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New vehicle safety systems, such as emergency braking technology, are being switched off by drivers, new research suggests. 

The range of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have become increasingly common in new cars and vans.

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB), for example, has become standard in many new fleet cars, but the research from Autoglass shows there is still a lack of knowledge and awareness.

It found that almost a quarter (24%) of drivers with ADAS enabled vehicles said they were not provided with any information about the importance of these features and how they work when they had the vehicle handed over to them.

The survey of almost 1,400 drivers also found that 41% intentionally switch off safety systems such as AEB or lane departure warning systems, while driving.

Neil Atherton, sales and marketing director at Autoglass, said that ADAS can help keep drivers and passengers safe, but only if the technology is “switched on and operating correctly”.

“ADAS is becoming more and more common in UK fleets and so more should be done to educate drivers, to encourage positive behaviour and ensure the systems are being used correctly,” he said

“Fleet managers have a responsibility to not only help drivers understand the benefits of these systems but also to review their supply chain to ensure the vehicles are being maintained to the correct standards.” This applies to drivers themselves, they should also acquaint themselves with all the safety systems.

The cameras and sensors that ADAS relies on need to be recalibrated to manufacturer standards if they have been impacted by a windscreen replacement, and in some cases body damage, to ensure the features are working correctly.

However, more than half (55%) of respondents were unaware that they need to be recalibrated when the windscreen is replaced and 52% of drivers were unaware that the cameras may need to be recalibrated if they have been impacted by body repair work.

When asked, two thirds (67%) of drivers agreed that more education is needed around the importance of ensuring this technology is properly maintained.

“It is paramount that fleet managers have a trusted partner who can carry out the recalibrations to industry standards,” said Atherton.

The increasing number of ADAS enabled vehicles in UK fleets has inevitably led to an increase in demand for recalibration.

In response to this, Autoglass has opened 12 new centres this year, taking the total number of centres in the UK to 90, to allow recalibration to be done in-house.

The new centres have been opened across the UK including Reading, Derby, Carlisle and Banbury.

The locations have been chosen to provide fleets with a more convenient service, and all centres offer windscreen repair and replacements, ADAS recalibration and replacement wiper blades, says Autoglass.

Atherton concluded: “Looking ahead to 2021, we are continuing our plans of opening more centres to ensure we are doing all we can to keep fleet drivers safe on the roads.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Car and van drivers could be charged to enter Greater London if the Government does not agree to give the capital £500 million from vehicle excise duty (VED).

The finances of Transport for London (TfL) have been decimated after Covid-19 resulted in a collapse in ticket revenues.

The Government agreed a six-month £1.8 billion funding deal with TfL last month, with the suggestion the congestion charge zone could be expanded to north and south circulars taken of the table.

However, TfL officials have been asked to investigate the feasibility of a new Greater London Boundary Charge for non-residents which would apply only to vehicles registered outside London which are driven into the capital.

“It amounts to an additional tax on the businesses working hard to keep London stocked with the goods and services it needs to operate,” Natalie Chapman, Logistics UK

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says a charge could help manage congestion, with an estimated 1.3 million vehicle trips made from outside London into the capital every weekday.

Around one million of these trips are into outer London alone and the majority of these journeys are made by vehicles registered to addresses outside of the Greater London boundary.

Khan claims that these vehicle operators greatly benefit from using the capital’s roads without contributing to their upkeep.

Greater London Boundary Charge

Initial estimates suggest a scheme like the Greater London Boundary Charge for non-residents – if levied at £3.50 a day and applying only to non-Londoners – could reduce the total number of weekday car trips across the GLA boundary by 10-15% and raise around £500m a year.

The worst polluters could be charged more to encourage those who do need to drive to do so in the cleanest vehicles, resulting in further air quality benefits, says the Mayor.

However, in order to avoid the potential Greater London boundary charge, the Mayor has called on the Government to instead allow the capital to keep the £500m raised annually from VED charged to London-based drivers.

He claims this money raised is almost exclusively spent outside the capital, with TfL left to fund maintenance of major roads in Greater London from its fare-dominated income.

Khan explained: “Londoners pay £500m worth of vehicle excise duty every year, which is then spent on maintaining roads outside the capital.

“It is not fair on London that our drivers should subsidise the rest of the country’s roads and get nothing in return.

“The Government must allow London to retain its share of VED and to support the capital’s transport system properly as in other world cities.”

He said if ministers were not prepared to “play fair”, then he would need to consider other options, such as asking people who live outside London and make journeys into Greater London by car to pay a charge.

