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Fleet professionals are often tasked with making crucial decisions that significantly impact your organization's efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental footprint. One such critical decision is selecting the right vehicles for your fleet. An in-depth understanding of the factors associated with this selection process can greatly influence your decisions. Element Fleet Management's guidance and expertise can assist you in navigating through the complex process of fleet vehicle selection.
What constitutes a fleet vehicle is broadly defined as any vehicle used by a business to conduct the operations of the company. Types of fleet vehicles can vary greatly based on the nature of the business, ranging from sedans used by sales teams to service vans to heavy-duty transport trucks. At times, a fleet can have different types of vehicles to contribute to different parts of their business.
When buying and selecting vehicles for your fleet, there are four main considerations:
It is vital to consider the suitability of a vehicle for a fleet driver's job function and operational needs. This factor plays a significant role in determining the fleet vehicle selection. Start by asking:
The answers to these questions will help you identify the type of vehicles that best suit your needs to ensure optimal operational efficiency and minimize unnecessary costs.
Costs can play a significant role in fleet selection. These include not just the initial acquisition cost, but also ongoing expenses such as fuel, maintenance, and potential resale value.
The importance of safety and technology in fleet vehicle selection cannot be overstated. Fleet safety is crucial not only for protecting the drivers and vehicles but also for mitigating liability risks. Research conducted by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety1 (NETS) shows that motor vehicle accidents cost employers between $47.4 and $72.2 billion annually in medical care, legal expenses, property damage, and lost productivity. Investing in vehicles with advanced safety features can significantly reduce collision rates, thereby leading to cost savings.
As sustainability commitments and environmental regulations continue to grow, it has become increasingly crucial for fleet operators to carefully evaluate the environmental impact of their vehicles. When selecting fleet vehicles, several considerations related to environmental impacts come into play.
We understand that optimal fleet lifecycle management involves more than just the selection of the new vehicle. Deciding when to cycle out your existing fleet vehicles can contribute significantly to a well-planned roadmap impacting your TCO. This may seem complex, but Element's deep expertise, robust data, and advanced technology can help you save both time and money in navigating fleet vehicle selection and replacement.
At Element, we offer Strategic Advisory Services that include creating custom lifecycle cost analyses for clients. This analysis involves evaluating all the costs associated with owning a vehicle over its useful life, from acquisition to disposal. It can help you make informed decisions about vehicle selection, ensuring you optimize expenses while maintaining operational efficiency.
When it comes to acquiring new vehicles or remarketing your existing fleet, maximizing the value of your vehicles is of the utmost importance. Our database is one of the largest in the industry, offering robust benchmarking and best practice sharing. We gather fleet data from multiple third-party sources such as auction data, supplemented by our proprietary data, providing a comprehensive view to support your end-to-end decision-making process. These robust insights and our regression analyses can help our clients make a more informed decision on what vehicles to sell today or hold to ensure getting the most out of your fleet vehicle investment.
Take control of your fleet ordering cycle by making informed decisions. Balancing operational needs, costs, and environmental impacts is crucial when selecting the right vehicles for your fleet. Don't wait to optimize your fleet management strategy - partner with Element Fleet Management and leverage our expertise and solutions to navigate this complex process. Take the first step towards achieving your fleet vehicle acquisition and replacement goals by contacting us today.
1 Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) – Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes to Employers
2 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) – Advanced driver assistance
3 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) – Real-world benefits of crash avoidance technologies