‘Fleet procurement must look beyond purchase price’

Businesses have been advised to consider after-sales support, maintenance costs and vehicle downtime when procuring fleets, rather than focusing mainly on acquisition prices and vehicle specifications.

For companies that rely on vehicles to deliver goods, transport employees, serve customers and support field operations, fleet procurement represents a long-term operational investment whose value depends largely on reliability and the availability of maintenance services.

When vehicles are grounded by mechanical faults or delayed repairs, businesses may incur additional costs through replacement rentals, disrupted deliveries, rescheduled appointments and the redistribution of workloads.

For operators managing large fleets, repeated downtime can significantly increase operating expenses and affect customer satisfaction.

Fleet managers should therefore assess the service infrastructure available to support vehicles before making purchasing decisions. Important considerations include authorised service centres, trained technicians, spare-parts availability, roadside assistance and repair turnaround times.

The ability of a vehicle distributor to provide consistent support across different locations is also important, particularly for businesses operating nationwide.

Beyond the initial purchase, fleet operators are encouraged to monitor performance using indicators such as vehicle availability, maintenance cost per kilometre, repair turnaround time, spare-parts fulfilment and repeat-repair frequency.

These measures can help businesses determine the actual cost of operating their fleets and assess whether suppliers are meeting agreed service standards.

Some automotive distributors have introduced structured after-sales programmes to address these concerns.

Carloha, for instance, offers its CarlohaCare 6-6-7 programme, which includes a six-year warranty, six years of free servicing and a seven-day repair promise, subject to applicable terms and conditions.

Fleet operators, however, are advised to examine the terms of such offers carefully, including exclusions, geographical coverage, servicing requirements and procedures for addressing delays.

Industry considerations suggest that a vehicle with a lower purchase price may not necessarily deliver the greatest long-term savings if maintenance expenses are high or repairs frequently disrupt operations.

Conversely, a vehicle backed by reliable technical support, readily available spare parts and predictable maintenance costs may offer better value over its operational lifespan.

For businesses seeking to improve fleet efficiency, procurement decisions should therefore balance acquisition costs with reliability, servicing arrangements and the ability to minimise downtime.

Ultimately, the value of a fleet vehicle depends not only on the price paid at purchase but also on how consistently it performs and how quickly it can return to service when problems arise.