TfL’s feasibility study will need to establish whether such a scheme would be effective in delivering key existing policy objectives at the same time as providing essential income for London’s transport network.

Natalie Chapman, head of urban policy at Logistics UK, said: “A boundary charge would be a significant blow to the recovering logistics sector; it amounts to an additional tax on the businesses working hard to keep London stocked with the goods and services it needs to operate.

“While Logistics UK understands the troubled financial situation Transport for London is in, a boundary charge simply papers over the cracks – it is not a sustainable solution to its problems.

“We are calling for cool heads – both the Government and TfL need to work together to agree a long-term vision to fund the capital’s transport network.”

Khan says a public consultation process would be required before any charge could be introduced, in addition to economic, environmental and equality impact assessments.

An amendment to the Mayor’s Transport Strategy could also be required, subject to consultation.

Development of the scheme, consultation and implementation would take at least two years – meaning that any new charge would not be levied until after the capital’s recovery from the pandemic.

The Mayor’s move to begin examining the feasibility of a new charge comes as an independent review of TfL’s long-term future funding and financing options is published.

It found that this type of road-user charging could have benefits for Londoners – for example, reducing weekday traffic and emissions – and raise significant funds.

Commissioned by the Mayor and the TfL board in July, the review was carried out by an independent panel.

Road user charging

Rob Whitehead, director of strategic projects at Centre for London, said: “Given that the Mayor was charged by Government with devising a plan for putting Transport for London on a financially sustainable footing, without the need for a long term additional grant, it is unsurprising that this review concludes new charges are needed.

“TfL’s financial difficulties have arisen mainly because of its fare-dependent funding model, which has been hard hit by a loss of passengers this year.”

He argues that building on Centre for London’s proposals for London-wide road user charging, the proposal to create a cordon charge for vehicles around Greater London could help to secure the extra funding that TfL needs.

“It complements the Congestion Charge and the ULEZ, could be politically ‘sellable’, would raise substantial revenues, and should help to reduce congestion and pollution at a time when London’s roads are under unprecedented pressure,” he added.

“There is also a rough justice to the proposal. London drivers pay half a billion pounds to the Treasury every year in vehicle and fuel tax, with much of the money spent on the national road network, virtually none of which is in London. So it’s not unfair to ask those driving in from outside London to help pay for its transport infrastructure.

“That said, cordon-based schemes are a crude way of charging drivers for the contribution they make to congestion, pollution and road wear and tear.

“At some point the Mayor and TfL are going to have to bite the bullet and establish a distance-based road user charging scheme for London.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The amount fleet operators and consumers with PCH are paying in end-of contract excess mileage charges for cars has risen significantly for the second consecutive year.

This year’s FN50 (top 50 leasing companies) research has found the average charge for defleeted company cars is £449, 19% higher than last year, which itself was 17% higher than in 2018. The 2018 figure was a record low of £324. The figures are similar if not slightly higher for consumers.

There remains a huge disparity in the size of the average charges reported by individual leasing companies and these range from as little as £20 to £900. The extremes highlighted in last year’s FN50 were £28 and £1,182.

Of the respondents to this part of the FN50 research, 38% of leasing companies had charges above the average amount, with 63% of those at £700 or above.

Of those with charges below the average, 15% were £100 or less.

The average proportion of cars subject to excess mileage charges has fallen one percentage point from last year to a record low 18%. Over the longer term, this proportion is significantly lower than the 2005 figure of 32%.

There is also a large disparity between leasing companies in the proportion of cars subject to excess mileage charges.

These ranged from as low as 0.5% to as high as 61%. There was a £350 difference in the size of the actual average charges these two companies billed: £440 and £790 respectively.

Just more than one-quarter (28%) said the proportion of cars returned which were subject to excess mileage charges was 10% or lower, while 24% said their average figure was about 25%.

Meanwhile, van operators fared much better with excess mileage charges. The average charge for vans fell £2 from 2019’s figure to £482, which points to a year of relative calm after the previous year’s 40% increase.

Those leasing companies with above-average charges for cars accounted for 67% of the companies with above average charges for vans.

As with cars, there is a huge disparity in the average charges reported by individual leasing companies, ranging from £55 to £900.

Of the leasing companies which supplied this information, 42% had charges above the average amount, with 16% at £750 or above. Of the companies below the average, 50% were £250 or less.

The average proportion of vans which were subject to excess mileage charge has remained steady over the past three years.

This year it was 19%, two percentage points below last year’s figure and one percentage point lower than 2018. Two-in-five (38%) respondents reported being at or above the average figure.

