As many as 37% of construction managers in the UK do not know how and when their company vehicles are being used, according to research carried out by fleet management specialist Vimcar.

The German company collected the data this month (July 2021), through a survey of over 100 fleet-owning construction industry businesses.

It found that 87% of construction managers restrict employee use of fleet vehicles, without a clear understanding of how the fleet operates, and that a third have had vehicles stolen in the past.

Furthermore, the company鈥檚 data showed that when it came to use of the vehicles, 43% of survey respondents 鈥渃ould not say how long employees spent with customers鈥� and that 37% of construction managers 鈥渄id not know whether their employees turned up to a job on time or even at all鈥�.

According to , which provides fleet management software to small and medium sized businesses, 鈥渢he data points to a worrying trend that construction managers have insufficient visibility over how and when their vehicles are being used鈥�.

Ronald Clancy, UK country manager at Vimcar, said, 鈥淰ehicle misuse costs the construction services industry thousands in terms of extra fuel, HMRC fines, and unnecessary maintenance expenses.鈥�

He added, 鈥淎 GPS fleet management system that includes features such as live tracking, geofencing and data exportation would not only enable trust and transparency between managers and their employees, but also prevent the disasters of vehicle theft.鈥�

Vimcar cited the latest vehicle sales research from the (SMMT), a UK trade association that represents around 800 automotive companies - including Audi UK, Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motoring Europe and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

According to the SMMT鈥檚 June 2021 market release, in the 2 to 6 tonne range are up 4.7% on pre-pandemic levels, with the demand for deliveries, e-commerce and essential services fuelling the rise.

Clancy said, 鈥淎s van sales continue to rise, fleet managers and business owners must consider the real cost of their growing fleet to their business and uncover ways to maximise efficiency.鈥�

The company鈥檚 research also indicated that construction managers 鈥渘eed a clearer understanding of their fleets鈥�, with 88% saying they would like to receive regular notifications about how employees are using their company vehicles.