Regulations are pushing commercial vehicles (CVs) to make the difficult transition from diesel to electric powertrains. Fleet charging accounted for 12% (US$25bn) of the global charging infrastructure market’s value in 2022, according to market insights platform Statzon. While this segment will likely remain smaller than either residential or roadside charging, the company still anticipates strong growth for hardware up to 2032—CAGR 22.3% for Level 2 units and 24.3% for Level 3.
Although this is encouraging, the forthcoming roll-out will need to be optimised to ensure an exceptional charging experience for fleets. “A reliable, stable, and scalable solution that works regardless of fleet size is point one,” says Yosi Levy, Chief Technology Officer at Driivz. “However, that reliability has to extend beyond chargers and towards the entire ecosystem.” In effect, fleet managers want and need everything to work perfectly from start to finish.
This is far from table stakes at a time when electric vehicle (EV) chargers are beset by technical malfunctions, installation errors, and damage from improper usage. “Ideally, fleets shouldn’t have to consider charging at all,” adds Mike Nakrani, Chief Executive of enterprise decarbonisation solutions company Vitol Electric Vehicles (VEV). “They don’t worry about where or how to fill up with diesel. An optimised charging experience should replicate that.”
