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Minimising fuel costs is a key concern for fleet operating companies. But it’s easier than you might imagine to reduce this necessary expense. Avis Fleet recently conducted a study of driver experience with different vehicles in order to identify the causes of excessive fuel costs. Here are some tips we've learned.
The nitty gritty of cars, costs, and fuel usage
In a recent Avis Fleet study on driver behaviour, fuel consumption of drivers of different vehicles was analysed. Poor driving vs. good driving - the aim was to see the net effect that erratic driving behaviour would have compared to reasonable driving.
In heavy vehicle driving (the first test subject was a 4x4 Fortuner 3.0 D4D with an 80 litre tank) poor driving resulted in wasting 1.39 kilometres per litre of petrol. In Rands, this amounted to R139.
In light vehicles (the second subject was a VW Blue Line Polo 1.4 with a 55 Litre tank) poor driving resulted in a wastage of 4.11 kilometres per litre. This would amount to R195 for light vehicles.
As light vehicles are more fuel efficient, the amount difference is about the same proportionately, in terms of wastage. In percentage terms, the financial cost of losses due to bad driving was 15% in heavy vehicles and 18% in light vehicles. But again, this is down to fuel efficiency between vehicle classes.
Bad driving behaviour causes fuel waste
The number one cause of excessive fuel wastage was found to be bad driver behaviour. By revving excessively, utilising bad clutch control, not gearing down – amongst other things – resulted in drivers refuelling their vehicles on average one extra time per month: refuelling three times instead of twice.
This means that on heavy and light vehicles drivers were wasting around R450 every month.
By driving erratically drivers are costing themselves and wasting their fleets resources which could be used elsewhere. And the problem is exacerbated when compounded across many drivers in the fleet.
Manage your fuel costs
Avis Fleet provides solutions to the problem of excessive fuel consumption through a variety of methods – from vehicle tracking solutions to our intelligent fuel management and partnered fuel rebates – in order to reduce the underlying problems of bad driving behaviour, fraud, theft, and abuse.
Fuel costs are a large financial problem for many, and over time a fleet can suffer crippling overhead costs due to inefficient fuel usage. Getting on top of excessive fuel costs can go a long way in providing a fleet with new vehicles, new business practices, and new avenues of growth.
If you as a fleet owner want to limit fuel costs, then it’s in your benefit to take a serious look at the driving behaviour and culture of your fleet employees.
Contact Avis directly to request a free fuel analysis.
