May 8, 2025
How Savvy EV Fleets Are Addressing Top Barriers to Electrification
7 Min. Read
With proper planning, fleet electrification can become a smooth process that rapidly improves ROI and results in streamlined operations.
As a fleet manager, you should focus on anticipating common barriers to going electric so you can prevent unnecessary costs, save time, and immediately adopt the best practices for managing your electric fleet.
Are you ready to add electric vehicles to your fleet? Read on to explore common barriers for EV fleets – and how to overcome them.
How to Offset High Upfront Costs Associated With EV Fleets
While any new fleet vehicle represents an investment, the Total Cost of Ownership structure of internal combustion engine vehicles and EVs vastly differs.
On average, you can expect savings of 7.4 cents per mile with an electric fleet – on top of ongoing savings on maintenance costs. The tradeoff is that you’ll spend more upfront for an EV.
The difference can be significant, ranging from 18% more on average when comparing ICE and electric trucks to a 58% markup on electric SUVs. The good news is that this price gap is rapidly closing as automakers increasingly prioritize EV lineups and price their latest electric releases competitively.
The soundest solution for offsetting high upfront costs is to take advantage of EV-related incentives. Your business should qualify for the Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit at the federal level, which helps you get back 30% of an EV’s value, with a limit of $7,500 per vehicle under 14,000 pounds. If your fleet needs heavier EVs, the cap on this tax credit will increase to $40,000.
Depending on the state where your fleet operates and your local energy provider, you might qualify for additional EV charging rebates and tax credits that you can stack to maximize cost savings.
You can also stagger your fleet electrification project to avoid a major upfront investment. For instance, you could electrify a limited number of routes as part of an EV fleet pilot program or decide to gradually replace old ICE fleet assets with EVs as they reach the end of their life.
Leasing is another option worth looking into. If you’re not quite ready for an EV purchase, you should know that more dealerships offer commercial leasing options for electric fleet vehicles. Leasing can also be ideal if you need to test a few different makes and models before pinpointing the best EV for your fleet.
EV Fleet Charging Costs: Building a Strong Infrastructure for Less
EV fleets need a reliable charging infrastructure. Even though public charging options are growing fast and becoming more convenient, they’re still a long way from meeting the needs of commercial fleets.
Rolling Out Your Charging Infrastructure Gradually
Building your own charging infrastructure is an important part of the EV fleet transition. While you can—and should—look into developing a centralized charging hub, scaling up can be cost-prohibitive due to the electrical upgrades needed to power multiple chargers.
A good ratio is to have one charger for two to three vehicles, which can be a starting point for your charging hub. As you add more chargers, you can look into electrical upgrades later and even explore installing DC Fast chargers to save time on charging.
The Case for At-Home Charging
You’ll find that decentralized charging is a much more accessible strategy for deploying your charging infrastructure. With this approach, fleet drivers have Level 2 charging installed in their homes. They can plug in their EV when their route is over and leave directly from their homes the next morning with a full battery. In exchange, you’ll reimburse them for the energy costs associated with at-home charging.
Since residential electrical infrastructures can only handle Level 2 charging (which is sufficient for charging an EV in 4 to 8 hours), you’re avoiding the higher upfront costs associated with DC Fast charging or electrical upgrades needed to charge multiple vehicles simultaneously.
Spreading out charging locations across your service area is another advantage. Once multiple drivers have access to a charging site at home, you can take advantage of this decentralized infrastructure to expand routes outside of your current service area.
Partnerships and Incentives
Building partnerships is another important part of the EV charging equation. Who else is an electrification leader in your area? Your municipality and other businesses can be valuable partners willing to share their charging points with your drivers.
Don’t forget that you can claim government incentives to offset the cost of building a charging infrastructure. When filing federal taxes, your business can claim an Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit of up to $100,000 per station. Besides, you might qualify for additional charging incentives via your state, municipality, or utility provider.
