Fleet managers are increasingly turning to technology to help address an ever-growing list of financial and operational challenges.

Fleet operators are facing an unprecedented winter of high fuel costs, driver shortages and continuing fears of a global recession

New research by Solera Holdings LLC, a global specialist in vehicle lifecycle management, reveals European fleets are facing an unprecedented winter of high fuel costs, driver shortages and continuing fears of a global recession – likely to make 2023 one of their most challenging years to date.

The survey of 1,500+ European decision-makers unveils major economic concerns. Fuel costs are the number one challenge fleet leaders are worried about heading into 2023 (59%), rising to 66% of last-mile fleets, where fuel represents a much bigger proportion of overall costs. Linked to this, over half of fleets (76%) say their fuel costs have increased in the past six months and further storm clouds are ahead with oil prices set to rise even higher next year.

At the same time, almost a quarter (22%) of fleet decision-makers are concerned about the impact a global recession will have on their drivers in 2023. Fleets in Spain (33%), Portugal (29%) and Austria (28%) are the most concerned about a looming economic crisis.

Driver shortages are the second biggest challenge facing fleets entering the new year (25%), rising to 35% in Austria 33% in Germany, and 30% in the UK. While staff shortages are still a major concern, a third of fleets also reported that driving satisfaction levels had increased in the past six months, indicating that their efforts to improve the driver experience are beginning to pay off.

The research also shows that as customers demand ever more enhanced delivery experiences, fleets are struggling to keep up.

Whilst operators have been dealing with surges in demand before the pandemic, consumer expectations continue to skyrocket. According to Solera’s study, 79% of fleet managers indicate that they need to make deliveries faster and more efficiently to meet rising customer demands. Over half (60%) also said the volume of deliveries they were expected to make had also increased in the past six months.

This is where fleets using data to provide real-time, actionable insights have the advantage – using data to manage each part of the driver journey can improve the employee experience and safety but also boost overall efficiency and productivity, giving users a competitive edge.

Almost half (48%) of European survey respondents said the most helpful technology would be one platform that provided the information they needed to manage their fleet in one central place. They are also looking for technology to improve efficiency of deliveries (35%) and solutions to help mitigate insurance, litigation, and settlement costs (32%). Just 2% of survey respondents said technology wouldn’t help them better manage their fleet.

Mark Tiana, VP Truck & Fleet Solutions at Solera, said: “Fleets are currently facing a perfect storm of problems, but they are not on their own. There are technological solutions out there that can help ease the load over the coming months.

“Solera is already supporting our customers to boost productivity during this period and provide fleets with the tools they need to make the job easier and more effective. Fleets who wholeheartedly embrace technology will only reap the benefits, not only by providing drivers with a better, safe experience but improving efficiency, retention, and growth.”

• Solera will attend this year’s IAA Transportation conference in Hannover from 19-25 September where it will showcase a new global product to address the current market challenges and transform fleet operations.