It’s been a year of real change in the UK leasing market. Tax rules have shifted, electric vehicles have moved from “interesting option” to “obvious choice” for many of our clients, and supply chains have settled into something resembling normal, though not quite the normal we knew before 2020.
We deliberately work with a small number of businesses across Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex, and that closeness gives us a particular view of what’s actually happening on the ground. Not the headline-grabbing stuff, but the real conversations: which decisions saved our clients money, which trends turned out to be noise, and where the market is heading next
The EV question stopped being a question
A year ago, plenty of business owners were still asking us whether electric was right for them. By the back end of 2026, that conversation has changed completely. The question is no longer “should we?” but “which one, and how do we make it work for our team?”
The shift has been driven by three things our clients have noticed in real life. Running costs on electric cars have remained meaningfully lower than petrol or diesel equivalents, especially for company drivers doing predictable mileage. The range and charging anxiety that dominated 2023 and 2024 has faded as both the cars and the public charging network have improved. And the Benefit in Kind tax position on EVs has remained genuinely favourable compared with petrol and diesel, even with the modest year-on-year increases the Treasury has built in.
That said, the BIK landscape is moving. If you’re planning a new EV order or a fleet refresh, please verify the current rates with your accountant rather than relying on what was true twelve months ago. We can give you the up-to-date numbers when we talk.
A practical example from this year: one of our clients, a 12-person professional services firm, replaced three executive saloons with electric equivalents in March. The total cost of ownership over three years came out lower than renewing on petrol, before factoring in the BIK saving for the directors driving them. The kicker was that we’d had the same conversation with the same client two years earlier and the numbers hadn’t quite worked. The combination of model availability, lease pricing and tax position finally lined up in 2026.
The other thing we’ve learned is that EVs aren’t right for every driver in every business. We’ve had several conversations this year where the right answer was “not yet”, usually because of charging at home, long unpredictable journeys, or towing requirements. One client with a sales team covering the north of Scotland on irregular schedules stayed on diesel for now, and that was genuinely the right call for them. Honest advice means saying so, even when an electric option would be the more glamorous recommendation.
If you’re weighing it up, our piece on the practical disadvantages of electric cars is a good place to start. It’s the conversation most leasing websites won’t have with you. For a fuller grounding, our introduction to electric vehicles covers the basics without the hype.
Salary sacrifice quietly became the smartest perk in the room
Of all the trends we’ve watched this year, salary sacrifice for electric cars has been the one that’s transformed how small businesses think about staff perks.
The mechanics are straightforward enough. An employee gives up part of their gross salary in exchange for an electric company car, paying tax only on the (currently low) BIK value rather than the higher income tax that would apply to the equivalent salary. The employer saves on National Insurance contributions. Done well, everybody is better off.
What’s been interesting is which businesses have taken it up. Twelve months ago, salary sacrifice felt like a “big employer” tool. This year we’ve helped accountancy practices, design studios, building firms and consultancies with five to fifteen staff put schemes in place. It’s become a genuine recruitment and retention lever for businesses that couldn’t previously offer a company car at all.
One client, a building firm with eight on the payroll, used salary sacrifice to give two foremen access to electric pickups they’d never have considered paying for personally. The MD told us it had done more for morale than the Christmas bonus did the year before. That’s the sort of outcome we like.
A few things we’ve learned the hard way, so you don’t have to:
- The financial benefit depends heavily on the individual employee’s tax band and circumstances, so a blanket “everyone saves £X” pitch is misleading. We always model it for each driver before they commit.
- Early termination matters. If an employee leaves part way through a three or four year lease, somebody has to take that risk on, and it needs to be planned for in the contract. We’ve seen a couple of awkward situations this year where this wasn’t thought through upfront.
- Charging at home is often the make-or-break detail. If a driver can’t charge at home or at work conveniently, the savings on paper rarely translate to real-life happiness. Our piece on what it really costs to charge an electric car is worth a read before you commit a team to the technology.
If salary sacrifice is something you’ve been curious about but haven’t acted on, it’s worth a proper conversation. The numbers can be genuinely compelling, but only when the scheme is set up properly for your specific business.
Supply chains are back, but lead times are still a planning problem
For most of 2024 and 2025, “we can get you that car in four weeks” was a relief after years of “we can’t get you that car at all.” In 2026, supply has largely normalised across most manufacturers, with a few notable exceptions in specific EV models and high-spec variants.
The lesson our clients have taken on board is to plan further ahead than they used to. Twelve weeks is now a sensible planning window for a factory-order car. Less than that, and you’re either choosing from stock or compromising on spec.
