News analysis
million. We had a decline of 10% in April [2025] – you can’t go on one month in isolation, but the trend is there.
“I think it’s the ZEV mandate – I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. Of course there are lots of factors, but I think it’s the ZEV mandate. “In order to achieve 28% EV sales, [OEMs] can’t force more people to take EVs, but they can prevent people from taking petrol or diesel. Effectively what’s happening is you’re rationing the market, and that’s reducing the entire size of the market, and that’s terrible news for the automative sector in the UK and it will have implications, like for instance, Vauxhall closing its plant in Luton, and we will see more and more of that as we go.”
AI ‘removing barriers to understanding fleet data’
The AFP conference’s discussion on AI heard that it was a tool to assist rather than replace fleet managers. During a panel discussion, Rick Nimbley, business development manager for telematics firm Geotab, said: “AI doesn’t replace the fleet manager. It doesn’t replace the human. [It might tell you a driver] is your riskiest driver, but it’s down to you as the fleet management team to actually use that insight and have judgement on what is the next step.”
Chris Endersby, of fleet management platform provider Samsara, said: “I think AI is definitely an assistant at this point. It’s not a replacement. I don’t see it being a replacement for some time.
Above: Rick Nimbley and Chris Endersby discussed how fleet managers should approach AI.
“But I think, we as an organisation provide you with so much data – how much of it is being used? We collect all sorts of data from telematics, from cameras. We don’t want it to be a compliance process that’s done for the sake of it, we want to use that data to make improvements and be proactive moving forward.
“Also, it’s not just your fleet’s data – we’ve got fleets around the world’s data to get those insights, and that’s where it becomes really powerful. “I also see it as a barrier removal. I think AI allows you to use a system very effectively without being an expert in it. If you want to find out information, it’s very easy to do.” When asked what common mistakes were made by fleets adopting AI, Nimbley said: “I think going too hard, too fast, is probably a mistake, and putting too much trust in the system. I think ultimately, it’s great for gathering data, making correlations. Would we trust it to make the final decision? Probably not.
“So, my advice would be, pick a process that is top of mind at the moment, one process, and test it out. Pick a subset of drivers or users, run that as an experiment, see what the results are, baseline before the AI, baseline after the AI, see what impact it’s made.
Above: Matthew Hammond and Harvey Perkins have concerns about the ZEV mandate.
“Ultimately, it’s a tool to reduce workload – we want to free you guys up to do your day jobs, not be sat at computers compiling reports.”
When asked about the potential future for AI in fleet, Endersby identified changing attitudes that would arrive with new workers entering the industry. He said: “I think the big thing is the next generation of people coming through the industry, which is going to be so used to AI – my kids are six and seven and trying to use it for homework. So, there’s going to be a natural adoption curve as that generation comes through.
“I just see things becoming simpler. We lose that traditional dashboard interface, things will become a Google-type search engine – ‘show me this’, ‘I need to look at this’.
“I 100% don’t trust it fully, I would always give it a human look over before I’ve sent anything out or made a decision based on it – but I think that will get better.”
Nimbley added: “I think it’s a tool for today that’s scalable for tomorrow. So, what we’re using it for today is definitely not what we will be using it for in five years’ time.
“I don’t think any of us can actually say what we’re going to use it for in five years, or even the next year or two years. It’s already come on leaps and bounds.
“But I think the key takeaways for me are, the time taken today to do a complicated task, you’ll save a minute next year, two minutes the year after – it’s about that simplification of complicated tasks, whatever they may be.”
Keep your fleet moving with our award-winning Business Breakdown Cover
www.businesscar.co.uk | May/June 2025 | 9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
