ATS Euromaster is growing its mobile van fleet as demand for mobile servicing soars.
Driven by the pandemic, demand for its mobile fleet has increased 10% above average every month from October 2020 through to July 2021.
With demand expected to keep growing even as the impact of the pandemic wanes, ATS has already added 30 new vans to its fleet in 2021. And more are due to join before the end of the year, bringing the total fleet of mobile vans to 155.
ATS Euromaster is also actively recruiting to upstaff its mobile service.
Operations director Mark Holland said: “There’s no question that the increase we have seen for mobile delivery provision, and the constant vehicle uptime required to deliver items, has been behind the increase in demand for our mobile service.
“Thanks to the growing efficiency of our mobile technicians, we have been able to meet this increased demand to date, but now we feel it is time to invest in increasing our fleet size and new staff. We don’t expect mobile deliveries, particularly from the established supermarkets, to decrease as the scale of the pandemic subsides. Quite the contrary, we expect it to continue at the current levels, which in turn will put further demand for our services to ensure secure fleet uptime.
“Most of the requests we are seeing are for emergency tyre repair. But we are attempting to work with the bigger van fleets to prioritise maintenance work during vehicle downtime at night to provide a balance and retain service levels for all customers throughout the day.”
The new lower-emission vans joining the mobile fleet all fitted with a brand-new electric compressor, bringing substantial fuel cost savings against traditional diesel-powered compressors, and zero emissions as well. The compressor batteries are charged by the vehicle when the van is driving.
All mobile fitting vans are also equipped with the specialist jacks required to change wheels on the Tesla Model 3 electric car.
The firm is also expanding its Mastercare service, where the company undertakes pre-planned tyre inspection and remedial work at a time that is convenient for fleets and limits fleet downtime. It’s also trialling new working hours for its employees, including dedicated night-time technicians.
Holland added: “The pandemic has totally changed the dynamics of fleet support as the volume of home deliveries continues to increase. Fortunately we have been leading the market for many, many years with our mobile fleet. We are now responding to this changing demand with newer and better equipped vans, more specially trained technicians, and night-time servicing to ensure optimal fleet uptime performance. It’s all part of our commitment to ensure the highest level of service to the fleet customers we support.”
