Since 2021, we’ve been learning how to adapt to Covid-19 and its disruptions to the transportation business. So far, the fleet industry has continued to adopt technology that improves fleet efficiency and productivity with much success despite the pandemic waves. This year, we’re likely to witness more changes than before, especially with the arrival of electric vehicles soon to hit the market.

Check out the top fleet management trends for 2022 below to get yourself familiar with how these changes will impact your fleet business.

1. Greater need for speed and flexibility

Efficient dispatch will always be critical as good coordination of your fleet movements will in turn greatly improve your customer service and fleet productivity. Fleet businesses will need to make sure their vehicles can smoothly reroute whenever is needed, such that service expectations are not compromised with delays caused by poor fleet coordination.

One of the useful tools to help fleet businesses maintain a high degree of flexibility and speed is GPS tracking with a user-friendly interface to keep them updated on every fleet movement and see which vehicles to dispatch to nearby locations. Using GPS tracking, fleet businesses can easily find the most effective routes and effortlessly reroute drivers to their destination while eliminating unnecessary detours.

2. Electric vehicles fast becoming a reality

In the past years, the idea of owning and operating a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) was thought to be unaffordable compared to their fuel running counterparts. Now, with cheaper EV models being rolled out, road infrastructure being upgraded, policy restructuring, CO₂ initiatives and road tax concessions happening worldwide, not to mention the ban of diesel and gasoline cars in major cities by 2025-2030 – we are looking at roads bustling with EVs in the soon-to-be future.

EV sales have been steadily rising since 2018, with an upward surge in 2021, and are expected to rise further in upcoming years. EV adoption projects are also increasing further as more companies release high-end models with innovative software.

In view of the shift from fuel-powered vehicles to electric, fleet managers will do well to prep for an EV fleet expansion before this change catches them unaware.

3. Call for better safety measures

Safety is one of the main concerns for many companies, as a lack of security can lead to fuel theft, car theft, vehicle misuse and costly accidents. Another reason why safety is a valid concern is the fact that autonomous vehicles (AVs) will be headed our way soon fast on the tail of EVs.

To protect against these safety concerns, fleet tracking systems can be used to increase awareness on vehicle health and keep an eye on reckless driving. Such fleet tracking systems usually consist of features such as driver behavior analysis, alert notifications, driver identification, geofencing and maintenance schedule tracking. These features will enable fleet managers to receive real-time updates and respond to changing situations rapidly.

Gathered fleet data is also made easy to understand in the form of comprehensive reports, so fleet businesses can quickly detect and correct safety issues within their operations.

4. Remote fleet management is the norm

Ever since we got used to remote work, there’s been a need to monitor business operations remotely. For fleet businesses, this translates to always having good visibility and control over their drivers and vehicles.

Nowadays with the aid of tracking and visualisation technologies, fleet managers can monitor their fleet from both their computers or smartphones, allowing them to oversee vehicle movements, equipment locations, and unforeseen road incidents in real-time.

As a result, more businesses are depending on fleet tracking systems to monitor the numerous aspects of their fleet operations. The convenience of viewing everything from a mobile app is also a plus.

5. Improving driver attitudes with the help of analytics

One of the key responsibilities of fleet managers is to hire qualified and trustworthy drivers to whom they can entrust their trucks. They must ensure that their drivers do not repeat unsafe driving practices or dangerous driving behavior. Moreover, they need to monitor fuel expenses as well, for excessive engine idling and reckless driving can raise fuel expenditures and cause harm to the engine, increase fuel usage unnecessarily and damage the engine.

Fleet analytics which help to track driving and fuel usage patterns are the key to reducing high fuel costs and increasing road safety. By utilising such technology, fleet businesses will be able to know exactly how much fuel is consumed and make the right adjustments in their operations to save on fuel. Doing so will allow fleet businesses to reach optimal fleet performance and pump up their revenue.

Final Thoughts

In fleet management, we are constantly chasing after more efficient ways to operate our fleets, to find the perfect balance between minimal annual expenditures without compromising on performance or service quality. This has not changed over the years and with these recent fleet management trends, finding the right strategy and technology to manage a fleet has only become more crucial.

On the other hand, the entry of EVs is making new waves in the industry. For fleet businesses, having digital fleet data at their fingertips is a necessity, especially once AVs start hitting the market and everything becomes increasingly data-driven.

If you’re a fleet owner, it’s time to start looking at a possible EV expansion, and also upgrades to your fleet technology. We at V3 Smart Technologies can help you with fleet tracking and management technology adoption, so if you are unsure where to start, feel free to reach out to us.