A growing mood of caution among businesses is likely to lead to a boost in demand for medium term rental during 2017.
Phil Jerome, managing director, at Meridian Vehicle Solutions, said that the possibility of an economic downturn would make more flexible arrangements increasingly attractive.
He said, “The effects of Brexit are so difficult to forecast that the majority of businesses are adopting a wait-and-see approach to this year, something that is likely to affect all kinds of areas from capital investment to recruitment.
“What medium-term rental offers against this backdrop is a flexible solution for companies that don’t want to enter into longer-term arrangements. If you are recruiting someone and need a car for their probation period, for example, or if you are employing someone on a fixed term contract, then it is a very viable product.
“Especially, in most cases, the monthly cost of medium term rental of between one-six months is only marginally higher than a traditional three year/60,000 mile contract.”
Online sales values of ex-fleet stock beat physical auctions by an average of one per cent or £220 per vehicle in 2016, according to new figures compiled by epyx.
The statistics are taken from tens of thousands of vehicles sold through the company’s 1link Disposal Network e-commerce platform, which is used to manage online and offline sales of ex-fleet and private vehicles.