of improvement in terms of mobility policy.
As a result, 77% of companies plan to increase the use of electric vehicles and half of them estimate that they will account for between 20% and 30% of their fleets in the next three years. These plans are accompanied by demand from the employees themselves: two thirds of the companies surveyed state that the demand for ECO vehicles among their employees is on the rise.
In addition to internal demand, the forecast increase in the sustainable fleet can be explained by external factors, such as restrictions on driving in certain urban areas and by image and CSR factors.
This favorable trend towards fleet change encounters however deterrents and barriers such as cost, thereal autonomy of electric vehicles or thescarcity of recharging points.
IMPROVEMENT AREAS
In view of the data collected in the study, the Spanish market presents ample opportunities for improvement: on the one hand, associated with the modification of the current composition of a significant part of the corporate fleet; on the other, with the review of current corporate mobility policies.
According to Marcel Forns, CEO of Gebta, “the mobility policy associated with the road travel of Spanish companies requires a comprehensive vision and a thorough review, which must be approached from the triple perspective of safety, efficiency-productivity and environmental impact”.
In view of these data, Tobias Zisik, general manager of Europcar Mobility Group in Spain, explains that the high percentages of the ‘gray fleet’ reveal that “the travel policies of companies are not yet taking full advantage of the possibilities offered by the new mobility, which are moving more towards shared use than ownership”.