Competition for electric vehicle leadership in commercial fleet sector is revving up

As the commercial vehicle and fleet electrification landscape evolves, battery electric vehicle (BEV) brand leadership is at a crossroads. Despite ambitious goals set by manufacturers and regulators aimed at boosting BEV adoption, just more than 20% of companies have integrated BEVs into their fleets. While the BEV mix penetration remains low, ranging from 3% to 9% across all commercial vehicle segments, decision-makers still report interest in expanding the mix of BEVs in their fleet. Decision-makers would like to see the BEV mix increase to around 8% to 23% within three years in these segments—representing a significant 136% to 159% of growth.

These are the latest findings of the newest Fleet Electrification Brand Landscape Report from Escalent’s Fleet Advisory Hub, a leading insights program designed to explore the needs, expectations, and emotions of commercial vehicle and fleet decision makers. This report explores the perspectives of more than 1,000 fleet decision-makers on BEV manufacturer brand-related sentiments across four key fleet and commercial vehicle segments: light passenger, commercial van, commercial pickup truck, and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

Fleets report that BEV adoption challenges remain, with ongoing concerns about range (mentioned by 37% as a top issue), battery life and replacement costs (30%), and charging time (29%). Only a small percentage of fleet decision-makers (4%) cite brand as a primary obstacle in the transition, suggesting that the main issue lies more with synthesizing the BEV ownership experience—notably the battery and charging aspects of operation—into easily understandable and predictable terms than it does the BEVs themselves and the brands that produce them.

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“Fleets are still dipping their toes in, not diving in headfirst, as it relates to the adoption of BEVs,” says Lucas Lowden, insights consultant and program lead of Fleet Advisory Hub at Escalent. “We’re seeing the appetite, but the ecosystem and infrastructure aren’t quite there yet. Fleet owners need more transparency around the cost of BEV ownership and the related operating cost parity with traditional internal combustion engine [ICE] vehicles. This represents a paradigm shift from well-established norms for operating ICE vehicles to lesser-known workflows around BEVs for fleets as well as for vehicle manufacturers and service providers.”

Both legacy brands and startups are vying for BEV leadership among fleet decision-makers, especially as the number of BEV models offered continues to expand. Brands such as Ford, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Freightliner, and Kenworth/Peterbilt are gaining consideration, leveraging established reputations as an initial foothold in the BEV market. However, startups are quickly establishing brand awareness. Companies such as BrightDrop (since brought under the Chevrolet brand), Canoo, Arrival, Polestar, and Rivian have experienced significant growth in recognition, with these brands achieving over 50% year-over-year improvement in familiarity.

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“Legacy brands bring decades of relationships and trust, while startups offer agility and innovation,” says Dania Rich-Spencer, vice president and strategic advisor for Fleet Advisory Hub at Escalent. “With new brand entrants and partnerships entering the mix and as ecosystem challenges subside, brand influence will grow significantly in shaping BEV adoption for fleets. The successful brands will not only showcase exceptional vehicles but also provide comprehensive solutions tailored to consistently meet the evolving needs of fleet owners. This includes offering targeted education on battery electric vehicle types, solutions and performance metrics that align with the specific business requirements of each fleet to drive more informed decision-making.”

The introduction of Chinese automakers adds another layer of complexity to the fleet electrification race. BYD, already in the electric bus segment with its North American headquarters in Los Angeles, leads the charge among Chinese brands, with 19% top-of-mind awareness among fleet decision-makers. Other Chinese brands, such as NIO, are beginning to gain recognition but remain distant challengers in this evolving market. As familiarity of these brands grow, unlike non-Chinese startups, they will face an uphill climb to bolster opinion and consideration metrics due to geopolitical concerns, quality perceptions, and availability of service networks.

Tesla, despite its consumer dominance, sees mixed results. While the brand remains in the top three for BEV leadership across relevant segments, in the past year, Tesla has experienced a decline in this metric across light passenger (down 10%), commercial truck (down 15%), and medium- and heavy-duty vehicle segments (down 23%). Aging products, program delays, and a polarizing leader have contributed to Tesla’s recent challenges.

 The fleet electrification journey may not be straightforward, but it offers significant potential for fleets willing to embrace the complexity and innovate their business for the future, as well as for the product manufacturers and service providers that are able to help fleet businesses be successful in that journey.

About Fleet Advisory Hub
The results reported come from Escalent’s 2024 Fleet Electrification Brand Landscape Report about commercial vehicle and fleet decision-makers’ manufacturer brand-related sentiments across light passenger, commercial van, commercial pickup truck, and medium- and heavy-duty vehicle segments. These results comprise a subset of commercial vehicle and fleet decision-makers drawn from the Fleet Advisory Hub audience. Participants were recruited from an opt-in online panel of business decision-makers and interviewed online. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.

Fleet decision-makers in businesses operating vehicles who would like to have their voices heard may join to participate in Fleet Advisory Hub’s research program, developed in collaboration with Work Truck Solutions and Comvoy.com.