Fleet vehicle downtime fell to its lowest level since before the Covid-19 pandemic during the first quarter of 2026, according to new data from epyx.
Figures from the company’s 1link Service Network service, maintenance and repair (SMR) platform showed fleet vehicles spent an average of 1.46 days off the road in January, 1.47 days in February and 1.53 days in March while undergoing maintenance or repairs.
epyx said these represented the lowest monthly figures recorded since January 2020, when average downtime stood at 1.54 days, immediately before the pandemic disrupted supply chains and workshop operations.
Downtime increased over the following years, peaking at 1.83 days in May 2023 before easing to 1.57 days in January 2025.
However, most of last year saw figures fluctuate between 1.68 and 1.77 days, before rising again to 1.83 days in November and 1.91 days in December.
Tim Meadows, chief commercial officer at epyx, said: “Downtime has been a major problem for fleets since the pandemic, something caused by a number of factors.
“These include operating generally older vehicles, difficulties obtaining parts, a shortage of skilled technicians and higher demands on workshop capacity – all of which have meant that cars and vans have been spending longer off the road.
“We’ve been working closely with vehicle operators to mitigate its effects but, as our data shows, progress in resolving all of these problems have been both slow and erratic over the last few years.
“However, Q1’s figures suggest there may be a marked improvement underway, which would be very good news.”
Nevertheless, Meadows cautioned that further disruption remains possible.
He said: “It’s much too early, we believe, to say these three months of figures mean issues with downtime have effectively been sorted.
We could well see further volatility in future data. There are many variables in play that could have a negative effect.”
epyx said its 1link Service Network platform processes almost 20,000 SMR job sheets each day for UK fleets comprising 4.9 million vehicles, working with more than 8,500 suppliers.
