Nothing makes a fleet manager more proud than a fuel-efficient fleet. However, as rewarding as fuel efficiency is for fleets, many don't know smart ways to achieve it.
This blog explores the importance of fuel efficiency for your fleet on Singapore roads, regulations, and the recommended steps to achieve it. Let’s start our engines and begin exploring.
A thriving fleet requires effective fleet management, driver training programs, vehicle selection, and fleet management technology to ensure safety, compliance, and, most importantly, fuel efficiency.
What good is having a well-maintained fleet if it is not fuel-efficient?
Fuel efficiency is measuring how far a vehicle can travel with one litre. Most would assume a litre of fuel can take you far, but not all cars will use a litre of fuel the same way. The more miles your vehicle can travel with that one litre, the greater fuel efficiency your car has.
To improve your fleet’s fuel efficiency, you must overcome the many factors that affect vehicle efficiency.
All of these play a part in the bigger picture. Understanding these is crucial for optimising your fleet’s fuel consumption and reducing costs.
With a close-knit connection between economic growth, urbanisation, energy use, and carbon emissions, Singapore can easily become a hotbed for harmful emissions, especially as a prominent tourist destination that relies on fleet-based businesses like taxis and other public transport. The Singapore Government is well aware of this, and sustainability is high on their list of things to tackle to ensure increased sustainability across industries.
Fleet-based businesses still rely on ICE or internal combustion engine vehicles, which creates another obstacle for increased sustainability. However, by making sure each vehicle’s fuel usage is optimised and these vehicles are properly maintained, fleet managers can contribute to increased sustainability if they are not in a position to transition to EV fleet vehicles.
After all this information, I'm sure you want to know if your fleet meets the fuel efficiency standard. One way to find out is to follow a few steps that assess your fleet's vehicle performance, fuel consumption rate, and operational efficiency.
Step 1 Gather data…with?
Your fleet’s fuel consumption rate clearly indicates whether it knows how to use fuel efficiently. You can manually calculate this rate by looking through fuel receipts or tracking the total distance each vehicle travels, or, for a faster approach, fleet management software like Cartrack can automatically calculate it for you.
Step 2 Calculate your fuel economy
Once you have the information from step one, you can use it to calculate your fleet’s average fuel consumption per 100 km. All you have to do is divide the amount of fuel used in litres by the distance travelled and multiply by 100.
Step 3 Compare findings
Use the answer from your calculations to compare to industry standards or vehicle manufacturer insights on similar vehicle types.
This might seem like a long process, but think of it this way: Calculating your fleet's fuel consumption can illuminate your fleet efficiency levels and identify areas for improvement. Using this information to improve your fuel economy will result in lower fuel costs and less money spent at the petrol station.
How a vehicle is driven can go a long way in affecting its fuel efficiency. Making small changes such as decreasing the amount of times you idle or abruptly accelerate, can save you thousands per year, especially when this is practised across a whole fleet.
Here are other tips that can benefit your vehicle and wallet in the long run.
Partner with fleet management software like Cartrack, which offers GPS vehicle tracking and telematics for vehicle diagnostic information, vehicle usage data, preventative maintenance, driver behaviour, alerts for risky behaviour and real-time fuel usage data with fuel monitoring solutions.
The quicker you start implementing these tips, the faster your fleet and save on fuel and steadily move towards a healthier, more fuel-efficient fleet. The price for not following through can sometimes be greater than the impact on your budget—take a look at what inefficient fuel use can end up costing your business:
Fortunately, Singapore businesses don't have to tackle fuel efficiency alone.
Fleet management software, along with companies that offer a variety of fleet management solutions, such as Cartrack, can assist with fuel economy by streamlining every aspect of vehicle management, such as vehicle maintenance, vehicle allocation and usage and driver behaviour. These can all contribute to how well your fleet uses expensive resources.
Let Cartrack be the middleman between your business and achieving peak fuel efficiency. Cartrack has a fully-stacked feature list that is ready to improve your fleet.
Here’s how Cartrack’s trusted solutions can help your fleet reach fuel efficiency potential:
Electric vehicles (EVs) have taken the world by storm ever since they were introduced, and countries like Singapore have been adopting these environmentally friendly transport options for both personal and commercial use.
These vehicles aren’t affected by the rising fuel costs that are causing many motorists to reevaluate their fuel budgets, and they aren’t affected by costly fuel inefficiency caused by vehicle wear and tear. Since no natural resource is used to power these vehicles, they create zero emissions and offer impressive fuel efficiency to boot.
If your business isn’t quite ready to go fully electric, hybrid cars are always available.
These combine a traditional combustion engine with an electric motor. These two technologies offer the best of both worlds: fuel efficiency from the electric motor and peak vehicle performance from the combustion engine. If your fleet usually travels around urban areas and has mostly sedan or hatchback vehicles, then this option could be perfect for you, as it is well-equipped for inner-city driving.
Since 2018, the Singapore Government has started offering new incentives to create attraction for electric vehicles and help phase out ICE vehicles. Here are a few examples.
Cars registered between the 1st of January 2018 and the 31st of December 2020, owners would get
Then, for cars registered between the 1st of January 2021 and the 31st of December 2022, EV vehicle owners get
All new EVs and Electric vehicle taxis registered between the 1st of January 2021 and the 31st of December 2023 received a 45% rebate off any additional registration fees, capped at S$20,000.
Cartrack is your one-stop shop for fuel efficiency. Put our advanced solutions to the test and start enjoying the benefits of managing a fully efficient fleet.
Do you still have too many questions about fuel efficiency and what you have to do to achieve it? Read on to find answers to some popular questions about fuel efficiency.
How to understand fuel efficiency?
To understand your fleet fuel efficiency, you have to evaluate your vehicle’s ability to use fuel to boost its performance. Calculate the distance your vehicles can drive on 1 litre of fuel. This will show you how fuel-efficient your vehicles are. The number you see is determined according to other factors that affect how your vehicle uses fuel such as the vehicle's weight, maintenance of the vehicle, the type of engine it uses and more.
What is the concept of fuel efficiency?
The concept of fuel efficiency stems from motorists and managers needing to show the limits of their vehicles when it comes to fuel usage. Seeing what 1 litre of fuel can do for their vehicles, how much power can be used from it, and what is needed to achieve minimal fuel consumption are all critical pieces of information. This insight would influence the type of fuel you give to your vehicle, its maintenance schedule and the overall health of your vehicle.
How many litres per 100km is good?
If your vehicle is healthy, lower litres per 100 km indicates good fuel efficiency. But there are other factors, such as vehicle type, vehicle weight and size and driving condition that can change the fuel consumption rate.
What determines the efficiency of a fuel?
There's a list of factors to consider that influence how fuel-efficient your vehicle is including:
And more, if each of these factors are managed with a car then your vehicle is capable of reaching maximum fuel efficiency standards.
Does cruise control save fuel?
This is a common myth that has been passed on from driver to driver over the years. Although it doesn’t directly influence fuel efficiency, cruise control does allow the vehicle to drive at a constant speed, which can improve fuel efficiency because of the steady, non-harmful driving behaviour as there would be no harsh acceleration, idling or deceleration.
For further insights into fuel efficiency and fleet management solutions, be sure to check out our blog on Fuel Efficiency: Know How to Save Your Fleet a Fortune.
Discover the crucial role fuel efficiency plays in your fleet’s wellbeing and how it can boost your profits.
