2018 OIL STUDY
DEMOGRAPHICS
16 Fleet Maintenance | May 2018
Which of the following best describes
the industry you currently work in?
Demographics
An overview of the respondents
Respondents of the 2018 Fleet Maintenance Oil Study
manage fleets ranging from light to heavy duty, serving
industries from government and public safety to managing
common carrier and operating independent repair
facilities.
The fleets represented in this study provide a cross
section of all vehicle classes, with a nearly one-third
split for the primary vehicle class serviced in their fleets
between light duty, medium duty and heavy duty vehicles.
While a fleet may have a vehicle class category as
their primary vehicle type, more than half (59 percent)
indicated a mixed fleet.
The majority of vehicles are owned (86 percent) and
maintained in an on-site facility (71 percent), with about
half keeping vehicles in the fleet for more than 10 years.
Types of vehicles
Diesel and gasoline are the most common fuel types
among fleets, with 74 percent indicating some or all
vehicles run on gasoline, and 88 percent run some or all
diesel, a statistic that mimics other industry data showing
the popularity of diesel fuel among Class 4 through 8
vehicle purchasers. Nearly 80 percent of registered medium
and heavy duty vehicles in 2017 were diesel, according
to IHS Markit commercial vehicle research director Andrej
Divis at the 2018 NTEA Work Truck Show.
While alternative fuels lag, the study indicates a trend
towards fleets operating a mix of diesel and gasoline vehicles
along with a few alternative fuel options. As it relates
to alternative fuels, hybrid vehicles are the most popular
among all fleets, with hydrogen being the least popular.
The following infographics help breakdown the surveyed
fleets by type, industry and size. -Vesna Brajkovic
Primary Vehicle Type
2%
1%
The majority of respondents
indicated they maintain a mixed
fleet: 75 percent have light duty
(Classes 1, 2 and 3), 59 percent
medium duty (Class 4, 5 and 6) and
62 percent heavy duty (Class
7 and 8) in their fleet.
37%
32%
31%
Light duty
Medium duty
Heavy duty
Bus
Common Carrier
Construction/Mining
Independence Repair
Facility/Contract
Maintenance Provider
Food/Beverage
Manufacturing/
Processing
Municipal/Government/
Public Safety
Petroleum
Refuse/Recycling
Retail/Wholesale
Delivery
Utilities
Other
8%
14%
8%
26%
2%
2%
18%
1%
9%
9%