‘Grey fleet’ refers to vehicles that are privately owned or leased by employees but used for business travel. In many organisations, grey fleet mileage is unnecessarily high. On average, grey fleet vehicles are older, less safe and more polluting than alternatives, such as company or pool cars. Energy Saving Trust and BVRLA estimate that employees drive over 12 billion miles each year, costing employers around £5.5 billion a year, contributing to congestion, air pollution and emitting 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
There are also duty of care implications. The law is clear – an organisation has a legal duty of care to an employee, regardless of vehicle ownership, which means grey fleet needs to be managed as diligently as company-owned or leased vehicles. For more detail on duty of care and health and safety implications, see our guide to managing grey fleet mileage.
Making grey fleet the last resort for staff is also likely to result in substantial savings for an organisation, as alternatives – such as daily hire vehicles – can be more cost-efficient. Proactive grey fleet management also tends to be associated with reduced mileage and therefore reduced costs and higher productivity.
For more detail, see Drivers for change (in Process, drivers, considerations and monitoring).
To help finding the breakeven point, see Daily car rental vs private car costs spreadsheet.