How are commercial vehicle fleets adapting to an electric future?
12 March 2026
With decarbonisation targets looming, commercial vehicle fleets must tackle the electrification challenge. This transition is far from easy, with profit, productivity, and driver acceptance under threat. Tom Hooker, Autovista24 journalist, investigates.
Europe’s light-commercial vehicle (LCV) market remains behind the passenger car sector in terms of electrification.
In the EU, the share of electric LCVs, including battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, nearly doubled to 11.2% in 2025. Yet this was significantly behind the 26.8% electric vehicle (EV) share recorded in the passenger car sector.
One of the reasons for this divergence is the additional strain on LCV fleets. Fleet managers must ensure their drivers have vehicles that meet their needs in terms of payload, range and equipment storage.
On top of this, profits must be kept stable, while companies also adhere to tighter decarbonisation targets. So, how can fleets keep stakeholders and policy makers happy while remaining focused on the bottom line?
Policy pushes forward
‘The political aspirations from the European Commission and the EU remain firm that we will have to, and will continue, to decarbonise. The big question is how we get there,’ outlined Luke Parker, EU public affairs manager at DHL Group.
One of the key components built to support fleets in this transition is the Automotive Package. ‘This is the EU’s main collection of legislation to try to address competition concerns within the road sector,’ explained Parker.
This includes a step down from the previously planned ICE phase-out in 2035. Instead, vehicle manufacturers will only need to cut vehicle CO2 tailpipe emissions by 90%, compared with 2021 figures, from 2035 onwards.
‘One piece of the legislation is the proposed regulation on corporate fleets. It introduces new registration targets for low-emission or zero-emission vehicles for [large companies in] EU member states in 2030 and 2035. Each member state has their own target for each [vehicle] category for 2030 and 2035. So, it could be quite complicated,’ commented Parker.
‘In the automotive omnibus, they tried to simplify the rules for EVs. The EU and the European Commission understand that there is not quite the operational parity between an EV and a diesel vehicle because of the weight of the battery. I think it is quite a positive development,’ highlighted Parker.
Electric grid importance
The automotive package may provide more motivation for the electric LCV transition. Yet Europe’s grid infrastructure ultimately plays a decisive role in the usability, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these vehicles.
Grid capacity, connection updates, and burdensome permit approval timelines all impact electric fleets. These topics were addressed in the European Grids Package.
‘They are trying to give energy operators more license to invest in capacity. They are trying to address permitting through maximum timeliness for charging facility permits,’ said Parker
‘They are also attempting to increase coordination of electricity supply across borders to try to reduce prices. This is an important component of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of these vehicles,’ he noted.
The Commission is also expected to publish an Electrification Action Plan this year. It will focus on removing barriers and accelerating cost-effective electrification across the EU. Further expected policy developments include a review of the infrastructure regulation for alternative fuels to support recharging stations.
‘From a political level, we do see a willingness to support more companies in terms of competitiveness,’ stated Parker.
‘The implementation of this legislation needs to work with businesses. We have a lot of previous examples where it did not. It is something that we have to continue pushing for to ensure that the legislation is good in terms of giving us structure in our investment plans and stability, but it does not become overly burdensome,’ he proposed.
The commercial fleet reality
As policy continues to push for zero and low-emission vehicles in Europe, how can commercial fleets achieve this in reality? Answering this question is not straightforward.
‘Selecting the right vehicle powertrain is one of the most complex decisions that fleet managers face today. There are more models, powertrains and suppliers as well as uncertainty around residual values and infrastructure,’ summarised Ben Varey, commercial fleet expert at Nexus Communication.
‘When thinking about EVs, TCO is not the only criterion to focus on in the ratification process. There are many factors. We like to think about driver profiling. Even if the TCO is not looking so positive, but the electrification process makes sense for that specific driver, we go for it,’ explained Cristina Montes, global fleet category manager at KONE.
‘For the first 25% of LCVs to electrify [in KONE’s fleet] we are cherry picking drivers. We are not picking up the easiest ones, but the most favourable ones,’ she said.
‘In our global policy, we have preferred OEMs. Then we need to consider local needs and preferences. In the Nordics, they prefer different models than in southern Europe. We need to find the right OEMs and models for the drivers to accept the new process. If drivers are happy, electrification is much faster,’ Montes said.
The electrification shift has also brought into question the necessity of LCVs for some fleets. With passenger cars typically offering more electric model choice, electrification can be easier.
Yet the reduced space can present problems when loading vehicles. In this scenario, profiling each driver can ensure that only suitable candidates for electric LCVs are picked.
‘Once you give an electric LCV to the right driver, they do not want to go back. But the roadmap and piloting need to be taken carefully,’ highlighted Montes.
Further electric LCV considerations
Within this electric transition, fleet managers must also weigh up standardisation with flexibility. Using the same electric models in the fleet, or even a fully-electric fleet, does provide simplicity. Despite this, there are significant pitfalls operators must be aware of.
‘The risk is that you potentially over-spec and then you carry way too much cost. But your payload means productivity and revenue. On the other hand, a wider vehicle range gives you flexibility,’ explained Thomas Goll, director fleet sales and remarketing operations at Ford Pro Europe.
‘Balancing those two conflicting forces is tricky. The job is to find those duty cycles that are qualified for the transition to EVs,’ he noted.
In many cases, data from connected LCVs can help inform fleet decisions. This includes having access to metrics such as the average number of charging stops per week.
‘Connected vehicle data replaces a test drive in many cases. We have developed a tool that allows drivers of Ford vehicles to switch on the modem and monitor the vehicle’s behaviour,’ said Goll.
‘Afterwards, you get a very comprehensive report that tells you whether it is suitable to switch to EV. It also tells you what the operational conditions or boundaries are. The data will guide you in the decision-making process,’ he outlined.
Furthermore, for commercial vehicle fleets evaluating electric LCV options, it is not just price and range that matter.
‘It starts with the range of products available, because it is not always obvious what the right thing to do is. Therefore, working with OEMs that have a bit of range available in terms of payload or specialist conversions makes an LCV brand attractive. It is also about the depth of the service network and the service network’s capability to provide electricians for EVs,’ explained Goll.
New electric LCV entrants
The entrance of new OEMs in Europe adds another consideration to the electric LCV equation. While some newcomers arrive with attractive offers, commercial fleets still need to ensure they support their operational requirements.
‘There is a mix of things we consider. One topic is price, and it is also super important for us to have a good enough range for our technicians. It depends on the country; maybe we need bigger ranges in the Nordics,’ commented Montes.
‘The downtime of our vehicles is very important too. We have strong key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure how many days vehicles are in the workshop. We need to ensure that whenever something happens with the van, we have an immediate solution in our workshop network so that the technician does not lose any time,’ she highlighted.
New players in the electric LCV market also pose challenges to incumbent brands. However, established OEMs could benefit from their knowledge of the complex and demanding environment for European LCV fleets.
‘Any Chinese manufacturer entering the European market has the benefit of operating in a hyper-competitive environment. Their need to optimise their whole supply chain, including battery manufacturing, is evident. Otherwise, they would not survive in their domestic market,’ stated Goll.
‘In that sense, I welcome the competition as it would also make the incumbent players avoid becoming complacent. We need to benchmark and see what we can learn, to improve the proposition, pricing and whole setup for our customers as well. This is a healthy development that will benefit the wider European customer base,’ he concluded.
