Cost per km rising again in France

For the first time since 2012, the cost per km for vehicles in France is rising again, says Arval's Corporate Vehicle Observatory (CVO). For cars, the total cost per km increased by 3.23% compared to the previous year, to €0.351/km. For LCVs, the increase was 4.72% to €0.266/km. 

The increase is due to an increase in taxes and fuel prices. The CVO expects the trend to continue, due to the fiscal implications of the new WLTP certification. This is just one of the results from the CVO's 14th annual Fleet Barometer and the 7th edition of its TCO Scope that are focused on France. Some others:

• 41% of all French companies want to add alternative-powertrain vehicles to their fleet next year, notably hybrids (30%) and electrics (26%). Large companies are more inclined to do so than medium-sized ones (75% vs. 31%).
• 45% of all French companies are already using carpooling, carsharing and/or other alternative modes of mobility, meaning France is well ahead of the European average (37%).
• French SMEs (less than 10 employees) are increasingly adopting leasing: from 5% in 2015 to 11% in 2018.
• 21% of French companies expect their fleet to grow, against 7% who expect a shrinkage – making them slightly more optimistic than the European average.