Ryan Naughton, Head of B2B Connected Car and European Relations at The AA digs into one of the industry’s most topical issues. Fleet management is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades, driven by rising costs, tightening sustainability demands, and increasingly connected vehicles. In this shifting landscape, data and AI are emerging as the tools that can turn reactive operations into proactive, efficient, and safer fleets. Drawing on The AA’s own experience managing a 3,000-vehicle fleet, Ryan explores how intelligent technologies are reshaping operations, cutting downtime, and unlocking new performance gains across the industry.
It’s a transformative time for fleet management – and that’s no over statement. But with change comes opportunity. We’re all facing a wealth of possibilities to enhance operations, optimise costs and meet sustainability goals.
Let’s consider the current landscape. It’s not just looming decarbonisation targets that are reshaping fleets. Rising fuel, maintenance and insurance costs are hitting hard. Then there’s supply chain disruption, skills shortages and cybersecurity concerns linked to rising connectivity. The list could go on.
Fleets have had to adapt and I can say this with certainty, as we’re no exception here at The AA. We run our own complex operational fleet of over 3,000 vehicles, so we understand the challenges of fleet management first hand. On an industry level, the BVRLA’s annual Industry Outlook report reported that 64% of fleets claimed cost cutting as their number one strategic priority for 2025.
So, what’s the opportunity?
Data and AI. This powerful pairing is changing the game when it comes to fleet management. Switching it from reactive to proactive, resulting in reduced downtime, cost savings and increased driver safety.
The surge in AI innovation could be the silver bullet needed to not only navigate our challenging landscape but thrive in it. Fleets are already realising this. Webfleet’s research reveals a clear trend: nearly all fleet managers (91%) expect to ramp up their investment in digital fleet solutions over the next five years.
The research also revealed that 52% of fleet managers regard lowering operational expenses and boosting efficiency as key factors driving their increased investment in digital technologies.
The power of proactivity
What real-time data and AI can deliver is a world where breakdowns are turned on their head. Instead of reacting when a vehicle breaks down, the power is in a fleet manager’s hands to proactively plan maintenance to avoid breakdowns.
It’s enabling us all to work smarter not harder. And while preventing breakdowns is key, it’s not the only benefit. AI-powered tools help you plan service and maintenance in line with up-to-the-minute vehicle health data to avoid peaks in demand. You can get vehicles into a garage more efficiently and cut vehicle off-road time (VOR), with parts ordering in advance.
Telematics data has a further benefit. It offers a look into driver performance and this allows you to take proactive action to correct risky behaviour on the road. Put simply, proactivity can save lives.
Change starts at home
I mentioned our own fleet when it comes to appreciating industry challenges but there’s more to it. It’s really exciting that we’ve been able to use our fleet as a test bed for exploring how data and AI can make a difference.
Leveraging data from 10 million vehicles and 120 years of driver support, we’ve developed and tested our own AI tool, Vixa Pro. The outcome of our initial testing has been more surprising than we’d anticipated. Using proactive data on our vehicle health has reduced VOR time by around 40% in just nine months.
We’ve been able to identify potential faults and plan parts ordering ahead of time, to cut repair cycles and VOR. More of our vans are on the road at any one time, boosting customer service and keeping fleet operational costs down. And it’s all down to the power of data and AI.
I could talk about this topic endlessly! It’s incredibly motivating to think of the opportunities for change across the fleet sector. For now though, we’ve explored the subject further in our Yellow Paper - Driving Intelligent Fleet Management. It's designed to help you navigate today’s complex landscape and explore the opportunities fuelling this era of transformation. The power is in your hands and we’re with you every step of the way.