Fleet charging costs are an important consideration in the long term. Instead of settling for your standard electric rate, ask your utility about discounted rates for EV charging and time-of-use programs to charge for less when demand is low. Paying a few cents less per kWh can quickly add up!
Invest in Maintenance and Quality Installation
Lastly, there are two areas where you should invest to lower the cost of going electric. The first one is maintenance for your EV chargers. With a strong maintenance plan in place, you can prevent costly downtime and extend the longevity of your charging equipment.
Proper installation is the second one. Only a certified EV installer can deliver quality workmanship and guarantee a reliable charging experience for your drivers. They can also recommend the best charging station models, ensuring that your charging infrastructure meets your fleet’s charging needs.
Calculating the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for Your Electric Fleet
Your EV fleet TCO should look different from an ICE fleet. You’re spending more upfront but recouping more in long-term operational savings.
Why You Need a Pilot Program
Calculating the TCO of an electric fleet can be challenging since you might not have much historical data. Besides, electricity prices can fluctuate, making projecting future charging costs difficult.
Launching a pilot program is a possible answer. Electrifying a small portion of your fleet allows you to gather data regarding charging costs, energy consumption, and savings. This data can be a strong foundation for assessing operational costs once your entire fleet is electric and understanding how regulations will affect your EV adoption project.
You can also launch a pilot program for at-home charging to explore incentives available to your EV drivers and estimate the cost of scaling up your decentralized charging infrastructure.
Forming Partnerships
For more precise projections, contact your utility provider to discuss your rate. If signing up for a time-of-use plan is an option, optimize your fleet’s charging schedule to take advantage of variable pricing and maximize savings. You should also discuss your charging needs with your utility if any upgrades to the local electrical grid are needed as you scale up with EV adoption.
You’ll also need to partner with an EV maintenance expert. Well-maintained EVs and chargers last longer and cost less to operate.
When calculating your TCO, don’t overlook benefits beyond savings on fuel costs. After all, an electric fleet can support a better brand image, improve driver satisfaction, and improve operational effectiveness for your fleet.
EV Fleets and Operational Changes
Fleet electrification is a major change for fleet operators like yourself, and it will cause disruptions to all your key fleet processes.
Invest in Driver Training
Common EV fleet challenges include a lack of familiarity with these new technologies – and the possibilities they open up. The simple solution is to invest in training.
Your drivers can benefit from a few training sessions to familiarize themselves with driving and charging an EV. At the fleet management level, upskilling can be helpful for taking advantage of advanced telematics solutions EVs allow for and improving fleet operations.
The Road to Better Telematics
Since EVs have more sensors, electric fleets are ideal for embracing a connected model with automated route optimization, remote monitoring in real-time, and other advanced telematics best practices.
To get the most out of your electric fleet, get multiple stakeholders involved and explore necessary adjustments to processes such as fleet vehicle maintenance, daily driver inspections, and smart EV charging scheduled to take advantage of the best rates.
Qmerit Helps You Overcome Barriers to Fleet Electrification
Barriers to fleet electrification exist, but they won’t slow you down if you anticipate them – and plan accordingly.
Strategies include mitigating high upfront costs with incentives and rolling out charging options gradually, focusing on at-home charging for your drivers. You’ll also benefit from adjusting how you calculate your fleet TCO and updating your fleet management processes.
Having an experienced electrification partner can make all the difference in this exciting journey toward a sustainable and more effective fleet.
As the largest and most trusted electrification network in North America, our network of certified electricians has installed over 770,000 EV charging stations in homes and businesses across the U.S. and Canada.
We’ve earned our reputation as the most experienced and high-quality electrification service and EV charger installation network and can help make your transition easy with our experience and commitment to your business.
Find out how an electric vehicle fleet can help build your business for the future. With a simple and seamless installation experience and top-quality service you can trust, Qmerit makes driving electric easy no matter where your drivers need to charge.
Contact Qmerit today to learn how we can support your fleet electrification project and help you enjoy the benefits of a seamless EV experience without the typical complexities of EV charger installation.
