Van operators are extending vehicle replacement cycles to eight years without encountering major problems, the Association of Fleet Professionals has reported.
While fleets have been forced into the situation due to the huge new vehicle supply issues in recent years, AFP chair Paul Hollick said managers were finding it possible to extend replacement cycles to lengths that “would previously have been considered unimaginable”.
This is fundamentally down to the fleet managers developing new skills that make such longer cycles operationally viable and economically attractive.
“The overall message is that more management attention is needed to keep these vehicles safe and reliable but that the economic benefits outweigh the issues,” he continued.
A key part of the strategy was simply to become “really good” at service, maintenance and repair (SMR) management, Hollick said.
Some developments are relatively simple, such as bundling SMR jobs together to minimise the number of workshop visits or carrying out pre-MOT checks so that you know a van is going to pass.
But fleets are also increasingly using telematics and fleet management software to anticipate potential issues.
“It’s all about acknowledging that your vehicles are likely to become less reliable but putting provisions in place that allow for that problem, such as operating a pool fleet.
“Of course, there are limits. Few fleets want to operate vans over 150,000 miles, for example, but for many businesses that represents several years of operation.”
It’s a trend that could be adopted among car fleets thanks to rising leasing costs – according to the AFP – but human resources considerations and other pressures mean that cycles will probably not reach the same extreme as vans.
“In most car fleets, of course, there is a strong employee desire to electrify thanks to low Benefit-in-Kind taxation and this creates pressure for renewal. But rising costs – which could be as much as 20% higher month-by-month – could potentially mean that we see replacement cycles generally extended.
“A step up to average 4–5-year cycles is certainly feasible.”
