Future-Proof Your Fleet: Here’s Where the Towing Industry is Going, and How to Stay Ahead of It

Future-Proof Your Fleet: Here’s Where the Towing Industry is Going, and How to Stay Ahead of It

Successful towing fleets twenty years from now won’t look the same as they do today. 

Key trends in technology and regulation aren’t just continuing. They’re picking up speed. 

The investments you make in your towing equipment this year will either position your business to capitalize on these changes as they happen, or they’ll leave you scrambling to catch up. Advances in areas like detachable towing equipment are giving fleet managers new options to prepare for the future.

If you want your company to be competitive 5, 10, or 20 years from now, it’s important to understand the trends shaping the industry landscape. Then you can make the strategic investments to keep your fleet ahead of the curve.

Here are the key trends every towing company should be aware of, and the strategies to take advantage of them.

‍

The Key Factors Shaping the Towing Landscape

The good news is that the towing industry is expected to keep growing through the end of this decade, and likely beyond.

But the companies that thrive in this growing market will be the ones that adapt to the changing landscape. Those changes are being driven by three broad forces:

• Technology
• Regulation
• Finance

The interplay of these forces is creating broad shifts in what it takes to manage a successful fleet. What separates the companies that will thrive in this landscape is how responsive their fleet can be: both to day-to-day market needs, and to the large sea changes as they happen.

Here’s what those changes will look like.

‍

How Technology, Regulation, and Finance are Changing the Game  

When you look at the auto industry at large, the disruptive technologies are clear.

Electric vehicles are now mainstream, driven by stricter emissions regulations. And autonomous driving continues to make key inroads, fueled by advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

The regulatory environment continues to favor more fuel-efficient vehicles, and that trend is likely to accelerate in the coming years. Electric, hybrid, and alternative fuel vehicles will grow to eclipse standard internal combustion power in new vehicles. 

Meanwhile artificial intelligence will improve exponentially, pushing autonomous driving towards a tipping point of wider adoption.

Also on the technology side, clients accustomed to mobile technologies expect faster dispatch and more real-time tracking and communication.

When it comes to finance, insurance rates for towing are likely to continue their upward trajectory. Increased regulation and more expensive, technology-heavy vehicles will drive this trend for the foreseeable future.

‍

How to Prepare Your Fleet to Thrive

There’s no way to predict the exact way these market changes will play out. Which is why the key quality to build into your fleet now is: Responsiveness.

This is key on two levels.

First, the mix of calls you get five years from now might look very different from the mix you see today. The quicker you can adapt to these changing demands and dispatch the right truck for the job, the more business you’ll be able to accept. 

If you’re locked into an equipment mix that matches today’s needs, you might find yourself over- or under-equipped for the needs you’ll see in the near future.

Second, as technology and efficiency regulations pick up steam, fleet owners will be incentivized to upgrade trucks to meet new demands and requirements. The more nimble you are to take advantage of incentives and avoid penalties, the better positioned you’ll be to outcompete the market.

‍

How to Use Detachable Equipment for an Agile, Responsive Fleet 

To prepare for this shifting landscape, more and more fleet managers are choosing detachable towing equipment. With the Zacklift Genesis 30T, for instance, it only takes 15 minutes for a driver to swap out their lowbed or other trailer and turn their truck into a heavy wrecker. 

This sort of in-the-moment adaptability allows your fleet to adapt to the calls you’re actually getting, not just the ones you thought you’d be getting. All while helping you minimize insurance costs.

But it also sets you up for long-term responsiveness to market changes. With detachable equipment that’s not married to specific trucks, you can more easily take advantage of upgrade incentives to modernize your fleet and avoid costly regulation and penalties.

If you want to know more about how detachable equipment will work in your fleet, call us at 844-ZACKLIFT or click here to contact us now.

‍