It’s no secret that automakers are struggling to meet consumer demand for new vehicles, but they’re not alone as fleets are also desperate for new models.
Automotive News reports that fleets have already purchased more than a million vehicles this year, but are hungry for more. This puts automakers in a tough position as they have to decide between satisfying retail or fleet customers.
Rental car companies are particularly eager for new vehicles as the publication noted a number of them sold inventory last year as travel came to a halt during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. With travel rebounding, they don’t have enough vehicles to meet demand.
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Speaking of the pandemic, a number of fleet customers delayed purchasing vehicles last year due to the uncertainty of the crisis. This effectively means they need to buy two years worth of vehicles this time around.
The situation is so bad that Toyota Motor North America’s executive vice president of sales, Bob Carter, previously told Automotive News “fleet customers are saying I’ll take anything within reason on four wheels.” That feeling is understandable and automakers could stand to benefit from their desperation.
While automakers typically don’t make much money on fleet sales, there’s little doubt that fleet customers will need to pay more to secure vehicles this year. Since there’s no shortage of buyers, automakers would likely balk at the idea of selling cheap vehicles to fleets when they could be making more money selling to retail customers. Of course, trying to placate consumers and fleet customers is a delicate balancing act especially with a continuing chip shortage and a wave of new coronavirus cases.
