The advice from UK Fuels follows a report by Which? that suggests manufacturers are misleading consumers by overstating the fuel-economy figures to make their cars seem more efficient (see response from one carmaker here).

The report found just three of the 200 models it tested across 2013 and 2014 reached the official MPG figure stated in information supplied by the manufacturers, with cars falling short by an average of 13%.

UK Fuels chief executive and founder, Bill Holmes commented: “This report has proved that we can’t rely on the official consumption figures for vehicles in our fleets. Businesses need to take charge of monitoring fuel efficiency for themselves and make sure drivers are operating as efficiently as possible.”

One solution that the company suggests is its recently launched Kinesis product, which will be showcased at next week's Silverstone Fleet Show and integrates telematics and fuel card management data for customers. Channelling telematics data on driver and vehicle performance alongside fuel card usage information, Kinesis is said to provide fleet owners and managers with some of the most accurate MPG reporting available on the market.

Holmes continued: “Kinesis has been designed and developed to provide a cost-effective and streamlined system that lets fleets accurately measure fuel use and identify areas of inefficiency.” 

Kinesis’ telematics data works through UK Fuels’ existing online account management tool, Velocity, and updates alongside fuel card data in real time so customers can log in and view up to the minute fleet activity from one central platform.

He added: “Kinesis perfectly complements our existing fuel card offering and adds another tool to help customers manage their fleets more effectively no matter how many vehicles they operate.”