Best of LinkedIn: Commercial Fleet Insights CW 42/ 43

00:00:00: Brought to you by Thomas Allgaier and Frenus, this edition highlights key LinkedIn posts on commercial fleets in weeks forty two and forty three.

00:00:07: Frenus supports automotive enterprises and consultancies with market, customer and competitive intelligence in the commercial fleet sector with a strong focus on digital solutions and emerging technologies.

00:00:18: Welcome back to the deep dive.

00:00:20: You know, if we had to summarize the flood of content we looked at from the commercial fleet space these past couple of weeks, it's really this.

00:00:27: The industry seems to have moved firmly past the if of electrification.

00:00:31: Now it's grappling with the practical, the systematic how it feels like pragmatic momentum.

00:00:37: Exactly.

00:00:38: We saw a really definitive shift.

00:00:40: The conversation is just not primarily about vehicle range anymore.

00:00:43: It's centered on while scaling deployments, integrating these now quite mature data platforms, and maybe most critically, how policy is starting to actually reinforce the total cost of ownership advantages, even with those persistent infrastructure bottlenecks.

00:00:59: Okay, so our goal for you today is really to pull out the most important nuggets we found for fleet professionals.

00:01:04: We're going to drill into the smart partnerships.

00:01:08: try to understand infrastructure maturity, and maybe identify the digital strategies needed to really unify fleet operations.

00:01:16: Yeah, and what's become really clear across the sources is that the challenge isn't so much the trucks anymore.

00:01:22: I mean, the technology basically works.

00:01:24: The real challenge and where frankly all the current innovation seems focused is building the operational systems around the vehicle.

00:01:32: Okay, let's start right there then.

00:01:33: Our first theme, digital transformation and new products.

00:01:37: It definitely feels like fleet operators are now demanding well.

00:01:40: integrated intelligence right across the entire operational chain, moving way beyond basic GPS tracking.

00:01:48: Absolutely.

00:01:48: We saw huge efforts toward, let's call it, enterprise unification.

00:01:52: Take the collaboration between SAP and Bering Point, for instance.

00:01:56: They launched Fleet and Charge Cloud.

00:01:59: Sebastian Wagner highlighted this one.

00:02:01: And it's designed specifically to simplify and optimize that whole end-to-end EV fleet management piece.

00:02:08: So tying energy usage directly to charging and operational planning.

00:02:13: That's a huge integration lift.

00:02:15: A huge list.

00:02:16: And that kind of enterprise solution feels necessary because, well, as Raphael Greppen pointed out, traditional fleet management, the kind we've known for decades, it's effectively dead.

00:02:25: Yeah, that was a strong statement.

00:02:27: So if the traditional model is gone... What does that mean practically for, say, product developers and fleet managers on the ground?

00:02:35: Well, it means the focus has just completely shifted.

00:02:37: It's gone from just tracking assets to actually measuring ROI, ensuring predictive maintenance, automating compliance.

00:02:44: It's a total paradigm shift towards integrated intelligence.

00:02:47: The system has to speak the language of transport management and battery management simultaneously.

00:02:53: Got it.

00:02:53: And we see that necessity driving some really targeted innovation, too, even maybe on a smaller scale.

00:02:59: Hamiz Ahmed highlighted that ChargePoint released a home charging solution, specifically tailored for European company Carfleets.

00:03:06: Right.

00:03:06: Solving a very specific pain point there.

00:03:08: Exactly.

00:03:09: They're solving that granular problem.

00:03:11: How do you streamline reimbursement for charging at home while making sure the sustainability tracking is actually accurate?

00:03:18: And it's not just the big vendors doing this.

00:03:20: Internal digitization is, it's really booming.

00:03:24: Leonard Tan shared this great success story from BYD Europe's IT department.

00:03:29: They launched an in-house fleet CPU system that's configure price.

00:03:33: In-house, interesting.

00:03:34: Yeah.

00:03:34: This lets them quickly generate customized agreements.

00:03:37: And apparently, since it's soft launch, the UK team alone has generated thousands of digital sales orders.

00:03:43: So that's streamlining the entire sales pipeline using their own internal tech.

00:03:47: Wow.

00:03:48: Okay.

