If we look at the European company car fleet in general diesel is the predominant fuel type, followed by petrol. In countries such as the US, Australia or New Zealand however, petrol is still predominant although it is losing ground.

But times are changing; due to technological innovation, the fuel efficiency of petrol cars has improved significantly over the last years. Add to that that the difference in pump price for petrol and diesel that has in many countries decreased to a minimum. And with many governments having introduced CO2-related tax (whether that is registration or road tax), people and companies are now making different decisions than some years ago.

If we zoom in on a local level however, we see some deviations from this general trend, for instance in Greece, where in the three main cities diesel cars are to a great extent not allowed due to high levels of pollution. And in Poland, we have seen a change from predominantly petrol to diesel. This is mainly due to the price difference between petrol and diesel as well as the maturing of the lease market. As the price difference between petrol and diesel is decreasing so may this preference change again in the future.

The use of LPG and CNG cars is marginal although some countries show a stable minority share. There are several reasons for this including the fact that cars running on LPG are not allowed in some (underground) parking garages in Europe. Availability is also an issue. LPG or CNG is not as commonly available in fuel stations as conventional fuel. Only in countries such as the Netherlands will you find LPG available at nearly every fuel station. However, networks in Belgium, Italy, France and the UK are rapidly increasing. Ethanol or biofuels are only common in a few countries currently. Brazil is the most outspoken ethanol country and in Europe, Sweden is taking the lead.

The recently introduced electric vehicles are still a novelty. Practical concerns such as range anxiety and the coverage of charging locations on public roads seem to be leading the decision and outweighing the environmental aspects and current fiscal advantages. These fiscal advantages for low and zero-emitting cars are significant although there is a question as to how long the governments will maintain their incentive schemes as this is an expensive measure. 

In France, for example, we have seen a significant shift in car choice towards smaller and greener cars. This is largely due to the tax system that has made polluting cars far less attractive, eg the tax for a car emitting 120g/km is only one quarter of a car emitting 165g/km.

For international fleet managers it will be important to leave the local entities enough freedom to select cars and fuel type that fit their individual local market requirements, infrastructure and culture. The local choice will be highly influenced by aspects such as costs (fuel price and taxation), usage of the car (long distance, heavy load, high annual mileage) and availability and accessibility of refuelling/ recharging.

From an international level, guidelines could be issued with respect to CO2 levels with local countries having to meet certain targets. However these targets will then need to be met by making use of locally available vehicles and options.