The arrival of the new WLTP fuel consumption and emissions standard could prompt some fleets to offer company cars to employees currently operating under grey fleet arrangements.
The new regulations take effect this autumn and they have shown the “real world” consumption figures to be about 10-12% worse than under the current testing standard which will push up BIK costs to company car drivers.
Peter Golding, managing director at FleetCheck, said that the differences in fuel consumption and CO2 figures from some cars measured under WLTP compared to the older NEDC were marked to a degree that they demanded a radical rethink.
“We believe that this could be especially prevalent under organisations that have set themselves strong corporate social responsibility targets and are very concerned about the environmental impact of their fleet.
“The fact is that just about every company car comes out of WLTP much worse than NEDC and this will have a dramatic effect on the green results that these fleets are achieving.
“Effectively, these employers face a choice – move the goalposts because of WLTP and increase their targets or reconsider the kind of company vehicles that they are operating alongside their grey fleet arrangements.
“For these fleets, because grey vehicles tend to be older and more polluting than newer vehicles, extending the company car scheme to include more people is a potential solution, as well as one that could be cost-effective.
The arrival of the new WLTP test in September means dealers will have to register existing stock before the end of August, or be unable to sell the models in the UK.
Only models meeting the tougher emissions test can be registered from 1 September.
