KEY POINTS:
Fewer grunty petrol vehicles are being issued as company cars as bosses feel the pinch of rising fuel prices. Travelling sales reps who might once have expected the keys to a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon are more likely to get a four-cylinder diesel vehicle instead.
Lease firms spoken to by the Herald on Sunday said non-travelling staff are increasingly getting a car allowance tacked on to their salary, without a fuel card.
But there IRD has some good news for the self-employed: it is reviewing its official mileage rate, which has stood at 62 cents per kilometre since 1996.
Recruitment and motor vehicle industry sources said some employers who used to hand out six-cylinder cars, V8s and SUVs could no longer justify the cost. Fleet Partners managing director Dennis Kelly said European models such as Skoda, Peugeot and Volkswagen were gaining popularity with bosses.
Employers wanted the most fuel-efficient models and were opting for smaller engines. Diesel models were increasingly popular.
Kelly said fleet numbers had remained static over the past year. Most employers cut company car numbers five years ago ahead of the latest fuel price hikes.
Toyota national finance manager Leighton Greentree said his company's Prius hybrid was a popular choice in the lease market as employers sought to cut costs and improve their environmental image.
He said petrol price rises over the past year had blown out company car budgets in a "huge" way, and employers were ever-mindful that increases were likely to continue.
One recruitment consultant said fuel costs meant employees with a private use company car were getting a better deal than they signed up to.
Car allowances set a year ago could also be worth more as the price of vehicles decreased, and companies may try to argue during salary negotiations, meaning smaller increases for some. IT recruiter Sandy Good said her clients could expect between $12,000-16,000 a year as a car allowance.
A company car was not standard, unless you were a sales rep or top executive. She said employees may be in a better position to negotiate salary increases once the IRD upped its official mileage rate.
$3 to fill her up
It's not just drivers suffering from petrol price rises.
The independent owner of a Caltex station in Cockle Bay, Auckland, is charging customers to pump fuel - and says the tightening economy is to blame.
Dinesh Kanji said he couldn't afford not to charge. He said he made only 4c a litre from petrol, couldn't afford to employ more staff and worked 15-hour days to make ends meet.
Customers have to pay $3 to have fuel pumped, $2 for an oil and water check and windscreen wash, $1 for a tyre to be pumped up or $20 for a tyre change.
A Caltex spokeswoman said independently owned sites were free to set their own policies but motorists could expect free help if they asked at company sites.
BP had a similar policy. Pumps at Gull were self-service, but help was available for those needing it, especially the elderly and disabled. alice.hudson@heraldonsunday.co.nz
