Optimising the use of vehicles in the company: from company cars to company carsharing

Company cars are one of the biggest hidden cost items - and also one of the biggest untapped reserves. Many companies have a fleet set up "just in case", but in practice a large proportion of vehicles are parked in the car park. At a time of rising car prices, servicing and insurance, more and more finance directors and fleet managers are asking themselves a simple question: how much are our company cars really driving - and do we really need that many.

This article shows how to approach optimising the use of company cars - from measuring data to comparing financing models to introducing corporate carsharing and flexible leasing from AVIS. We draw on both EU market data and local experience from Slovakia.

Why fleet utilisation is key to cost and cashflow

A company car is not just a purchase price. TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) includes:

• purchase price or lease payments,
• servicing, tyres, spare vehicles,
• PZP and collision insurance,
• administration and management (accounting, reporting, fines),
• decrease in the residual value of the vehicle.

European analyses show that the average monthly cost of a company car is around €300/month, while depending on the class it can be between €150 - €800 per month. With 20 cars in the fleet, this means easily €6,000 or more per month, not counting the internal work required to manage these cars.

However, if half of those cars are sitting in the car park during the working day, the company is paying for unused capacity - similar to having an empty warehouse or unoccupied office.

Key term: vehicle utilisation rate

When optimizing a fleet, it makes sense to look at the following in particular:

• Time utilisation rate - how many hours of working time the vehicles are actually in use,
• mileage utilisation rate - how many km the vehicle is driven against the planned annual limit,
• fleet occupancy - the proportion of cars that are booked or used at any given time.

For shared (carsharing) fleets, a healthy target is considered to be a 30-40% uptime - i.e. the car is in use one-third to four-tenths of the time and not parked. In classic non-carsharing corporate fleets, we often see time utilisation rates falling below 15-20% in practice - especially for cars assigned to individual employees who only use them for part of their working days.

The result: the company keeps an unnecessary number of cars that, if better organised, would be driven by more people.

How to measure company fleet utilisation in practice

The first step to optimization is diagnostics. Without data, "fleet optimization" is just a gut feeling decision.

Essential KPIs that every fleet manager should have

Recommended metrics:

• Average km per vehicle per month - e.g. 1,200 km / car / month.
• Average number of days in service - how many days per month the car is actually used.
• Average number of drivers per car - 1 (dedicated car) vs. 3-5 (shared car).
• Total cost per km - sum of all costs / total number of km.
• Total cost per day of use - all costs / number of days the car has been driven.

Ideally, this data is obtained by the company from:

• Telematics and GPS units (automatically),
• booking system (who drove when and where),
• fuel cards and service history.

Simple fleet audit in 5 steps

1. Export data for the last 6-12 months (kilometres driven, costs, drivers, purpose of journeys).
2. Divide vehicles into segments (business, management, logistics, pool/car for more people).
3. Identify "sleepers " - cars with low miles or minimal bookings.
4. Calculate how many cars would be enough if you achieved a higher sharing rate (e.g. 2-3 drivers per car).
5. Suggest a scenario - for example, reducing the number of own cars by 20% and supplementing peak times with flexible rentals (AVIS MaxiRent) or short-term rentals.

The outcome of such an audit is often a surprising finding: the same number of trips can be covered by the company with fewer cars if it introduces smart sharing and a good booking system.

The three main models of corporate mobility - plus corporate carsharing

When planning a fleet today, companies typically face a choice between 3 - 4 models:

1. Vehicle ownership

• High initial investment or credit,
• residual value of vehicles, downside price risk,
• internal responsibility for servicing, insurance, tire service and administration,
• lower flexibility for changes in business (growth, decline, new projects).

It is more suitable for specific work machines or commercial vehicles with modifications that are used long term and intensively.

2. Classic operating lease

• Fixed monthly payment,
• service, insurance, tyres often included,
• Typically 3-5 years,
• contractual annual mileage.

The advantage is the predictability of costs. Disadvantage may be less flexibility when needs change quickly - for example, when a company needs to downsize its fleet or quickly switch to other types of cars.

3. Long-term lease and flexible operating lease (AVIS MaxiRent, AVIS Lease)

• Contracts from as little as 6 - 12 months,
• Possibility to change the vehicle according to the need (segment, fuel, class),
• services included in the lease price (service, insurance, tyres, vignette),
• suitable for projects, trial periods, rapid growth or seasonal fluctuations.

