Best of LinkedIn: Commercial Fleet Insights CW 34/ 35

00:00:00: provided by Thomas Allgaier and Frennus based on the most relevant posts on LinkedIn about commercial fleets in CW-three, four, three, five.

00:00:08: Frennus is a B to B market research company working with enterprises to optimize their campaigns with account and executive insights far beyond AI.

00:00:17: Welcome back to the deep dive.

00:00:19: Our mission as always is to really cut through the noise and bring you the most critical actionable insights.

00:00:25: Today we're diving into the Well, the fast-moving world of commercial fleets.

00:00:29: We've sifted through a lot of LinkedIn posts from calendar weeks, thirty-four and thirty-five.

00:00:34: That's right.

00:00:34: And we're set to give you a real-world snapshot of the key trends and solutions that are really shaping the industry

00:00:39: now.

00:00:40: Exactly.

00:00:41: And this deep dive is really tailored for professionals like you in the mobility sector.

00:00:44: We're going to unpack quite a bit.

00:00:46: Everything from the nuts and bolts of electrification strategies, the amazing advances in charging, right three to safety tech, and some truly disruptive global innovations.

00:00:56: giving you that focused value, you know, without the fluff.

00:00:59: Okay, let's get into it.

00:01:00: It's definitely a dynamic time for commercial fleets and the insights coming straight from leaders on LinkedIn.

00:01:06: They're fascinating.

00:01:07: We'll kick off with how fleets are actually electrifying, then look at the tech making roads safer and operations smarter and wrap up with some broader global shifts.

00:01:15: So our first big theme today.

00:01:17: How are commercial fleets really tackling electrification?

00:01:21: What's the driving force?

00:01:22: Because as we'll see, it often goes way beyond just compliance.

00:01:27: It really does.

00:01:27: The motivation seems much deeper now.

00:01:30: Jordan Spamman's insights really hit this home.

00:01:32: Corporate fleets aren't just ticking regulatory boxes anymore.

00:01:35: They're moving to EVs for, well, genuine competitive advantage and sustainability.

00:01:40: Right.

00:01:40: Key drivers.

00:01:41: Things like upholding those crucial ESG commitments, environmental, social governance, meeting customer demands too, getting an edge in RFPs, and maybe the biggest one, actually slashing fuel and maintenance costs.

00:01:52: That makes sense.

00:01:53: But Jordan also flags some challenges.

00:01:55: You know, things like maybe hasty procurement, overspending on the vehicles themselves, and not fully tapping in into charging optimization potential, which can mean higher upfront costs than necessary.

00:02:08: So it's less about the truck itself and more the whole operational chains.

00:02:12: That sounds like the real challenge.

00:02:14: Ray Miller seemed to echo that, didn't he?

00:02:16: Saying the hardest part isn't the hardware, but the people side.

00:02:20: the change management.

00:02:21: Exactly.

00:02:21: It's about getting drivers engaged early, training them, updating routing tools, and crucially communicating the why.

00:02:27: You know, the cost savings, the sustainability angle.

00:02:30: It's a whole organizational shift.

00:02:32: It needs careful handling.

00:02:33: Yeah.

00:02:34: And building on that, Linda Melissa Selle observed that many fleets start quite pragmatically.

00:02:39: They transition to new energy vehicles, NEVs, where it makes sense for the use case.

00:02:44: Often starting with pilots to test the benefits and just understand the tech in the real world.

00:02:48: OK, pilots make sense.

00:02:49: Yeah, and then Daniel Hilson gets really technical, pointing out four specific solvable gaps slowing things down.

00:02:57: First, getting seamless AC plug-in charge working properly.

00:03:01: Second, simplifying roaming and OCPI integration.

00:03:04: apparently they're swamping finance teams with admin right now.

00:03:07: Oh, wow.

00:03:08: Third, transparency on battery state of health, the SOH.

00:03:12: That's absolutely critical for figuring out the total cost of ownership.

00:03:16: And fourth, just clear understandable fault codes when a charger fails.

00:03:20: These are like... fixable frictions that could really speed up adoption once sorted.

00:03:25: Those technical points really show the detail involved.

00:03:28: So what about external factors like incentives?

00:03:30: How are they actually playing out and are we seeing the full picture?

00:03:33: Evan Rosenberg shared something quite significant here.

00:03:36: Yeah, it was interesting.

