The comparison every fleet buyer makes
A taxi operator in Phnom Penh looks at two cars. A 2020 Roewe RX5, 1.5 turbo, 44,000 km, $6,544 EXW. And a 2014 Japanese compact SUV at $5,000. The Japanese car is cheaper on the invoice, and that is where most comparisons stop.
It should not. A fleet does not buy a car. It buys kilometres, and the number that matters is the cost per kilometre over the life of the unit.
What the invoice hides
Unscheduled stops. A ten-year-old car with an unknown history needs something every quarter: a sensor, a pump, a clutch. Each stop is a day off the road, and a car in the workshop earns nothing.
Fuel. A modern 1.5 turbo returns better economy than a tired 2.0 from 2014. Over 150,000 km that gap is not small.
Parts. SAIC parts are on the shelf in every ASEAN market. Parts for an old grey-import Japanese unit can take weeks. Ask your local supplier how many days for a clutch. If the answer is weeks, the cheap car is expensive.
Resale. A six-year-old car with 44,000 km still has a resale number after three years of fleet use. A fourteen-year-old car has a scrap number.
Three numbers to ask for before ordering in fives
- Parts lead time for the three most common wear items in your city.
- Fuel grade. Turbo engines want the right octane. Confirm the local pump before you commit to ten units.
- Inspection report with VIN on every unit. Fleet cars are bought by the batch, but they fail one at a time.
Why fives
Five identical units share parts, driver training and resale. Five one-offs share nothing. Our dealer pricing starts at three units and improves at five, and a mixed lot of five different models does not get the same terms as five of the same.
Running a fleet in Cambodia, Laos or Central Asia? Send your city and monthly volume and we reply with a per-kilometre comparison on the units you are considering: WhatsApp UCarsea · ucarsea.com