Welcome to the first-ever Fleet Manager Outlook Survey.

The survey, conducted by Automotive Fleet and Work Truck, gathered insights from 73 respondents who manage corporate and commercial fleets in the U.S.

Conducted between Jan. 7 and Feb. 2, 2025, the survey targeted managers of fleets across multiple industries. The results provide a snapshot of fleet managers’ top priorities, challenges, and emerging trends for the year ahead.

Looking at the overall results, fleet managers cited top concerns around rising fleet costs, increasing fleet safety, and managing evolving sustainability goals.

Respondent Demographics

Respondents’ fleet sizes ranged from one to 10 vehicles to more than 2,500 vehicles, with an average size of 1,050 units.

Survey respondents manage a diverse range of fleet types, with passenger vehicles making up the largest share (34%), followed by light-duty trucks (23%), vans (15%), medium-duty trucks (15%), and heavy-duty trucks (7%).

Though spread across a wide range of industries, construction/mining had 20% of the total share, followed by healthcare (17%) and then a long tail of industries including general freight (9%), manufacturing, utilities, retail, HVAC/plumbing, oil and gas, finance, and others.

Leading Priorities: Fleet Safety and Cost Containment

What’s on fleet managers’ minds and how do those concerns translate to their to-do lists? When it comes to priorities and challenges, the perennial duo — safety and costs ­— take precedence.

Fleet and driver safety remains the top priority for 70% of respondents, followed closely by cost containment (66%). Optimizing fleet utilization came in third (40%) followed by sustainability/carbon reduction initiatives (24%).

Regarding top challenges, respondents identified a major aspect of safety — driver compliance with fleet policies (47%) — as number one.

New vehicle pricing (44%) and overall fleet safety (36%) also remain high on the list. Coming in at four and five, parts and maintenance spending (32%) and vehicle downtime (26%) are ongoing concerns, as supply chain disruptions continue to impact fleet operations.

In addition to top priorities, we also asked fleet managers to identify the priorities that are increasing in importance. Those were ordered slightly differently, with new vehicle pricing (43%) as the top increasing priority, followed by fleet safety/reducing crashes (40%) and parts and maintenance spend (33%).

Fleet Electrification Slows, Sustainability Efforts Shift

While fleet electrification continues to progress, nearly half (48%) of fleet professionals said electrification will be less of a priority in 2025 than in previous years. Only 16% identified electrification as more of a priority, while 36% said it remained the same.

The results regarding overall sustainability goals are mixed. A plurality (30%) of respondents said they are still actively pursuing sustainability goals within their set timeframe.

Yet 47% said goals are under review: 21% are reassessing their initial targets (though goals haven’t changed), while 13% intend to scale their sustainability goals dramatically and an equal number (13%) indicated they are scaling back goals somewhat.

Only 10% said they’re accelerating their sustainability goals.

Budget Stability & Job Challenges: A Mixed Outlook

Fleet budgets appear relatively stable, with 52% reporting no major changes compared to 2024, while 30% saw an increase and 18% experienced reductions.

Yet, not surprisingly, 62% indicated their job was more challenging than in previous years, and only 6% said it was less challenging.

Camera Integration Leads Technology Adoption

When asked about emerging technologies, 51% of fleet managers identified cameras and video telematics as the top tech interest for 2025.

Fleet maintenance, predictive analytics, and telematics enhancements are also being explored to reduce downtime and optimize operations.

Theft Challenges in Check

We also asked about vehicle and parts theft, break-ins, and vandalism.

More than half (51%) responded that theft has not grown in the past two years, while 37% reported fewer incidences and only 13% reported greater incidences.

Direct Feedback: What Keeps You Up at Night?

To finish the survey, we asked “What keeps you up at night?” as an open-ended question. Here are their verbatim responses sorted into six areas of concern:

1. Rising Costs and Budget Constraints

Fleet managers are grappling with increasing costs across multiple areas:

“Rising costs of purchasing vehicles along with a softening used car market is squeezing the budgets.”

“Fleet program cost optimization, meaning greater oversight of the variables such as fuel, transport, repairs, etc. Prioritizing reducing waste and using the cost savings to increase safety budget, premium vehicle selections.”

“Budget and emissions regulations.” 

2. Safety and Accident Prevention

Fleet safety and liability are top concerns:

“Fear of that call that there was a catastrophic collision.”

“Driver safety and compliance.”

“Large liability verdicts that have little justification in driver or company actions.”

“Accidents and lack of quality drivers.”

3. Compliance and Regulatory Uncertainty

Meeting government-mandated emissions requirements remains a challenge:

“How do we meet state-mandated emission requirements when there is not a vehicle to do so, and I cannot downsize the vehicle?”

“DOT regulations.”

“The forced adoption of EVs in California was a huge concern throughout 2024 because we have a large fleet there and our vehicles go home with our drivers at night. Fortunately, it appears these disruptive anti-business regulations will not be implemented in the near term.”

4. Staffing and Workforce Shortages

Fleet managers struggle with hiring and retaining qualified staff: 

“Finding qualified technicians.”

“Keeping my job! So many balls in the air and growing, resources everywhere (my company, FMC, third-party suppliers, etc.) are all overloaded.”

“Hiring more staff.”

5. Supply Chain and Vehicle Availability

While supply chain conditions have improved, unpredictability remains in some areas: 

“OEM supply chain issues, OEM cost increases, maintenance & parts cost and labor increases.”

“Timing of when to order new vehicles (OEMs are not consistent), allocation, availability.”

6. Administrative Overload

Some fleet managers feel stretched thin:

“Doing more with less. Not being able to create, initiate, and manage cost-saving in new programs due to administrative functions.”

“Keeping up with tasks and projects along with day-to-day admin tasks. Doing more with less.”

“Unrealistic company expectations.”

Ever-Evolving Challenges

Fleet managers face a complex and evolving set of challenges in 2025, with cost pressures, safety, regulatory uncertainty, and staffing shortages dominating their concerns.

The results highlight the need for proactive cost management, improved safety measures, and more strategic workforce planning to mitigate risks and ensure fleet efficiency.