GE Capital Fleet Services released the latest segment of its national survey of C-Suite executives at middle market companies.

Staffing is the key internal challenge faced by executives with fleet responsibility. Increasing competition and government rules and regulations are the primary external challenges that these companies face. 

Some key findings from the survey focused on employment, alternative fuel, costs, and growth:

• 40% of companies with fleets are expecting to see growth in employment at an average rate of 3.6% year-over-year.

• The majority of executives with fleet responsibility plan to add alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), fewer than 5% have AFVs in their fleets currently. 

• According to the survey, just under half of middle-market executives with fleet responsibility expect fleet costs to continue to rise, driven by maintenance expenses, fuel costs and vehicle acquisition/depreciation. 

• Three-quarters of executives overseeing vehicle fleets indicate that their firms saw improved financial performance over the past 12 months. 

Reducing fuel usage and maintenance expenses are seen as the greatest areas for cost savings.

The Fleet Market Economic Outlook Survey examines opinions on financial performance, operational issues, and economic outlook from businesses in the fleet industry.

GE Capital surveyed 427 executives with responsibility for vehicle fleets across a range of important economic, industry and business-level issues.