Fleet Maintenance Services in 2024: Trends, Challenges, Solutions
Fleet managers know that if one thing is certain, it’s that each new year brings unique problems to overcome when it comes to improving fleet safety and driver well-being, increasing fuel efficiency in fleets, and cutting costs. This year will prove to be no different, so read on for the latest trends, challenges, and solutions in fleet maintenance services.
Fleet Trends: What’s New in 2024
Improvements in connected fleet technology will reign supreme as the 2024 trend of the year. But fleet managers aren’t just looking for GPS location services. Tracking devices relaying average speed provides valuable insight into fleet safety and driver well-being. Connected fleet technology also provides at-a-glance fuel consumption, empowering fleet managers to make data-driven decisions for improved fuel efficiency. Alerts to tire pressure and health status tracking allow for scheduling predictive maintenance at shops with a proven record of excellence in fleet maintenance services.
Increasing fuel efficiency is always a goal for fleet managers, who will benefit not only from the data provided by connected fleet technology but also from falling gas prices. After record-high gas prices in 2022, 2023 provided a bit of a break for fleet managers, with an average price of $3.50/gallon in New Jersey. Experts are predicting prices may drop to $3.38/gallon in New Jersey in 2024, helping boost fuel efficiency in fleets this year.
Fleet electrification via EVs will also likely continue as a trend, though the drive toward reduced reliance on fossil fuels is likely to moderate. Though sustainability remains a worthy goal, the lack of charging infrastructure nationwide will make it difficult to electrify entire fleets in the near future.
Fleet Challenges: Fleet Electrification Shows Vulnerabilities
Fleet electrification earned a position as both a trend and a challenge for fleet managers. Hertz made headlines in early January by announcing it would sell one-third of its electric fleet, thereby reducing its EV fleet by 20,000. Citing weak demand, Hertz’s CEO was careful to clarify that EVs will certainly remain in the fleet, but that supply is currently outpacing demand, a trend he expects to change in the coming years.
Fleet electrification plans may also be challenged by widespread coverage of “graveyards” of EVs which sat uncharged, and occasionally abandoned across the Midwest and Northeast due to brutally cold temperatures.
Fleet Solutions: Predictive Maintenance Boosts the Bottom Line in 2024
The leading cost-saving solution that will ensure that fleet managers successfully boost their bottom line this year is the investment in predictive maintenance. Predictive maintenance limits expensive unplanned maintenance. It reduces off-road time, supports fleet safety and driver well-being, and it boosts fuel efficiency in fleets. Suffice it to say, that no matter the size of your fleet, prioritizing predictive maintenance by sending your fleet to an experienced and trusted fleet maintenance services shop is the key to a prosperous 2024.
Nerger’s Auto Express: 35 Years of Fleet Maintenance in Somerset County, NJ
Since 1989, Nerger’s Auto Express has provided fleet management services in Somerset County, NJ. At our family-owned and operated business, our team of ASE-certified technicians have years of experience providing fleet maintenance services for all makes and models. To learn more about our fleet services in Somerset County NJ, contact Nerger’s Auto Express at 732- 507-9603 or send us a message.