Many fleets are “slow to recognise the implications” of the arrival of the new EU fuel consumption and emissions test, says Arval.
The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) replaces the outgoing New European Driving Cycle and is designed to provide results that are much closer to real world figures. Experts believe it will result in official MPG and CO2 figures rising by about 30%.
Shaun Sadlier, head of consultancy at Arval, said: “The adoption of WLTP is just starting to get underway and the first manufacturers are releasing their figures under the new test. By September of this year, all cars on sale must have certification and, from the start of 2019, manufacturers will have to use WLTP figures in all their marketing and promotional material.
“This is something that is happening now and has definite implications for fleets in various areas. Most importantly, because MPG and CO2 emissions figures form such an important element of drawing up choice lists, it could affect which vehicles fleets choose to run.
“Our experience so far is that awareness among fleets is patchy and some are being slow to recognise the implications of the new test. They tend to know about WLTP but not about its imminent arrival nor about the potential impact it could have.”
The most immediate problem facing fleets was simply to ensure that when they were looking at figures for a particular car, they knew whether they were NEDC or WLTP statistics.
“If you are comparing different vehicles, you need to ensure that you know what you are looking at and that any decisions are being made on a like-for-like basis.”
The second key point stemmed from the fact that the Government had announced it planned to start using WLTP figures for all vehicle taxation from April, 2020.
“While this is more than two years away, it is well within the typical life cycle of fleet vehicles that you are buying now. You need to be thinking about the potential impact.”