As with cars, there was a large disparity between the proportions reported by individual leasing companies. The lowest figure was 2% and the highest 85%.

Overall, 28% of respondents said their average proportion of vans which were subject to the charges was 10% or lower, while 12% were above 50%.

Like last year, there does not seem to be a common factor to determine why the excess mileage trends have either increased in the case of cars or slightly decreased for vans.

There is no consistent patterns in the duration of average replacement cycles operated by the leasing companies with the highest charges, or whether vehicles were being returned early, on time or late at the end of their terms.

Another unknown is the effect the Covid-19 pandemic had on this year’s figures. In July, a Fleet News survey of 150 fleet decision-makers found almost 61% expected to see average mileages of their company car fleet fall.

More than half (57%) of respondents said the majority of company cars they operate were not being driven for work, while 43% said less than one-third of the vehicles on their company car fleet were being driven for work.

This would suggest vehicles could either have been returned with lower than expected mileages as business travel reduced, although many fleets extended their vehicle contracts during the pandemic. Other vehicles could be likely to incur increased charges due to an increased workload.

LOCKDOWN HELP

During lockdown, leasing companies worked to mitigate the impact on mileage charges.

For example, Miguel Cabaça, managing director of Arval UK, says: “Arval will be as understanding as possible in these difficult times.

“We will be having individual discussions and be offering proactive solutions client-by-client.”

Leaseplan said customers’ individual mileage allowances would continue to roll on, on a pro rata basis, if leasing agreements were extended.

This year’s FN50 should provide a clearer picture of the impact of the pandemic on business mileage and how fleet decision-makers have managed their vehicles during the crisis, as more leases expire and vehicles are returned to their leasing providers.

Previous FN50 reports have suggested that when end-of-contract charges are falling, it is most likely through contract hire companies keeping track of mileage and discussing higher mileage than agreed with customers mid-term, and allowing flexibility to increase monthly rental rates to compensate so there would not be a large excess mileage bill at the end of the fleet lifecycle.

These are among the measures introduced by Free2Move as it has focused on reducing excess mileage charges for its customers.

“We have taken two very decisive moves in this area in recent years, taking account of prior dissatisfaction in the market at the level of these charges,” said Mark Pickles, managing director of Free2Move.

“Pence-per-mile rates for excess mileage have been reduced to take account of the ‘real’ impact on residual values, rather than to be used as a ‘penalty’ or profit opportunity – treating our customers fairly is a core principle.

“We also have a large number of our fleet fitted with onboard tele-matics, using our own Free2Move Connect Fleet system, to be able to monitor the mileage on a real-time basis.”

Where Free2Move sees mileage is starting to trend above the contract-agreed figure, it calls its customers to find out if they are aware of this, if it is a trend that is likely to continue or is a seasonal aberration, or if they would like to amend their contract to avoid any end-of-contract penalties.

Pickles added: “Most customers, faced with this up-to-date and reliable information, elect to increase their monthly lease payment slightly to cover the extra mileage and avoid a nasty surprise at the end.

“In the same way that we are used to our gas and electricity bills being adjusted to take account of higher usage rather than building up a deficit on our home energy account, Free2Move is able to neutralise this impact and give the customer a choice of how to deal with a change in usage.

“By utilising the telematics data, we can avoid false alarms, see patterns emerging and give fleet managers the choice of how they wish to manage the change.”

Pickles adds that pooled mileage arrange-ments give its larger customers more flexibility and reduce the need to swap cars or vans between users to manage mileage, resulting in fewer excess mileage charges and less intervention on the part of the customer.

The average proportion of trucks which attracted excess mileage charges also increased year-on-year, this time by three percentage points to 10% compared with 2019.

The average charge was £600 – 50% less than in last year’s FN50 report, while the disparity in the proportion of trucks subject to excess mileage charges reported by individual leasing companies was much smaller than with cars or vans, ranging from 9% to 12%.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Residual values could fall by 10% over the next year as the economic effects of a recession and high unemployment bite.

The prediction is included in the BVRLA’s latest Leasing Outlook report, which warns the vehicle leasing industry is braced for yet more challenges as “the most turbulent year imaginable” comes to an end.

The report says the sector remains agile but is also seeking clarity around the impact of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the transition to zero-emission motoring.

BVRLA members expect battery electric vehicles to hit 6% of the total lease car fleet by the middle of next year, with plug-in hybrids hitting 9%.

Petrol’s market share will begin to plateau at around 38%, with diesel slipping under 50% for the first time at 46%.

