Businesses procuring vehicles for goods delivery, customer service, employee transportation, and field operations have been advised to look beyond the initial purchase price and consider the long-term cost of keeping their fleets operational.

The advice was given by the General Manager, Marketing, Carloha Nigeria, Mr. Felix Mahan, who stressed that after-sales support should be a major consideration in fleet procurement decisions.

Mahan said factors such as the availability of authorised service centres, trained technicians, spare parts, roadside assistance and repair turnaround time could significantly affect the overall cost and efficiency of fleet operations.

He noted that when vehicles are grounded by mechanical faults or delayed repairs, businesses could incur additional costs through the hiring of replacement vehicles, rescheduling of deliveries, redistribution of workloads and missed customer appointments.

According to him, fleet managers should assess the support infrastructure behind vehicles before making procurement decisions, particularly when the vehicles are expected to operate across different locations.

He added that fleet performance should be monitored after vehicles are deployed, using indicators such as vehicle availability, maintenance cost per kilometre, repair turnaround time, spare-parts fulfilment and frequency of repeat repairs.

Such data, he explained, would enable businesses to assess suppliers more effectively and make informed decisions during subsequent procurement exercises.

Mahan said some automotive distributors were increasingly incorporating structured after-sales programmes into their customer offerings.

He cited Carloha Care 6-6-7, offered by Carloha, which provides a six-year warranty, six years of free servicing and a seven-day repair promise, subject to applicable terms and conditions.

He, however, advised fleet operators to examine the details of such programmes, including exclusions, geographical coverage, service requirements and procedures for handling delayed repairs.

Ultimately, fleet procurement, he said, should focus on the total cost of ownership rather than the acquisition price alone.

For fleet operators, the ability to keep vehicles on the road, minimise downtime and control maintenance costs remains a key determinant of the value derived from their vehicle investment.