The soaring price of new trucks and vans has ruled out outright purchase for growing numbers of operators in recent years and the contract hire and leasing sector has stepped up to the plate to provide affordable, flexible means of vehicle acquisition.

Their skill lies in marrying low cost of capital with economies of scale in buying vehicles and then adding in strong relationships or partnerships with their customers to come up with the best solution to meet the operators’ needs.

Our judges will want to see evidence of innovation and a range of value-add options beyond simple asset finance including fleet and compliance management services and assistance with improving the efficiency and productivity of the fleet, possibly through the use of telematics and other technology.

This Award is open to any provider of contract hire, leasing, rental or asset finance for truck and van operators running fleets of more than 11 commercial vehicles.

Judges will be looking for:

• A financially sound, stable provider with a strong track record in the CV industry
• Evidence of a service tailored to individual customer needs rather than a one size fits all approach
• A fair and open policy on the maintenance regime and return condition of vehicles
• Flexibility to enable operators to vary or end contracts as and when business needs change
• A plan to help customers transition fleets to low-and zero-carbon emission vehicles
• Positive customer testimonials