International or Canadian Fleet Management? Three BIG differences

If you’re in charge of leasing fleet vehicles that operate in Canada, you know how many fleet management options are available.

If your company has offices in the US and Canada, it may seem simpler to engage an international fleet management company (FMC) to handle your fleets in both countries.

In our experience, the opposite is true: many international FMCs simply lack the necessary knowledge of local laws, regulations, seasons, and geography. Their lack of Canadian experience can result in inadequately equipped vehicles, delays in service, and a surprising array of additional costs.

For leasing fleets that operate in Canada, you'll gain tremendous benefits from a Canadian fleet management company that has an intimate knowledge of our many provincial vehicle regulations—and the realities of Canadian weather and geography. Overall, a local FMC will give you accurate advice, better service, and provide real bottom-line benefits.

In this blog, we’ll outline three of the major benefits of engaging a local FMC to manage your vehicle fleet.

1. Local fleet services help you avoid fines and improve insurance coverage

Foreign-based management companies can be surprisingly unaware of Canadian regulations and taxes. They may not even know that each province has its own licensing office and its own rules and regulations.

In contrast, a local FMC like Foss National maintains a provincially-audited database that stores every important detail on their clients’ vehicle registrations—in every province across Canada—including:

• plate number, registration and expiry dates
• insurance requirements for each province

This database ensures that vehicles are correctly registered and adequately insured, and avoids fines from missing licence renewals. Since insurance varies from province to province, we are also in touch with insurers, and we keep you informed on every applicable discount or saving.

Additionally, we’re aware of taxation differences between the provinces, such as harmonized taxing, province-specific rates, and even luxury tax thresholds that a multinational FMC may not understand fully.

(Learn more in our blog: 6 Fleet Licensing and Compliance Best Practices.)

2. A Canadian FMC will get you vehicles, parts, and service on shorter schedules

You have a significant investment in your fleet. Your business depends on receiving your vehicles on time, with the exact specifications and features that you require. Your return on investment depends on keeping your fleet operating with minimal downtime.

A local FMC, like Foss National, maintains a strong network of relationships throughout the Canadian vehicle market. We see every vendor as a sustainable, long-term partner.

What does that mean for you? We understand local and regional markets better than any multinational. Our clients often receive faster delivery of vehicles, parts, and service. When you are in a bind—when you need a tighter delivery schedule or have an urgent service request—the Foss National network will come through in ways that a distant FMC can’t.

3. Local FMCs service your vehicles with an understanding of Canadian weather and geography

As Canadians know, our weather can be brutal. And our far-flung country (and crowded cities) can put your vehicles far away from centralized service centres.

Without local knowledge, an international FMC might direct you or your drivers to a faraway or inconvenient service vendor—which can add to vehicle downtime. They might not know which vehicles can be operated safely with all-season tires, and which require snow tires or studded snow tires for winter safety.

In comparison, a local FMC understands Canadian roads and Canadian seasons. We’ll guide you in defining the tire and upfitting requirements for any kind of fleet, from urban and highway cars and trucks, to specialized oil patch vehicles. With our help, you can equip your vehicles to serve their purpose—and keep them on the job with less downtime.

Why choose Foss National Leasing for local fleet management services?

Foss National has been serving fleets across Canada for 50 years. Our local teams understand the laws and regulations, as well as the climate and geography of each province and region, while our global partner, LeasePlan, allows us to continue to drive innovation and bring the best in fleet knowledge for the businesses we work with locally.

We are trained and experienced in providing specialized guidance to support our clients and their business needs. Our focus on developing and maintaining strong relationships extends not only to our local vendor networks, but to each customer we work with, creating mutually beneficial relationships that include our vendors, each client, and ourselves.

Next Step:

Read our case study below to learn how we arrange vehicle leasing, upfitting, decal work, and delivery for Weed Man franchisees across Canada.