One in four fleets have added new entrants to choice lists - Arval

MORE than one in four fleets (26%) have added cars from new entrants to their choice lists, according to the 2026 Arval Fleet and Mobility Observatory

While 21% are considering adding them in the future and 23% are waiting until these manufacturers become more established. There has been little change in this sentiment since 2025 (see table below).

A consistent 12% indicate they will not be using these vehicles and 18% have not considered the issue – up by two per cent.

John Peters, Head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said: “The arrival of new entrants to the UK car market, largely from China, has been one of the most visible trends in the industry over recent years. These companies have quickly established not just a substantial market presence but in some cases have also created large dealership networks.”

“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. 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.”

John Peters, Head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK Tweet

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

Commenting on the small movement in the results since the same question was asked in the 2025 report, Peters added: “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. It’ll be interesting to see how this picture develops in next year’s research.”

How will the emergence of new entrants impact on your fleet policy?

	2026	2025
We already include them on your choice list	26%	23%
We are considering including them in our choice list	21%	25%
We will wait until they are more established	23%	25%
We will not include them for the foreseeable future	12%	12%
Don’t know	18%	15%

For the 2026 Arval Fleet and Mobility Observatory survey, 10,157 company decision makers were interviewed across 33 countries by the independent research company, Ipsos, out of which 305 interviews took place in the UK.

Photo by Ansis Kančs on Unsplash