For any company that uses cars and vans to get their product or service to their customers, the issue of running costs is never far from the top of mind. And, in Webfleet research, when fleet managers were asked to name the top issues they most wanted help with, reducing fuel costs ranked number one.
So, what are the things that are increasing your fuel costs? This extract from our recent eBook Cutting Your Fleet Costs breaks down some of the most impactful.
Driving behavior
Poor driving habits can quickly translate to higher fuel costs. Things like unnecessary acceleration or deceleration, harsh braking and idling all cause vehicles to consume more fuel than is needed.
READY TO READ OUR FULL GUIDE ON HOW TO CUT YOUR VEHICLE COSTS? GET IT FREE HERE.
Tire rolling resistance
Your choice of tires impacts fuel consumption in a crucial way. The more a vehicle resists movement, the more fuel it needs to be driven. So, if your tires have a higher rolling resistance than necessary, your vehicle will demand more fuel and your costs will increase.
Time on the road
Accurate ETAs and intelligent route planning do more than just help create a more efficient workflow – they also save you fuel costs. If your drivers are spending more time getting to their destinations than necessary, it will see you spend extra on petrol. And yet, 58% of fleet managers estimate that around 1/3 of the time they fail to reach the destination within the first ETA given to the customer.
Poor fleet utilization
Do you definitely need as many vehicles as you currently have in your fleet? Could you do the same number of jobs with less? After all, the more vehicles you have, the higher your fuel costs will be. Or maybe you’re using the wrong size of vehicle. Could you get the same work done by replacing some of the LCVs in your fleet with cars?
THE FULL EBOOK DISCUSSES SOME OF THE WAYS YOU CAN BETTER UTILISE YOUR VEHICLES. READ IT FREE HERE.