There has been much debate over the years as to what is the optimum life expectancy of municipal vehicles. Fleets that have traditionally opted for contract hire have the decision taken for them in the agreement signed with the lessor and operational decisions around replacement cycles are therefore pre-determined. Fleets which have stuck with the outright purchase option have had the ability to decide when the time is right to replace, and the flexibility of ownership allows the operator to extend or shorten the life cycle to suit the operation.

Traditionally operators have planned for replacements by starting the procurement processes well in advance allowing for the third-party suppliers to provide and install bespoke body work and equipment on to proprietary chassis. Add together the tender process time, prime mover lead time and then body build/fit out time and the whole exercise, from inception to delivery, would typically span no more than 8-9 months (depending on the complexity of equipment installed).

All, however, appears to be changing due to a myriad of external forces.

The world economy is going through a turbulent patch at the moment which has seriously affected the vehicle supply chain to the extent that the traditional factory lead times have grown considerably, resulting in delivery times of often well in excess of 12 months – and that may just be for the prime mover vehicle!

Various factors are creating these issues including the supply of computer components, Brexit, the pandemic and, more recently, the conflict in Ukraine – all coupled to the beginnings of the transition to electrification driven by the Government’s deadline of 2030 to end the sales of new fossil fuelled cars and vans.

All too often the decision to replace a vehicle is dictated by the overall condition coupled with spiralling maintenance costs. However, the public sector has a distinct advantage over national operators in that the distances covered by their respective fleets tend to be very low due to the local nature of their duties. Equally, all too often the overall condition of the vehicle and its bodywork, rather than the engine and drivetrain, becomes the factor which dictates the need for renewal, sometimes in a panic following the discovery of unexpected corrosion or unreported accumulated damage.

Is now the time to have a rethink about your plans for fleet replacements over the coming years? I believe the answer is ‘Yes’ and consideration should be given to more targeted replacement cycles rather than a blanket ‘x’ number of years for all vehicles.

In any given fleet there will be evidence, illustrated by the varying condition of similar units, of the degree of care taken by the drivers and operators of the vehicles and associated equipment. A good driver can easily contribute an extra year or two of operational life to a vehicle compared to those who don’t consider the consequences of driving without caring about their van or truck. Equally, minor damage to any vehicle ought to be addressed rather than ignored. Such minor damage can rapidly develop into ‘general poor condition’ if not attended to.

I am sure we have all seen situations when drivers are expected to use a vehicle with minor damage and an air of being ‘unloved’ and they take the attitude of ‘why should I worry’ if their bosses don’t.

Such attitudes are difficult to reverse so every effort should be made to ensure all vehicles, irrespective of mileage or age, are maintained in such a manner as to make the drivers proud to use them and subsequently take good care of them.

It may be time to review planned maintenance inspections to include a greater degree of ‘condition reporting’ and then acting on the minor damage before it develops into major issues.

Driver behaviour also needs to be addressed proactively to develop a culture of care and, where necessary, the reporting by drivers of minor damage without fear of punitive action in response.

If your fleet is contract hired then it may be possible to negotiate with your leasing provider to extend the contract, particularly for those vehicles with very low mileage. If owned out-right, then the decision to extend is yours and may well provide much needed breathing space to accept delays.

A few simple measures as outlined above could well enable the life of any vehicle to be extended by maybe one or two years which will take the pressure off the current supply chain issues. As the old saying goes: ‘sweat the asset’.

This article originally appeared in the autumn issue of LAPV. To subscribe for free click here.