Use fuel efficiently

Learn about small changes that can help you and your team use fuel more efficiently, like better maintenance practices and smart driving habits, for light and heavy work vehicles.

Maintain your vehicle 

Regular maintenance can make a big difference to your vehicle’s safety, lifespan and fuel efficiency — with a well-maintained vehicle using 10–20% less fuel than a poorly maintained one.¹ 

• Check your tyre pressure — A 10psi difference in an axle tyre’s pressure set can cause a 1–2% increase in fuel use. Ask your tyre provider about devices to help you maintain tyre pressure and choose the one that suits you. 
• Check wheels are aligned — Even a one-degree misalignment on an axle set could increase fuel use by 5% and reduce the life of the tyre by as much as 25%. Watch for signs such as wear on the tyre shoulder, or uneven wear over the tyre tread. 
• Get your vehicle serviced regularly — Have oil and air filters changed when they’re due, check brake condition, and keep your engine tuned, and ensure air, fluid and exhaust systems are free of leaks. 
• Ask for eco tyres — Some manufacturers claim that tyres with a lower rolling resistance can reduce energy use by to up 7%.²
• Use heavy vehicle tyres — Heavy vehicle tyres designed and constructed specifically to reduce rolling resistance can improve fuel consumption by up to 3%.³
• Look at tyre tread depth — Bulges, lumps or cuts are signs that a tyre may need replacing. Although 1.5 mm is the legal minimum tread depth, the grip of tyres in wet conditions reduces more rapidly once tread is below 3 mm. 
• Don’t forget trailer tyres — These are often poorly maintained or under-inflated, but significantly affect fuel usage. Check them as often as other vehicle tyres. 

Maintenance checklist for buses(external link)

Maintenance checklist for trucks
(external link)

Improve aerodynamics to save fuel

As heavy vehicles pick up speed, they need more energy to overcome drag. If your fleet includes heavy vehicles with average speeds over 70km/h, these measures could translate to fuel savings of up to 10%. 

• Cover empty tipper trucks with a tarpaulin when on the road — 3% fuel savings. 
• Place load close to the cab on flat deck trucks — 3% fuel savings.
• Mount a cab roof deflector so it passes over the front edge of the body or load.
• An adjustable deflector is best for trucks that carry loads of different heights or travel empty at times — 1.2-2.4% fuel savings.
• Use fairings to direct air away from the side gaps between cabs and trailers. 

Before you invest in modifying your vehicles, ask others in similar operations what worked for them. Run a trial with 4 vehicles — 2 fitted with aerodynamic features and 2 without — and measure the difference. Swap drivers to account for different driving styles.