00:03:36: Apparently

00:03:37: a report to Governor Newsom in California on ZEV adoption really undercounted the impact of the low carbon fuel standard participants.

00:03:44: You know, the LCFS, it missed thousands of entities, school districts, transit agencies that get money from clean fuel credit aggregators like Fusey to fund cleaner fleets and infrastructure.

00:03:57: It suggests there's this big, maybe hidden financial driver pushing the EV adoption.

00:04:03: That's a huge blind spot.

00:04:05: It means the real progress might be even stronger than the official numbers show.

00:04:09: And on the flip side, we're seeing some really ambitious moves from companies too.

00:04:14: Alejandro Gonzales reported a Vodafone UK working with Arvill UK is speeding up their plan.

00:04:19: Oh, yeah.

00:04:20: Aiming for a fully electric fleet, merely with a thousand vehicles by twenty twenty six.

00:04:24: That's a full year ahead of schedule.

00:04:25: It just shows, you know, with the right strategy and partnerships, you can make serious headway even faster than planned.

00:04:31: So pulling it all together on electrification.

00:04:34: What's the main takeaway?

00:04:34: Tom Middledish pointed out that yes, barriers are falling.

00:04:37: Concern about charging infrastructure dropped quite a bit from forty percent down to thirty one percent in just a year.

00:04:43: That's significant.

00:04:44: That is a big shift.

00:04:45: But he also says model choice and just basic EV knowledge are still hurdles for businesses.

00:04:52: So it feels like the focus is shifting, right?

00:04:54: From just building chargers to actually educating fluids and getting them the right vehicles and know how the journey is not over.

00:05:00: But maybe the roadblocks are changing.

00:05:02: Okay.

00:05:02: So once fleet decides to go electric, the next massive step is obviously powering them at scale.

00:05:08: And this work gets well, really interesting.

00:05:10: The charging infrastructure scene is evolving incredibly fast.

00:05:13: We're definitely in the megawatt era now.

00:05:15: Absolutely.

00:05:16: The scale is just mind-blowing.

00:05:18: Torolf Nitsch, Chris Jackson, Gordana Kisselak, they all highlighted Huawei's new heavy-duty truck charging hub in China.

00:05:26: Beishwan, it's a hundred megawatts.

00:05:27: A

00:05:27: hundred megawatts, wow.

00:05:28: Yeah, it's not a pilot.

00:05:29: It's designed for serious throughput.

00:05:31: We're talking eighteen bays at one point.

00:05:33: four four megawatts each plus a hundred and eight bays at six hundred kilowatts.

00:05:37: It can handle around seven hundred electric heavy trucks a day.

00:05:41: And the key thing here is megawatt charging at this scale.

00:05:45: Compatible trucks hitting eight percent charge in maybe fifteen minutes.

00:05:49: Plus, it's got on-site solar and storage.

00:05:52: It's really resetting expectations globally for what e-track infrastructure looks like.

00:05:57: That scale is hard to even picture.

00:05:59: And what about Europe?

00:06:00: Thomas Endres and Yuan Moir mentioned Shell launching a new integrated network for heavy-duty fleets there.

00:06:05: Right.

00:06:06: Shell's approach is interesting, too.

00:06:07: They're aiming for big savings on total cost of ownership, like up to twenty-five percent, simpler logistics, stable energy prices, and they're doing it by weaving together public charters, roaming partners, semi-public depots, private sites, all under one coordinated system.

00:06:21: It's very comprehensive.

00:06:23: It really shows the complexity they're trying to manage.

00:06:25: But then Rohan Puria offered a hot take.

00:06:29: challenging this a bit.

00:06:30: He suggested that while fleet charging looks good, it might actually be a trap.

00:06:34: Why?

00:06:35: Limited market size, tons of competition, all selling charging services.

00:06:39: He argues public EV charging actually has more long term potential because the market's just vastly bigger, even if it seems, you know, less easy or low risk right now.

00:06:48: That's a really interesting perspective.

00:06:50: Attention there.

00:06:51: But clearly partnerships are crucial regardless.

00:06:54: Lauren Zurcher, Will Quinn, Allison Schweitzer, Bill Pierce, Jason Weiss, Alec Magame.

00:06:59: They all talk about prologous mobility and EV realty teaming up.

00:07:03: Yeah, that's a big one in California.

00:07:04: Exactly.

00:07:05: They're working to boost reliable charging for fleets there, linking hubs on major freight routes with shared depots in places like Vernon, San Bernardino.