Andrew Mee, head of forecast UK at Cap HPI, told the report: “On average, used car values are now around 7% higher than they were a year ago and we consider this unsustainable.

“As we move through Q4, we expect that the strength in the used market may start to slowly ebb away, as pent-up demand is satisfied and the typical pattern of falling values in the latter months of the year could be re-established.

“A fall of 10% over the next year looks reasonable.

“It is broadly similar to 2019 and is nowhere near as bad as we saw in 2008.”

The report says there will be an improvement beyond 2021, but it will not be as rapid as it was in 2009, due to Covid having a much broader and more complex set of impacts on the economy and automotive market.

The three other broad themes covered by the report are:

• Supply chains – leasing companies are looking forward to a rebound in demand for fleet vehicles as the economy recovers but are concerned about the potential for extended lead times and the reputational damage that could ensue.
• Brexit – The type of EU-Exit we get will have a huge impact on business confidence, lead times, the cost of new vehicles and the ease with which they can be moved around the UK and Europe.
• Liquidity – The financial and administrative burden of providing forbearance to those hit by the pandemic will last well into 2021 and there are signs that the supply of motor finance is also tightening.

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Drivers are being urged to ensure they are selecting the right replacement tyres for their cars, to avoid unnecessary costs.

Michelin warns that inappropriate or incorrect fitments could negatively impact fuel economy and tyre life, as well as affecting vehicle handling and performance characteristics.

In some cases, incorrect tyre fitment can risk invalidating the vehicle manufacturer’s warranty.

Michelin’s fleet team points to a rise in the instances of vehicles driving on inappropriate tyres, such as cars running on van tyres (or vice versa), the mixing of standard and run-flat technology products, or incorrect tyres which don’t have the required speed or load rating for the vehicle.

Some manufacturers of 4x4s and high-performance vehicles also stipulate specific marked, homologated tyres for their vehicles.

Brian Porteous, Michelin’s technical manager – Car, Van, 4×4 and Government Contracts, said: “It is crucial that any replacement tyres you select are compatible with each other, compatible with the vehicle and deliver the appropriate handling and performance characteristics.

“Vehicle manufacturers work incredibly hard to fine-tune their cars and vans to handle a certain way, and all of that can be upset if you fit a tyre which, although the correct size, might be intended for a different vehicle altogether. Driving on inappropriate tyres can also lead to reductions in fuel efficiency, passenger comfort and tyre life, plus a noisier ride.”

To help fleets and consumers maximise safety and avoid incorrect tyre selection, Michelin has published a six-point guide which is applicable regardless of tyre brand preference.

• Tyres must meet the vehicle manufacturer’s requirements of load and speed, plus any local regulatory requirements such as: vehicle speed, E marking, winter marking, directional fitment etc.
• If a vehicle manufacturer requires specific marked, homologated tyres, then these must be fitted. It is sometimes possible to use other tyres, but not always – consult your vehicle handbook
• It is essential for vehicle stability that the best grip is maintained at the rear. If all tyres are not being replaced together, the new tyres must be fitted to the rear
• The tyres on each end of an axle must be of the same type. Differences in tyre performance, particularly towards the end of a tyre’s life, make this critical for vehicle stability and predictability
• Winter tyres must always be fitted in full vehicle sets. Do not mix summer and winter tyres across a vehicle
• Run-flat technology tyres must always be fitted in full vehicle sets and to the appropriate wheel type. The vehicle manufacturer’s guidance must be followed as there are often differences in vehicle characteristics to work effectively with the run-flat tyre capability

Peter Wood, Michelin key account manager, added: “As technology has evolved, so has tyre choice. Customers can now select between summer, all-season, winter, extra load, run-flat technology and even acoustic tuned tyres, to name just a few of the options.

In one size alone, there can be several different load and speed ratings to suit various vehicle types, plus options for different seasons and driving styles.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

For the second consecutive year, the FN50 top 10 has, aside from some minor positional shuffling, remained the same: the same companies largely in the same places.

The two exceptions are Arval and LeasePlan switching places and an identical swap by Free2Move and Zenith.

Also occurring for the second consecutive year is a decline in total car and van volumes funded by the UK’s 50 biggest leasing companies. The 2.5% reversal, or 43,186 vehicles, is slightly higher than the previous year’s 2%/35,371, resulting in an FN50 funded fleet of 1,662,320 vehicles.

However, where last year the drop in vehicles was largely prompted by the exit of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (now retail only) and Sandicliffe Motor Contracts (no longer funding), the year it is due to an industry-wide reduction in company cars.

