More than one in five fleets (21%) have reported an increase in vehicle offroad (VOR) rates during the last 12 months, new data shows.

The 2026 Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer shows that VOR rates remain stubbornly high, down marginally from 24% in 2025 but still up from 18% in 2024.

John Peters, head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said fleets had been hit by “unusually high” downtime in recent years due to shortages in workshop capacity, a need for more trained technicians and poor parts availability.

“While our impression at Arval UK is the situation is beginning to ease a little on an industrywide basis, none of these problems are easily resolved and require long-term investment,” he noted.

Peters said that the slight fall in the percentage of fleets reporting rising downtime was nonetheless moderately positive.

“Excessive downtime is an issue that is not going to be solved quickly but these findings provide evidence that fleets believe improvements are in motion.”

The research also asked fleets which measures they have adopted to counter downtime. The leading answer for 2026 is using short- or medium-term rental – now mentioned by 52% of respondents compared to 41% last year and 34% in 2024.

Peters said: “Rental provides a fast and flexible solution when a vehicle is needed, and several new and innovative solutions have been brought to market in the last few years in response to changing fleet needs, including our own Arval Flex product or re-lease of selected used existing Arval cars.”

Peters added that the strong growth in take-up of rental solutions reflects these advantages.

Arval’s research also found that fleets are using a variety of downtime management measures less often, aligning with the improvement in VOR rates.

Today, 40% of vehicle operators say they are introducing manufacturers with better parts supply, down from 47% in 2025 and 52% in 2024. Also, 34% are managing processes more closely, compared to 44% and 43% in earlier years, while only 22% have increased the size of their pool fleet, against 28% and 30%. Delaying repairs is also less popular, at 24% now versus 30% and 40%.

Peters said: “Taken together, these findings add credence to the impression the downtime situation is improving. Fleet managers are spending less time managing VOR issues and basing fewer of their strategic decisions on the need to maximise car and van availability.

“In fact, the only remaining factor holding steady in our research is the 29% introducing new service, maintenance and repair providers, similar to 28% in 2025 and 31% in 2024. This underlines difficulties with finding the right suppliers in a sector where capacity remains an issue and prices continue to rise, albeit more slowly than in recent years.”

What actions have you taken to manage vehicle downtime?