A slew of changes to business travel in the last few months means fleet managers need to review their vehicle lease contracts to make them suitable for the “new normal”, according to software specialists FleetCheck.
It said that the coronavirus pandemic had caused “a wide range of potentially quite dramatic changes” to key variables.
Peter Golding, FleetCheck MD said: “Current car and van lease arrangements used by most fleets were essentially created for a world of business travel that no longer exists and is unlikely to return in the same form as existed even just a few months ago.
“We’ve seen a whole slew of changes in a short period of time.
“The rise of video-conferencing means the likelihood of much reduced mileage for many drivers while there will also be, in many organisations, sadly, the need to make redundancies.”
Golding said managers should review what their mileage and year cycles are now and what will be needed in the future.
And he added: “Generally, it is in the interests of leasing companies to help, although we are hearing some stories of issues to do with handing end-of-contract vehicles back during lockdown, when collection was difficult.
“While lease contract changes may present themselves as an immediate problem, the truth is that now is a good time to start looking at your fleet policy in detail.”
