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Many firms choose leasing as a cost-effective way to put their employees on the road. Smart business owners are managing their companies' cars and trucks with one eye on their [...]

The management of providing company automobiles is changing in the UK. Large companies are purchasing car leasing services, while others offer additional cash as an alternative to company cars. Personal contract plans are being redesigned.

Escalating fuel prices are forcing employers to make sure that their company cars are being used as efficiently as possible, says Tynan Barton Drivers saw in the new year with [...]

EMPLOYERS WHICH offer a choice between a cash-for-cars allowance or a company car may be under pressure to increase the cash allowance by an average of 1,500 [pounds sterling] if [...]

MANY EMPLOYERS do not understand the impact on company finances of offering a cash option, said David Hirst, LeasePlan business development manager. He said: 'One of the biggest issues is [...]

Employee Benefits' series of Round Table debates tackled the emotionally fraught topic of changes to company car policy. The debate, sponsored by LeasePlan, covered adjustments required to meet the demands [...]

United Kingdom businesses can make savings from understanding the overall expenditure incurred in running their vehicle fleets. Vehicle purchase price can change with fuel costs, emissions, insurance and other factors. The use of technology on fleet management transactions is also seen as cost-effective.

Companies have started applying cost reductions to their fleets due to the economic recession by adopting new car choice policies. The new policies limited the choice of car to one or two brands with focus on models with carbon emissions of less than 160 grams per kilometer. Other cost-cutting measures implemented by employers are also presented.

Issues are presented concerning the wide-spread practice of providing perquisites to employees in middle, senior and top management positions. The provision of club-membership plans and company cars are discussed.

The most economical and environmentally efficient way for company accountants is to convert to cheaper types of fuel, such as liquid petroleum gas or compressed natural gas.

Methods to acquire and finance a company car in Great Britain include outright purchase, finance or open-ended leasing, car rental, and contract-hire or closed-end leasing; the latter is the largest growth area, accounting for 18 percent of acquisitions of company cars and offering built-in fleet management services. However, critics say that contract-hire has very high premiums, which fail to make up for its advantages. The choice of models, manufacturers, and financing plans for company cars is widening, with Ford being the market leader. In Britain, company cars account for 40 to 60 percent of new car sales and about 190,000 companies operate company cars.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, as was widely tipped, took a sideswipe at company cars--or rather at company perk cars with which, along with many management accountants, he seems less [...]

The two methods company executives can use to claim reimbursement from the company or personal tax deductions for using their personal cars for the company are the Standard Mileage Method and the Actual Cost Method. The IRS allows a 31 cents per mile deduction for all business mileage under the standard mileage method. A percentage of the actual auto expenses can be deducted under the actual cost method.

Some employees may nolonger benefit from having a company car due to the changes in tax law and could be better offby taking a cash alternative. However, only around 12.5% of company car drivers offered theopportunity to take the cash have done so, with most still better off financially by retaining thecompany car. Employers rarely offer employees sufficient funds to purchase the type ofexecutive car they are used to driving, particularly as employers can purchase cars at discountprices. Company cars offer no risk motoring and there are no extra costs such as road tax andinsurance.

Company cars have a large government subsidy and reforms promised hardly make any impact on the system. Although tax rates have gone up, company cars still receive a bigger subsidy than British Rail despite being an uneconomic and polluting form of transport. The Inland Revenue has published a consultative document about the issue but the reforms suggested are only minor changes which will not rectify the position.

Organizations seeking to improve their fleet management operations can use information technology to minimize maintenance costs for their fleet of company vehicles. While many large organizations prefer to contract out fleet management to specialist firms, a good number of small and medium-sized firms are discovering that the use of prepackaged fleet management software can easily allow them to achieve equivalent levels of cost control.

Company car becoming endangered species Blue Cross, Transtech among firms that say costs no longer justify keeping corporate fleet The company car. It's been used and abused. Traded in and [...]

'Turning a pension scheme around is like turning an oil tanker around.' Paul Charles, Diageo's UK pensions administration manager, relates the vagaries of slow moving ships, which like occupation pensions, [...]

Agency U-turn on company cars Driving back Now that agencies have to pay NI on company cars many will find it an unaffordable perk. It is a safe bet that [...]

FEW status symbols are more potent than the company car. Of the streams of Vauxhall Cavaliers and Ford Granadas sailing down the fast lane of motorways, heavy with metal and [...]

The Death of the Company Car The days of the company car may be numbered. During the past year, droves of small businesses have been switching from company-owned to employee-owned [...]