Fuel is one of the main costs for transportation fleets, with an estimated 40% of annual fleet operations costs coming from fuel expenses.[1]
Continuous increases in the cost of fuel highlight a greater need for fuel efficiency. Fuel prices have risen significantly in the last few months, reaching a high in U.S. history this year, with diesel currently averaging $5.49 per gallon.[2]
But fuel prices matter all the time, not just when prices are high. 91.5% of for-hire carriers are small businesses that operate 6 or fewer trucks[3] where every dollar counts. A fleet management telematics platform can provide specific insights about your fuel consumption and identify ways to improve efficiency.
Read: Fleet card basics and benefits.
New study shows promising results
Motive has published a study showing that businesses can improve fuel efficiency and optimize vehicle maintenance by using data insights and AI-powered automation.
In the study, Motive analyzed over 800 commercial fleets across a two-year period beginning in January 2020, identified what top fleets with the best fuel performance increase did to improve their fuel efficiency, and measured their impact.
Key findings
Top-performing fleets used the Motive Automated Operations Platform insights to reduce fuel consumption by 13%. Using fuel performance data and identifying coaching opportunities, these fleets achieved savings by improving driving behaviors, averaging 79% reduction in hard acceleration, 40% reduction in hard braking, and 20% reduction in idling time. The top fleets also had an increased focus on maintenance, with 80% more inspections compared to other fleets.
Motive enabled the top-performing fleets in the sample to save an estimated 3 million gallons of fuel in 2021 alone. This is equivalent to 31,000 tons of CO2 that were not released into the atmosphere. Motive fleets paid an average price of $3.29 per gallon of fuel during this time, which led to estimated savings of $9.9 million in 2021. Given the much higher fuel prices in 2022, these savings are even more impactful.
Motive Automated Operations Platform
Motive delivers a fully integrated suite of products to connect and automate physical operations. The Motive Vehicle Gateway captures telematics data across a wide range of light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Motive uses AI to analyze vehicle telematics data, surface insights, and automate the coaching of drivers to improve performance. From the Motive Fleet Dashboard, customers can monitor vehicle activity, driver behavior, engine diagnostics, compare benchmarks, and take action to improve their operations.
Save more on fuel
With Motive’s IoT data and AI insights, we found that the top fleets in our analysis were able to optimize their operations, save significant costs, and operate in a more environmentally sustainable manner.
See what these fleets did to save in the complete Motive 2022 Fuel ROI Report. Learn more about Motive Sustainability here.
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