Six easy ways to reduce your vehicle's fuel consumption

Vodafone field engineers reveal how they managed to cut vehicle carbon emissions by making some easy changes to the way they drive.

A small team of Vodafone field engineers has managed to reduce its fuel consumption by 18% in a drive to help the UK company reach net zero carbon emissions for its own operations by 2027.

The team, which dubbed itself Field Green, found that improving driver behaviour was the best way to reduce CO₂ emissions and improve the fuel efficiency of their cars and vans.

They originally set out to increase their miles per gallon (mpg) and reduce average CO₂ emissions by 10% in one year starting in December 2021. One of the tools at their disposal was Vodafone Automotive’s Telematics Fleet Management Solution – Vodafone Business Fleet Analytics (powered by Geotab), which monitors driver behaviour using onboard sensors and advises on how to adapt driving style to save fuel.

By July 2022, the team’s CO₂ grams per kilometre (g/Km) had actually fallen by 19%, and average miles per gallon had increased by 18%.

Here’s how they did it.

The six tips

The Field Green team came up with some simple tips for drivers to follow.

If you have a new model van, use the Eco button – this modifies the onboard computer settings to enable more efficient driving.
Check your tyre pressures regularly to ensure they’re correct.
Only turn on the air conditioning when you really need it.
Ensure that the auto start/stop feature is turned on to reduce fuel use when stationary – idling at traffic lights is a waste of energy.
To reduce weight, only carry things in your vehicle that you really need.
Go easy on the right foot, don’t drive aggressively, and remain calm.

The Field Green team made a video (above) illustrating these six tips in the hope of inspiring other drivers to become more sustainable when driving.

Stay up-to-date with the latest news from Vodafone by following us on Twitter and signing up for News Centre website notifications.