Janet Eastwood (pictured), Arval UK’s product manager – fuel, said: “There are clearly a lot of exciting developments underway at the moment in terms of the fuel choices becoming available to fleets and it is pleasing to see how the industry is taking these new options seriously.

“However, it is important there is recognition that, for the next few years at least, petrol and diesel power will continue to form the core of most fleets, especially if you include hybrids and PHEVs in that total.”

She said that good fuel management in terms of controlling costs and minimising environmental impact will include continuing to work hard to reduce petrol and diesel use.

“This should remain a priority as we move to a more diverse fuel mix,” she said.

Eastwood added that the basics of good fuel best practice would still centre around fleet-wide fuel card adoption.

She said: “Without a fuel card, getting a grip on your petrol and diesel expenditure is very difficult. What a fuel card provides is purchasing control plus solid and accessible reporting.”

Data provided by fuel cards can inform decisions ranging from vehicle choices to identifying drivers that need additional training, for example to improve fuel economy.

In response to the changing fuel mix of fleets, Arval will be introducing an electric charging element to its fuel card, although managing use will be different to fossil fuels.

Eastwood added: “Over time, most EV charging is likely to take place at the home and the workplace, so the new purchasing patterns are quite distinctive. Future EV fuel card propositions will be based more around convenience, on the importance of managing charging by choosing the right pay-as-you-go network point, and also linked to telematics to ensure range is being maximised.”

Arval funds more than 165,000 cars and vans in the UK and has a total global leased fleet of more than 1.1 million vehicles.