FLEETS SHOULD KEEP SIGHT OF PETROL AND DIESEL BASICS

Fleets need to ensure that they keep on top of petrol and diesel management basics as focus in the industry turns to a more diverse fuel mix with increased use of electric vehicles and PHEVs, says Arval. The company believes that while fleets should - and will - adopt large numbers of plug-in cars and vans of all kinds during the next few years, petrol and diesel remain likely to form the majority for the immediate future.

Janet Eastwood, Product Manager – Fuel at Arval, said: “There are clearly a lot of exciting developments underway at the moment in terms of the fuel choices becoming available to fleets and it is pleasing to see how the industry is taking these new options seriously.

“However, it is important there is recognition that, for the next few years at least, petrol and diesel power will continue to form the core of most fleets, especially if you include hybrids and PHEVs in that total.

“For most organisations, good fuel management in terms of controlling costs and minimising environmental impact will include continuing to work hard to reduce petrol and diesel use. This should remain a priority as we move to a more diverse fuel mix.”

Janet said that the basics of good fuel best practice in this area had not changed for many years, were well-proven, and centred around fleet-wide fuel card adoption.

“The kinds of real world data a fuel card provides means that you can examine your fuel spend from a high level view such as looking at petrol and diesel use across your entire fleet, through to details at a more granular level of the fuel usage of individual drivers and vehicles.

“With this information, you can then make decisions that potentially affect everything from the cars and vans that you buy through to the on-road driving styles behaviour of individual drivers and potential mechanical issues with particular vehicles.” Janet added that these management fundamentals were becoming more important in some cases because a significant number of fleets had reacted to widespread controversy surrounding diesel emissions with the acquisition of more petrol cars.