00:03:48: That focus on standardized unified data seems to feed right into a massive, uh, looming compliance issue.

00:03:54: that's selling a parlac flag, this explosive trend of digital product passports for vehicles by twenty twenty five.

00:04:01: Oh yeah.

00:04:01: That's a big deal.

00:04:03: A really big deal.

00:04:04: These passports are set to standardized data.

00:04:07: I mean, everything from charge sessions to maintenance history, providing Basically, a tamper-proof record.

00:04:12: This is a potential game changer, not just for regulatory compliance, but critically, it's likely going to drastically improve resale value.

00:04:21: It gives the buyer undeniable proof of the vehicle's history and its

00:04:24: health.

00:04:25: Okay, so if the software integration piece is the path to transparency, the bottleneck, it seems, remains the electrons themselves.

00:04:33: Right.

00:04:33: The integration only works if you can reliably feed the fleet.

00:04:36: Exactly.

00:04:37: Which brings us neatly to our second theme.

00:04:39: taming the grid.

00:04:41: The consensus seems to remain that the biggest constraint isn't vehicle capability anymore, but grid capacity and power management.

00:04:48: That is the absolute reality right now.

00:04:50: Yeah.

00:04:50: No.

00:04:50: Roby Wayano put a fine point on it.

00:04:52: He described this perfect storm.

00:04:54: that happens when a typical fleet deco suddenly demands hundreds of kilowatts in minutes right after a shift ends.

00:05:00: And if you're building serious depot infrastructure, you need, well, a thousand kilowatts plus.

00:05:05: And utilities, they're often quoting twelve to eighteen month lead times for those major upgrades.

00:05:10: You can't wait eighteen months if your fleet's ready to deploy now.

00:05:14: So the innovation, it seems, is flowing into these grid-aware charging partnerships.

00:05:19: We saw a really fascinating example in New York, supported by NYSERDA, detailing the collaboration between the mobility house and ITRON.

00:05:27: Yes, and what's really fascinating there is how they're solving it.

00:05:31: As detailed by teams, including Nick Phillips, Don Reeves, and Rihanna Donovan, they're using flexible service connections.

00:05:38: So they dynamically manage the EV loads based on real-time grid conditions.

00:05:42: So instead of demanding a massive utility upgrade.

00:05:44: Exactly.

00:05:45: The system communicates the grid status and adjusts the charging rate accordingly.

00:05:49: This helps accelerate deployments, especially for high-density users like electric school buses, letting them grow without those massive upfront infrastructure.

00:05:57: costs.

00:05:57: Makes sense.

00:05:59: And if those utility wait times are your primary enemy, well, you need solutions to augment your current capacity, right?

00:06:06: Kasper Norden highlighted decade energies approach.

00:06:09: They use software-led optimization to help depots enhance grid flexibility and effectively augment capacity, supporting a stage charger rollout with the power you already have.

00:06:18: Yeah, which raises a really important policy question, actually.

00:06:21: Dr.

00:06:21: Julia Hildermeyer addressed how Europe really needs to accelerate freight electrification through smarter planning and smarter pricing.

00:06:29: Smarter planning, smarter pricing.

00:06:31: How?

00:06:32: Well, the policy goal is essentially to internalize grid constraints, introduce better tariffs that reflect actual time of use dynamics, basically make keep time charging expensive enough to naturally push fleet operations towards off peak hours through dynamic pricing.

00:06:47: Got it.

00:06:48: And just to give everyone a sense of the sheer physical scale the market is trying to hit here, Ethan C noted that Australia's new Heady truck site set a, what was it, a nine hundred and sixty kilowatt operational benchmark for high power charging.

00:07:02: That is essentially redefining what fast charging even means for heavy fleets.

00:07:06: It sets the physical bar for future depot installations pretty much globally.

00:07:10: Wow, that's impressive scale.

00:07:13: But those high power benchmarks, they're only financially sound if the TCO calculations really work out.

00:07:19: Good point.

00:07:20: Which pivots us perfectly to theme three, policy, market drivers and strategic success.

00:07:26: We need to know what's actually driving these big business decisions.

00:07:30: Absolutely.