00:07:14: It's about tackling that huge infrastructure hurdle for medium and heavy trucks by combining sort of real estate know-how with charging solutions.

00:07:24: And we shouldn't forget alternatives.

00:07:26: It's not all batteries.

00:07:28: Peter Sullivan made a strong case for hydrogen buses, particularly in London, not just for cleaner air, but also for grid relief, right?

00:07:34: Because they use a separate fuel system.

00:07:36: Good point.

00:07:37: Freeze up electricity.

00:07:38: Precisely.

00:07:39: And Marius Preston noted Pasadena City Council just approved a big contract, thirty two million dollars, for seventeen hydrogen buses.

00:07:46: They specifically chose them for longer range and faster refueling compared to battery electric for certain routes.

00:07:51: It's about matching the tech to the actual service need.

00:07:54: right tool for the right job.

00:07:56: And finally, on the tech side of charging itself, Jamie Sands gave a breakdown of how standards are evolving, comparing the older Dinspex seven zero one two one to the newer ISO one five one eighteen.

00:08:07: Yeah, the technical standards are key.

00:08:08: The old

00:08:09: one was basic DC charging.

00:08:11: But ISO one five one eighteen uses digital certificates, proper TLS security, which enables things like plug and charge, smart charging, even vehicle to grad VG.

00:08:20: It makes the whole system much smarter and ready for, you know, complex mixed fleets interacting with the grid.

00:08:28: Okay, moving on from power.

00:08:30: Let's shift focus now to keeping these well increasingly complex fleets safe and operating smartly.

00:08:35: Our next theme looks at safety, telematics and how AI is helping optimize everything.

00:08:39: Yeah, and the safety stats are frankly pretty sobering.

00:08:42: Joe Leggett pointed out a worrying trend.

00:08:44: Commercial fleet accidents in twenty twenty five aren't just back to pre pandemic levels.

00:08:48: They're actually rising faster.

00:08:49: Oh,

00:08:49: really faster

00:08:50: than ever.

00:08:51: Yeah.

00:08:51: Driven by more traffic and maybe less experienced or more distracted drivers, and the cost is significant for small businesses, each incident averages around five thousand seven hundred and twenty five dollars.

00:09:02: So the takeaway is clear.

00:09:04: Proactive tech, things like three hundred and sixty degree cameras, advanced backup systems, they're providing real value, eliminating blind spots, protecting drivers, safer roads, lower costs.

00:09:16: Those numbers definitely highlight the need for smart solutions.

00:09:19: It brings up a question, though.

00:09:21: As this tech gets better, how does it actually impact the driver?

00:09:25: Pascal Bornet shared that test of Volvo's automated emergency braking on a big, forty-ton truck.

00:09:30: Impressive stuff.

00:09:31: Really impressive, yeah.

00:09:32: AI reacting faster than a human could.

00:09:34: But he asked a really thoughtful question.

00:09:36: Do machines stopping our mistakes make us safer drivers?

00:09:39: Or maybe less attentive ones?

00:09:42: He suggests a hybrid future.

00:09:43: Machines is guardians.

00:09:45: It's a really critical balance to think about.

00:09:47: And what's fascinating is how Muhammad Arjad Albani described fleet management itself evolving.

00:09:51: It's way beyond just, you know, tracking dots on a map now.

00:09:55: It's moving into strategic control, real-time safety, getting measurable efficiency gains.

00:10:00: And that's happening through integrating AI-powered video telematics, journey management, last mile delivery systems.

00:10:06: It all connects, turning data into genuinely actionable insights.

00:10:11: That's a big leap from reactive to proactive.

00:10:13: And Solani Parlak really hammered home some key points about needing a strategic focus for fleet management.

00:10:19: She warned against quote, worshipping the wrong KPIs.

00:10:21: Yeah,

00:10:22: yeah, I saw that.

00:10:23: Like for sales reps, maybe cracking renty car usage tells you more than just uptime.

00:10:28: She also stressed making time to actually listen to drivers setting up office hours and using AI as a true co-pilot for proactive management, not just, you know, a fancy gadget.

00:10:37: Her bottom line, fleets need proper resources like they actually matter, not an afterthought.

00:10:42: incredibly practical advice for anyone managing a fleet.

00:10:45: And pulling all this together, Nikola Zingrath-Bolton highlighted telematics as the critical bridge.

00:10:51: It connects all the players in the e-mobility world, providing that transparent, verifiable data on how vehicles are doing their condition.

