UK fleet fuel transition now driven by rising costs, not net zero, GXO survey finds
GXO Logistics' Future of Transport survey of more than 1,000 UK logistics decision-makers finds 63% say rising fuel costs are accelerating their interest in alternative fuel vehicles, though only 38% currently operate them.
GXO Logistics has published the second instalment of its three-part Future of Transport research series, The Net Zero Transition, finding that rising operating costs rather than net zero commitments are now the primary driver of fleet fuel transition decisions for UK businesses.
The survey, carried out by Censuswide for GXO between 30 January and 18 February 2026, covered more than 1,000 UK supply chain, transport and logistics decision-makers at companies with annual turnover of £100m or more, or turnover between £50m and £99m with logistics spend of £10m or more.
According to GXO, 63% of respondents said rising fuel costs are accelerating their interest in alternative fuel vehicles. Despite that, progress remains slow: only 38% currently operate alternative fuel vehicles, even though 87% identify emissions reduction as a key priority.
GXO's research found 76% of respondents say demonstrating cost savings or operational efficiencies is essential to unlocking investment in low-emission transport.
Short of fleet-wide conversion, businesses are leaning on efficiency measures instead. GXO's figures show 43% are reducing part-loads, 41% are cutting empty running, 41% are exploring fleet sharing and 39% are optimising routes — all up on the company's 2024 survey.
Infrastructure planning lags further behind: only 25% of businesses have started investment planning for charging or refuelling infrastructure, and less than 30% have begun procurement planning around anticipated energy supply.
GXO found 70% of logistics leaders expect gas-powered fleets (LNG/CNG) to be viable, affordable and operationally realistic by 2028, followed by electric HGVs (68%), biofuels (64%) and hydrogen (62%).
GXO said the findings build on previously released research showing 89% of UK businesses expect the overall cost of running transport operations to increase over the next 12 months, while only 35% say they have a clear strategy and timeline for alternative fuel vehicle adoption, a pressure that aligns with wider trends in fleet running costs.
GXO said it is participating in the UK's Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, deploying electric HGV technology alongside the charging infrastructure and operational systems needed for real-world fleet operations.
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