Diesel still has core role for fleets despite potential scrappage scheme, says Arval

The vehicle leasing and fleet management company said that while it support a potential scrappage scheme to remove old and inefficient diesel vehicles, fleets should realise that newer models offer excellent efficiency and worthwhile environmental advantages.

David Nicholas, fleet consultant, said: “What concerns us is the possibility that modern, Euro 6 diesels, that have a core role to play in the modern fleet mix and offer strong environmental credentials such as low CO2, could somehow become perceived as undesirable.

“This would be limiting for fleets and actually make very little sense in operational terms. Certainly, none of the older vehicles that are likely to be included in a scrappage scheme would be found on fleets in anything but tiny numbers.”

Nichols acknowledged the absolute dominance of diesel in the fleet sector was coming to an end, driven not just by the publicity given to air quality issues but also the development of viable alternatives to diesel.

Nichols added: “We are now entering an era where hybrids, which are being offered by several manufacturers, offer similar or better emissions performance to diesels. It is also often easier to engineer these cars to meet modern emissions standards at an acceptable price.

“Choice lists are gradually changing to reflect these trends. There is no indication that there will be a sudden exodus away from diesel but there are several signals that the direction of travel has changed.”