00:10:58: That's essential for good management and accountability.

00:11:02: It's the data backbone, really.

00:11:03: Okay, let's zoom out now.

00:11:05: The global picture and some really disruptive innovations that are reshaping the whole industry.

00:11:10: This is where you see the future taking shape, sometimes in unexpected places with new tech.

00:11:15: really challenging the status quo.

00:11:17: Absolutely.

00:11:18: And India and Southeast Asia are seriously emerging as global powerhouses in the commercial electric vehicle, the ECV revolution.

00:11:25: Dr.

00:11:25: Ing Rainer Teal and Sufana Wasu detailed this.

00:11:28: It's not just slow growth, it's a major shift.

00:11:30: What's driving it?

00:11:31: Ambitious government policies, big corporate commitments think Amazon India, grab and strong local manufacturing efforts.

00:11:39: It's creating huge opportunities for global collaboration, especially in changing urban transport and last mile delivery.

00:11:45: That global perspective is so important.

00:11:47: And what's really interesting is that the future probably isn't just one technology taking over everything.

00:11:53: Raj Chang-Ti reported on Cummins challenging the sort of all electric idea with a new hydrogen powered engine.

00:11:59: Oh

00:12:00: yeah, the hydrogen engine.

00:12:01: Big news.

00:12:02: Big news.

00:12:03: It promises refueling in minutes, diesel like power, zero emissions and crucially for fleets.

00:12:10: No battery degradation concerns.

00:12:13: It's a direct counter punch to the pure EV narrative, especially for heavy duty use cases.

00:12:18: Definitely

00:12:18: a major development, offering a strong alternative.

00:12:21: And still in heavy trucks, Eduardo Castro talked about electrifying them using distributed drive systems and electromechanical brakes EMBs.

00:12:28: What's the benefit there?

00:12:29: Better control for the vehicle, significant weight savings compared to old systems, and much safer driving.

00:12:35: He mentioned a forty-nine ton truck model that showed a ten meter shorter braking distance from a hundred kilometers per hour.

00:12:41: That's a huge safety game.

00:12:42: Wow, ten meters is a lot.

00:12:44: And then of course there's the fully autonomous future, which seems to be creeping closer than maybe we realize.

00:12:49: Andreas Aspel highlighted Aurora's autonomous class eight trucks.

00:12:52: The driverless ones in Texas.

00:12:54: Exactly.

00:12:55: Running actual commercial freight routes now, driverless, between cities like Dallas, Houston, Phoenix.

00:13:01: They're using LIDAR, radar, onboard computing, all integrated with partners like Volvo and Peterbilt.

00:13:06: It's not sci-fi anymore.

00:13:07: It's automation quietly starting to reshape logistics right now.

00:13:11: And finally, let's not underestimate policy.

00:13:13: Claudio Geichen shared that Switzerland is way ahead in Europe for electric heavy-duty truck registrations.

00:13:19: Almost eleven percent are e-trucks there.

00:13:21: Compared to what average?

00:13:22: Compared to about one point five percent average across Europe.

00:13:25: and the main reason are really simple direct policy.

00:13:28: No road tax for zero emission vehicles.

00:13:31: It just shows how powerful incentives can be pushing adoption way faster than you might expect.

00:13:36: A clear link between smart policy and market acceleration.

00:13:39: So pulling all these different threads together, what does it really mean for you listening?

00:13:43: Well, the mobility industry, especially commercial fleets, is just in this incredibly dynamic, exciting phase.

00:13:50: You've got different regions leading in different ways, tech pushing boundaries constantly from power sources to AI safety nets to full autonomy.

00:14:00: It's complex, yeah, but also incredibly innovative.

00:14:03: If you enjoyed this deep dive, just a reminder that new ones drop every two weeks.

00:14:08: And do check out our other editions.

00:14:09: We've covered electrification and battery technology, future mobility and market evolution, and next-gen vehicle intelligence.

00:14:16: Yes, thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the latest commercial fleet trends.

00:14:20: We covered a lot of ground.

00:14:21: We really hope these insights help you navigate this evolving landscape of next-gen vehicles and mobility, and maybe someone to think about.

00:14:28: With everything we discussed, metal watch charging, hydrogen, AI co-pilots, driverless trucks, which aspect of this fleet evolution do you personally think will reshape the industry first and why?

00:14:39: Definitely something to consider.

00:14:40: Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next deep dive.