The survey, which questioned over 70 senior fleet personnel across UK business sectors, highlighted that the biggest concern for the coming year was that of reduced budgets, followed by increased running costs and a greater need to demonstrate results and efficiency savings. Lesser cited concerns included monitoring and reducing CO2 emissions and maintaining older fleet vehicles.

Commenting on the survey results, Ashley Sowerby, managing director,  said: '2012 is set to be one of the toughest years yet for the fleet industry and it’s my opinion that the demand to do more with less has never been greater. Reduced headcounts, budget cuts and the anticipated rise in fuel costs – accompanied with the increasing need to demonstrate and justify fleet operations to senior management or other departments – means that fleet managers across the country have their work cut out for them in the year ahead.

'But it’s not all doom and gloom. For it is in these times of economic struggle that we are forced to reassess traditional methods of managing assets and address the age old problems that prevent fleets running at 100 per cent efficiency. Whether it’s better utilisation of fleet vehicles, bringing traditionally outsourced processes in-house or consolidating fleet data into one centralised and intuitive fleet management system – in 2012 it’ll be all about survival of the fittest.'