What Makes a Good Company Car?

Company cars are integral to the UK car market, with over half of all new models immediately thrust into work fleets.

These days, the company car is a lot more prevalent than it used to be. Once reserved for the few higher earning positions in a business, now many businesses have a much more universal offering for their employees to enjoy. But what defines a good company car?

Cost-Effective

Of course, from both an employer and employee perspective, money matters.

From an employer standpoint, their company car fleet needs to align with their overall budget, and different companies will naturally have different budgets to devote to their offering.

The cars also need to make sense for their employees in terms of fuel efficiency and levels of tax. HMRC deems a company car a ‘Benefit In Kind (BIK)’; an additional bonus on top of an employee’s annual salary, thus there is BIK tax to be paid.

BIK tax is calculated based on the CO2 emissions of the car combined with the income tax bracket of the employee. With that in mind, the efficiency of a car plays a significant part in ranking its suitability for company use.

Fit for Purpose

Whilst businesses are looking for a cost-effective solution, a good company car should also be brand-conscious and correctly reflect the ethos or professionalism of the employer.

For example, an eco-friendly brand will likely want to have an electric and hybrid only fleet, whilst a high-end corporate services business will want to keep up appearances with an executive vehicle range. A blue-chip business offering comprehensive company car perks to its employees will want an array of models to suit individual tastes.

Company Car Today’s CCT100 awards list highlights the array of cars an employer can pick from. Ranging from simple city cars, to luxury lines, to SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles, it’s important a company finds the best fleet range to suit its brand.

A Pick of the Best

Now we’ve mentioned the awards, what were some of the best picks from the CCT100?

• Mercedes-Benz A Class (CCT100 Car of the Year 2018): The ‘Premium Lower Medium’ category winner was deemed the best overall choice for a company car, thanks to its stylish design both inside and out. Combining brand power, style and substance, Mercedes also developed the new A200d and A220d diesel models so that their BIK tax would drop into line with traditionally cheaper petrol counterparts.
• Nissan Leaf (CCT100 Electric Car of the Year): In an increasingly environmentally-conscious business world, the Leaf was selected ahead of the likes of the Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model S thanks to its improved range, cleaner design and better app technology.
• Volkswagen Up (CCT100 City Car of the Year): The smallest of the bunch, the Up’s low tax pricing, good emission figures and economic running costs for businesses meant it comfortably took the title for the best value city compact.
• Audi A8 (CCT100 Luxury Car of the Year): At the other end of the scale to the Up, the A8 was deemed best for corporates looking for a high-class option. Considered a good all rounder and boasting a range of the latest technology, the A8 won or finished near the top of every suitability category CCT have – topping the likes of the BMW 7-Series, Mercedes S-Class and Jaguar XJ.

So, what makes a good company car? For most businesses and their employees, a combination of good running costs, low tax and emissions and stylish design will be the leading attributes.

For those looking for their next non-company car, Imperial Cars offers a fantastic range of well-priced used vehicles, including some of the models included above.