If you’ve been in business for a while, then here’s a term you may have heard but perhaps weren’t entirely clear about: Grey fleet. No, it has nothing to do with the navy, or even the drab and uninspiring colour of your vehicle fleet. It’s got everything to do with your staff’s personal vehicles, and whether they’re using them for work-related purposes. So, if you run a business like that, you’re running a grey fleet, and there are a few things worth knowing about it.
Now you could be thinking it’s a cost-effective way to run your enterprise: You’re not stuck with the cost of owning and running a fleet, and all you must do is pay your staff for their mileage. What’s not to like, eh? Well, potentially, there’s quite a few things.
For starters, there’s the problem of liability if one of your employees has an accident in their car while they’re working for you. So, it’s important that your insurance covers that.
Next, there’s the potential for vehicle breakdowns that will cost you, while your employees and their vehicles are out of action. That happens when their poorly maintained vehicle carks it on the side of the road, just when you need them the most.
On top of that there are compliance and regulatory questions, that you really can’t ignore, and they involve all sorts of paperwork. Ahh, paperwork, don’t you just love it!
Then there’s the question of safety. Modern cars keep getting safer, so it’s important to ensure your employees’ vehicles are up to the mark on safety. There’s also a potential concern about the environmental impact of your employees’ older vehicles emitting more CO2.
Grey vehicles can pose all sorts of time-wasting challenges when it comes to insurance issues too, like coverage and possible exclusions and claims, should an accident happen.
Now, with time and attention to detail, you can overcome all those obstacles and develop a comprehensive policy that covers your grey fleet. But you must ask yourself: “Haven’t I got better things to do, like running my business?”
A better way
If you answered “yes” to that, then you owe it to yourself to look at leasing your vehicles as a better business option.
Leasing gives you much stronger controls over the cost of running your vehicle fleet, making costs vastly more predictable for expenses such as insurance and maintenance. It also gives you the peace of mind of knowing your vehicles comply with the latest safety requirements, reducing potential liability.
Modern cars are just easier on the planet, with reduced CO2 emissions, strengthening your business’s sustainability credentials. That’s particularly true for EVs.
And maybe the biggest plus of all is that leasing a vehicle lightens your administrative load.
When you take advantage of Fleetcare’s 30 plus-years of leasing experience you’ll find that we take care of all that for you, and we do it with a minimum of fuss.
The only question is finding the lease that best fits your business, whether that’s an operating lease, finance lease, a novated lease for your employees, or a chattel mortgage. To answer that question why not contact Fleetcare today on 134 333.