00:07:30: Well, first off, we saw definitive proof that policy poll works.

00:07:34: Adam Browning reported on California's ZEV truck incentive window.

00:07:38: It generated vouchers for eight hundred and ninety two Tesla semis eight hundred

00:07:42: ninety

00:07:43: two.

00:07:43: Yeah.

00:07:43: And that single model accounted for over eighty percent of the total class A incentives in that specific window.

00:07:48: And the why is pretty clear.

00:07:50: The promise of winning on cost per mile over diesel when it's facilitated by incentives creates immediate market.

00:07:55: Incentives really are the turbocharger for adoption then.

00:07:58: They

00:07:58: really are.

00:07:59: And Dr.

00:08:00: Sandra Wappelhorst provided an excellent EU comparison that illustrates this perfectly.

00:08:04: Look at Belgium.

00:08:05: With strong corporate tax incentives, they saw fifty-three percent of all corporate fleet registrations in the first half of twenty-twenty-five as battery electric vehicles.

00:08:15: Fifty-three percent?

00:08:16: That's massive, over half.

00:08:18: So what was the contrast then?

00:08:19: Well, Germany, which offers far smaller tax benefits, saw only an eighteen percent BEV shared during that same period.

00:08:25: Only eighteen percent?

00:08:28: It really shows that the structure of the policy specifically tax incentives affecting immediate cash flow rather than just say depreciation that really dictates the pace of the fleet transition.

00:08:38: Okay.

00:08:38: Beyond policy, we're also seeing the strategic market shape up through consolidation.

00:08:43: Dr.

00:08:43: Michael Seuss analyzed three major M&A deals in European fleet management.

00:08:47: Yellow Fox, Kinzel acquiring Tax Show Fresh, and Geotab buying Verizon Connects International Operations.

00:08:53: Right.

00:08:54: That flurry of activity isn't just about growth for growth's sake.

00:08:57: It seems to be about acquiring the necessary data platforms and the talent needed to challenge the market leaders.

00:09:04: It signals an expectation of valuation recovery and frankly, massive ambition, particularly from players like Kinzel.

00:09:11: They seem to be making really aggressive moves to unify these disparate fleet systems.

00:09:16: And when we talk strategy, we really have to turn to the wisdom coming from those who've already scaled this mountain.

00:09:23: Marcus Kroger, who manages over seven hundred electric trucks.

00:09:26: Yeah, his insights were gold.

00:09:28: He shared five crucial realities.

00:09:30: We probably need to spend a moment on these.

00:09:31: Absolutely.

00:09:32: His number one reality is maybe the most sobering.

00:09:35: Grid capacity is the real constraint.

00:09:37: Full stop.

00:09:38: And fleet operators absolutely must start grid planning eighteen months in advance.

00:09:42: Eighteen

00:09:42: months.

00:09:43: That's not optional, he says.

00:09:44: That's the required lead time to successfully scale.

00:09:47: That eighteen month figure is a huge takeaway.

00:09:50: He also stressed that operational necessity demands robust on-route charging capability, especially since winter consumption can spike battery usage by fifty percent.

00:09:59: And he noted that relying on legacy systems systems built for diesel, well, that results in operational chaos.

00:10:06: You just can't force old tools to manage battery cycles and energy demands effectively.

00:10:10: Makes sense.

00:10:11: And from a purely financial strategy standpoint, Mark Canton gave fleets a really fundamental reminder about residual value.

00:10:18: Ah yes, the end of life value.

00:10:20: Exactly.

00:10:21: Many fleets apparently lose money at the point of disposal because they don't track residual value strategically and sell assets in a timely way.

00:10:28: He stressed that cannibalization, you know, using old units as parts bins, it just kills resale value.

00:10:34: It needs to be replaced by a disciplined data-driven approach to asset disposal.

00:10:39: That attention to detail, both operational and financial, takes us nicely to our final theme, which I think is often the most neglected, operational reality and the human element.

00:10:49: This is all about execution and the people actually driving this shift.

00:10:52: Yeah, and we have to address that gap between the lab or the spec sheet and the actual road.

00:10:57: Rachel McNeil highlighted data suggesting.

