Fuel Cards Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the fuel cards market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global fuel cards market reached a value of nearly $808.4 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $808.4 billion in 2023 to $1.36 trillion in 2028 at a rate of 11.1%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.1% from 2028 and reach $2.42 trillion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the favorable government initiatives and policies, strong economic growth in emerging markets, emphasis on fleet management and operations, increased adoption of digital payment solutions and rise of global supply chains. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period was unauthorized use or mismanagement of fuel cards.

Going forward, increasing urbanization, expansion of the e-commerce industry, increasing number of commercial vehicles, expansion of the logistics and transportation sector, increasing contactless payments, growing adoption of internet of things (IoT) will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the fuel cards market in the future include fraud risks associated with fuel card systems and rising fuel prices.

The fuel cards market is segmented by type into branded, universal and merchant. The universal market was the largest segment of the fuel cards market segmented by type, accounting for 55% or $444.7 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the universal segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fuel cards market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 12.5% during 2023-2028.

The fuel cards market is segmented by technology into smart cards and standard cards. The smart cards market was the largest segment of the fuel cards market segmented by technology, accounting for 88.9% or $718.6 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the smart cards segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fuel cards market segmented by technology, at a CAGR of 11.4% during 2023-2028.

The fuel cards market is segmented by application into fuel refill, parking, vehicle service, toll charges and other applications. The fuel refill market was the largest segment of the fuel cards market segmented by application, accounting for 65.3% or $527.9 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the toll charges segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fuel cards market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 13.6% during 2023-2028.

The fuel cards market is segmented by vehicle into heavy fleet and light fleet. The heavy fleet market was the largest segment of the fuel cards market segmented by vehicle, accounting for 60.2% or $486.61 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the light fleet segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fuel cards market segmented by vehicle, at a CAGR of 11.3% during 2023-2028.

North America was the largest region in the fuel cards market, accounting for 29.1% or $235 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Western Europe, Asia Pacific and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the fuel cards market will be Asia Pacific and Africa where growth will be at CAGRs of 14% and 12.8% respectively. These will be followed by Middle East and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 11.8% and 11.6% respectively.

The global fuel cards market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of small players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up 19.4% of the total market in 2023. Shell plc was the largest competitor with a 6.3% share of the market, followed by ExxonMobil Corporation with 4.1%, BP p.l.c. with 4%, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) with 2.6%, TotalEnergies SE with 0.9%, PetroChina Company Limited with 0.7%, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) with 0.5%, Chevron Corporation with 0.2%, FleetCor Technologies Inc. with 0.08% and Visa Inc. with 0.06%.

The top opportunities in the fuel cards market segmented by type will arise in the universal segment, which will gain $357.7 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the fuel cards market segmented by technology will arise in the smart cards segment, which will gain $513.9 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the fuel cards market segmented by application will arise in the fuel refill segment, which will gain $342.3 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the fuel cards market segmented by vehicle will arise in the heavy fleet segment, which will gain $332.3 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The fuel cards market size will gain the most in the USA at $122.2 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the fuel cards market include focus on launching flexible fuel cards to enhance refueling options and cost efficiency for large fleet users, focus on innovative tools for optimizing fuel cost management and identifying savings opportunities in fleet operations, focus on strategic partnerships and collaborations and launching mobile applications designed to optimize fueling decisions and enhance cost efficiency for fleet management.

Player-adopted strategies in the fuel cards market include focus on expanding business expertise through strategic partnerships and focus on expanding business expertise through new product launches.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the fuel cards companies to focus on flexible fuel cards, focus on fuel cost optimization tools, focus on mobile applications for fuel management, focus on universal fuel cards segment, focus on smart fuel cards, focus on toll charges segment, focus on expanding distribution channels, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on fuel refill organic end-users.