Vincentric, a leader in providing data, knowledge and insight into the automotive industry, announces its Best Fleet Value in America awards for 2007.
In the awards' second year, General Motors, Toyota and Ford Motor Co. brands each took home trophies in seven categories. The Chrysler Group improved from one winner to four in 2007. Repeat winners included the Volvo S40 and S80, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Toyota Sequoia, Toyota Highlander, Toyota Tacoma, Subaru Outback Wagon and Chevrolet Silverado Chassis Cab.
With a more readily available supply for fleet, hybrids qualified for the 2007 awards and took top honors in three segments. The Toyota Prius won both mid-size segments, and the Mercury Mariner hybrid won its compact SUV segment.
To determine the Best Fleet Value in America awards, Vincentric used its ongoing, comprehensive analysis of fleet lifecycle costs to identify the best fleet values in the industry.
The company measured eight cost factors for more than 2,000 vehicle configurations in the 2007 model year, with twelve different mileage/lifecycle timeframe scenarios used in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The more than 9 million resulting lifecycle cost measurements were then reviewed to determine the winning vehicles.
The eight factors that determined overall lifecycle costs are depreciation, fuel, insurance, opportunity cost, financing, maintenance, taxes and state fees, and repairs. These costs were integrated with the Vincentric Fleet Price, which estimates the acquisition cost, minus fleet incentives, for each vehicle in the study.
Variance in winners from year to year is primarily due to fluctuations in pricing and incentive amounts and changes in residual values. To qualify, manufacturers must meet minimum thresholds based upon commercial and government (non-rental) fleet sales.
