On June 8th 2011, Fleet Europe and its partners LeasePlan, PwC, Arval, Athlon Car Lease International, ALD Automotive International and Mercedes-Benz Cars, organized the IFMI Expert Session on the New International Car Policy regarding CSR, Safety, Green, Mobility and New Powertrains. No less than 26 fleet decision makers from companies including Accenture, Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris, UCB, Pfizer, Coco-Cola Entreprise, Novo Nordisk, Philips, 3M, Shell, Astellas Pharma and Danfoss attended this IFMI Expert Session.

Richard Krueger, Team Security Communication at Mercedes-Benz Cars, described the evolution in the domain of the active and passive safety features that the automotive industry in general and Mercedes-Benz in particular has undertaken. More and more safety assistant systems are and will be available in fleet vehicles with the purpose of minimising injuries. The ultimate purpose for Mercedes-Benz and probably all car manufacturers is injury free and in the longer term even accident free, driving. This is why the car manufacturers invest millions of Euros in R&D. But despite all those safety improvements and investments, it’s the driver, the person in the driver’s seat, who has the final word. If he or she does not want to respect the safety rules even the best assistant systems can’t avoid incidents and accidents. When fleet managers want to select safe vehicles it is advisable to look further than the Euro NCAP scores, because these scores are only the result of a safety test within European standards and they do not cover all safety aspects. So don’t be immediately satisfied with a 5 star ranking, but make sure that what you believe is important for your car fleet is also available for the models that you choose.
Unfortunately up until now there is no single general standard where as an international fleet manager you can compare the safety degree of all models across the globe. The participants made the suggestion to the car industry that it would be not only good but even a competitive advantage to integrate all necessary safety features as standard in the car. At the end of his presentation Mr Krueger assured the participants that the new technology cars such as hybrids and electric cars are tested in the same way as conventional cars with combustion engines and that these new technology cars do not have more safety risks than other cars.

Taxation is a CSR Driver
Renewing the international car policy according to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) is more and more on the agenda. Two main subjects are included in the CSR when we talk about fleet management. It’s Green and it’s Safety. When done appropriately the implementation of a CSR strategy will lead to cost savings. That was made clear by Bart Vanham, who described how taxation can be used as an element to influence the car policy in order to attain CSR objectives. As already 19 of the 27 EU countries have car taxation regimes in which CO2 plays a certain role, it is possible as a fleet manager to use CO2-directives as a key driver of the car policy in order to lower emissions and to cut costs. When you do this it’s important to have a good overview of the current fleet and CO2-levels, so that you can create a consistent business case that has the support of top management. The implementation of the CO2-emission targets can be carried out in several ways, from CO2-capping to the use of a CO2 bonus-malus system, but always attempting to ensure a degree of  local freedom when implementing. When you consider the integration of electric and hybrid vehicles in the car list you have to make sure that you validate them correctly. The tax incentives and the TCO approaches are different and so they require correct proper policy management including driver profiles. Here too driver behaviour is important, but when managed efficiently TCO-savings of up to 15% are realistic, said Bart Vanham, along with increased fleet safety.

 
The Mobility Mindset
Some companies that have CSR high on the agenda have already developed mobility initiatives. But to develop a real mobility policy is not obvious. It demands a mobility mindset where top management and employees are enthusiastic about using mobility solutions that support their work. According to Pieter Waegenaer of Athlon Car Lease International a mobility policy can be effective and achieve substantial savings while increasing the motivation and productivity of the employees. But a mobility policy goes much further than the car. In fact the fleet car is just one element and the policy is not set up around the fleet car but around the mobility needs of the individual. It is therefore important to think differently, because not all persons at the same function level have the same mobility needs. A mobility scheme that is already established is the so called cafeteria plan. As a company you put together a mobility budget for the employee and the latter can use this, within the budget, for several mobility solutions in the most efficient way (company car, teleworking, public transport, car sharing solution, IT solutions…) Consultancy company Ernst & Young is an example of a company where they no longer think in terms of cars but of mobility. Facility & Fleet Manager Ghislain Vanfraechem explained how this mobility strategy fits in the company’s strategy, how the employees with an average age of 29 years ask for this and which solutions Ernst & Young has developed (electric pool cars, combination of public transport and company car, satellite offices,…) together with suppliers. The impact on the ecological footprint is positive and the image of the company is also enhanced. The only disadvantage today is that as an early adopter costs can be quit high for some mobility developments and the control of each mobility solution is not always easy. But according to Mr Vanfraechem the result is more than satisfying and Ernst & Young will in the future go further along the mobility highway.

