Voting has officially closed for the Fleet Management Excellence Awards, bringing another major stage of the 2026 Fleet News Group Awards program to an end ahead of the awards night on 14 October.
For Fleet News Group, opening the finalist categories to an industry vote was a new approach — and one the fleet community embraced from the moment voting opened in August.
Fleet News Group Editor Marc Sibbald said the response throughout the voting period had reinforced the strength of the fleet community and the work being done by the finalists.
“Putting the finalists out to the industry and allowing people to vote was a new idea for a fleet industry awards program, so it has been amazing to see how strongly the industry embraced it,” Sibbald said.
“The voting started strongly and continued right through August and September. More importantly, it gave us another opportunity to highlight the work being done by some of the best fleets, fleet professionals and suppliers across Australia and New Zealand.”
The Fleet Management Excellence Awards recognise achievement across Fleet of the Year, Safe Fleet, Fleet Sustainability, Fleet Technology and Fleet Supplier of the Year.
The finalists were selected following an extensive judging process that began after nominations closed at the end of June.
Fleet News Group received more than 80 nominations across the awards, with judges initially reviewing the written submissions before conducting online interviews with shortlisted nominees.
Those interviews gave the judging panel an opportunity to explore the nominations in greater detail before selecting the finalists that would ultimately be presented to the fleet industry for voting.
“We were blown away by both the number and the quality of the nominations,” Sibbald said.
“The feedback from the judges was equally positive. They were pleased to see the quality of fleet management and the level of maturity that exists across organisations in Australia and New Zealand.
“Not everyone can make the finalist list and, ultimately, not everyone can win, but the process has shown just how much great work is happening throughout the fleet industry.”
Industry has had its say
With voting now closed, the Fleet News Group team is preparing for the final stage of the program — bringing the industry together on 14 October to announce the winners.
“The fleet community has now had its say,” Sibbald said.
“All that remains is to bring everyone together, network, connect and celebrate the success of the finalists and the winners. I’m extremely excited about the awards night and about seeing the fleet industry come together.”
While the Fleet Management Excellence Awards recognise organisations, fleet teams and suppliers, the Fleet News Group Awards program also includes the Fleet Car of the Year and Fleet Truck of the Year awards across several vehicle categories.
Those winners will also be announced on 14 October.
Fleet buyers judging fleet vehicles
The vehicle awards have followed an equally extensive process, but with a major difference from many traditional automotive awards.
Rather than asking motoring journalists to select vehicles based primarily on their driving impressions, Fleet News Group has placed fleet managers — the people responsible for buying and operating vehicles — at the centre of the judging process.
Vehicles were initially shortlisted using a Best Value Analysis process that considers the factors fleet operators use when evaluating vehicles for their organisations.
The finalists were then brought together in Sydney for two days of driving, assessment and scoring by the same fleet industry judging panel.
Judges evaluated the vehicles based on their suitability for real-world fleet operations, considering factors including whole-of-life cost, safety, sustainability, operational suitability, support and the broader value each vehicle could deliver over its working life.
“The intention was to replicate what fleet managers are doing every day,” Sibbald said.
“These are people who have skin in the game. They are buying vehicles, putting them into fleets and being accountable for the outcome.
“They are considering whole-of-life cost, safety, sustainability and whether a vehicle is actually fit for the job. That is very different to simply selecting the vehicle somebody likes driving the most.”
The same philosophy has been applied to the Fleet Truck of the Year judging, giving commercial vehicle buyers an opportunity to assess the finalists from the perspective of the organisations that will actually operate them.
Time to celebrate fleet excellence
After nominations, shortlisting, interviews, vehicle judging and several weeks of industry voting, the major assessment stages of the 2026 Fleet News Group Awards are now complete.
Attention now turns to 14 October.
“The quality of the nominations, the commitment of the judges, the response to the voting and the support shown to the finalists has exceeded our expectations,” Sibbald said.
“Now we get to do the enjoyable part — bring the fleet community together and celebrate what has been achieved.”
The winners of the Fleet Management Excellence Awards, Fleet Car of the Year Awards and Fleet Truck of the Year Awards will be announced at the Fleet News Group Awards night on 14 October.
