Rentals Minimizing Gray Fleet Costs

Vehicle rentals, including daily hiring, is increasingly being used by businesses to minimize the cost of "gray fleet" usage in financial, environmental, and safety terms, according to a report commissioned by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. (Gray fleet vehicles are any cars other than company cars, or cars funded by a car allowance or cash from the employer, that are used for business journeys.)

Entitled Driving Futures, the report highlights the impact professional and lifestyle changes are having on the rental sector, claiming that car hire is becoming a "cornerstone of sustainable motoring."

Rental is identified as an alternative to employees using their own cars for business trips, potentially saving on recharged mileage costs and offering greater control on the type, quality, and environmental suitability of cars or vans used.

The report stated: "Daily rental charges, even including fuel, can be significantly lower than mileage reimbursement for many business trips. Drivers or the company can select a more appropriate vehicle for a journey to reduce the environmental impact." Rental is endorsed as a means of addressing duty-of-care responsibility, and potentially reducing the weekly toll of 200 work-related road deaths and serious injuries, some involving poorly maintained vehicles.

The report added: "Car rental provides peace of mind as hire cars are regularly maintained and always in top condition."

The rental sector’s ‘try before you buy’ approach can, maintained Enterprise, provide access to new technology such as electric vehicles, of which there is still an ambivalent market, and "help bridge the anxiety gap."

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