What do fleets need to look out for in 2026?

27 November 2025

What automotive trends have fleets navigated this year? What do these companies need to prepare for ahead of 2026? Tim Wellman, enterprise sales director at Autovista Group, answers these questions and more with Tom Geggus, editor of Autovista24.

How have fleets been performing this year? What are their big takeaways from 2025?

This year has been reasonably positive for fleet customers in general. Certainly, the post-pandemic supply shortages are well behind us, and new vehicle availability seems reasonable.

I do see some movement in terms of who is taking market share in the fleet sector. We have seen some changes across selected fleet companies throughout 2025. But overall, the fleet sector seems a reasonably positive segment.

Supply chains have been back in the news with the potential disruption of Nexperia chips, causing carmakers some alarm. Has it also concerned fleets?

Fleet clients predominantly source their vehicles via OEMs. So, any manufacturer lead concerns will naturally impact fleet suppliers. Constriction on supply chains due to the Nexperia chip shortages will inevitably wash through to fleet operators.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge lesson for the whole industry in terms of supply chains. How have fleets tried to prepare themselves for disruptions ahead?

Post pandemic, we have seen significant valuation volatility, and the push and pull of supply and demand are playing their part.

There certainly has been some stabilisation post pandemic, but not across all fuel types. There are still prominent spikes evident in our data when comparing battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), internal-combustion engines (ICEs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). This typically varies by each European market.

Fleet providers definitely have an appetite for data insights and intelligence around valuation movements. This is unsurprising given the overarching financial and regulatory frameworks mandating responsibility for the asset portfolios under their care.

Fleets boosted by BEVs?

Speaking of regulation, electrification has been a big deal for fleets. Do you think BEVs have provided them with positive results? What has the reality been of defleeting these models?

The onward march to carbon net zero is critical, and fleets take up around 60% of new vehicle registrations across Europe. So, this is naturally going to be a BEV route to market for many consumers and businesses.

Many all-electric registrations throughout Europe are driven by government grants, but also by advantageous breaks in company car taxation. This drives the adoption of cleaner, greener vehicles superbly well.

However, there are some headwinds that interlace with all of this in terms of the used BEV market. While we see good numbers of all-electric registrations being driven to market by legislation, that does not exist for second-ownership. This is having a material impact on resale values that are under constant pressure.

We have seen residual values (RVs) for BEVs impacted quite heavily this year, certainly in some European markets. Is there anything that fleets can do when it comes to observing those values?

Every fleet operator needs to understand the month-to-month valuation movements in their asset portfolio. With the relevant insight and intelligence across those asset portfolios, fleet operators can make informed decisions on whether to extend the leasing agreements or look to remarket assets sooner.

We are seeing an emerging trend among more fleet operators. They are now looking very closely at their remarketing efforts. Where it is evident, there is a disparity in resale values across European countries. It may be the case that a given tranche of vehicles may afford a better remarketing price in a neighbouring market.

So, being acutely aware of valuation trends across borders, particularly throughout Europe, is really important. If you are seeing potential BEV losses in France, for instance, you may be able to mitigate some of those losses by remarketing in Germany or Spain.

Attentive fleet managers are looking to those neighbouring markets to optimise their remarketing revenues and alleviate unplanned losses.

New brand boom for fleets?

Europe has seen the entrance of new brands over the last few years. Are these newcomers going to see a spike in fleet purchases given their affordability and advanced technology? Or are established brands going to hold firm?

We know some of the Chinese brands coming to market are doing so very professionally, with some fantastic products. These products will naturally challenge some of the established, traditional OEMs.

There are only so many consumers and businesses across Europe that are going to purchase cars. This means there will be fluidity in which brands these people gravitate towards.

One thing that will always remain fundamental in the fleet, finance, and leasing sectors is the importance of both RVs and cost new prices. A strong brand with robust RVs is better positioned to compete across European markets, standing firm against other OEMs.

Ultimately, list price and RVs are critical factors that drive competitiveness and long-term performance.

One technology we have seen become increasingly prevalent is advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Are fleets demanding this kind of technology, or is it just an added cost?

There is an important balance to consider here. As a responsible employer, there is a duty of care owed to company car drivers and vehicle owners.

Providing a vehicle equipped with ADAS not only supports that duty of care but also demonstrates a commitment to protecting employees in the best way possible.

While there may be additional costs associated with this, the value of safeguarding employees while they are on the road representing the business is significantly greater.

Health and safety considerations within fleet management are central to this approach. Enhancing vehicle safety features remains a key component of responsible fleet operations.

How can fleets prepare for 2026?

What do you think are the biggest challenges for fleets in 2026, and what are the greatest opportunities for them?

In terms of the biggest challenge, we are seeing a huge uptick in BEV fleet adoption. We have already discussed the value volatility of used BEVs. We have also got new battery technologies and competitive entrants coming to market.

There will always be some downward pressure on older batteries being surpassed by newer technology. We will also see positive adoption of challenger entrants.

The RVs of all-electric models will continue to come under pressure in the foreseeable future. With that in mind, this will certainly be one of the biggest challenges for fleet companies in 2026 and potentially for years to come.

The biggest opportunity in these scenarios is being as agile as possible; Looking at new strategies for remarketing these BEVs and ensuring that any fluidity in those residual values is managed in the best way possible. I think fleet companies that are agile, reactive and keep a very close eye on what is going on in the market will fare best.