The onset of societal restrictions in March 2020 forced businesses to make drastic changes quickly, adapting to remote working and ‘meeting’ online.
Paul Hollick, chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals, says this demonstrated the benefits of being agile, even when it involves root-and-branch disruption.
“It might sound counterintuitive, but the pandemic has actually served to bring about what you might describe as a new level of freedom to fleet management,” he said.
“Fleet managers are being more forward-thinking post-pandemic. Many are planning to speed up their electrification programmes, while others are being highly progressive when it comes to introducing flexible mobility. Relatively radical ideas are much more likely to be embraced.”
Digitalisation is vital
Get used to remote working. Despite beginning as a temporary measure, the latest Office for National Statistics data suggests a third of all employees are expecting to spend most or all of their time working from home in future, which also means fleet managers will get less contact with their cars.
Fleetcheck managing director Paul Golding warned that this shifts responsibility for legally required safety checks onto drivers and that compliance has been a catalyst for further digitalisation.
“We’ve seen rapid growth in our app-based software designed to aid drivers through these checks and audit their completion. Also, there’s increasing demand from fleet operators working from home to access information remotely, including data such as these safety checks alongside essential tasks such as driving licence checks,” he explained.
Business travel has passed its peak
Changing travel patterns have also affected vehicle demand. The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), whose members fund one in ten UK cars, vans and trucks, reported a 2.0% reduction in its business contract hire car fleet during the 2021/22 financial year. Reduced mileage and new tax incentives mean one third of its members’ order banks were plug-in hybrids or battery electric.
The association’s chief executive, Gerry Keaney, doesn’t see that trend reversing. “While leisure mileage is returning to pre-pandemic levels, it’s very possible that business mileage will not return to those levels across the board,” he said.
“Even though mileage is up year on year as the nation has emerged from tighter restrictions, with more people able to work from home, employer policies limiting off-site visits and many meetings taking place virtually, fleet operators may see that vehicles are ultimately being used less.