MENU
SEARCHVincentric's quarterly snapshot of ownership costs reveal an entire year of relative calm after two years of pandemic volatility.
Costs in the Cars, SUVs, and Pickups categories have been essentially on a flat line for 2024.
Image: Vincentric
Welcome to the latest installment of Fleet Data Depot, which provides snapshots of information, trends, and analysis relevant to the fleet market.
The total cost of ownership (TCO) experts at Vincentric deliver another quarterly update on ownership costs for fleets. These fleet cost-per-mile calculations are for the third quarter of 2024.
This analysis is based on vehicles driven 20,000 miles per year for three years. As usual, Vincentric calculates its standard eight cost elements: depreciation, financing, fees and taxes, fuel, insurance, maintenance, opportunity cost, and repairs.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Vincentric’s Fleet Cost per Mile for each vehicle category either decreased slightly or remained the same:
Luxury Cars: No change
Luxury SUVs: No change
Passenger Cars: No change
Pickups: decreased ~1%
SUVs: decreased ~1%
Every vehicle category saw a significant decrease in the Fuel category of 10% to 11%. This is due to steadily decreasing fuel prices since October.
However, every vehicle category also saw an increase in costs in the Depreciation category of 1% to 5%, which offset the fuel cost decrease for most categories.
From March 2020 to the end of 2023, vehicle ownership costs experienced the highest peaks and lowest valleys in any time in history. After continual rough storms, TCO (total cost of ownership) is finally in a tranquil sea, as Vincentric data demonstrates.
Costs in the Car category have been essentially on a flat line for 2024, with average costs within $.66 and $.68 cents per mile the entire year.
While Luxury Cars and Luxury SUVs saw more dramatic cost spikes to start the year, both categories leveled off during the final three quarters of 2024.
While Luxury Cars and Luxury SUVs saw more dramatic cost spikes to start the year, both categories leveled off during the final three quarters of 2024.
Image: Vincentric
Yet while costs are level — a welcome circumstance for budget planning — they aren’t likely to come down.
These factors contribute to higher TCO:
Average vehicle transaction prices are again close to all-time highs.
With elevated inflation and low unemployment, the Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates.
Parts, labor, and overall maintenance costs show no signs of abating.
However, there are mitigating factors that should keep TCO spiking in the coming year:
With depreciation being the biggest cost factor of TCO, used-vehicle values stabilized in 2024, according to Cox Automotive, and will return to normal depreciation patterns in 2025. Fewer lease maturities will buoy values.
In the second biggest category, fuel, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that gasoline prices will decrease by 10 cents a gallon in 2025 and fall further in 2026.
In this AF news recap, host Faith Howell covers how Waffle House stepped up during disaster response and new AI tech on the market.
Read More →
AI is no longer a future concept for fleets—it’s already embedded in the tools, data, and decisions that operators rely on every day. In this episode of the Fleet Forward Podcast, recorded live at Fleet Forward, industry leaders take the conversation beyond hype to examine what responsible AI adoption really looks like in fleet operations.
Read More →
As fleets rethink how they capture, manage, and act on vehicle data, telematics is at a major inflection point. In this episode of the Fleet Forward Podcast, we dive deep into one of the most pressing questions facing fleet leaders today: Should you rely on OEM factory-installed connectivity, aftermarket devices, or a hybrid of both?
Read More →
Experts from telematics analytics, fleet-as-a-service operations, and national EV benchmarking share how real-time data is reshaping fleet strategy—dispelling assumptions, validating best practices, and exposing costly missteps.
Read More →
A powerhouse panel featuring experts from the American Automotive Leasing Association, CalSTART, and municipal fleet leadership dives into the realities of navigating shifting emissions rules, regulatory waivers, federal agency actions, the future of the EPA’s endangerment finding, and the push for unified standards. They also examine the impacts of tariffs, autonomous vehicle policy, battery innovation, and the accelerating global EV market.
Read More →
This episode kicks off with a deep dive into the technologies and market forces reshaping today’s fleet landscape. Host Chris Brown is joined by Laolu Adeola (Leke Services), Tyson Jomini (J.D. Power), and Richard Hall (ZappiRide) to break down real-world data, shifting incentives, and practical strategies fleet leaders can use right now.
Read More →
In the middle of natural disasters fleet managers must shift priorities to protect people and assets. What policy items should be loosened, and when should the line be held?
Read More →
In this episode, fleet leaders from municipal, university, and private-sector organizations share a candid EV reality check. From infrastructure setbacks and policy whiplash to grant funding, total cost of ownership, and charging resiliency, this conversation dives into what it actually takes to scale electrification in the real world.
Read More →
A running list of the fleet industry’s most influential leaders, recognized for their lasting impact on commercial fleet management.
Read More →
After a decade of lagging compensation, fleet manager pay is climbing. But expanding responsibilities, larger fleets, and growing complexity continue to redefine the role.
Read More →