Such a model allows a better matching of the number of vehicles to real demand, which is the basis for optimising fleet utilisation.

4. Corporate carsharing (pool vehicles with shared access)

Corporate carsharing combines the advantages of flexible rental and digital car management:

• vehicles form a shared pool,
• Employees reserve a car via an app or the web, often with keyless access,
• one car is used by several people throughout the day and week,
• the system automatically evaluates usage rates and prepares reports.

Compared to the classic "a car for every manager" model, corporate carsharing can:

• Increase the time usage rate from <20% to 30-40%,
• reduce the number of cars in the fleet by 15-30% while maintaining comfort,
• improve cost transparency (who drove, when and for what purpose),
• support ESG targets (fewer cars, higher utilisation, potential for electrification).

Model example - how carsharing can reduce the need for cars by 25%

Imagine a company with 40 company cars that are assigned to individual employees. The monthly cost per car (lease/rent + service + insurance) is on average 450 €.

• 40 cars × € 450 = € 18 000 per month.
• Data analysis will show that the average car is realistically driven only 8 - 10 days per month.

The company decides to introduce pool cars and corporate carsharing in combination with AVIS MaxiRent long-term rental:

1. 10 cars will remain as managerial and key positions.
2. 30 cars will be replaced by 20 pool cars in carsharing mode.

New status:

• 30 cars (10 dedicated + 20 shared),
• with the same level of mobility for staff,
• on average 3-4 drivers per pool vehicle,
• the pool cars' time utilisation rate will be increased to 35%.

Result:

• The number of cars in the fleet will drop from 40 to 30 (-25%),
• monthly costs will be reduced from € 18 000 to € 13 500,
• annual savings of € 54,000, not including savings on administration and internal work.

This scenario is a model, but very realistic for companies that are switching from individual company cars to a combination of flexible leasing and carsharing.

Digital tools for car management and corporate carsharing

Without digital tools, fleet optimization is challenging. Key elements of a modern solution:

Reservation system and user app

• Easy car booking via web or mobile,
• Real-time overview of available vehicles,
• Setting rules (who sees what cars, maximum booking length, approval of rides),
• history of rides and the possibility of reporting back.

Telematics, GPS and automated book rides

• Automatic route logging,
• differentiation between business and private journeys,
• overview of fuel consumption and driving style,
• easier reporting for accounting and tax purposes.

Interfacing with AVIS operating leases and rentals

AVIS Lease and AVIS MaxiRent solutions already combine today:

• financing and full service leasing,
• online vehicle management and administration,
• the ability to quickly add or remove vehicles as required,
• customer support and assistance services.

If a company adds a layer of a carsharing reservation system, it gains a powerful tool for optimization - it does not need to own or commit long-term to all the vehicles that employees need from time to time.

Trends in the Slovak Republic and the EU - from ownership to "mobility as a service"

A few trends that will affect corporate fleets in the coming years:

• Growth of carsharing and shared mobility - the global carsharing market is expected to grow at a double-digit annual rate until 2033.
• Pressure to use vehicles more efficiently - legislation, ESG targets and investor pressure are driving companies towards fewer cars and higher utilisation rates.
• Digitalisation of car management - booking apps, telematics and reporting are becoming standard even in mid-sized fleets.
• Flexible operating leases and long term rentals - companies are less and less accepting of 5+ year commitments, they want to respond to changes in business over a period of months.
• Changing tax rules - there are discussions across the EU on how to set up support (or conversely limit) subsidies for company cars and incentivise companies to lower emissions.

For the fleet manager and the finance department, this means one thing: strategic fleet decisions are no longer just about the price of one car, but about the overall corporate mobility architecture.

Practical recommendations for fleet managers and finance departments

1. Start with the data, not the financing model

Before you choose a specific product, audit the numbers:

• How many cars do you have,
• how many are actually driving,
• how much they cost per km and per day,
• which cars are business-critical and which are 'nice to have'.

2. Divide the fleet into "core" and "flexi" part

• Core fleet - cars that are essential and heavily used (e.g. vans, service vehicles, high mileage dealers).
• Flexi fleet - cars that are only needed occasionally, seasonally or on a project basis (e.g. team reinforcements, short-term projects, new employees on probation).

