With fuel prices soaring once again, and supply pressures intensifying, Lightfoot has acted to streamline the self-installation process of its driver coaching devices, helping more businesses rapidly reduce fuel consumption and improve efficiency.
Following years of fuel price volatility, Lightfoot has engineered its driver coaching technology to now be ‘plug and play’, so it can be deployed by any fleet, at speed, without specialist installation support. This matters because speed of deployment is everything when fuel costs are rising week on week. The financial case for acting now is significant. Based on average commercial driver mileage of 13,500 miles per year and diesel reaching 180p per litre, the annual fuel cost per vehicle stands at £4,418. Fuel cards are also increasing by around 10p to 16p per litre.
Lightfoot’s calculated average fuel saving of up to 15% reduces that figure by approximately £662 per vehicle, per year. For a fleet of 200 vehicles, that represents a potential saving of more than £132,000 annually – a calculation based on today’s prices. If diesel approaches or exceeds £2 per litre, as analysts are projecting, the saving grows proportionally.
Fleets that have historically faced delays waiting for engineer scheduling can now prioritise their highest-consuming vehicles first, installing devices in whatever sequence best suits their operational needs. Lightfoot continues to manage system setup and connectivity, while the hardware side sits entirely in the hands of the fleet.
The coaching technology is designed to deliver immediate savings on fuel costs by monitoring how a vehicle is being driven in real time and guiding the driver to operate at the engine’s most efficient point.
Collecting data directly from the engine such as throttle input, engine load and speed, Lightfoot analyses driving behaviour continuously and provides instant feedback to the driver through audio and visual cues and alerts inside the cab.
The updated installation process eliminates the need to wire the device into the ignition cable – a step that previously required soldering. Instead, the Lightfoot unit can now be plugged directly into the vehicle’s OBD port, making installation significantly faster and more accessible.
Alongside the hardware, the Lightfoot ‘InsightHub’ platform gives fleet managers immediate visibility of performance data including fuel savings, driver efficiency scores and consumption patterns, from the moment devices are activated.
This allows businesses to identify at-risk drivers and vehicles quickly, and to track the tangible impact of the technology on their fuel bill in real time. ESG data can also be calculated within Insight Hub, which is also an ongoing pressure.
“Consumer panic buying at fuel stations is adding further strain to supply, making it even more critical for working fleets to maximise every litre of fuel,” said Lightfoot Chief Revenue Officer David Savage. “Fleet managers have lived through Covid supply shocks, the Ukraine crisis and now escalating conflict in the Middle East. Every one of those events has moved the dial on fuel prices. The question for fleets is no longer whether the next disruption is coming – it is whether they are prepared for it when it does. With faster installation, fleets can act tactically, identifying their most at risk vehicles and drivers based on fuel consumption and volume, with the process taking just a few simple steps.”
Once installed, the device provides real-time feedback to help drivers maintain their engine’s most efficient operating range, or ‘sweet spot’, improving fuel economy instantly.
“When forecourts are running dry and prices are climbing, working fleets cannot afford to waste a drop of fuel. Lightfoot was designed for exactly this kind of environment – a world where fuel price stability is the exception rather than the rule. Our technology gives drivers the real-time guidance they need to get the most from every litre, and our installation process means fleets can be up and running in days, not weeks.”
