Fuel is one of the biggest expenses that motorists have to contend with, but there are steps that businesses can take to save money.
In this guide, we’ll focus on how to make the most of every litre, how to change the way you drive to save money on fuel, and consider different measures that your business can implement to cut fuel costs.
Changes to your vehicle that will save money on fuel
Optimise engine performance
Having an engine that’s well-tuned and performing to its full potential is critical to improving fuel economy. So always follow your car manufacturer’s recommendations on how best to service your vehicle’s engine.
Remove extra weight
Review what’s in the boot of your car, your cab or on your lorry. The EPA reports that, on average, every extra 50kg will increase your fuel consumption by up to 2%. A small percentage that really adds up over a year.
Only buy the fuel you need
Rather than driving around with a full tank, it’s recommended to only buy the fuel you need, as this will help your fuel go slightly further. Although this may seem more inconvenient, think about how much weight you’re carrying around when you’ve got 100 litres of fuel in your tank.
Be as aerodynamic as possible
There’s an increased focus by car designers on making vehicles as aerodynamic as possible. To make your vehicle more aerodynamic, the RAC recommends that you don’t drive with open windows and don’t leave a roof box or roof rails on your vehicle unless necessary. This will make your vehicles more fuel-efficient and save you money in the long term.
Invest in better tyres
The RAC also reveals that good-quality ‘eco’ tyres can reduce fuel consumption up to 7-10%. By investing in better and more eco-friendly tyres, you could reduce your annual fuel bill by more than £50. This would also help to lower your CO2 emissions and reduce the number of times you need to replace your tyres.
Inflate your tyres correctly
According to research by The Motor Ombudsman, UK motorists might be forfeiting the use of £112 million worth of tyres every year due to driving with underinflated tyres. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that your tyres are inflated correctly as this can save you money on fuel and make your tyres less susceptible to failure.
Which driving techniques can help you save fuel?
Don’t idle
Running a vehicle when it’s not moving is commonly known as idling and is not only bad for the environment but can also be very expensive, particularly for HGV vehicles. Idling uses unnecessary fuel, which can result in annual costs of over £3000 per HGV vehicle.
By reducing this habit, you can reduce fuel consumption and C02 emissions, which will be beneficial for your business.
Use your engine stop/start
If your vehicle has stop/start functionality, you can save yourself some money. This type of system is a handy alternative to switching your engine off and on again and a more fuel-efficient choice than keeping your car running when stopped at traffic lights.
Drive slow and steady
High and inconsistent speeds can have a negative impact on your fuel efficiency, as driving faster will increase wind resistance on your vehicle. It’s more fuel-efficient to travel at lower and regular speeds as much as possible.
Cruise control can save fuel by helping you drive more steadily and consistently, too. Savings of roughly 7-14% can be made on fuel, meaning it’s a more efficient way to drive. This is because a steadier and more consistent speed isn’t as demanding on the engine compared to sudden acceleration and deceleration.
Drive in a higher gear
Whenever it’s possible and safe to do so, change up a gear without labouring your engine or redlining your rev counter. Driving in a higher gear means you lower your engine speed, which in turn can improve fuel efficiency.
Drive gently when your vehicle is cold
Vehicles that are cold are more inefficient, particularly if you drive quickly after starting up your vehicle as you will be doubling up on wasted fuel and wear out your engine quicker. That’s why it’s important to initially take it easy on your vehicle after you fire it up.
Don’t drain your battery
Anything that puts a drain on your battery will impact your fuel economy. You should try to use air conditioning as little as possible and remember to turn off heated seats and steering wheels when they’re no longer needed.
It’s also a good idea to make sure your battery is properly maintained, as a battery in poor condition can also increase fuel costs.
Drive gently when your vehicle is cold
Cold vehicles are less efficient, particularly if you drive quickly after starting up your vehicle, as you will be doubling up on wasted fuel and wearing out your engine more quickly. That’s why it’s important to initially take it easy on your vehicle after you fire it up.
Make small driving adjustments
Your driving style can impact fuel efficiency and vehicle wear more than you may think. If any lifelong bad habits have been formed, they can increase fuel costs throughout a driver’s time on the road. However, by changing your driving behaviour, you can start to save money.
For example, slow down early to let traffic lights change rather than stopping completely, speed up a little before you reach the foot of a hill, and leave a sensible distance between you and the car in front so you can brake evenly.
Complete a driver training programme
Though the above points can help improve your driving and save you money on fuel costs, if you want to take this to the next level, taking advanced driving courses can be beneficial too. These will help you to learn how to drive more safely, more effectively, and in a more economical way, helping you to form better driving habits.
By taking a training programme, drivers can be informed on often overlooked factors that aren’t fuel efficient, meaning they’ll be more aware of how to save fuel and make savings. Common mistakes such as harsh acceleration, frequent braking, and poor route-planning awareness can all be lessons learned on these courses, which makes them a worthwhile investment.
