Fleets That Lease Improve Uptime While Cutting Costs

A Penske Leasing truck on the road improving uptime.

Increasing uptime and managing costs are critical for fleets, especially in the current operating environment. Leasing can provide several benefits to fleets, including reducing breakdowns, driving down maintenance costs and improving their fuel economy, which all impact the bottom line.

Fleets That Lease

Fleets are using a variety of leasing strategies. The 2025 National Private Truck Council (NPTC) Benchmarking Survey reported that the majority of private fleets — 55% — lease some or all of their Class 8 vehicle population, while 45% own 90% of more of their equipment. More than three-quarters, 72%, are classified as full-service leases. Roughly one-third of fleets, 27%, report a combination of ownership and leasing heavy-duty equipment, while 28% report leasing all or a majority of their equipment.

Improved Fuel Economy and Utilization

Leasing allows fleets to take advantage of late-model equipment. The average age of leased equipment is 3.2 years, compared to 5.34 years for owned equipment. Driven by the trade cycle strategies, leased fleets experienced a fuel economy of 7.24 mpg versus the 6.84 mpg average that owned fleets reported.

The survey, which gathered information from 104 companies, also found that leased fleets average 82,457 miles annually compared to 78,656 miles logged by owned fleets.

Robust Maintenance

Unexpected breakdowns and unscheduled repairs can lead to driver frustration, expensive roadside service calls and missed delivery windows, which can be detrimental to customer satisfaction.

The NPTC survey reported that fleets that lease outsource 75% of their maintenance. An effective maintenance program can reduce the number of over-the-road breakdowns that occur, which helps control unexpected costs. The average cost of a breakdown is on the rise, reaching $1,324 in the latest survey, up from $1,262. Similarly, the average time associated with a breakdown increased to 20 hours, up from 15.8.

Outsourced Maintenance

The number of fleets outsourcing maintenance has increased, with most respondents indicating that they outsource at least a portion of their maintenance spend.

Specifically, the survey found that 41% of the fleets report outsourcing nearly all their maintenance. That is, 90 cents of every maintenance dollar is spent with an outside service provider. Additionally, 42% of private fleets rely on both in-house maintenance as well as outsourcing.

Fleets’ Top Concerns

Driving down maintenance and fuel costs can help fleets manage several of the top challenges cited in the NPTC survey. Private fleets ranked costs as the No. 1 challenge they face, surpassing driver issues for the first time in more than a decade. Other top challenges included driver issues, safety, equipment and maintenance, and economy/business conditions.

To learn more about how leasing or outsourcing maintenance can benefit your fleet, contact Penske at 1-844-847-9519.

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