How Can Your Fleet Improve Fuel Efficiency & Reduce Fuel Costs?

If you run a fleet of vehicles then you will be painfully aware of how expensive fuel can be. It is likely to be one of your biggest costs and so finding any ways to be more fuel efficient and reduce that outgoing is essential to the survival of your business.

Thankfully, there are ways that you can achieve this, so to explain further, Fleet Ex, suppliers of ex-fleet trucks takes a look at some of the best ways to make your fleet more fuel efficient.

Driver behaviour

The way that your drivers behave behind the wheel can have a big impact on how much fuel is consumed during the journey. Things like harsh accelerating and braking as well as idling can have a massive impact on fuel consumption, so it is important to keep this to a minimum.

As a fleet manager, you cannot be in the cab with your drivers as they go along the motorway, so you need to make sure that there is initial training offered as well as refreshers at regular intervals to help with this.

You may also want to look at installing devices that can track fuel consumption during a journey. This can make it much easier to monitor how your drivers are performing and provide useful pointers in how they can improve.

In some cases, drivers can even receive notifications to let them know that they are driving in a way that could be wasting fuel and allow them to make corrections quickly and safely.

Vehicle maintenance

The performance of your vehicle can impact on fuel consumption in a huge way, so you need to make sure that you are staying on top of your vehicle maintenance at all times. There are some common issues such as underinflated tyres, engine faults or even damaged body work that can cause a vehicle to use more fuel than if it was in tip top condition.

It is therefore advisable to ensure that regular checks of the vehicles are undertaken in between any official services to keep an eye out for areas of concern. You can then rectify these problems quickly and effectively to minimise your fuel wastage, whilst also preventing problems from getting worse and landing you with hefty repair bills at the same time.

Fuel types

There is no doubt that petrol and diesel costs have been on the rise for some time, and there is no sign of this changing in the near future. It is therefore a good time to consider switching to electric vehicles instead, as these can be much cheaper to run.

The government wants all new heavy goods vehicles to be zero emission by 2040 so it could be good to get ahead of the curve now. Switching to electric vehicles does have a higher initial cost, but considerable savings can be made once out on the road, as each mile under electric power is significantly cheaper.

However, it is important to consider the kind of journeys that you are likely to be undertaking as current electric vehicles do not always work within the charging infrastructure system that is in place.

Choosing the right vehicles

Sometimes fuel can be wasted by choosing the wrong vehicle for the job. It can therefore be worth looking at whether smaller vehicles can be used for certain tasks, as these are likely to use less fuel. To achieve this, you need to keep up to date records of your entire fleet and what its availability is, so that you can allocate jobs in advance and make sure that they're all being completed as efficiently as possible.

Speed limiting

We all know the importance of adhering to the speed limits on UK roads for safety purposes, but limiting how fast each vehicle can go can also save fuel. It is estimated that driving over the speed limit at 80 mph can use as much as 25% more fuel than if you were driving at 70 mph.

This means that by limiting the speed of some of your vehicles, you can enforce a restriction that can have a positive impact on safety and fuel consumption at the same time, whilst also helping to reduce maintenance and repair costs.

Route planning

Every driver knows how important it can be to plan a route in advance, but it can also play a part in fuel efficiency. Taking the time to plan a route in advance and use a sat nav can mean that unnecessary miles are avoided, and fuel costs are reduced in turn.

This is even more important if there are multi-drop routes involved as you can ensure that driven vehicles are driven from one point to another in the most efficient way.

You should also make sure that you are aware of traffic hotspots and potential road works in advance so that you can plan your route around these and not leave your vehicles idling in queues for long periods of time where they will be wasting more fuel than if they were on the move.

Fuel procurement

Sometimes you can reduce how much you spend on fuel by looking at how it is procured. Many fleets now rely on fuel cards as these tend to be more cost effective and can be a simpler substitute for credit cards.

They can provide better visibility of what has been spent on fuel and can therefore make the reimbursement process as simple as possible. You may also want to put restrictions on drivers who are filling up in certain petrol stations to make sure that they are choosing the cheaper options wherever possible.

Fuel prices are constantly fluctuating, and this can make it very difficult for many fleet managers to budget and plan. It is therefore important to look at how much you are spending on fuel and find ways to make this more efficient.

This means looking at your own policies and vehicles, as well as involving the drivers in the process to ensure that you are taking the most efficient routes, using the best driving skills and providing the best tools for the job.