Business Growth

Growing your Transport Fleet through Tight Times: How to Fund Fleet Upgrades

Feb 04, 2026

 

 

Key Insights

  • There are four main ways to fund new or replacement trucks — cash purchase, chattel mortgage, leasing and hire purchase — each with different implications for ownership, tax treatment, cash flow and long-term cost.

  • The right structure depends on how you balance immediate ownership versus flexibility, the impact on working capital, responsibilities for maintenance and insurance, borrowing capacity, and the total cost of finance over the term.

  • Careful planning around interest rates, fees, loan terms and a staged upgrading strategy allows you to modernise your fleet, manage cash flow and support long-term growth without undermining day-to-day operations.