Advertisement feature from ATS Euromaster

In the current economic climate, fleets continue to look for ways to minimise outgoings. ATS Euromaster has urged fleet managers to adopt a more planned SMR routing to help lower their vehicle maintenance costs.

As operational cycles lengthen, thanks to the lack of vehicle supply, fleet budgets are under increasing pressure to contain costs at a time when SMR budgets and tyre replacements are growing from longer lifecycles.

To counter these costs, ATS Euromaster is urging fleet managers to adopt a more planned approach to SMR scheduling to help lower vehicle maintenance costs.

“It’s a false economy waiting for an event to happen before scheduling a maintenance visit,” says Mark Holland, Operations Director at ATS Euromaster. “The biggest cost to an operation is having the vehicle off-road for any time. This far outweighs the expenditure on regular maintenance.

“It’s the same with tyres. Scheduling visits for replacement is key to the smooth running of fleets. We often don’t have the service capacity for a rapid fit visit, and more likely we’re also having to order in the tyre, such is the wide variety of different fitments and sizes that are now required for the fleet mix of SUV, EV and ICE fleet vehicles. So what I urge fleets to do is keep up regular maintenance work, book in visits in advance, and keep your fleet operation running smoothly.”

ATS Euromaster is offering advice to help fleets manage costs down and avoid vehicle off road time. It advises

  • Schedule maintenance - don’t ignore it, because longer life cycles mean greater wear and tear
  • Know when MOTs are due - on longer lifecycles there will be more of them - and schedule in advance
  • Book in tyre replacements - do not leave to the last minute
  • Don’t get hooked on false economies. Budget tyres cost less than premium tyres but are half as durable - meaning their whole life cost is more
  • All-season tyres are a great option for ICE vehicles as they offer consistent traction whatever the weather conditions and eliminate the requirement to swap to winter tyres
  • Cracks or chips get worse over time. It is advisable to get them repaired as soon as they appear to prevent worsening which can lead to a costly replacement.
  • Van fleets involved in kerbside deliveries should flip the tyres from outer to inner to lengthen service life.

Mark added: “What we are seeing is the additional cost of vehicle downtime from fleets that have been ill prepared for greater SMR work. So our advice is all based on keeping your fleet running. And while we have your vehicle in our service bay, we’ll conduct a free vehicle condition inspection, which can pinpoint potential future maintenance issues in advance. We want fleets to run smoothly and cost-effectively. Regular maintenance and tyre checking is key to this.”