This is a result of people opting for cash (the number of employees paying benefit-in-kind (BIK)  tax on a car continues to fall – 90,000 have left a car scheme over the past five years) and, more recently, by the impact of Covid-19 on jobs, although the full shock of this impending economic crisis is still to be felt.

And, while opt-outs are often converted into personal leases, this hasn’t plugged the gap.

Consequently, the number of company cars in the FN50 has fallen year-on-year by 3.3%, or 41,080 units, while vans saw a negligible 0.5% dip of 2,106 vehicles.

It continues a three-year trend of vans taking a gradually increasing share of the total number of vehicles funded by the FN50: in 2017 they accounted for 24%; this year it’s 27%.

The FN50 data presents a slightly less sombre picture than the recent industry-wide figures released by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association which showed a lease fleet decline of 3.6% year-on-year, at a little more than 2.53 million vehicles.

However, its survey revealed growth in the van fleet by 2.1%, which partially offset a heavier deficit in cars of 5.2%.

Swing towards PCH

Healthier performance by personal leasing Business contract hire bore the brunt of the losses, down 9.7%, while personal contract hire (PCH) enjoyed a healthier performance, up 5.7%. This is echoed by the FN50 members, where the larger organisations have been extending their penetration into the personal leasing sector in recent years.

The past couple of years have seen a definite swing towards PCH among the UK’s biggest leasing companies. In 2018, fleet leasing accounted for 87% of their car business; this year that has fallen to 80%. Almost a quarter of a million cars (244,194) are now PCH.

Often, manufacturer-owned leasing providers have a greater proportion of retail business due to the agreements sold via their franchised dealers, such as FCA’s Leasys at 69% and Renault’s RCI at 67%, while ALD, which powers white label finance for the likes of Kia and Ford, is also weighted towards private leasing. Santander Consumer Finance (the clue being in the name) is 82.5% private and Affinity Leasing, which specialises in corporate affinity schemes for employees, is 96% private.

With the likes of Zenith (ZenAuto) and Arval (Arval for Employees) stepping up their retail aspirations, and growth in salary sacrifice schemes (although not all leasing companies view these as private leasing because of the central agreement with the employer), plus bank-owned organisations such as Lex Autolease improving internal synergies, personal lines could tighten their grip on the FN50 numbers in the coming years.

“The market has been diversifying for many years now and personal leasing in its various forms has penetrated both the retail market and corporate sectors,” says Craig McNaughton, corporate director at the UK’s biggest fleet lender Lex Autolease.

However, a compelling counter-argument centres on the growing attractiveness of electric and plug-in hybrid cars due to the very low BIK tax rates over the next four years.

Some leasing companies are already reporting electric cars accounting for 30-40% of their order books.

McNaughton again: “The advent of 0% BIK for EVs and low BIK for ULEVs has seen movement back into company cars and salary sacrifice.”

He believes that traditional fleet funding methods will remain dominant, despite suggestions among some industry commentators that a growing need for flexibility will persuade companies to negotiate shorter terms and consider alternative funding arrangements.

“We have been part of subscription trials with partners and they do have potential in very specific circumstances, but the economic model for such services remains a challenge, as can be seen by the poor financial results that continue to be delivered by traditional vehicle rental companies,” he says.

“As such, changes to shorter leases and more flexible products are likely to remain small scale due to their relative expense with the market continuing to mainly fulfil demand for providing long-term leasing/funding solutions.”

Nevertheless, flexibility is a recurring theme during 2020 due to the uncertainties caused by Covid-19 and a surge in people working from home, reducing their dependence on the car.

Alphabet doesn’t see subscription services as a replacement for traditional funding, but it does recognise the need for increasing flexibility, according to chief commercial office Simon Carr.

“We expect to see a rise in demand for shorter term, adaptable leasing arrangements to bridge the gap between rental and longer-term leases as drivers’ roles and requirements change,” Carr says.

“Funding choices will become even more data-led and wholelife costs will play an even bigger part in fleet managers’ decisions as the total cost of mobility will be key to running a successful fleet in a time when travel has naturally reduced.”

Flexibility doesn’t just mean shorter terms, however. Salary sacrifice expert Tusker has responded to customers’ needs to “provide shorter and longer agreement options for employees to increase inclusion for lower earners and those on shorter employment contracts”, says CEO Paul Gilsham.

