Fleet parts prices have risen by more than a third in four years, according to data from fleet technology company Epyx.
Using a basket of common parts including front discs and pads, wiper blades, clutch, pollen filter, headlamp bulbs and spark plugs, the total cost has risen from £713 in 2020 to £963 in 2024, an increase of 35%.
The biggest increases in fleet parts have been seen for headlight bulbs, which are up by over 45%, clutches, up by over 40%, as well as spark plugs and pollen filters, up by over a third.
“It is well known in the fleets sector that parts production has been hit in all kinds of ways in recent years, from the effects of the pandemic through to the war in Ukraine, and that there has been a resulting marked impact on prices,” commented Tim Meadows, Chief Commercial Officer at Epyx.
“This data shows exactly how much. While the overall rate of UK inflation since 2020 has been around 22%, we have seen the prices of these fleet parts rise by an additional 13%. These are dramatic increases that have had a definite impact on overall running costs.
Fleet parts for older models
“Of course, this has also happened at a point in time when operators have been keeping hold of vehicles for longer, with many needing to buy more parts as a result,” continued Meadows. “For example, looking at our basket, few fleets would have needed clutches when operating on a three-year replacement cycle but for those that are keeping cars until four or five years old, the incidence of clutch issues is unavoidably higher. Just at the point when they have needed to spend more on parts, fleets have had to pay more.”
A potential brighter point, Meadows said, was that the rate of price rises appeared to be slowing, with the increase for 2024 over 2023 currently running at over 6%, compared to 11% for 2023 over 2022 and for 2022 over 2021.
“We have seen overall UK inflation begin to fall quite dramatically in recent months, and there have also been corresponding reductions seen for our parts basket. While prices are still rising, we are hopefully starting to see increases become more manageable.”
