Car policy: definition
This is the company's internal automobile policy. The car policy encompasses the rights and obligations of employees who benefit from the vehicles. In short, it's an internal charter governing the use of vehicles (evening and weekend use, fuel cards, maintenance, etc.).
It also defines the type of vehicles to which employees and managers may have access.
Key steps in drafting an effective car policy
Many companies already have a car policy. However, in some cases, these were drawn up a long time ago and have not been updated for many years.
To make sure your car policy is a success, it's sometimes best to start from scratch.
We've put together a comprehensive guide to help you define your objectives and ensure the success of your car policy.
Involving employees
To achieve a successful car policy, you need to involve your employees. A car policy must be supported by the employees of an organization, whatever its size. The employees to be involved will vary according to the size of the company: for large companies, the Purchasing or Human Resources Director should be involved. For small and medium-sized companies, you'll probably need to involve the senior management. In all cases, of course, you need to involve the people who will be driving the vehicles.
Define your goals
Once you've considered the different needs of your employees, you'll need to list the objectives of your car policy. You need to distinguish between :
- Regulatory targets These will depend on the external environment (such as the LOM law, the stimulus plan for the greening of vehicle fleets and the 2022 Finance Bill).).
- Internal objectives: this will depend on your company's budget, but also on the image your company wishes to convey to its customers, suppliers and the public.
Setting deadlines
Writing a car policy can take time and energy. You need to be able to keep to a deadline when you start writing it, so as to be sure of delivering a polished car policy at the end of the exercise.
ALSO READ - All you need to know about the vehicle fleet
Questions to ask yourself for a successful car policy in 2023
Before you start drafting your car policy, it's important to know what points you need to take into account when thinking about it. We've listed a number of topics that you should take into account. For each topic, we've listed some questions you might want to ask yourself, to help you better understand your objectives.
Eligibility
In most companies, the right to a company vehicle falls into two broad categories:
- The so-called indispensable users: they need a vehicle for their job (delivery drivers, sales staff, etc.)
- The so-called status The vehicle is included in their benefits package, and they benefit from it as part of their job.
Questions to ask yourself :
- Who needs a vehicle for work?
- Is the current range of vehicles competitive enough with our competitors?
- Is our benefits package competitive?
- Are there any regulations that oblige us to issue a company vehicle once a certain number of kilometers have been driven per year?
Vehicle allocation
What's more, it's important to set strict rules when allocating vehicles. When can a company provide its employees with vehicles?
Questions to ask yourself :
- Is a vehicle an essential part of their job?
- How many years of driving experience do we need to offer a vehicle to an employee? Do we agree to provide vehicles for recent drivers?
- Do they suffer from a disability that could prevent them from driving with peace of mind? Should the risks be assessed in advance?
- Should they sign a charter of good conduct with clear guidelines?
Vehicle selection
For most car fleets, the choice of vehicles will be based on several criteria: price, taxation, safety and the environment. However, the image conveyed by the vehicles must also be taken into consideration. Companies that deploy a fleet of electric company cars can benefit from a return on investment in terms of their reputation. Sustainable commitment has a positive impact on the image a company projects to its customers and suppliers, as well as to its employees.
For example, the Paris City Hall has chosen to support the French automotive sector and show its commitment to ecology by ordering hundreds of Renault Zoé.
By 2021, 21 French companies, including Schneider Electric and Capgemini, have joined the fleet energy transition program.
Questions to ask yourself :
- Are certain types of vehicle excluded from the choice list (e.g. luxury or diesel vehicles) and should they be?
- Are certain makes of car excluded?
- Should our policy include mandatory options?
- Do we choose additional services to include in our contracts (accident insurance, telematics, etc.)?
- Can drivers use the vehicle for personal use?
- Can drivers ask to give up their company car and use their own vehicle? What would be the consequences in terms of remuneration for the employee and the company?
Corporate responsibilities
As an employer, almost all your legal responsibilities regarding company vehicles are linked to safety, maintenance and insurance. maintenance and insurance.. You have a duty to ensure that drivers are not only physically fit but also competent to drive, that they are not asked to spend an unreasonable amount of time behind the wheel, and that the vehicles provided to them are in good condition and properly maintained. From a legal point of view, it is important that you have a traceability of your audits so that, in the event of legal action, you can prove that you have fulfilled your legal obligations.
Questions to ask yourself :
- Do you have an internal resource for fleet safety rules?
- Are drivers properly checked to ensure that they have the right license for the type of vehicle they are required to drive, especially for commercial vehicles? Are licenses checked regularly?
- Do they have access to training to improve their driving? What happens if a driver loses points?
- What happens when a beneficiary's license is withdrawn?
- How can I be sure that maintenance is carried out at regular intervals?
- Are drivers also aware of their responsibilities when it comes to regular vehicle safety checks (e.g. tire pressure)? How can this be checked?
Good to know: we need to pay close attention to the issue of cell phone use while driving. It's a real issue for fleet managers, and one that needs to be addressed by every company.
The beneficiary's responsibilities
When you assign a company vehicle to a driver, you are entrusting him/her with responsibility for an object of considerable value, which can also sometimes lead to accidents. It's important that the driver understands that he or she has responsibilities, particularly in terms of good driving and, in some cases, maintenance.
