Fifty-seven percent of fleet managers said real-time asset data such as miles driven and fuel consumption are the most important metrics for managing their fleets, which remains consistent with last year' results, according to a recent survey conducted by GE Capital Fleet Services.
Of the 75 fleet managers polled at the annual NAFA Institute & Expo in Detroit, respondents said cost containment and driver safety were the top priorities for fleet managers and executive management.
Forty-eight percent of survey respondents said cost savings is C-level executives' main focus for fleet management in 2010 versus 36 percent from a 2009 survey. This was followed by the use of innovative fleet management (19 percent), on-time delivery (16 percent), green initiatives (9 percent) and driver safety (8 percent).
For fleet managers, thirty-six percent found meeting the company's goals for cost savings to be the highest priority (up from 28 percent in 2009), while 21 percent were most concerned about driver safety (up from 12 percent in 2009). Only thirteen percent said new vehicle technology (hybrids, electric vehicles) will impact their fleet.
For those fleet managers who are "greening" their fleets, three more automakers -- BMW, Mazda and Hyundai -- say they are making headway toward bringing hybrid models to market.
The survey also finds that fleet managers are using management analytics to meet cost and operational efficiency goals. Thirty-one percent said operational efficiency of the fleet had improved through the use of analytics, while 32 percent indicated that analytics helped their company with cost savings.
