Vincentric Best Fleet Value Awards are done once per year. A cost of ownership analysis is performed based upon typical use in commercial fleet to determine the Vincentric Best Fleet Value. The 2016 Ford Transit Van lineup and Ford Flex won the lowest fleet life-cycle cost in the most scenarios for its segment! Here’s how the winners were chosen.
Vincentric Best Fleet Value – The Best Bang For Your Buck
The award recognizes vehicles that provide fleet customers with lowest total cost of ownership. Ford vans were named best value for fleets in the following categories for the second consecutive year:
- Full-size half-ton passenger van: Ford Transit 150 XL low-roof wagon
- Full-size three-quarter-ton cargo van: Ford Transit 250 low-roof van
- Full-size one-ton cargo van: Ford Transit 350 low-roof van
- Small commercial passenger van: Ford Transit Connect XLT short-wheelbase van
Ford Flex SE equipped with front-wheel drive won for a third time.
It was named a Vincentric Best Fleet Value in the large SUV/crossover category.
Each month Vincentric measures the cost to own and operate vehicles based upon typical use. To determine these overall life-cycle costs, fleet purchase incentives are incorporated into the calculation of the Vincentric Fleet Price for each vehicle. Costs for each vehicle are measured in the following 8 areas:
- Depreciation
- Fuel
- Insurance
- Financing
- Repairs
- Fees and taxes
- Opportunity costs
- Maintenance
Winning vehicles have the lowest life-cycle costs across 20 different ownership and mileage scenarios.
- Depreciation Costs – Depreciation is the reduction in value a vehicle incurs during a given period of time. Using a combination of data sources, Vincentric estimates the annual depreciation on each vehicle using a basic set of assumptions.
- Fuel Costs – As the starting point for our calculations, we access the U.S. Government Environmental Protection Agency’s estimated mileage figures for both highway and city driving, then adjust based on the estimated percentage of mileage that for these two types of driving. We then add in an estimated price for each gallon of fuel. We update our fuel estimates monthly using industry sources that track up-to-date fuel prices nationwide.
- Insurance – Insurance costs vary by type of vehicle, driver, and coverage amounts. Using data from multiple insurance industry sources, we estimate insurance costs for each vehicle in our analysis set.
- Financing – Financing is the amount it costs to borrow money for a vehicle purchase. Using data from multiple lending institutions, along with averages provided by the financial industry, we calculate this “cost of money” to help determine overall cost of ownership.
- Repairs – Repair costs are estimated for what consumers will pay to keep their vehicle in operating condition, excluding the cost for scheduled maintenance.
- Fees and Taxes – These administrative fees also add to the cost of owning a vehicle. Because taxes and registration fees vary greatly by state….especially for high priced vehicles…..the Vincentric system can customize the values by state to better meet your specific needs.
- Maintenance Costs (includes scheduled and unscheduled) – Maintenance costs are affected by three key elements: Frequency, Labor Rates, and Parts prices. In addition, there are both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. To create data that is well-suited for comparison, we use both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance costs to estimate total maintenance costs.
- Opportunity Costs – This cost takes into account the loss of interest earnings that could be earned with the funds spent on a new vehicle. The lost “opportunity” to earn interest income is an often overlooked cost of buying a vehicle, but nevertheless is critical to understanding overall costs and a key component when comparing one vehicle to another. Using data from respected financial information firms, we apply current savings interest rates to determine this cost.