Questions to ask yourself :
- Is the driver aware of his or her obligations to maintain the vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations?
- Are they able to carry out regular safety checks (tires, brakes, lights, etc.)? Is there a way to check that these tasks have been completed?
- Does the driver have an adequate breakdown service? Is advice provided on what to do in the event of a breakdown, to minimize the risk of an accident?
- Are drivers aware of the terms and conditions of the insurance contract?
Accident management
It's also important to establish clear guidelines regarding the driver's responsibilities in the event of an accident. For this part, it's a good idea to ask your insurer for advice.
Questions to ask yourself :
- Are your drivers given advice on what to do in the event of an accident? How quickly should they notify you as their employer?
- What happens in an at-fault accident?
- Do we have a post-accident process in place?
The rules of good conduct
Another key area of fleet management is employee driving behavior. Employees need to know where you stand on your attitude to driving within the law.
Questions to ask yourself
- Do you have a charter of good conduct reminding drivers to respect speed limits and the highway code?
- If a driver commits an offence, does he pay the fine? If so, how can you be sure that the fine has been paid?
- Does an employee keep his/her car if he/she has committed several offences?
- Are there any policies regarding the use of company vehicles for purposes such as towing?
- What are the consequences if a driver is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs?
Vehicle maintenance
When you assign a company car to a driver, you're entrusting him or her with something of great value. However, the resale value of this vehicle will be seriously affected if it is not properly maintained. Similarly, you may find yourself paying exorbitant reconditioning costs at the end of a long-term lease if the vehicle is not in good condition at the end of the contract. So it's important to make drivers aware of their responsibilities when it comes to vehicle maintenance.
Another option to consider is to accelerate the transition to 100% electric cars. This choice enables fleet managers to make substantial savings thanks to reduced maintenance. On average, up to 50% can be saved on maintenance and repair operations, throughout the cycle.
Questions to ask yourself :
- Are drivers made aware of the need to comply with the manufacturer's servicing and maintenance requirements?
- What information should drivers receive to keep the vehicle in the best possible condition? What do we expect in terms of cleaning?
- Should vehicles be inspected periodically for minor damage or other problems? Who should do this?
- What to do in the event of minor damage to the vehicle What is covered in the long-term long-term rental ?
Ecology
Depending on the size of your company and your CSR policy, you need to take ecology into account to a greater or lesser extent when managing your vehicle fleet.
This is a very important component of your car policy, especially in the current regulatory context.
Indeed, the LOM law (Loi d'Orientation des Mobilités) requires companies with over 50 employees and a fleet of over 100 vehicles to renew their fleets, giving preference to low-emission engines. The framework of this law also raises other issues, such as the geographical location of premises, which may be located close to Restricted Traffic Zones (ZFE). In this context, the car policy must reflect the company's CSR and green mobility strategy.
The first deadline under the new regulations is 2022, when companies must guarantee that 10% of their fleets will be replaced by clean vehicles. These quotas will gradually increase, reaching 50% of clean vehicles by 2030. This measure will be backed up by a ban on the sale of internal combustion engine cars and vans in 2040.
At the same time, private and public sector companies are required to install charging stations in their parking lots. These should account for between 5 and 10% of parking spaces, depending on the size of the area concerned and the problems of accommodating the public. Financial assistance, such as the Advenir bonus, has been set up to support this change.
The other regulatory aspect of the LOM concerns the sustainable mobility package (FMD). Since 2022, companies have been able to introduce the "titre-mobilité". This is a new flat-rate scheme to cover employees' fuel consumption during business travel. Inspired by the "ticket-restaurant" system, it takes the form of a prepaid ticket designed to facilitate reimbursement of employee transport costs.
But it's also important to note that, given the constantly evolving range of low-emission vehicles on offer, this is an area that often needs updating in your car policy.
To ensure that company mobility remains a lever for profitability and job satisfaction, it is essential to keep the car policy alive. This document must remain as flexible as possible.
Questions to ask yourself :
- Is our car policy aligned with our CSR STRATEGY strategy?
- Should we set a general CO2 limit per vehicle for our fleet (e.g. 95 g/km) and reduce this limit on an annual basis in the future? Should we set different limits for different types of vehicle?
- Should we consider environmental measures other than CO2? For example, should we ban SUVs?
- As an organization, should we specifically commit to reducing our fleet's CO2 footprint over time? What should our target be? How should we measure it?
- Should we specifically encourage the use of vehicles with very low CO2 emissions, such as electric cars? electric cars or extended-range hybrids? Should we impose these vehicles on employees, or include them in our thinking?
Drafting your car policy
Once you've asked yourself the right questions and gathered the answers, and worked out your choice of vehicles, the next step is to draw up your car policy.
This document will be a cornerstone of your fleet's operation, and needs to be readable and well-structured. It's important to note that it should be as concise as possible; a document that runs to hundreds of pages will simply not be read by your employees.
Once you've completed a first draft, it can be reviewed by various people for proofreading.
The final version of the document, validated by everyone, should be distributed to all employees with a company car, who must have read and approved the same document. This document must also be signed each time a new recruit joins your team.
Now you know all about the car policy concept. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Given the importance of this document, don't hesitate to ask your managers for advice and/or contact a neutral advisor.
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