Gathering relevant and accurate data in fleet management

Data is key to optimising companies’ fleet management. Whether for cost control, sustainability tracking, or improving operational efficiency, companies need a clear and reliable overview of their fleet. But knowing how to gather the relevant insights accurately is the challenge and failing to do so can lead to inefficiencies and unexpected costs.

The Importance of Accurate Data

To fine-tune their mobility policy, manage fleet costs effectively, and align with sustainability goals, companies need to take decisions based on facts. In this case, these facts are given by data. Without the right data, companies may struggle with:

• Lack of visibility on how company cars are used (or underused), excessive or idle charging costs, and kilometers traveled per user/car.
• Complex charging costs for electric vehicles (EVs), where prices vary significantly between home, public, and office charging stations. Companies also do not know where their employees charge, or if charging passes are being misused.
• Unclear total cost of ownership (TCO), making it difficult to accurately assess fleet costs / expenses.
• Compliance with Belgian mobility regulations, including sustainability reporting under PDE/BVP and CSRD standards.
• Meeting employees’ needs: By analysing commuting patterns, vehicle usage, and individual preferences, companies can offer different mobility options, from public transport allowances to home-charging infrastructure for EVs.

In this context, some companies explore fleet telematics implementation as a way to centralise and automate vehicle data collection.

Key Data Points for Fleet Managers

1. Mileage and Vehicle Usage

Fleet managers require precise mileage data, as the number of kilometres driven by an employee in their company car determine the monthly rental costs. It is important to distinguish between budgeted and actual kilometres. The struggle today lies in collecting electric vehicles mileage data, where traditional fuel card tracking no longer applies. It is therefore important to state in your policy that employees must report their mileage data to the employer at least once per year. If not provided, mileage can alternatively be verified using annual maintenance invoices.

Understanding mileage per journey also helps determine whether an EV is suitable for an employee’s driving profile and can prevent unnecessary (fast) charging costs

2. Charging Data and Costs

With EV adoption rising - and on its way to take over the fleet market - , gaining insights into employees’ charging patterns is going to be imperative:

• Where and when (how often) employees charge (home, office, or public stations);
• The cost per kWh at different charging locations;
• Idle fees and inefficient or fraudulent charging behaviour.

3. Energy Consumption and Efficiency

Electric vehicle energy consumption varies based on car brand and type, driving behaviour, weather conditions, and road types. Monitoring kWh per 100 km and per trip provides insight into:

• The impact of driving style on efficiency on EV range and fuel consumption;
• Seasonal variations in energy use (e.g., higher consumption in winter).

4. Employee Mobility Patterns

Understanding driving habits is also a key aspect of data in regards to fleet management, to ensure that policies remain fair, cost-effective, and aligned with sustainability goals. The important information are for example:

• How often employees actually use their company car;
• Whether they could benefit from alternative mobility options (public transport, car-sharing, cycling), whereby implementing a mobility budget could be interesting.
• How necessary home charging stations are for some employees, based on their commute distance.

A Few Obstacles To Overcome

These are all great data to collect although, gathering accurate fleet data comes with its own set of challenges:

• Fragmented data sources: Fleet data often comes from multiple systems (leasing companies, telematics providers, charging networks), making consolidation difficult.
• Privacy concerns: Tracking employee vehicle usage must comply with GDPR and avoid unnecessary monitoring.
• Lack of standardisation: Charging costs, TCO calculations, and mobility data reporting vary, making it hard to compare across fleets.

Using Analytics to Optimise Fleet Policies

By gathering and analysing the right data, businesses can:

• Reduce unnecessary fleet costs by adjusting lease contracts to actual mileage.
• Improve sustainability tracking by accurately measuring CO2 emissions and energy consumption.
• Enhance employee satisfaction by offering flexible mobility options tailored to their actual needs.
• Predict and improve fleet safety by analysing risk factors and enabling targeted interventions such as driving behaviors workshops.
• Optimise fleet routes by identifying patterns in trip data, reducing travel time, fuel consumption, and unnecessary mileage.

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