Rising Fuel Prices and Vehicle Efficiencies
Recently the DOE’s Energy Information Administration released its Short Term Energy Outlook, in which they predicted the price of gas to rise to $3.00 during the upcoming summer months. While $3.00 isn’t far from the current average price of $2.66 nor as high as the prices seen during the summer of 2008, it can still make a significant impact on a fleet’s overall fuel spend. For fleets that have already right-sized their vehicles, monitoring the fleet’s fuel efficiency is one of the most powerful ways to control fuel spend.
For instance, an average fleet sedan has an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) combined city/highway fuel economy rating of 24 miles per gallon (MPG). Analyzing data from the Donlen MasterCard® fuel card program an average fleet driver can range between 19 – 34 MPG. The driver that achieves fuel efficiency greater than the EPA rating is utilizing the vehicle in an efficient manner and reducing fuel costs. Unfortunately, the driver with ratings below the EPA fuel economy rating are collectively increasing fuel spend for the fleet. This means that a driver who drives 25,000 miles a year in an average fleet sedan with fuel efficiency in the lower range of economy will spend on average $2,000 more per year than a vehicle whose driver operates more efficiently.
Even more drastic is the range of efficiency for a hybrid vehicle. Let’s look at a Prius as an example. The EPA lists the 2010 Toyota Prius at a combined city/highway rating of 50 miles per gallon. An average fleet driver in a 2010 Prius can range between 40 MPG to more than 61 MPG. That variance in efficiency can cost you an extra $700 per vehicle.
So what is the best way to manage fuel spend? Educating and training fleet drivers on the most efficient way to operate their vehicles, and showing them their impact on the overall potential savings when they do, may be the most powerful way to help you control
fuel expenses.
**All calculations based on annual mileage of 25,000 and fuel price of $3.00. All savings are presented as annual savings. All fuel economy data from http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ and actual fuel efficiency from Donlen Fuel Data
The Donlen Corporate Fleet Fuel MasterCard® Card is issued by Regions Bank pursuant to a license by MasterCard® International Incorporated. MasterCard and the MasterCard Brand Mark are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated.
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