Fleets scrabble to keep cars on road as repair wait times mount

Workshop wait times have increased by 57% since before the pandemic, according to fleet specialist Epyx.

The company said average lead times for service, maintenance and repair (SMR) work rose from 8.11 days in January 2020 to 12.76 days in September 2023.

The data was drawn from the firm’s 1Link Service Network platform, which processes garage bookings for more than four million fleet vehicles.

It named parts and staff shortages as some of the reasons for the logjam and said the average had exceeded 13 days during the past few months.