How to Calculate Fuel Consumption for a Trip to Optimize Your Fleet Management?

Managing a fleet of vehicles is a constant challenge for businesses. Fuel is often one of the biggest expenses. Knowing how to accurately calculate the fuel consumption for a trip is not just a matter of forecasting; it is an essential strategy for controlling your costs, optimizing your routes, and improving the overall profitability of your fleet. To calculate the overall cost of a trip, many different factors must be taken into account.

In this article, we will detail the methods and tools for best assessing your vehicles' fuel consumption, and how this data can transform your fleet management. Whether for a single car trip or for planning multiple trips, an accurate cost calculator is essential.

 

Why is it crucial to calculate the fuel cost of a business trip?

For a company, accurate calculation of gasoline (or any other fuel) consumption has a direct impact on several key aspects, enabling significant cost reductions:

1. Cost Control: Fuel represents a significant portion of operating expenses. Accurate cost calculation allows for better budgeting and identification of potential waste, taking into account the price per liter of fuel and total fuel costs. This is the first step in reducing expenses.

2. Route Optimization: Knowing the estimated fuel consumption makes it easier to plan the shortest or most fuel-efficient routes, thereby reducing the number of miles traveled and travel time. The goal is to travel fewer miles.

3. Vehicle Performance: Unexpected variations in fuel consumption may indicate a mechanical problem or excessive fuel consumption, a need for maintenance, or abnormal vehicle wear and tear.

4. Environmental Impact: Reduced consumption means lower CO2 emissions, a significant advantage for brand image and compliance with environmental regulations.

5. Accurate Billing: For companies that bill their customers for rides, an accurate estimate is essential for calculating the price of a ride.

 

Key Factors Affecting Fuel Consumption

Before discussing calculation methods, it is important to understand the variables that affect fuel consumption during a car trip:

• Vehicle type: Each model has its own average fuel consumption (city car, utility vehicle, heavy goods vehicle, etc.). This also includes the issue of car rental and its specific characteristics.

• Fuel type: Gasoline, diesel, electric, hybrid... costs and calculation methods differ.

• Distance traveled: Obviously, the longer the distance traveled, the higher the fuel consumption. This is essential for any route calculation.

• Driving Conditions:

  • Speed: High speed drastically increases fuel consumption.

  • Driving Style: Driving habits that involve sudden acceleration and braking (aggressive driving) are detrimental to fuel economy. Economical driving is essential.

  • Traffic: Traffic conditions with frequent congestion and stops increase fuel consumption and travel time.

• Topography: Mountain routes consume more fuel than flat routes.

• Vehicle load: A heavily loaded vehicle consumes more fuel.

• Weather conditions: Headwind, rain, use of air conditioning, etc.

• Vehicle condition: Underinflated tires, poorly maintained engine, dirty air filter... all these issues can lead to excessive fuel consumption.

 

How to Calculate Gasoline Consumption for a Trip: Practical Methods

Here are the steps to perform a calculation using a specific method and calculate the price of a car trip:

1. Know Your Vehicle's Average Fuel Consumption (L/100 km)

This is the most fundamental piece of information. It is often specified by the manufacturer, but actual fuel consumption may vary. It is generally expressed in liters per 100 km.

• Manual method (for accurate measurement):

  1. Fill up with fuel.

  2. Note the exact mileage (or reset the trip meter).

  3. Drive as usual until the tank is almost empty.

  4. Refill the tank and note the amount of fuel added (in liters).

  5. Note the new number of kilometers traveled.

  6. Calculation: (Liters consumed / Kilometers traveled) x 100 = Fuel consumption in L/100 km

• Example: You put in 45 liters and drove 600 km. (45 / 600) x 100 = 7.5 L/100 km.

2. Determine the Distance of the Journey

Use an online mapping tool (Google Maps, Mappy, Waze) to get the exact distance in kilometers between the starting point and the destination. Remember to include any planned detours or stops, especially for long distances.

3. Obtain the Average Fuel Price

Check current fuel prices in your area or on specialized websites. For a business estimate, use an average price per liter of fuel or the price negotiated with your suppliers.