00:10:59: fleet operators often report real world EV ranges closer to, say, a hundred and twenty miles versus the two hundred and twenty miles advertised.

00:11:07: That's a big variance.

00:11:08: Why such a huge discrepancy?

00:11:09: Well,

00:11:10: it really boils down to those real world variables, specific driver behavior, heavy payloads, the actual route characteristics like hills.

00:11:18: Jamie Sands insight really underscores this.

00:11:21: The transition cannot be built on optimistic assumptions.

00:11:24: It has to be built on validated.

00:11:27: real-world test data reflecting your specific actual duty cycles.

00:11:31: Right.

00:11:32: Test it for your own use case.

00:11:33: But despite these real challenges, practical progress is happening on the ground.

00:11:38: We saw Thomas Carpoviches celebrating TransItalia cargo group completing their fleet renewal.

00:11:43: They got their last ten brand new electric trucks, a crucial pilot step for them towards full electrification.

00:11:49: That's great to see, and innovation isn't always about replacing the whole truck either.

00:11:53: Andreas Metko highlighted how Siemens is testing the e-trailer configuration with VETS Transport.

00:11:58: The e-trailer, how does that help?

00:12:00: Well, it aims to boost efficiency on certain duty cycles without needing a full vehicle replacement.

00:12:05: Adds electric assist from the trailer itself.

00:12:07: Clever, okay.

00:12:08: And when focusing on scaling, that human element becomes absolutely paramount, doesn't it?

00:12:15: Leslie Slater drew a really vital distinction here.

00:12:17: Successful fleet electrification requires not just change management, you know, covering infrastructure deployment and driver training.

00:12:24: Right,

00:12:24: the technical stuff.

00:12:25: But change leadership.

00:12:26: Change

00:12:26: leadership.

00:12:27: Okay, what's the practical difference between leadership and management in this context?

00:12:31: Well, as she put it, leadership is about engaging drivers early, getting their buy-in, and really fostering internal advocacy.

00:12:39: If the people actually operating the trucks aren't on board, aren't maybe even excited about it, your performance data, no matter how good your integrated system is, it's probably going to suffer.

00:12:49: You need their hearts and minds to really optimize the system.

00:12:51: That

00:12:51: makes perfect sense.

00:12:53: And speaking of internal knowledge, Leigh-Han Hansen highlighted a massive problem, particularly in the work truck industry.

00:12:59: The knowledge silo problem.

00:13:01: Ah, yes.

00:13:02: Tell us about that.

00:13:03: This is where really valuable specialized insight like, say a technician finding a process that saves forty five thousand dollars annually on hydraulic maintenance, or maybe an HR director figures out how to reduce tech turnover by forty percent, that knowledge just stays locked away in that team or department.

00:13:21: trap knowledge.

00:13:22: It's tragic, really.

00:13:23: The industry isn't just competing on technology anymore, they're competing on execution.

00:13:28: And execution requires shared wisdom.

00:13:31: If that specialized knowledge stays locked in small teams or individual brains, it actively hinders the broader industry-wide progress towards efficiency and ultimately profitability.

00:13:42: That brings us right back to the systems and the strategy, doesn't it?

00:13:45: We've sort of established that the vehicle tech is largely ready, but the pervasive challenges they really lie in those grid connections and the data integration across all those silos.

00:13:54: Exactly.

00:13:55: And the success stories, like the ones Marcus Kroger shared from managing hundreds of trucks, they all emphasize those long lead times needed for infrastructure.

00:14:02: The eighteen months again.

00:14:04: So, perhaps the final provocative thought for you, the listener, to consider is this.

00:14:09: Given that grid connection is now arguably the central obstacle, and you likely need that eighteen months lead time for serious planning, how does your organization prioritize building the necessary systems and the crucial partnerships, both internal and external, starting right now, to ensure you actually hit your deployment targets eighteen months down the road?

00:14:30: That's the strategic timeline the market seems to be operating on now.

00:14:33: If you enjoy this deep dive, new additions drop every two weeks.

00:14:37: Also, be sure to check out our other additions covering electrification and battery technology, future mobility and market evolution, and next-gen vehicle intelligence.

00:14:45: Thank you for joining us and we look forward to seeing you back here soon.