Fleet vehicle

This page refers to a collection of vehicles (typically automobiles) with a single owner. For other uses of the word fleet, see Fleet.

Fleet vehicles are groups of motor vehicles owned or leased by a business or government agency, rather than by an individual or family. Typical examples are vehicles operated by car rental companies, taxicab companies, public utilities, public bus companies, and police departments. In addition, many businesses purchase or lease fleet vehicles to deliver goods to customers, or for sales representatives to travel to clients.

Operations

Fleet vehicles typically lead hard lives. Although the fleet owner may have a maintenance department, assigning the vehicles to specific mechanics, the vehicles are often operated by several drivers, subjecting them to accelerated wear. In addition, drivers often do not exercise the same care for fleet vehicles as they might for their own personal vehicles. Fleet vehicles may also be subjected to unusual conditions such as 24-hour use or excessive cargo weights, and may be kept in service until they have accumulated hundreds of thousands of miles. They may also be the target of sabotage by disgruntled employees or customers.

Organizations with fleet vehicles are exposed to legal liability, largely due to the actions of their drivers and to the maintenance status of the vehicles. Collisions and wear-and-tear are the predominant concerns in this area. The "fleet risk management" industry deals with reducing liability exposure associated with fleet operations. Companies involved in this area provide services such as driver training (online, video, classroom-based and behind-the-wheel), retrieval and analysis of driving records from local authorities to create risk profiles, vehicle tracking, and vehicle maintenance.

Many businesses worldwide offer fleet vehicles to selected employees as an employee benefit. However, depending on the country, this benefit may be taxable to the employee (see Fringe Benefits Tax) if the vehicle is also available to the employee for private use.