The Germans also save on corporate vehicles

What is the most popular company vehicle in Germany? Is it a luxury limousine, sometimes with foreign license plates, due to taxation? The answer will surprise you.

The corporate vehicle is considered a privilege of high-ranking executives in the private sector, but also a useful work tool – especially in Germany, where many work in a city other than the one where they maintain their permanent residence. Usually the vehicle is offered to those interested through corporate leasing. Citing data from the private company Leaseplan, the financial review Handelsblatt reveals useful facts about the most popular corporate models in 2021. One would expect that the well-known Mercedes-Benz or BMW limousines are at the top of the list. Or maybe an even more expensive Porsche?

And yet, the data give a completely different picture. The most popular corporate car for 2021 is the Volkswagen Passat Variant, as it gathers 5.8% of the preferences. This is one of the oldest models of the German car industry. Traditionally, the Passat is considered a classic choice for the head of the family who wants, above all, reliability in construction and a large luggage space. In recent years it has been improved in design, without losing its reliability.

VW, Ford, Skoda at the top

The second model, with 5% of the preferences – and the only SUV in the first five corporate vehicles – is the Ford Kuga Duratec, which is also a hybrid. Next is the Skoda Octavia Combi, which is based on the VW Golf platform. After all, the Czech Skoda belongs, for many years, to the German group Vollkswagen. In fourth place is a classic Golf competitor, the Ford Focus Turnier, while the top five is completed by another Skoda, the Superb Combi, which is based on the Passat platform. It is obvious that the cost, consumption and reliability of the engine are the main criteria for the supply of company cars in Germany.

Recently, more and more electric cars are being offered. “This shift is facilitated by the low running costs relative to conventional fuels, but also by tax incentives,” Roland Meyer, head of Germany’s LeasePlan, told Handelsblatt. In addition, he points out, “the autonomy of electric vehicles, the speed of charging and the quality of batteries are constantly improving.” The top electric corporate vehicle for 2021, with 18.7% of the preferences, is the Skoda Enyaq iV 80. In second place a surprise awaits us, the tiny but demonic Renault Twingo Electric. Only in third place is the Tesla Model 3 LR, which can be proud to be the leading electric company car in all of Europe.

Some politicians set the example

But what about the “official” cars of politicians who, no matter how we do it, often set the example for ordinary citizens? At the time of his omnipotence, the Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder was proud to be the “chancellor of all cars” (according to the “prime minister of all Greeks”) and every now and then he changed the official limousine he used. In Angela Merkel’s years the beastly Mercedes-Benz or BMW were abandoned for the sake of the discreet luxury of an Audi.

Olaf Solz’s successor returns to the guaranteed recipe of the luxurious, armored Mercedes-Benz. However, many younger politicians seem to be following suit. The leadership of the Social Democrats (SPD) appeared with Audi on Sunday night after the elections in the state of Zaar. Exceptions are of course allowed – not to say imposed – for reasons of locality. Although “Green”, the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretzmann will hardly avoid a Mercedes-Benz. But also the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Markus Zender, would probably cause a political issue, if he appeared in a car different from an imposing Bavarian BMW.

Giannis Papadimitriou (HB, DPA)

Source: Deutsche Welle