One in four fleets have added new entrants to vehicle choice lists

More than one in four UK fleets have now added vehicles from new market entrants to their company car choice lists, according to new research from the Arval Fleet and Mobility Observatory.

The 2026 study found that 26% of fleets already include vehicles from newer manufacturers – many of them Chinese automotive brands – within their fleet policies, up from 23% in the previous year’s research.

A further 21% of businesses said they were considering adding the brands in the future, while 23% said they were waiting for manufacturers to become more established before making a decision.

Only 12% of respondents said they would not include vehicles from new entrants “for the foreseeable future,” unchanged from 2025, while 18% said they had not yet considered the issue.

John Peters, Head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said the arrival of new auto brands, particularly from China, has become one of the most significant developments in the UK automotive market in recent years.

“These companies have quickly established not just a substantial market presence but in some cases have also created large dealership networks,” Peters said.

He noted that many of the new entrants have focused heavily on electric and hybrid vehicles, offering competitive pricing and attractive leasing costs that appeal to fleet operators.

“Generally, they have concentrated on a high value proposition in the electric and hybrid sectors, which can make them very attractive to fleets, with relatively low pricing and lease rates for the models on offer,” he said.

“Our research shows this approach is already having a significant impact in the fleet sector, with one in four businesses surveyed adding them to choice lists.”

Peters added that feedback from drivers using the vehicles had also been positive.

“We know anecdotally from our experience at Arval UK, that drivers opting for these cars tend to be happy with their decisions,” he said.

Despite growing adoption, the research suggests the pace of market penetration among fleet operators may be slower than expected.

The proportion of businesses considering the brands for inclusion fell slightly from 25% in 2025 to 21% this year, while the percentage waiting for manufacturers to become more established also declined from 25% to 23%.

“Clearly, greater volumes of cars from new entrants are now being bought by fleets, so our findings perhaps suggest the businesses who were already acquiring them are taking more, but that penetration into greater numbers of companies is proceeding more slowly than might be expected,” Peters said.

“It’ll be interesting to see how this picture develops in next year’s research.”