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Fleets using lower fuel costs to drive business growth

By / 8 years ago / Latest News / 1 Comment

Company owners are using money saved from lower fuel bills to invest in business growth, new research carried out by RAC Business finds.

square pumpThe analysis was carried out among 500 business decision-makers, found that UK firms have saved on average 11% on their fuel bills in the last year.

A total of 24% of firms used the money saved on fuel to buy more vehicles; 26% made more journeys by vehicle; 21% increased the average mileage driven by staff and, more boldly, 22% say they bought larger, less fuel efficient vehicles – suggesting that fuel bills are no longer as punishing.

Findings from the RAC Business data also include nearly one in five (18%) firms taking advantage of the extra cash to invest in hybrid vehicles. The RAC added that this could be an indication that the technology driving hybrids is now at the point where businesses can benefit from the potential cost-savings of investing in a fleet.

Jenny Powley, sales director for corporate business at RAC Business, said: “It’s encouraging to see how lower petrol and diesel costs are fuelling the entrepreneurial spirit of the UK’s business community. Rather than sitting back and simply enjoying reduced bills, owners are getting out on the road to drive their businesses forward. By adding new vehicles to fleets, embarking on more journeys and covering more miles, companies appear to be doing more business, and we are certain this will be rewarded.

“The RAC Fuel Watch analysis suggests fuel prices are set to remain comparatively low in the medium to long-term, although it’s still difficult to predict due to the fluctuations of the global oil price. But we would go further and suggest a 2p cut at the pumps for unleaded petrol would bring down the average price further, and provide more support for UK businesses.”

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Katie Beck

Katie joined Fleet World in 2012 as an editorial intern, following the completion of an English and American Literature BA from the University of East Anglia. She accepted a full-time position as an editorial assistant at the end of the internship period, and was promoted to the role of features editor in 2014. She works across the magazine and website portfolio, and administrates the social media channels.