With the price of fuel at record highs of over 140p-a-litre and with motoring groups predicting it will reach 150p in the next couple of months, large UK businesses are increasingly turning to their fleet suppliers for strategic advice to help them reduce costs and improve the efficiency and productivity of their fleet. Whilst a cost-effective fleet policy, funded in the most efficient manner, are obviously key considerations, it’s “on the road” where significant savings and improved efficiency can also be delivered.

Telematics is one technology that businesses are increasingly embracing to deliver cost savings, with particular emphasis on helping reduce their fuel bill. In separate research conducted by ALD Automotive, over one third of UK companies employing over 500 staff have introduced telematics technology within their fleet to help reduce fleet costs. In separate research undertaken by ALD Automotive, over 87% of 500 business drivers surveyed said that they would approve of telematics on board their vehicle if it helped reduce their fuel bill.

ALD Automotive’s award winning ProFleet2 telematics solution is one such service being used to tackle the issue. Key vehicle and journey data can be analysed by authorised fleet contacts to identify, potentially, costly driver behaviour, which contributes to excessive fuel consumption such as excessive speed, unnecessary idling or harsh acceleration. The fleet manager can then take the necessary steps to improve driving behaviour either by, simply, raising awareness or through driver education programmes, thereby reducing fuel consumption and other associated costs.

Commenting on the survey results, Keith Allen, managing director of ALD Automotive UK, said: 'As the fuel price continues to rise and the costs attributed to running a fleet of company vehicles increases, it has become increasingly important for UK fleet management providers to develop strategies and solutions to help their customers achieve improved levels of efficiency and productivity that achieve cost savings.

'On a daily basis we work with our customers to ensure they have the most cost-effective and efficient fleet policy in place. By investing in ProFleet2 and other innovative products that deliver cost savings, we believe that we have the expertise and solutions to ensure that our customers continue to run an efficient and productive fleet,' he concluded.