For Tasman District Council to get the fleet they needed, first, they had to see the fleet they had
Tasman District Council (TDC) has 300 staff and governs the north-west of the South Island, covering almost 10,000km² and 60,000 residents.
“The insights created a common narrative across the organisation as to our true fleet requirements”
The challenge
Tasman District Council needed to submit fleet financials as part of a 10-year plan, integrating a plan to electrify the fleet. However, with no clear visibility of their current fleet they lacked confidence when it came to purchasing new or replacement vehicles.
Many vehicles were assigned to specific business groups and not available for others to use. In some instances, vehicle models were not fit for purpose resulting in low utilisation.
Solution
Using nearly two years of data on the full fleet, Fleetonomics conducted a strategic vehicle audit that also considered how to optimise and transition to EVs. This showed peaks and troughs of vehicle use, offering practical solutions and recommendations to sustainably optimise the fleet.
The roadmap was presented to the council leadership team before establishing a fleet advisory group to ensure collaboration with key users.
The right vehicles for the job
We provided TDC with ten recommendations and a sustainable transition plan to help them optimise their fleet and transition to lower emission vehicles.
Insights revealed overcapacity of 18% in the fleet, which would have no impact on day-to-day business if removed. This saved $0.6m from capital budgets through mitigating EV transition costs (cars and chargers) and the disposal revenue is helping fund their transition to EVs.
Smaller is not always better
Fleetonomics analysis also identified that small hatchbacks were not fit for purpose, and these were recommended to be upgraded to small electric SUVs. And by increasing the availability of utility vehicles it actually decreased the overall number across the business.
Tasman District Council’s Nick Chin, Enterprise and Property Services Manager said:
“The analysis was critical for us to unlock the hold various business groups had on vehicles and create the environment for greater asset sharing. The insights shared with each business group created a common narrative across the organisation as to what our true fleet requirements are. This enabled executive endorsement to dispose of under-utilised vehicles and leverage that position to commence our transition to electric vehicles. Insights have been regularly presented directly to leadership, and ongoing analysis enables us to continue to make fleet optimisation decisions with clarity and a shared understanding.”