We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time
The start point for the best source of fleet information |
Northern Ireland has the longest average fleet vehicle off-road (VOR) times in the UK, according to software firm Epyx.
It said an average of 2.4 days contrasted with the shortest times, seen in North West England, at an average of 1.82 days between when a vehicle enters a workshop and is finally repaired.
The statistics have been compiled from Epyx's 1link Service Network platform, used by operators with more than four million vehicles between them to manage and process SMR.
The company said its data also showed that VOR times had increased quite dramatically in almost all regions since the onset of the pandemic. For example, it said VOR in Scotland had risen from 1.96 days in 2020 to 2.04 in 2021, 2.16 in 2022, and 2.39 in 2023.
Epyx chief commercial officer Tim Meadows said: "It is interesting to see how VOR across the UK varies quite dramatically, with a difference of nearly a day between the longest and shortest. For fleets that rely on a high level of utilisation, that is a relatively significant period of time.
"Obviously, these figures are very much a reflection of local supply and demand for service and maintenance - as well as the impact of ongoing issues such as parts shortages - but they also mean that there are potential opportunities for national fleets to steer their SMR buying towards areas where VOR times are shorter in an effort to minimise the issue."
Meadows said VOR had become much more of a concern for businesses operating vehicles since the pandemic, thanks to a range of factors including a quite dramatic ageing of fleets due to new vehicle supply shortages.
He said: "Older vehicles almost unavoidably require more maintenance while getting hold of parts for them can be tricker than newer equivalents.
"That means that VOR times for fleets have risen and there is quite a lot of managerial effort being placed on containing these SMR waiting times as much as possible.
"Some fleets are employing a number of strategies, ranging from pre-MOT checks to ensure that vehicles pass their test and are not taken off the road, through to 'bundling' of jobs where a number of issues on the vehicles are addressed at the same time."
BusinessCar magazine ©2019
Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
