Nexus Rental predicts trends for the year ahead
Gerry McCaig of Nexus Rental
Steady market growth, and increased adoption of electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, are among Nexus Rental’s key predictions for the fleet rental sector in 2026.
“The economy remains uncertain and decisions made across the world continue to have a knock-on effect for the country,” said Gerry McCaig, chief operating officer at Nexus Rental.
“Fleet rental will steadily return to growth, but this will likely look different to what it has done before.
“There are renewed signs of confidence across the markets, with investors slowly starting to return to the fleet and mobility space. Rental remains an incredibly important element of fleet and mobility, providing suppliers and customers with the chance to control some fixed costs and avoid long-term capital commitments, which is becoming more valuable than ever.
“As supply issues ease, growth is no longer linked to simply getting hold of necessary vehicles, but by which businesses can run the most efficient and reliable networks. Performance benchmarking and transparent pricing structures will continue to become increasingly important, alongside consistent delivery remaining a base expectation.”
Artificial intelligence has already embedded itself into the fleet rental landscape, but Gerry predicts that this will go even deeper in 2026.
“The entire rental journey, from requirement and booking through to collection and vehicle return, produces huge amounts of data which can then be used to further inform future processes.
“AI’s role here is not to replace the people behind the operation, but to connect the dots in processes by highlighting inefficiencies, predicting problems and supporting better and more efficient vehicle allocation. The people are still the heart of the process, ensuring relationships remain strong and data is used in the best possible way.
“Most importantly, this needs to be done in a careful and considered way, ensuring the inefficiencies are not simply moved from the road to a data centre. The most sustainable way to integrate AI into business is for it to remove repetitive work so people are free to focus on service and problem solving.”
Gerry also predicts further growth in the EV market.
“We expect to see electric vehicles continue to grow within rental fleets, but not as a sudden surge. Availability and pricing are finally reaching a point where EVs can compete with petrol and diesel vehicles, especially when it comes to longer term rentals. When considering short term options, costs remain more volatile due to cost sensitivities and economic activity…
“Fleet managers remain anxious about how EVs will fit into a fleet, and whether it is the correct step for their respective businesses, so data is the key here.
“Identifying which drivers, routes and usage patterns are best suited to EVs will help integrate them into fleets without causing the perceived issues, meaning a very gradual and evidence-based transition.”