4. Incorporate Additional Costs: Tolls and Other Fees

For an accurate total cost of a car trip, don't forget the other expenses:

• Tolls and highways: If the route includes a highway, toll charges can significantly impact the total cost. Tolls should be taken into account for certain routes.

• Parking: In certain areas, parking fees may apply.

• Vehicle wear and tear: Although more difficult to quantify precisely for each trip, vehicle wear and tear is an indirect cost linked to the number of kilometers traveled.

5. Final Calculation: Complete Total Cost Formula

Once you have all this data, the calculation is simple:

Fuel cost = (Distance of the trip in miles / 100) x Average fuel consumption of the vehicle (L/100 miles) x Fuel price (€/L)

Total cost of the trip = Fuel cost + Toll cost + Parking cost (if applicable)

Example: For a trip of 350 km (including €20 in tolls), a vehicle consuming 7.5 L/100 km, with fuel at €1.80/L.

Fuel cost = (350 / 100) x 7.5 x 1.80 = 3.5 x 7.5 x 1.80 = €47.25
Total cost = €47.25 (fuel) + €20 (tolls) = €67.25

 

Calculating Fuel Consumption for a Trip: The Advantage of Telematics and Fleet Management Solutions

While manual calculations are useful for understanding, they become impractical for a large fleet where cost calculation must be automated. This is where telematics systems and fleet management software come in to reduce uncertainty.

These connected solutions enable you to:

• Collect Real-Time Data: GPS tracking of vehicles, instantaneous fuel consumption, number of miles traveled, travel time.

• Automate Calculations: Software automatically calculates fuel consumption and costs per trip, per vehicle, per driver, including toll charges for a total cost overview.

• Analyze Driving Behavior: Identify drivers who consume excessive fuel due to their driving habits (e.g., aggressive driving, sudden acceleration and braking) and offer eco-driving training to reduce costs.

• Plan Maintenance: Anticipate maintenance needs based on mileage and consumption, including checking tire pressure to avoid excessive fuel consumption.

• Generate Detailed Reports: Customized dashboards for a comprehensive view of fuel expenses and total cost.

 

Dadycar and Calculating Fuel Consumption for a Trip: An Integrated Solution

In the specific context where calculating the cost of a trip becomes a strategic necessity for your business, Dadycar positions itself as an essential partner. Our innovative fleet management and business travel solutions directly integrate features that allow you not only to estimate but also to optimize your fuel costs and the total cost of each trip.

How does Dadycar help you calculate the price of a trip and reduce these expenses?

• Smart Route Planning: Dadycar helps you identify the most efficient routes, taking into account real-time traffic conditions, highway tolls, and distance traveled, thereby reducing distance and fuel consumption. 

• Accurate Expense Tracking: By consolidating your travel data, Dadycar makes it easy to track actual fuel expenses per vehicle and per employee, giving you a clear view of fuel costs and total costs.

• Tax and Administrative Optimization: Beyond simple calculation, Dadycar simplifies the management of business travel expense reports, including fuel, toll, and other expenses, and ensures tax compliance, transforming a tedious task into a seamless process. This helps you reduce administrative costs.

• Integration and Flexibility: Whether you manage a small fleet or a larger one, Dadycar's tools are designed to integrate with your existing systems and adapt to your specific needs, making the calculation process more intuitive and less time-consuming.

By choosing Dadycar, you are not just calculating fuel costs, you are implementing a comprehensive optimization strategy that positively impacts your profitability and the operational efficiency of your fleet. It guarantees smarter management and informed decision-making for every long distance traveled.

 

Conclusion: From Forecasting to Optimization

Calculating fuel consumption for a trip is much more than a simple arithmetic operation. It is a strategic process which, when carried out correctly and supported by the right tools such as Dadycar, can generate substantial savings and improve the efficiency of your entire fleet. By understanding the various factors that influence fuel consumption and using precise methods, you can transform an unavoidable expense into a powerful optimization lever for your business. Learning how to reduce these costs is a major competitive advantage.