Not every employee who drives for work needs the same vehicle program. The right employee driving program aligns each driver group with the vehicle solution that best fits their needs, helping the business control spend and reduce corporate liability exposure.
When Pittsburgh Paints became an independent company in December 2024, it took a fresh look at every part of the business, including the company cars its field teams drove. In about 60 days, the company moved roughly 1,350 drivers across the US and Canada from leased company cars to reimbursement for the business use of their personal vehicles.
In our recent webinar, The Truth About the Company Car: How to Design the Right Vehicle Program for Every Driver, Mark Guenthenspberger, Operations Planning Manager at Pittsburgh Paints, joined Kristin DeCamp, Regional Vice President of Account Management at Motus, and Jake Ernest, Director at Motus, to talk through how that transition came together and what other organizations should think about before making a similar move. Here are the highlights.
Watch the full recording on demand
When company cars fit, and when they don’t
Company-owned vehicles remain the right fit for roles that require specialized equipment, cargo capacity, branding, or other operational capabilities. But when employees use everyday vehicles for both work and personal driving, companies may be carrying costs and liability exposure beyond what the role requires.
And the pressure on those programs keeps building. Insurance premiums have climbed year over year for 14 consecutive years, and nearly one in five injury-related accidents results in losses greater than the at-fault driver’s coverage limits. On top of that, when a company owns the vehicle, its liability exposure doesn’t end when the workday does.
Kristin and Jake said the biggest reason they see organizations reassess company cars is vehicle spend. Reimbursement aligns spend with actual business driving instead of carrying the full cost of every vehicle around the clock. Closely tied to that is liability: when employees drive personal vehicles for business, the company reduces its corporate liability exposure from company-owned vehicles while keeping driver requirements and monitoring in place.
Two other benefits often follow. Teams can spend less time coordinating leases, fuel cards, maintenance, and repairs. With Motus, they can also bring mileage, reimbursement, and risk data together in one place.
Start with an honest look at your current program
For Pittsburgh Paints, the goals were clear from the start: reduce vehicle expense, reduce liability, and stay as fair as possible to the employees who had company cars. Before committing, the team benchmarked how peer companies were handling employee driving, which confirmed there were strong alternatives to a leased program.
Jake added that one of the most important steps in any transition is assessing which roles genuinely require a company-owned vehicle and where personal use had become an expected employee benefit. That answer shapes how a company designs its reimbursement program, and it helps make sure employees are reimbursed fairly for the driving their jobs actually require.
Treat the transition as a culture shift
“Because that program was as rich as it was, and it was really perceived as a benefit, it was pretty deeply rooted. We were really instituting a culture shift.”
– Mark Guenthenspberger, Operations Planning Manager at Pittsburgh Paints
Mark was candid that this was an enormous change. Many Pittsburgh Paints employees were long tenured, and a company car with personal use was seen as a meaningful benefit. That’s why the team put so much care into communication, rolling it out in layers:
- Pressure-test with senior leadership. Before the final decision, leadership weighed in on whether the field would embrace the change.
- Bring field leaders in early. Second-tier field leadership heard the plan first, asked questions, and tested the waters with select team members.
- Communicate often and in writing. An email campaign introduced the change, town halls gave employees a chance to hear the plan and ask questions, and written follow-ups reinforced the timeline.
Pittsburgh Paints also offered employees a one-time transition stipend, along with the option to purchase their company car at a below-market rate. Mark noted that employees didn’t need to buy a brand-new vehicle. A reliable, presentable vehicle that fit the job was enough, which mattered for employees early in their careers.
Speed didn’t mean going it alone. Mark shared that the Motus implementation process was organized and structured, with a dedicated point of contact and a library of ready-to-use resources, so his team didn’t have to build communications from scratch. Some field leaders even used those templates as a starting point to show their teams how the new program would work for them.
“It was very organized. It was a very structured process. There was a library of resources that we had access to. We didn’t have to develop everything from scratch.”
– Mark Guenthenspberger, Operations Planning Manager at Pittsburgh Paints
The fleet manager role evolves, but it doesn’t go away
A common question from fleet managers is what their job looks like after a transition. Mark explained that some responsibilities disappear entirely: approving maintenance and accident repairs, purchasing new vehicles, and negotiating with manufacturers.
In their place, the work shifts toward running the program. That includes reviewing mileage assumptions, keeping drivers informed, making sure employees are enrolled in driver safety training and MVR monitoring on time, and confirming drivers maintain the insurance coverage the company requires.
The role shifts from managing vehicle assets to overseeing program performance, driver communication, policy requirements, and any company-owned vehicles the business still needs.
“So, similar activity, just a little bit different flavor. You’re still managing a program.”
– Mark Guenthenspberger, Operations Planning Manager at Pittsburgh Paints
Risk mitigation stays front and center
Moving to personal vehicles doesn’t mean stepping back from driver safety. Before the transition, Pittsburgh Paints ran motor vehicle record checks once a year. Now, with Continuous Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) monitoring, the team becomes aware of changes in driving records sooner. Its environmental health and safety group uses a points-based approach to decide when a reminder, a supervisor conversation, or a more formal step is needed. The company also set a minimum insurance requirement for every driver and monitors it year-round.
Kristin also pointed out that driver safety training and MVR monitoring aren’t limited to employees in personal vehicles. They can support anyone who drives for work, including employees in specialty vans or trucks that remain company owned.
Fair reimbursement reflects where and how employees drive
Several attendees asked how reimbursement rates are calculated. Pittsburgh Paints selected a Fixed and Variable Rate (FAVR) reimbursement program designed to align reimbursement with the costs of using a personal vehicle for business. Rates reflect geographically relevant ownership and operating costs, business mileage, and the type of vehicle required for the role, whether that’s a compact sedan for site visits, an SUV for carrying product, or a truck for a construction site.
“There’s a lot of fear and concern that’s not necessarily based in reality. The more you can give real-world examples and have real-world conversations with people, the more you do to allay those fears.”
– Mark Guenthenspberger, Operations Planning Manager at Pittsburgh Paints
Because fuel costs update regularly based on each employee’s home area, reimbursement rose when gas prices climbed earlier this year and can adjust down when prices fall. Mileage matters too: an employee covering a large territory puts more wear on their vehicle than a colleague with a compact territory, and the program accounts for that.
Not every role is the right fit for reimbursement. Very high-mileage roles or jobs that require specialty vehicles may still belong in a fleet, and many organizations run a mix of both.
Watch the full conversation
The right employee driving program may include both company-owned vehicles and reimbursement.
Watch the full conversation on demand for Pittsburgh Paints’ transition lessons and live Q&A. If you’re reassessing your own program, talk with Motus about which drivers should remain in company-owned vehicles and which may be better suited to reimbursement.
