NEW record pump prices for diesel – already wiping out the Government’s recent reduction in duty – mean fleets need to continue their focus on fuel management.

Businesses sometimes had a tendency to become accustomed to high prices quite quickly, said Peter Golding, Managing Director at fleet software company FleetCheck, but a proactive approach to fuel purchasing and use needed to be maintained.

He said: “The fuel duty reduction caused a short term fall in pump prices but they are now back above previous highs, showing that upwards pressure remains. Further help from the Government seems unlikely in the short term at least, so it is very much down to fleets to keep pursuing fuel fundamentals.

“What’d we’d underline is that we’re definitely seeing results from the fleets with which we work that have adopted basic fuel management strategies over the last few months in response to rising fuel prices. They are not able to neutralise the increases entirely, of course, but they are able to minimise their impact.

“Core measures such as adopting a fuel card, controlling where purchasing is taking place, inhibiting fraud and monitoring driver fuel consumption are all having a positive effect for businesses. This is an issue that can be managed successfully with a proactive attitude, something that we are consistently able to see through our software.”

Golding added that the ongoing high price of fuel was also prompting some of FleetCheck’s customer base to speed up the electrification of their cars and vans.

“High and rising fuel prices can sometimes substantially change the whole life cost profile of operating diesel and petrol vehicles and, while electricity prices are also increasing, the effects on overall calculations are relatively minimal.

“Certainly, we talk to fleets who see the current pump prices as a major factor – perhaps the major factor – when it comes to accelerating electrification. Alongside all the many quantifiable arguments, filling up a mainstream company car and finding that the bill is nudging £100 has a definite psychological effect.”