Sustainable driving
Ensuring that you drive sustainably is incredibly important, but there are a few ways to go about accomplishing this.
Achieving sustainable driving through hypermiling is one of the best ways to save money on fuel. Essentially, the hypermiling technique is where drivers maintain the momentum of their vehicle by choosing more direct routes that require less acceleration and braking.
Eco-friendly driving methods like this can reduce CO2 emissions and limit your contribution to climate change, alongside improving air quality by contributing fewer pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx).
Sustainable driving also comes with economic benefits - such as lower fuel costs from reduced fuel consumption and lower maintenance costs with less wear on brakes and tyres - so it’s certainly a practice that drivers should engage with.
Additional things you can do to save money on fuel
Fuel budgeting and forecasting
Creating a fuel budget is one of the best methods to make savings, allowing you to stay in better control of your finances and make more informed decisions on business operations.
To ensure that you’re not overspending on fuel, it’s vital to know how much your vehicle or fleet is costing you to run each week, month, or year before you start to look to save money. Also, noting the number of trips you make, how your routes vary, the average fuel price of local fuel stations, your vehicle miles per gallon (MPG), and monthly mileage estimates is important.
Taking all this into account allows you to get an accurate guideline, which can then be used as a comparison when you begin to introduce new ways of driving. It also allows you to predict your fuel demand and helps you manage your fuel inventory, leading to increased efficiency and better savings on fuel expenses.
Optimise routes and planning with telematics
Investing in a telematics system is beneficial for businesses, as the data can be used to reduce fuel costs. Telematics combines a GPS system with on-board diagnostics so you can:
Assess the miles-per-gallon/litre performance of all the vehicles in your fleet.
Identify the best routes for your vehicles so less fuel is used.
Monitor poor driver behaviour, such as fuel inefficiency.
Fuel card usage and strategy
We have an extensive range of fuel cards to choose from, which can help you save money on fuel costs. We offer fixed weekly price fuel cards and pump price fuel cards, and our expert team are on hand to help determine which is best for your business.
Our fuel cards deliver the following benefits:
A fixed weekly price for fuel that’s closely linked to the wholesale fuel market, helping you to save money.
No interest charges applied to fuel purchases.
A reduction in admin costs because invoices and VAT are much easier to manage.
Every transaction is tracked, and your company will be billed directly, minimising the risk of fuel fraud.
Having a strategy for your fuel cards is also important so that you’re maximising your savings on fuel expenses. This can involve things such as monitoring your fuel usage to identify inefficiencies and selecting the right fuel card for your fleet type so that you can improve productivity.
Take advantage of money-off vouchers
With some of our fuel cards, you can collect supermarket reward points, which often give you exclusive discounts. This is a fantastic incentive for drivers who refuel regularly.
Use the fuel recommended to you
Always check the manual for your car, van, or lorry to find out what type of fuel your vehicle’s manufacturer recommends for you to use. By sticking to this advice, your vehicle should perform better, and you should avoid paying for expensive fuel that you may not need.
Consider alternative fuels
Electric vehicles (EVs) are often cheaper to run than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. Save extra money by recharging at home when possible, plus you'll be reducing your greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. Explore our EV charge cards, which offer a convenient payment solution for businesses switching to electric.
Do hybrids save more money on fuel than manual vehicles?
With hybrids sitting in the middle ground between EVs and manual vehicles, they provide a fantastic balance between the two. The benefits of hybrids are clear, with them offering lower emissions, improved fuel economy, and reduced running costs compared to manual vehicles.
Saving on fuel expenses is possible due to factors such as electric assists, cutting the engine load, and reducing consumption, especially in traffic. This can contribute to reducing costs over time, especially if they’re part of fleets that cover shorter distances and city journeys. With other features such as regenerative braking, you can save money on fuel as the system reuses energy whilst braking and recharges the battery.
So, businesses that adopt hybrid vehicles will certainly see themselves saving on fuel expenses compared to if they used manual vehicles instead.
FAQs
Does coasting save fuel?
Putting the car into neutral and coasting is extremely dangerous, so, although it can make you feel like you’ll be saving on fuel expenses, it shouldn’t be done. It prevents drivers from being able to use the accelerator, which is necessary to avoid potential hazards, and cars will also handle sharp corners much worse when in neutral as well.
Do fuel cards save you money?
Yes, fuel cards can help you make savings on your fuel expenses. Alongside other unexpected fuel card cost savings, most of our customers will also pay less than the standard pump price on every litre of fuel they purchase.
How much fuel do you save with a hybrid?
Hybrids are cost-effective due to a fuel economy of 55-65 MPG, compared to a petrol vehicle, which is around 36 MPG. Looking at these figures, a hybrid can use about half to even a third as much fuel as a normal petrol car, meaning for every £20 someone spends on petrol, a hybrid might only need around £10-£13 to drive the same distance.
