Despite uncertain conditions, a net 20% of businesses believe that the number of vehicles they operate will grow in the next three years, according to new research by Arval.
The figure – which shows those companies predicting an increase minus those who foresee a decrease – is virtually identical to last year when a net 21% of fleets said that they were optimistic about growth prospects.
The findings come from the 2018 edition of Arval’s long-established Corporate Vehicle Observatory Barometer, research which covers 3,718 fleet decision makers.
However, what is interesting is that smaller and larger fleets appear to have switched position in the last 12 months when it comes to which believes that growth is more likely.
In 2017, a net 38% of fleets with more than 50 vehicles predicted growth versus a net 13% of those with fewer than 10. Today, those numbers have evened out to 20% and 23% respectively.
Medium sized fleets – those with 10-49 vehicles – are less optimistic, with a net 11% foreseeing greater numbers on their fleet in 2018 compared to 24% a year ago.