HAS your fleet decided that a used car or van is a more suitable vehicle for drivers?
Used cars are certainly catching on with salary sacrifice users – a bigger car for less outlay – but used vans are beginning to come into play, according to research from the 2026 Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer.
The leasing company says that in 2026, 58% of the fleets it surveyed were using preowned cars and vans, compared to 52% last year. What’s more, a further 31% were planning to add more in the next three years, against a figure of 27% in 2025.
John Peters, Head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, commenting on the findings, said:
“The manner in which used vehicles have become an established part of the fleet market is an interesting trend. The shortage of new cars and vans during the pandemic prompted many fleets to consider pre-owned options, and incorporating them into long-term acquisition strategies has subsequently become recognised as an effective option.
“This is enabled by the improved durability and quality of today’s cars and vans. Modern designs maintain safety, operational cost-effectiveness, and good overall cosmetic condition for significantly longer periods than in the past.”
Larger companies are more predisposed to operating used vehicles, rather than SMEs.
Arval found:
- 63% of companies with more than 1,000 employees had used vehicles on their fleet
- 59% of those with 100-999 employees had used vehicles on their fleet
- This fell slightly to 56% of companies with fewer than 100 employees had used vehicles on their fleet
Peters said: “To some extent, this is an unexpected finding but the key is that used vehicles are much more likely to be employed to fill gaps in fleet provision than as a core part of operations. Trying to buy 20 identical used models that can be added to a fleet is going to be difficult – but adding a couple to be operated as pool vehicles is relatively easy.
“Also, used fleet vehicles are currently much more likely to be cars, operated by 53% of our respondents compared to just 15% for vans. This underlines the likely pool fleet role.”
Finally, UK fleets are operating a larger number of used vehicles than the Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer European average of 42% and global average of 41%.
John said: “This may be a trend that can again be tracked back to the pandemic, when right-hand drive vehicle availability was generally poorer, leading more UK businesses to consider used alternatives.”
Photo by Adam Stefanca on Unsplash
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