Fleet lease-versus-own analysis

We price what the group pays to own vehicles, lease them or contract capacity from a provider, across the life of the decision. The comparison carries purchase or lease cost, finance, maintenance, insurance, downtime, residual value and the cost of the capital the group commits.

The answer comes out for each vehicle type and each lane.

• A total-cost-of-ownership model by vehicle type, covering bike, car and van.
• A capital and payback profile for ownership, set against the group's cost of funds.
• A review of lease proposals by commercial term: tenor, mileage, replacement, return conditions and early exit.
• A break-even utilization chart showing the daily drops at which each option wins.
• A decision paper with a recommended fleet position by lane and a sequence for changing it.

• Fully loaded cost per vehicle-day is stated for each option, side by side.
• Capital employed per daily drop shows what each option asks of the group's cash.
• Vehicle downtime days per quarter have a place in the board report.
• Your board sees the share of the fleet on terms that can be exited within a year.
• Residual values are tested against what the vehicles realise.

Lease quotes look cheaper by the month and ownership looks cheaper by the year, and neither view includes the idle vehicle. Without total cost and the opportunity cost of capital, the choice is made on the monthly instalment, and the group commits to a term longer than its demand forecast.

• Lease terms outlast the contracts the vehicles are meant to serve.
• Vehicles bought for cash while a facility is drawn at a higher cost.
• Maintenance and downtime appear in no report.
• Residual values are assumed, not tested.
• A lessor proposes a larger fleet and nobody can price the alternative.

Boards and chief financial officers of groups holding a delivery fleet or about to buy one, owners of couriers and delivery startups weighing growth capital against leases, and family offices asked to fund vehicles.

Qasim Abbas set the capital logic behind a blended last-mile fleet of about 1,000 vehicles, so he asks the lease question in terms of what else the money would have done. Your analysis puts that comparison in front of the board.

We read the lessor and dealer quotes and your banks' facility agreements into one model. See how fees work.

Is leasing always better for a young business?

Leasing spares capital, which suits a young business, but a lease that outlasts demand is expensive. The model shows how long the commitment can run safely.

Do you include rider-owned vehicles?

Yes, as a third option. Rider-supplied vehicles change the pay scheme and the control the group has, and the paper puts a cost on both.

Can you review a lease we have already signed?

Yes. We model what the signed lease costs and the dates it allows an exit, and your advisers take that model into the renegotiation with the lessor.

Bring the lessor's proposal, or the fleet you already hold, to a private briefing. We return where the cost sits before you commit.