EVs stimulating growth

Meanwhile, Claire Evans, fleet consultancy director at Zenith, believes EVs are stimulating growth in all sectors of the market, from company cars to salary sacrifice to personal contracts.

“We are already seeing a trend into leased vehicles and away from ownership with the growth in electric vehicles and movement to subscription-based services based on monthly affordability,” Evans says.

“It has resulted in increases in salary sacrifice and personal contract hire cars, where EVs account for one-in-two and one-in-four orders placed this year, respectively. We expect to see this trend continue.”

As part of the FN50 survey, leasing companies provide data on the vehicles they manage on behalf of a fleet customer but don’t fund.

For cars, the numbers have risen, showing that the need by UK business for fleet management support is growing, as outsourcing of a function sometimes seen as non-core continues.

This year, the number of cars under fleet management has risen by 27,046 to 259,518; meanwhile, the number of vans has fallen slightly, from 62,808 to 62,129.

As a business essential tool, vans are much more likely to be an in-house responsibility, particularly if the company also runs trucks with their elevated legal and compliance requirements.

The rise in fleet management has helped many leasing companies to offset the reversals in fleet funding.

With three new entrants in 2020, 26 of the 47 returning FN50 companies saw their funded fleet fall compared with 2019, up from 19 companies last year.

By far, the biggest impact was felt by those left outside the top 20 (see table), where double-digit falls were commonplace.

Half of the top 10 are funding more vehicles than a year ago, with notable growth in cars and vans by Arval, lifting it by 6% to leapfrog LeasePlan into third place, and seventh-placed Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, up 7% thanks to wins in both cars and vans.

Free2Move bumped Zenith from eighth after a 5% boost to its funded business, almost entirely cars with a 7,000-unit rise, while Zenith experienced a marginal 1% drop in funded business – although its van division was up year-on-year.

Zenith has also extended its penetration into the truck business with the acquisition in September of Cartwright Fleet Services, Cartwright Rentals and Cartwright Finance Sales from the administrators.

The move created one of the UK’s largest HGV and specialist fleets with more than 50,000 vehicles and one of the UK’s largest trailer rental fleets.

It also underlines how some of the UK’s top lenders are now multi-asset funders with a breadth of interests, from salary sacrifice, job need and perk cars to vans, trucks and trailers.

And some are starting to gow even further, with e-scooters/ e-bikes, car share and other forms of mobility services.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A new statistical release from the Department for Transport (DfT) has highlighted an increase in speeding on UK roads during the first Coronavirus lockdown.

It follows numerous reports from road safety organisations and Police forces across the country that speeding had become more prolific as the nation’s roads emptied in line with national restrictions.

The latest data shows that 63% of cars exceeded the speed limit on 30mph roads during Q2 (April to June) 2020, compared to 56% during the same period in 2019.

There was also a 7% rise in the percentage of cars exceeding the speed limit on 60mph single carriageway roads – up from 10% in Q2 2019 to 17% in Q2 2020.

The percentage of speeding motorists rose by 1% on motorways, to 53%.

As restrictions eased later in Q2, road traffic began to return to normal levels, and speed limit exceedance also started to return to levels more similar to 2019.

The DfT report stated: “The annual speed compliance statistics show very little variation in compliance with the speed limit from year to year, so without the coronavirus pandemic, we would expect speed limit compliance to have remained in line with previous years.”

The worst speeder in the first three weeks of the lockdown was caught in West Yorkshire driving at 151mph on the M62 motorway, according the RAC. This was 11mph faster than the next fastest recorded which was 140mph on the A14 in Suffolk.

Six forces – The Met, Northamptonshire, Gwent, Staffordshire, Kent and Humberside – all caught motorists driving at speeds in excess of 130mph and three others – Police Scotland, The Met and Lancashire – recorded drivers at speeds over 120mph.

The highest speed seen in a 40mph limit was 134mph – 94mph above the limit – recorded by the Met on the A10 in North London, while Cambridgeshire Police detected a car being driven at 73mph in a 30mph area.

Derbyshire Constabulary also caught a driver going at 108mph on the M1 – 68mph above the speed limit. The only other force whose highest speed was in a 40mph limit was Bedfordshire – here the driver was clocked at 104mph on Airport Way in Luton.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “This data confirms what we previously suspected: lower traffic volumes sadly led to some shocking levels of speed limit disobedience, particularly on 30mph limit roads.

This dangerous behaviour unnecessarily put lives at risk during the first national lockdown when more people were walking and cycling.

