There are four major fleet trends we see heading our way in 2025 (and beyond). These emerging trends became apparent to us in our exclusive research for our Fleet Digitisation Report.
Our research included a survey with 1,800 fleet decision makers across the world. Here’s what we discovered:
- Fleet managers will increase their investment in digital solutions over these next few years
- Reducing costs and improving efficiency will still be the most important goals for fleets
- Developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be another game changer in fleet management—and fleet managers are ready for it
- Commercial fleets will ramp up electrification by purchasing more EVs and hybrids
With all this in mind, let’s take a deeper dive into each of these fleet trends for 2025.
1. Fleet managers will invest more in digital solutions
Our research revealed a clear finding: The vast majority of fleet managers want more digitisation.
According to our survey results, 91% of fleet managers expect their investment in digital fleet solutions to increase in the next five years. Just 1% of them said they expect to decrease their investment in digital fleet solutions—but in more than half of the countries we surveyed, no respondents at all selected this option.
Fleet decision makers worldwide are highly positive about fleet digitisation. They recognise its potential to help them cut costs, enhance safety and run their businesses as efficiently as possible. Perhaps most importantly, they realise that it’s not enough to have access to a lot of data. Fleet digitisation is about smart reporting: getting your data simplified, clarified and delivered in an understandable, actionable format that matters.
2. Cutting costs and boosting efficiency are still key goals
More than half (52%) of the fleet managers we surveyed said that lowering operational costs and improving efficiency are key drivers for investing more in digital solutions. Enhancing driver and vehicle safety is another deciding factor (49%).
On the flipside, 47% say high costs of implementation and maintenance is the number one challenge when adding new solutions and 40% feel integrating with existing systems and processes is the biggest concern. While challenges like integration and implementation are in play, these are solved with strategic approaches to planning, integration and data security. Overall, our findings show that a powerful sense of optimism overrides concerns around integration and implementation.
3. AI will change the game—and fleet managers are ready for it
Fleet managers believe that AI and machine learning will have the biggest impact on fleet management in the coming years. Optimising route planning and improving driver safety are the two most commonly cited ways fleet managers believe AI will change their working day.
AI is already being embraced by the mobility sector. AI-enabled dashcams, for instance, help fleets increase road safety while protecting their drivers and their businesses from false insurance claims. We learned from our survey that 34% of fleet managers use AI-enabled dashcams and another 36% plan to add such dashcams to their fleet within five years.
With rapid advancements in AI comes the potential to totally transform the role of a fleet manager, and that would be just as revolutionary as GPS and the internet have proven to be.
4. Commercial fleets will get more electrified
The fleet managers who participated in our survey said that electrification would bring them the following benefits:
- Less environmental impact (62%)
- Lower operating costs (48%)
- Better public image (42%)
- Better vehicle performance and safety (34%)
- Reduced maintenance and downtime (34%)
- More vehicle data (24%)
With the above numbers in mind, it probably wouldn’t surprise you that 85% of fleet managers expect the number of electric and hybrid vehicles in their fleet to change in the coming five years. The number of EVs and hybrids in their fleets could jump from 37% to 63% by 2029.
Stay on top of fleet trends in 2025
Clearly, fleet managers across the globe are readier than ever to digitise more of their operation. Though established technologies like real-time location tracking and automated reporting get plenty of love, excitement is bubbling around the expanding use of AI and IoT.
The consensus among fleet managers is that electric mobility is here to stay. Most of those we surveyed are either planning or already deploying a significant electrification of their fleets over the next five years.
There are a couple of trends we’re watching but haven’t covered in this article: autonomous driving and connected tyres. But we did ask fleet managers about these technologies in our survey. To see those results, just download our free Fleet Digitisation Report.
We’re curious to see how the four trends listed in this article develop. So, we’ll be keeping an eye on them throughout the year. Want our updates and insights all year long? Subscribe to our newsletter via the box below.
