New research from Logistics UK’s Vehicle Inspection Service shows preventative maintenance can be a money saver – with the potential to save the HGV operators in the UK an estimated £203m a year.
Through its Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS), Logistics UK conducts tens of thousands of inspections every year across HGVs, PSVs, LCVs and other specialist equipment making the organisation the largest national supplier of vehicle inspection services.
Analysing more than 40,000 vehicle inspections carried out between April 2024 and March 2025, experts from VIS calculated that each inspection where at least one defect is identified, regardless of the severity, saves the operator on average £545 per vehicle in unplanned repairs and downtime.
The business group’s analysis also shows almost 60% of HGV inspections identify at least one defect per vehicle, meaning the potential saving to UK HGV operators amounts to £203m a year.
Also, data in Logistics UK’s Compliance Report 2025 shows that the initial failure rate for HGVs decreased from 32.4% in 2008/09 to 10.3% in 2024/25, while the final failure rate – reflecting the proportion of vehicles that still fail after rectification – dropped from 17.7% to 6.9% over the same period.
Chris Lipscomb, Director of Operations at Logistics UK, said: “Operators are aware of their legal responsibilities regarding preventative maintenance, but the potential savings our research identifies, show there is a financial business case for operating safe and roadworthy vehicles, alongside the operator’s legal and moral duty.
“These positive trends in vehicle compliance show how seriously operators take their responsibilities and reflect a combination of cultural change and operational improvements as well as changes to regulatory requirements.”
