Green vehicles and CO2 caps back on radar for
lessors, says ACFO. Antonio Fabrizio reports.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The growing number of challenges
being faced by the UK fleet industry has meant its representative
body, the Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO), has been
focusing more of its efforts on protecting its members’ interests,
as well as strengthening its membership base.
Today, the association, in
existence for over 30 years, has 850 members – all of them UK fleet
operators with a fleet of anything between five and 5,000
vehicles.
ACFO chairwoman Julie Jenner told
Motor Finance that the association has been focusing on
industry meetings, and the large numbers at last month’s annual
conference proved how popular it has become.
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By GlobalDataThe association has also been busy
lobbying the government on ‘hot’ issues – such as fuel mileage
reimbursement rate, taxation schemes, and green agendas.
This, said Jenner, a key solutions
manager at GE Capital, with over 20 years’ experience in the fleet
industry, has been done in close contact with other bodies, such as
the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM) and the British
Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).
With the ICFM, ACFO has agreed to
work in areas of mutual benefit and promote each other within their
respective members.
Jenner said: “We feel we complement
each other. The ICFM is a fully accredited body offering fleet
management training courses, so they can offer something we can’t.
On the other hand, they don’t lobby governments.”
As for the BVRLA, Jenner said the
two associations cover the entire fleet sector, and a number of
companies, such as GE Capital, are members of both.
“I know BVRLA CEO John Lewis well,”
she said. “We go to government meetings together, where we
represent the whole spectrum of the fleet industry, including end
users, rental companies and leasing companies.”
A lot of the association’s work
recently has also been with green fleets, although Jenner said the
recession might have slowed the adoption of cleaner vehicles.
“In the bad economic climate many
companies stood still, so the green issue went away a little,” she
said.
But she added: “As we start to come
out of recession, people are more inclined to look at green
vehicles and CO2 caps.”
She also believes the future of the
UK car fleet will be with electric technology.
“We know it has to change, because
we don’t have unlimited fuel resources. There isn’t a viable
alternative yet, but manufacturers are investing a huge amount of
money in it,” Jenner added.
But the push towards electric will
depend on how issues such as recharging are resolved.
“I am sure, a few years from now, this alternative technology
will be ready to use,” she said.
