business’ fuel costs

FSB explains some of the ways you can reduce your business’ fuel costs.

Reduce fleet size

Analyse exactly what the vehicles in your fleet are used for and how often. Use this information to identify if you will be able to reduce the amount of vehicles you have on the road while not affecting profit. For example you might have additional vehicles which require maintenance, tax and insurance which you seldom use.

Taking surplus vehicles off the road might increase the operating costs of the remainder of the fleet, but the savings made in fuel, tax and insurance should offset any increase and leave your business better off overall.

Look at driving style

Look at how your vehicles are driven. Telemetry and ‘black box’ devices can provide you with data about how your vehicles operate on the road. You might be able to improve the efficiency of vehicles by identifying problems with braking, or even identifying that drivers could be taught methods to drive more economically.

Use the right vehicle for the job

Some cars will invariably use more fuel than others, or may just be wholly unsuitable for certain jobs; you wouldn’t use a small car to make deliveries, nor would you use a van to drive sales reps to meetings.

Different vehicles have different strengths and weaknesses, playing to a vehicle’s strengths can help it operate more efficiently

Bigger, heavier vehicles use far more fuel than their smaller counterparts but are capable of carrying heavier loads and transporting more stock, items or goods in fewer trips. Consider some organisation and categorisation of the vehicles in your fleet to ensure you use the right (and most efficient) vehicle for each task.

Use fuel cards

Fuel cards are a simple, yet effective tool for reducing fleet costs. Cutting down on paperwork and helping businesses to save money on refuelling their vehicle fleet. There are a range of benefits to applying, such as:

  • Discounted fuel costs
  • Route optimisation for refuelling
  • Vastly simplified flat monthly payments
  • Reduced time spent on internal administration

Invest in new vehicles

As technology advances and develops over time, the fuel efficiency of new vehicles continues to increase. Some, or all, of the vehicles in your fleet may be several years old, and they may be vastly outperformed by a newer model.

Upgrading your fleet periodically, switching to more efficient safer and modern vehicles can help to save on maintenance, running costs, insurance and fuel costs.

To figure out whether upgrading will be a sound investment, compare the miles per gallon statistics of your existing fleet with similar, newer vehicles. Look at the potential savings against what you currently spend to decide if the investment is worthwhile.