SME Company Car of the Year Award Categories.
What are the awards categories?
There are seven categories open to car manufacturers. There is no limit to the number of entries you can make. Cars must be on sale by 31st October 2016 to qualify for the awards. Having picked their category winners, judges will then pick their SME Company Car of the Year 2017.
Restrictions and criteria for each category are shown below.
The seven categories are:
Best Value SME Company Car
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We want to find the best value company car for SMEs. What do we mean by value? That winning combination of competitive P11D price, low benefit in kind taxation, excellent running costs, and great specification. Does your brand have a winner in this sector?
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Last year’s winner was: Mercedes C 350e PHEV Sport Auto Saloon
Best Compact SME Company Car
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When small businesses and SME firms look for staff company cars, they keep it simple. It’s either a compact car or a large car. So we want to find the best car that is sub 4.5m in length that combines fitness for business purpose while also doubling up as a suitable lifestyle car at the weekend. Qualifying cars must be efficient on benefit in kind company car tax, have excellent fuel-efficiency and have good running costs and provide the SME business motorist with a great all-round package.
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Last year’s winner was the MINI 1.5 Cooper D 5dr Hatch.
Best Large SME Company Car
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If it’s not a small car, then managers of SME small fleets are looking for a larger car to suit technical or sales staff on the road or more senior personnel in the organisation. That means a car that is longer than 4.5m and conveys a level of seniority and aspiration for SME business drivers. Must satisfy all the key attributes of being practical, desirable, good on company car tax and low on running costs.
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Last year’s winner was the Jaguar XE 2.0d R-Sport 163PS.
Best Director’s SME Company Car
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What sort of company car would a director of an SME want to run? It would need to be something prestigious, well specified but also not too heavy on benefit in kind company car tax or on running costs – especially if it’s for the FD!
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Qualifying cars will cost more than £30,000 and are open to all body configurations – SUV, crossover, estate as well as more traditional saloon.
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Last year’s winner was the Jaguar XF 2.0d R-Sport 180PS Auto.
Best Green SME Company Car
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Green cars – or ultra low emission vehicles - are increasingly gaining credence with SME small fleets thanks to low running costs, low benefit in kind taxation and the relaxed nature of the driving experience. And with the recent changes to benefit in kind taxation percentage tax bands and the changing of the 100% write down threshold to 75g/km, those ultra low emission vehicles are really making their case for inclusion in any SME small fleet. But which is best – electric car, range extender, plug-in hybrid, or maybe hydrogen?
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To qualify for this award, cars must have CO2 emissions that do not exceed 75g/km.
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Last year’s winner was the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron.
Best SME Company Car Programme
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Small businesses and SME small fleets don’t have fulltime fleet managers. It’s usually part of the MD’s remit or falls to one of the other directors. So SMEs need help to run their company cars. Which company car programme does that best?
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Which really delivers to SMEs in terms of consultancy, test drives, finance packages and external ‘fleet manager’ expertise that SMEs require?
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Last year’s winner was the BMW | MINI Group Business Partnership programme.
Best SME After Sales Programme
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Delivering the sale of a new company car to an SME is one thing; it’s quite another to support the car ‘in-life’ with servicing and operational support.
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We’re looking for the best after sales programme that’s as capable of looking after two company cars as it is for 25+.
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Last year’s winner was Hyundai’s After Sales Programme.
SME Company Car of the Year 2017
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The judges’ pick of the best all-rounder from the category winners.
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Last year’s Car of the Year was the Jaguar XE.
Who are the judges?
The SME Company Car of the Year 2017 Awards will be judged by a panel external of experts who are specialists in the SME company car sector. The judges will be led by Paul Hollick, chairman of the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM) and managing director of the Miles Consultancy.
Steve Cocks, Lex Autolease.
Steve, who is now in his 25th year at Lloyds banking group, is now director of Lex Autolease Broker Division. Steve has led broker teams for Bank of Scotland, Lex and now Lex Autolease.
The broker business continues to go from strength to strength, having reached a fleet of 60,000 vehicles earlier this year they look set to surpass 70,000 before the end of 2016.
Professor Colin Tourick, Professor of Automotive Management, University of Buckingham.
Colin is a management consultant specialising in the automotive fleet and asset finance markets in the UK and overseas. He is also a prolific author, with eight books including ‘Managing Your Company Cars’, 'Company Car & Van Tax 2016-17' and 'Do The Maths - How to decide whether you should lease or buy'.
He is a 37 year leasing industry veteran, the former managing director of CitiCapital Fleet and the co-founder of the International Auto Finance Network.
Paul Hollick, The Miles Consultancy.
Paul is the managing director of The Miles Consultancy (TMC), the fuel purchasing and mileage management specialists, as well being chairman of the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM).
A qualified chartered accountant, Paul began his fleet career at Inchcape Fleet Solutions where he was head of finance and for four years before joining Alphabet in 2007.
At Alphabet, Paul was part of their executive team where he headed up all their sales and marketing activities, while leading innovation, development and delivery of new products into the UK market.
Paul was also chairman of the Business Car Manager SME Company Car of the Year Awards 2015 and 2016.
At Fleet Alliance, he has an active and hands-on role in managing all aspects of the business - particularly the sales and marketing functions - and has been responsible for overseeing the company’s tremendous growth rate.
He has also served as chairman of the BVRLA’s leasing broker committee.
Martin Brown, Fleet Alliance
Martin Brown is the managing director and a shareholder of vehicle finance and fleet management specialist Fleet Alliance, which has a fleet of around 18,400 vehicles under management.
Although still only 41, Martin has been MD at Fleet Alliance for the last 14 years, making him one of the youngest and longest-serving MDs in the fleet industry.
Todd Williams, Arval
Todd Williams is the head of broker at Arval UK, working closely with specialist brokers throughout the UK to provide vehicle leasing solutions to SME businesses.
Todd joined Arval in 2000 working in various areas of the business including, fuel, accident management, operational leasing and has recently returned to the UK having spent the last four years working in international business at the Arval headquarters in Paris.
Jim McNally, Alphabet
Jim is Head of Asset Risk at Alphabet. He is also the BVRLA RVR Committee Chairman. He has worked in the motor industry for over twenty years, predominantly in pricing and risk related roles. He has a passion for all things motor related, and has a keen interest in motor racing, four wheels and two.
Married with two children, he has the dubious joy of supporting Arsenal.
Rupert Pontin, Director of Valuations, Glass’s
Rupert Pontin, Director of Valuations at Glass’s, is responsible for the accuracy of information provided by Glass’s, Europe’s largest vehicle data provider, as well as the editorial teams, who provide the base data for all valuation and forecast products across the car, commercial vehicle, motorcycle, caravan and motor caravan markets.
For more than three decades, he has being involved in the management, valuation and strategic remarketing of new and used vehicles working on behalf of a number of key automotive manufacturers and leasing companies including British Car Auctions and Car Shop.