Core fleet can be addressed through a combination of operating leases and selected owned vehicles. Flexi fleet is ideally addressed through AVIS MaxiRent, AVIS Lease and corporate carsharing.

3. Introduce booking and car sharing

Even without a major IT project, you can get started with:

• a simple booking calendar in the cloud,
• clear rules on who is entitled to which cars,
• incentives to share cars (pool cars) instead of individual cars.

Later on, you can move to a full-fledged carsharing system with a mobile app and keyless access.

4. Measure and regularly reassess

Set up a cycle, for example, every 6 months:

• Evaluate car usage,
• identifying cars that can be returned or replaced,
• recalculate costs and savings,
• updating the company car policy.

Such "continuous fleet controlling" will allow companies to react to the market, growth or decline, while maintaining an optimal fleet size.

5. Work with a partner who understands both data and business

A strong operating lease and long-term rental partner can help:

• Set up the right financing mix,
• recommend appropriate vehicle types (internal combustion, hybrid, electric),
• arrange servicing, insurance, replacement vehicles and assistance services,
• connect your fleet with digital carsharing and telematics tools.

AVIS is a global leader in mobility with many years of experience in corporate fleet management and long-term leases. It provides solutions for small businesses, corporations and international companies.

H2: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is a "good" utilization rate of company vehicles?

A healthy target can be considered if company cars are used 30-40% of the time on working days. At lower rates, it is worth considering carsharing or reducing the number of vehicles.

Question 2: Is it worth introducing carsharing even with a smaller fleet (e.g. 10 - 15 cars)?

Yes, especially if you have a lot of business trips within a city or region and cars are now assigned to specific people. With as few as 10 - 15 cars, multiple departments can share and book cars and interesting savings can be made.

Question 3: How quickly can we tell if we are oversubscribed?

A basic audit can be done within a few weeks - just export the last year's mileage, fueling and cost data and supplement it with a simple overview of usage (days and hours in service). A partner like AVIS can help you with this analysis.

Question 4: Is corporate carsharing also suitable for executive cars?

In practice, a combined model is often chosen - some managers have their own car, the rest use carsharing pool vehicles. With the right rules, it is possible to maintain comfort for key positions while reducing the total number of cars.

Question 5: How do ESG and sustainability play into fleet optimization?

Higher car utilization rates mean fewer vehicles in the fleet, which reduces emissions from both production and operations. Corporate carsharing also facilitates a gradual transition to hybrid and electric vehicles, which can be deployed first to appropriate routes and departments.

Summary - key learnings

• Company cars are a significant cost item - the average cost of a car is in the order of hundreds of euros per month.
• Many fleets are oversized - cars are parked in car parks and their utilisation rate is below 20%.
• By introducing corporate carsharing and flexible leasing, the number of cars can be reduced by 15-30% while maintaining mobility.
• The key is data and digitalisation - booking systems, telematics and regular fleet controlling.
• A partner like AVIS helps companies to design the optimal mix of ownership, operating lease and long-term rental, including support for the implementation of carsharing.

Keywords and entities

Main keywords:

• Vehicle utilization optimization,
• fleet utilisation,
• carsharing,
• corporate carsharing,
• car management,
• corporate fleet management,
• car cost optimization,
• operating leasing,
• long-term car rental,
• corporate mobility,
• corporate efficiency.

Related entities and concepts:

• AVIS, AVIS Lease, AVIS MaxiRent,
• company cars, company cars,
• fleet manager, finance department,
• TCO (Total Cost of Ownership),
• Digital fleet management,
• telematics, GPS tracking,
• pool vehicles, shared cars,
• ESG, sustainability, emissions reduction,
• flexible operating leasing,
• company car policy.

Conclusion and call to action

Optimising vehicle utilisation is not a one-off project, but a continuous process that brings together data, technology and the right financing model. Companies that can move from a "car for everyone" model to a thoughtful combination of core fleet, flexible leasing and corporate carsharing can:

• Reduce mobility costs by tens of percent,
• increase transparency and control over the fleet,
• contribute to sustainability and ESG goals,
• at the same time increase comfort for employees.

If you want to find out what savings potential lies in your fleet, take the first step - get a no-obligation vehicle utilisation analysis and solution proposal from AVIS.

Contact AVIS Lease or AVIS MaxiRent and look at corporate mobility as a service that works for your business - not the other way around.