How fleet managers can face the biggest industry challenges

Still, the primary area of concern for fleet managers is total cost of ownership (TCO), which reflects concerns over economic volatility. While OEM production has stabilized, fleet managers still must contend with the aftermath of pandemic-related shortages. There are lingering concerns about sticky inflation, especially with the threat of tariffs and geopolitical instability driving reduced global economic growth forecasts. Fleet managers can address these economic concerns by prioritizing efficiency in both daily operations and maintenance. 

Although fleet managers confront plenty of challenges, they have also never had more resources for improving efficiency and reliability. Emerging technologies like next-generation fleet management solutions will help managers address bottlenecks like maintenance delays, while the shift to EVs will put fleets on a long-term path toward sustainability. With these exciting developments in mind, it’s important to take a close look at how fleet managers can turn today’s obstacles into tomorrow’s opportunities. 

Keeping costs under control

While fleet managers have made significant strategic investments in recent years—such as the shift to EVs—they are now focused on getting costs under control and strengthening their financial positions. According to a 2025 survey by Element Fleet Management, 61% of fleet managers say cost savings are a priority this year. The top strategies for reducing TCO are cutting maintenance costs and improving efficiency through technology. 

From 2024 to 2025, the proportion of fleet managers who say they’re focused on slashing vehicle downtime nearly doubled. This is a reflection of the overall emphasis on cost control, as extended downtime due to maintenance and repairs can have a huge negative impact on operational performance—from delivery delays to network inefficiency. Downtime doesn’t just lead to frustrated customers and lower delivery volumes—it also imposes direct costs by keeping vehicles in the shop for longer than anticipated. 

Fleet managers are right to be wary of the global economic picture, which is clouded by uncertainty around several potential sources of instability. But their focus on cost management isn’t just a short-term strategy for navigating choppy economic waters. By ensuring that their fleets are on solid financial footing right now, managers are building a strong foundation for future growth and investment. 

Addressing inefficiencies across the fleet

There are many ways for fleet managers to improve efficiency and reduce overhead, such as the implementation of digital fleet management solutions. One major challenge fleet managers face today is a lack of real-time visibility on everything from driver performance and safety to the status of repairs and maintenance. When managers are forced to manually check on the status of their fleets with phone calls, spreadsheets, and other cumbersome forms of communication and record-keeping, they’re wasting valuable time on operations that could be streamlined. 

According to a recent Gartner report, the top reasons companies adopt digital fleet management solutions are inefficiency and a lack of functionality with their current methods. Fleet managers use consolidated digital solutions for a range of purposes: dispatch and scheduling, route planning, and tracking maintenance and repairs. Too many fleet managers contend with costly inefficiencies across their networks, such as fragmented and opaque repair processes that lead to delayed approvals, extended downtime, and even fraud. Centralized digital platforms give fleet managers greater visibility into operations such as billing, approvals, repair management and updates, and the development of trusted vendor networks. 

At a time when fleet managers already confront the possibility of disrupted supply chains, higher costs, and other forms of uncertainty due to economic instability, there’s no reason to accept costly uncertainties and inefficiencies with their own operations. This is why a comprehensive focus on efficiency across the fleet has never been more important. 

Fully leveraging the digital transformation

The fleet industry is in the middle of a digital transformation that will fundamentally change how managers do their jobs. There is a vast and growing range of digital fleet management tools that can help companies address issues such as driver safety and performance, route optimization, maintenance and repairs, and scheduling. These tools can increase visibility, safety, and efficiency, which is why it’s no wonder that Gartner expects fleet management to become a $16 billion industry this year. In the coming years, fleet management solutions will increasingly be powered by AI—a shift that will drive even greater functionality and efficiency. 

As always, a central focus for fleet managers in 2025 is driver safety and performance—and this is an area where the digital transformation is particularly promising. Fifty-eight percent of fleet managers report that they use telematics or other connected vehicle solutions, and the top use cases for these solutions are improved driver safety and asset management. 

Beyond safety, telematics can significantly improve issues like fuel usage—which accounts for over a quarter of fleet expenditures. Digital tools like telematics are also invaluable for regulatory compliance on many issues, such as driver safety and emissions (which are increased by excessive idling and aggressive driving). Fleet managers also report that connected vehicle solutions improve their ability to schedule preventive maintenance. 

Despite the scale and pace of the digital transformation in the fleet industry, 30% of organizations still rely on manual methods for daily fleet management operations. Fleet managers must recognize that investments in technology won’t just immediately improve efficiency, visibility, and safety—these investments will also create the digital infrastructure necessary to continue innovating as their industry evolves.