Listening is key
The second case study of this IFMI was presented by Bruce MacLaren of Microsoft. The International Fleet Manager of the Year 2010 explained how he had achieved the Microsoft international car policy. This car policy covers 60 countries but leaves a high degree of local input. Bruce MacLaren said that the preparation and the set up of the goals and the strategy are really important and you have to take time to do so. In this phase listening to the stakeholders (globally, regionally and locally) is crucial because you’re worth nothing with a document that is not supported by every group of stakeholders. Another crucial point is that you have always to go step by step and for each element that you want to change or need to be changed and you have to highlight the positive impact of this step so that everybody feels included in the programme and stays motivated. One of the crucial parts of the new international policy was the guideline to go to an average CO2-emmison of 130 g/km in each country. BruceMacLaren showed by using an example that it’s not as easy in every country ( against for example) and that you can’t just put things in place bottom down. In the implementation phase you have to use the power that you have got from top management and you have to be alert. The exercise is never finished but is worth undertaking. 

BRIC asks for local freedom
In the new world of business we see new economies coming to the forefront. The BRIC countries – , , & – are often seen as the new emerging cluster. Mark Van Eck of ALD International gave an insight in these new markets and the way they impact on an international fleet approach. The key word is ‘carefully’, because there are still huge differences in maturity toward leasing and financing, in the degree of fleet services, in product availability, taxation and in mentality towards elements like green, safety and CSR. When as a fleet manager you are or become responsible for (one of) these markets you cannot expect to manage them from your European desk. You have to go over there and feel the culture, the economy and the local habits. This is the only way to discover how the market acts and the only way to know what can be managed internationally and what has to be done locally. In brief, all that has to do with the fleet strategy and the fleet objectives can be done internationally. And the scope of the fleet policy, stakeholder support to change things in the emerging markets and the definition of the fleet policy in relationship with the CSR policy, can also be managed internationally. But all aspects that have to do with who gets a vehicle, which model with which specifications in terms of safety, CO2, fuel type, mileage and duration have to be managed locally. The differences with mature countries are too big and a one size fits all approach is not going to work. 

To end within this IFMI Expert Session there were two workshops: one on the evolution from Total Cost of Ownership to Total Cost of Mobility and one on the evolution of the international car policy. In the workshop on Total Cost of Mobility, facilitated by Saskia Harreman from LeasePlan International, it became clear that several conditions have to be fulfilled to efficiently go towards a TCM. Many fleet managers ask for more information on mobility management and are not convinced that a mobility management is, cost-wise, as interesting as their current fleet management. And although we pay more for ‘green’ food, we apparently are not ready to pay more for green fleets or mobility solutions. Tero Tapala and Denis Ferault have analysed several policy elements over the years. Strategic and governance elements like the funding method, the way vehicles are allocated, the standard safety features in the car fleet, strategic reporting, the rules involving maintenance and repair, the decision on the KPI’s, the determination of the HR bands in the policy are managed internationally and will stay there in the coming years. The car policy details, such as which models, what sort of driver training, which fuel card, fine management and accident management rules are organised locally. And that’s the logical way, because although we are living on one planet and the EU now numbers 27 countries, each country has its differences and each country has its maturity. And it is a good thing that it is like this.

The next IFMI Session will be organised on October 26th in Madrid, . The general theme will be: International Fleet Procurement Strategies. More information on : http://www.fleeteurope.com/ifmi/