Yes. A company can run company cars and Fixed and Variable Rate (FAVR) reimbursement at the same time. Company cars still make sense for roles that need a specialty or company-controlled vehicle, while FAVR often fits employees who drive a standard personal vehicle for business. The key is matching each group of drivers to the right program, then managing both as one employee driving program.
Where multi-program setups struggle isn’t the mix itself. It’s when each program runs on its own budget, policies, and data.
Key takeaways
- Company cars fit specialty or upfitted vehicles and roles that need a company-controlled vehicle.
- FAVR often fits employees who drive around 5,000 or more business miles a year in a standard vehicle.
- The main failure point is fragmented ownership, policies, and data, not running more than one program.
- Insurance monitoring, MVR monitoring, and driver safety training can apply to every employee who drives.
What does it mean to run company cars and FAVR together?
Running company cars and FAVR together means some employees drive company cars while others drive their own vehicles and receive FAVR reimbursement for business use, all within one employee driving program. With company cars, the business owns or leases the vehicle and covers its operating costs. With FAVR, employees are reimbursed for the cost of business driving, based on actual ownership and operating costs where they live.
Why do companies run both?
Few organizations design a multi-program approach from scratch. Most arrive at one because some roles need specialty vehicles, because programs were inherited through acquisitions or built division by division, or because they’re moving company cars to reimbursement in phases.
Speaking at Motus Accelerate 2026, Motus’s annual customer conference, Motus’s CEO described the pattern:
“Historically, employee driving was managed in narrow systems, narrow programs… But when you step back, all these are not just programs. They actually connect to a business system overall that impacts the cost, productivity, risk, and employee satisfaction for your business.”
Which employees should keep company cars, and which fit FAVR?
To compare these options, start with how each group drives, not with the program you have today.
| Driver profile | Often the better fit | Why |
| Drives a specialty, upfitted, or heavy-duty vehicle | Company cars | The job depends on a vehicle employees wouldn’t reasonably own themselves. |
| Needs a company-controlled vehicle (branding, carried equipment) | Company cars | The vehicle is part of how the work gets done. |
| Drives at least 5,000 business miles a year in a standard vehicle and doesn’t need a company-owned asset | FAVR | Reimbursement aligns to actual driving behavior and local costs, which improves cost control and fairness. |
| Drives fewer than 5,000 business miles a year, or the role has high turnover | Mileage reimbursement | A per-mile rate keeps things simple for infrequent drivers. |
These are starting points, not rules. Many companies keep company cars for some roles and move some or all of the rest to reimbursement over time.
FAVR also changes how vehicle choice works. The employer picks a standard vehicle that reflects what the job requires, and reimbursement is based on that vehicle’s cost. As Motus’s Chief Product Officer, Ryon Packer, put it at Accelerate, “The thing that makes FAVR work is it allows you, the employer, to decide what kind of car the job needs.” Employees still choose what they actually drive.
Where multi-program approaches break down
The most common problem is fragmentation. One division chooses a car allowance, another keeps a sales fleet, and a third reimburses mileage through expense reports, each with its own decision-makers and policies.
At Accelerate, Motus CEO, Phong Nguyen, shared the example of a large food and beverage manufacturer running a sales fleet, a car allowance, rental cars, and mileage reimbursement across divisions. When asked for its total spend across all of it, the company couldn’t answer. Finding out took months, and the exercise also surfaced inconsistent policies and gaps in how driving risk was handled. Bringing those programs onto a single platform made both spend and policies far easier to manage.
How to run company cars and FAVR as one program
- Get one view of total spend. Combine fleet costs (leases, fuel, maintenance, insurance, and claims) with reimbursement spend so you can compare programs on the same terms.
- Segment drivers by role, mileage, and vehicle needs. Use the criteria above to decide which groups belong in each program.
- Set one risk standard for every employee who drives. Year-round insurance monitoring, continuous Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) monitoring, and driver safety training can apply to company-car drivers and reimbursed drivers alike.
- Revisit the mix every year. Leases end, territories change, and roles evolve, so the right split today may not be the right split next year.
Moving drivers out of company cars also changes the company’s risk profile. Reimbursement reduces 24/7 liability from company-owned vehicles while supporting ongoing risk mitigation.
What does the data say about fleet vs. FAVR costs?
For roles that don’t need a company-controlled vehicle, moving from company cars to FAVR often reduces total vehicle spend and liability exposure.
- An independent 36-month analysis by Aon found FAVR cost 17% less per employee per year than a company-leased vehicle program, or $1,797 less per employee annually. With temporary lease incentives removed, the gap grew to 20%.
- FAVR cost less than the leased program in all three years of the study, while lease costs swung more from year to year due to lease rates, repairs and maintenance, and liability claims.
- Companies that move from fleet to personal vehicle reimbursement save 35% on average, according to Motus data.
Results depend on mileage, vehicle requirements, and how the current fleet is structured, which is why segmentation comes first.
How Motus supports multi-program employee driving
Motus brings reimbursement, risk mitigation, and analytics into one platform, so finance and operations teams can manage every driver group in one place. More than 15% of Motus customers already run two or more reimbursement program types on the platform.
- Program design and transitions. Motus completes more than 400 implementations a year, and Motus cost data underpins the IRS standard business mileage rate since 1983.
- Native risk mitigation for every driver. Through Motus Protect, continuous MVR monitoring flags high-risk events 98 days sooner than annual checks, and insurance monitoring identifies 80% more out-of-policy drivers than annual checks.
In the past two years, more than 150 companies have moved over 15,000 drivers from fleet to personal vehicle reimbursement with Motus, some moving every driver and others moving specific roles.
Thinking about running company cars and FAVR together, or planning a move from company cars to FAVR? Talk with a Motus program design expert about which driver groups fit which program.
Frequently asked questions
Can a company use company cars and FAVR at the same time?
Yes. Many organizations keep company cars for roles that need specialty or company-controlled vehicles and use FAVR for employees who drive standard vehicles. It works best when both programs share one view of spend and one risk standard.
Does moving to FAVR mean getting rid of the entire fleet?
No. Companies can move some or all of their company cars to FAVR. Many start with specific roles or regions and keep specialty or heavy-duty vehicles in their fleet program.
Can company-car drivers use the same insurance and MVR monitoring as reimbursed drivers?
Yes. Insurance monitoring, MVR monitoring, and driver safety training through Motus Protect can apply to any employee who drives for work, including employees in company cars.
