What are the biggest cost drivers for fleets?

Whether you manage light-duty professional vehicles, a medium-duty operational fleet or a large, mixed fleet across various segments, mobility costs are still largely driven by the same three areas:

Delivery Man

Driver behavior

A fleet is only as effective as its drivers. In fact, 47% of total cost of mobility is reportedly dictated by driver behavior, making it one area that cannot be ignored if you’re looking to streamline costs.1 Whether it’s excessive braking, unnecessary idling or suboptimal routes, there are several ways to evaluate problem areas, so you know exactly how to coach your drivers toward more productive and profitable ways of working.

Phone Dashboard

Fleet Maintenance

Any time your vehicles spend off the road equates to money lost from your bottom line. The right maintenance practices won’t only lower the likelihood of breakdowns and downtime but will also help reduce overall maintenance costs, through the smarter scheduling of service appointments and proactive decisions that can improve vehicle performance. Once in place, this holistic approach to maintenance can help fleet managers see around even the sharpest of corners.

Retail Station

Fleet fuel consumption

One of the biggest expenditures for all fleets is fuel, which is often up to 60% of operational costs.From fleet cards to mobile fuel delivery, there are various avenues for fleet managers to explore when it comes to potential fuel savings, but perhaps the most important first step is to increase visibility into fuel purchases, consumption and efficiency by tracking the data around refueling.

Telematics unleashed: Are you getting the most from your fleet management data?

The modern fleet manager must be as comfortable around data as they are around their drivers. After all, data management is increasingly key to unlocking fleet efficiency – and greater efficiency often means lower costs.

With so much data available, however, it’s about more than just collating the numbers; it’s also about understanding them and their potential impact on your fleet operations – which is how telematics can help. Packed with fleet insights and cost-saving advice, our telematics article explains how you can  move from data paralysis to data analysis.

Download the article

Why should you use Shell Gasoline to fuel your fleet?

Shell Gasoline is scientifically proven to help improve mileage by actively cleaning and preventing engine deposits.* All three grades of Shell Gasoline provide unsurpassed protection against performance-robbing engine gunk so your fleet can run more efficiently, which can help lower emissions and total cost of mobility.

Learn more about the benefits of Shell Gasoline

How Shell can help

Between fuel delivery and operational visibility, our consultants have got you covered. Explore our range of cost-saving fleet solutions and let us help you build a fleet management plan that can increase efficiency while reducing costs.

3 Simple Steps to Help Reduce Your Fleet’s Total Cost of Ownership

Fleet management is becoming increasingly complex. As your go-to consultant with a suite of available solutions, Shell Fleet Solutions can help you navigate your way towards a more efficiently run business.

  1. Save Money with a Shell Fleet Card
    Simply choose between acceptance at nearly 13,000 Shell stations or over 95% of all other U.S. fueling stations

  2. Implement Electric Vehicles to Help Lower TCO
    Estimates suggest that EV fleets can have a 15-25% lower TCO than that of equivalent internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030*

  3. Avoid Unnecessary Miles for Refueling with Shell TapUp
    Drivers are diverted an average of two miles out of the way to get gas, with more than 20 minutes spent on off-route fillups**

How our end-to-end solutions can help your fleet

1 DriveTech. “The impact of driver behaviour on vehicle running costs.” The AA. May, 2020.

2 Mike Antich. “Containing fuel spend is a top fleet focus despite price stability.” Automotive Fleet. December 17, 2019.

* McKinsey Sustainability, 2020. ‘Charging electric-vehicle fleets: How to seize the emerging opportunity’ (estimates based on urban and regional use cases for commercial fleet vehicles)

** The business impact of off-route fleet refueling, Geotab, 2022,
https://www.geotab.com/blog/fleet-refueling/