“Empty roads should not be an excuse to drive dangerously and it would be frightening to think one of the legacies of the lockdown is a complete disregard for speed limits and other road users’ safety.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Civic slipping down the table leaves German cars occupying the top six places, reports Matt de Prez

The Audi A4 has retained its crown as the FN50’s most reliable car for the second year running, achieving the lowest number of mechanical breakdowns and warranty repairs among the UK’s 50 largest leasing companies.

It rose to victory last year – where it topped the charts for the first time – fending off its keenest rival, the BMW 3 Series, although BMW remains the UK’s most reliable car maufacturer.

In total, 80 models received a ranking by leasing companies in the 2020 listing.

Having launched in 2015, the A4 received a mild-facelift last year – bringing cleaner mild-hybrid engines and revised infotainment.

An all-new 3 Series launched in the same year, however, beating the A4 in the 2020 Fleet News Awards to win both the Best Premium Car and Best New Company Car trophies.

Whether the new model will enable the brand to reclaim its position at the top of the FN50, as it did between 2015-2017, remains to be seen.

Comparing this year’s figures with the previous shows a major move for the Honda Civic. It topped the chart in 2018 before slipping to fifth place last year. In 2020, the Civic has dropped again and now sits in seventh position.

Golf’s strong performance

It means the top six is populated entirely by German cars this year, with third place occupied by the Volkswagen Golf.

It’s a strong performance for the model, which is the best-selling fleet car in the UK and was replaced by an all-new model earlier this year.

The Golf pushed BMW’s 5 Series down to equal fifth place with the Audi A3 – also replaced by an all-new model this year – which climbs the chart from 11th and makes Audi and BMW the only brands to have two cars in the top five.

Mercedes-Benz enters the table in fourth place, with its C-Class model ranking in the top 10 for the first time since 2016.

It’s second entrant, the E-Class, has also climbed the table from ninth to eighth place this year – having placed 13th in 2018 – a good result that reflects the saturation of the newer generation car among leasing company fleets since it launched in 2016.

Hyundai makes an appearance in equal ninth position, with the i30 giving the brand a spot in the top 10 list for the first time.

Rounding off the top 10 is the ageing, but the nonetheless exceedingly popular, Nissan Qashqai.

It ties with the i30 in ninth place after a one-year hiatus and is the only model representing the crossover segment in this year’s top 10.

Both the Volkswagen Passat and Škoda Octavia dropped out of the table this year, placing 12th and 15th respectively.

The Audi A1 (23rd), Toyota Yaris (40th), Toyota CH-R (28th), Kia Sportage (33rd) and Ford Focus (16th) have all slipped out of the top 15 this year, although it should be noted that the margins between many of the models are very small.

While BMW failed to top the reliability ranking with its 3 Series, and the 5 Series lost ground this year, it still retained its title as the Most Reliable Manufacturer overall.

The Munich giant remains undefeated for six years.

Leasing companies ranked 27 models this year. Audi has held on to its number two spot this year with a strong performance from its A4 and A3 models, while Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen sit third and fourth, respectively.

Honda has dropped from fifth to eight place this year, while Toyota – which saw improved positions for the Aygo (17th) and Prius (23rd) versus 2019 – has crept up one position to secure the final place in the top five.

Hyundai places sixth, while Volvo shoots up the table, occupying its highest ever position: seventh.

Volvo’s performance reflects its dramatic growth in the fleet sector, with strong year-on-year increases in registrations growing the presence of its vehicles on FN50 fleets.

Seat takes ninth place and is the VW Group’s third most-reliable brand, according to the FN50 survey.

Mitsubishi climbs two places, meanwhile, and occupies 10th position.

Kia drops out of the top 10 to 13th, having placed ninth in 2019 with the Ceed now its top rated model, in 18th place. Equally, Ford has dropped from 10th to 14th and has no cars in the top 15 reliability list (although Focus just misses out in 16th place).

Renault turning a corner

Renault may be happier, appearing in the top 15 for the first time.

The French brand appears to be turning a corner, with the Captur rising to 12th and both Mégane and Kadjar receiving a ranking.

This year’s newcomers mean that Mini (16th) and Vauxhall (19th) have been pushed from the top 15 list altogether.

How are models/brands ranked?

Each FN50 leasing company provides its top 10 most reliable models and most reliable brands and the ranking is based on 10 points for first place, nine for second and so on.

Some leasing companies also provide reliability data to add robustness to the survey responses. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The total market value for UK primary vehicle body repairs has fallen by 26.6% to £3.57 billion in 2020, as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, new research suggests.

