Look beyond the monthly payment and understand the real cost of running business vehicles.
Total cost of ownership
A better way to compare vehicles than looking at purchase price or monthly rental alone.
Cost per mile
Work out what each mile is really costing once fuel, depreciation and maintenance are included.
Fuel cards
When they help with administration and when the savings may be less important than expected.
Business mileage rates
What employers need to know about mileage payments and current HMRC rates.
A simple five-van cost picture
Suppose a business runs five medium vans, each covering about 20,000 miles a year. A rough annual cost for one van might look like this:
| Cost | Illustrative annual amount |
|---|---|
| Depreciation / finance cost | £5,000 |
| Fuel or electricity | £4,200 |
| Servicing, repairs and tyres | £1,500 |
| Insurance | £1,200 |
| VED, breakdown and administration | £600 |
| Total per van | £12,500 |
Across five vans that would be about £62,500 a year, before allowing for unexpected repairs, replacement vehicles, parking, tolls or downtime. That is why comparing vehicles only by monthly payment can be misleading.