This is one of the quieter ways an experienced broker earns their keep. You avoid the panic of a six-week wait when you needed a car last Tuesday, because we already know which models are sitting in dealer stock right now, which factory orders are running smoothly, and which manufacturers have hidden delays they haven’t publicised yet. When a client rang us in March because their MD’s car had failed its MOT and they needed something within ten days, we had three viable options on the table by the end of the same afternoon. That’s the difference between a calm conversation and a crisis.
For shorter-notice needs, we’ve also seen growing interest in our short-term car and van leasing option this year, particularly from businesses bridging the gap between an old contract ending and a new factory order arriving. It’s a useful safety net when timing doesn’t quite work out.
The “cheap online quote” approach is costing businesses more than they realise
Possibly the biggest pattern we’ve seen across the year, and one we expect to continue into 2027, is the gap between the headline rental price and the actual total cost of running a vehicle on lease.
We’ve spoken to plenty of business owners this year who came to us after a difficult experience with a faceless online broker. The pattern repeats: a tempting monthly figure tempted them in, then admin fees, unrealistic mileage allowances, fair wear and tear disputes at the end of the contract, or simply nobody picking up the phone when there was a problem mid-lease.
One example that stuck with us: a client came to us in the summer after their previous broker had quoted a deal that looked £40 a month cheaper than ours. By the time the admin fee, the additional mileage charge they’d needed to add, and the end-of-contract damage assessment had landed, they were comfortably worse off than if they’d taken the original quote from us. That’s before you count the hours their office manager spent chasing the broker for a straight answer.
None of this is hidden information. It’s just rarely explained properly upfront. Our guide on how leasing pricing actually works breaks down where the genuine costs sit, and it’s been one of our most-read pieces this year, which tells you something about what business owners are actually trying to understand. The buying versus leasing comparison is also worth a look if you’re weighing up the bigger picture.
We are competitive on price. We’re rarely the absolute cheapest, and we don’t try to be. The businesses we work best with are the ones who’ve worked out that an extra few pounds a month for a broker who knows their name, knows their fleet, and picks up the phone when something needs sorting is money well spent.
What we think is coming in 2027
Looking ahead, a few things feel reasonably clear from where we’re sitting.
First, we expect salary sacrifice rules to come under Treasury scrutiny. The combination of low EV BIK rates and growing uptake among SMEs makes it an obvious target for tightening. We’re not predicting a sudden change, but if you’ve been considering setting up a scheme, our honest view is that the next 18 months look like a more favourable window than the 18 after that. Talk to your accountant about timing.
Second, at least one major manufacturer is going to lose the plot on pricing. We’ve already seen signs of it: list prices that don’t reflect the discounting needed to actually shift the cars, and lease rates that look uncompetitive on paper but get heavily supported behind the scenes. The brands that come out of 2027 strongest will be the ones being honest about what their cars cost.
Third, the EV transition will keep accelerating for business users, even if the private market remains slower. The combination of total cost of ownership advantages and the BIK position makes the maths hard to argue with for most company car drivers.
Fourth, lead times will stay a planning issue. The “just-in-time” approach to fleet replacement that worked in 2018 doesn’t really work in 2026, and we don’t expect it to come back. Building a relationship with someone who can help you plan ahead is more valuable than ever.
And finally, the market will keep splitting between price-led comparison sites and relationship-led brokers. Both will continue to exist. Both have their place. Knowing which one suits your business is the question worth answering.
How we’ve thought about our own role this year
One thing that’s been reinforced for us in 2026 is that the businesses we serve best are the ones with one to twenty staff who lease a handful of vehicles, often as a perk for directors and key people.
They don’t have an in-house fleet manager. They don’t want to spend their evenings comparing leasing websites. What they want is someone who knows their business, knows what worked last time, and can sort the next vehicle quickly and well.
We deliberately keep our client list small for that reason. It’s a bit like having a trusted go-to partner you can ring whenever you need them, rather than starting from scratch with a new supplier each time. That’s the whole point of our approach to business car leasing. Whether your team are on Business Contract Hire or you’re considering Personal Contract Hire for individuals within the business, we’ll talk you through what actually fits.If that sounds like the kind of relationship that would actually help your business, we’d be glad to talk. Have a look at what some of our clients have said about working with us, or if you’re already thinking about your next vehicle, the most useful next step is a 15-minute planning conversation about your 2027 fleet needs. No pressure, no quote-chasing, just a chance to see whether we’re the right fit for you.