Furthermore, the report on the UK vehicle body repair and motor insurance market, published today (Monday, November 30) by independent market research company Trend Tracker, says accident repair volumes will not return to pre-Covid levels until 2022.

The Emerging from Covid-19 – The UK Vehicle Body Repair and Motor Insurance Market 2020-2023 Market Study reports that accident repair volumes declined by 30% in 2020.

However, it says that as repair costs have continued on an upward trajectory, predominantly due to the increased complexity of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) and an increasing number of vehicles with hybrid or electric powertrains, the financial loss to the sector is calculated at 26.6%.

Mark Bull, director of Trend Tracker, said: “Anecdotally, the volume demand for insurer-funded accident damage repairs fell by approximately 80% overnight as the initial nationwide lockdown came into effect in March, however they had steadily recovered to approximately 75% of pre-Covid levels as Government restrictions eased, until November that is.

“The Trend Tracker research has monitored repair volume and values throughout the year to calculate quantitative figures that show a projected annual loss of £1.3bn in 2020 to the UK vehicle repair industry.”

Of the £1.3bn market contraction, which can readily be viewed as a direct saving to motor insurers’ claims expenditure, £5.6 million is attributed to a loss of parts sales, £4.1m as lost labour sales and £2.6m as lost paint sales, with the remainder being additional and consumable items.

“We would expect traffic volumes to return to greater levels during 2021,” Mark Bull, Trend Tracker

Meanwhile, offsetting some of the financial loss to the vehicle body repair market, the cost of repairs continues to rise year-on-year.

Since 2018 to the first half of 2020, overall repair costs generated via the Solera Audatex system have increased by 10.2%, from an average of £1,860 to £2,050 per repair.

Taking a longer-term view, since 2013 overall repair costs generated via the Solera Audatex system have increased by 48.5% and they show no sign of slowing, due primarily to ever-increasing vehicle complexity.

Bull explained: “While we know that 2020 has been devastating for many businesses across all sectors, the vehicle body repair sector was very much on the road to recovery until lockdown 2.0 came into effect.

“However, with the excellent news that a vaccine will be available shortly, we would expect traffic volumes to return to greater levels during 2021, which should correlate to a V-shape recovery in terms of the number of accident damage claims.

This is encouraging for bodyshops, although we predict that pre-Covid work volume will not return until 2022.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Road users have sent more than 50,000 dashcam recordings of potential traffic offices to police forces since 2017, with one-third resulting in action.

Police forces across the UK receive more than 35 pieces of footage every day, according to a freedom of information request sent to every UK constabulary by What Car?

Just over 10% of the incidents captured on film were severe enough to warrant a court prosecution and 9.6% resulted in a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN).

A further 10.5% resulted in the driver being asked to attend a driver awareness course, and 3.0% of drivers were given a warning.

The use of dashcams by drivers and other road users has increased by around 850% since 2017, when insurance companies started accepting footage as evidence for claims and the courts first used footage to convict an offender.

The What Car? research found Dyfed-Powys Police in South Wales is the most active in using dash cam footage.

It has taken action over 81.3% of the videos it’s received, with 40.2% of offenders receiving a warning, 18.6% of them were prosecuted in court and 18.4% were asked to attend a driver awareness course, while just 4.0% were handed an FPN.

London’s Metropolitan Police received the largest volume of submissions – nearly 25,000 videos over four years – and acted in 45.4% of cases, issuing court proceedings to 18.9% of offenders, driver awareness courses to 13.9%, FPNs to 9.6% and warnings to 2.9%.

The report comes one month after Fleet News reported that 3,805 videos were uploaded to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal in just 90 days.

The National Dash Cam Safety Portal, which allows motorists to quickly and securely upload footage of dangerous driving to the relevant police authority, is now being used by 33 forces.

Fleet operators and their drivers are being urged to share dashcam footage with police to help prosecute dangerous drivers and improve road safety.

Police forces that have taken the highest share of actions per footage received –

Police Force	Number of dash cam videos received 2017 – 2020	Number of videos resulting in action by Police Force	Percentage of videos resulting in action by the Police Force
Dyfed-Powys Police	375	305	81.3%
Norfolk & Suffolk Constabulary	1877	966	51.5%
Northamptonshire Police	612	300	49.0%
Metropolitan Police Service	24,799	11,247	45.4%
Gwent Police	728	306	42.0%
Warwickshire Police	1875	722	38.5%
Gloucestershire Constabulary	470	180	38.3%
Humberside Police	272	94	34.6%
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary	1182	379	32.1%
North Wales Police	1857	516	27.8%

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News