Vehicle supply issues still impacting fleets
More than two thirds of fleets (68%) say ongoing vehicle supply issues are still disrupting daily operations.
This is according to a survey of more than 400 fleet manager carried out by vehicle subscription specialist Flexed, which is part of Autohorn Fleet Services.
It found that 59% felt vehicle supply issues had worsened in the last 12 months, despite expectations of improvement.
The resulting delays in vehicle supply have caused almost half (43%) of respondents to be unable to fulfil contractual obligations, with one in five (21%) recording resulting financial losses of upwards of £500 a day and an additional seven per cent citing losses of more than £1,000 per day.
Major impact
Scott Jenkins, Autohorn’s operations and sales director, said: “Our research shows that vehicle supply challenges continue to have a major impact on businesses, even though as an industry we expected the situation to have stabilised by now.
“We’re seeing particularly high demand for our Flexed services this year and customers use us for a range of reasons, from plugging vehicle gaps caused by manufacturer production delays or recalls, to managing seasonal delivery peaks.”
Vehicle supply has been impacted this year by global trade disruption and reduced UK production, while significant recalls from manufacturers including Tesla, Ford, Nissan, Kia, Vauxhall and Citroën have further affected vehicle availability.
