Best of LinkedIn: Commercial Fleet Insights CW 16/ 17

00:00:00: This episode is provided by Thomas Alguyer and Frennus, based on the most relevant LinkedIn posts about commercial fleets in calendar weeks sixteen-and-seventeen.

00:00:09: Frenness is a B to B market research company that supports automotive suppliers with building feature-by-feature competitive intelligence that shows exactly how their product stacks up against competition.

00:00:20: You can find more info Yeah,

00:00:22: and to jump right into our deep dive today.

00:00:25: We are unpacking the top commercial fleet trends circulating across professional networks over.

00:00:36: You've just successfully budgeted millions of dollars for a brand-new fleet Of zero emission electric trucks,

00:00:43: which is a huge win.

00:00:44: Oh totally you navigated the procurement?

00:00:46: You got the board's approval.

00:00:47: The vehicles are finally rolling off the assembly line But then you call your local utility company to get the power you need to charge them and they tell you It's gonna take eighteen months Just to get connected to the grid.

00:00:58: eighteen months Yeah.

00:00:59: that waiting room is exactly the reality hitting operators right now.

00:01:03: Because if there's one overarching theme to all the insights we looked at, it is that industry is violently colliding with physical world.

00:01:12: The honeymoon phase is over.

00:01:13: Completely

00:01:13: over, the experimentation phase is done.

00:01:16: it's no longer about whether to adopt this new tech but you know how do actually make it survive?

00:01:22: Exactly and we are bypassing the fluff today.

00:01:25: yeah if your managing logistics you already know EVs exist.

00:01:28: data matters.

00:01:29: We're looking at How You Actually Make All This Survive.

00:01:32: The Chaos of a Wet Tuesday Morning At The Depot

00:01:34: I love that phrase right.

00:01:36: Jamie Sands from the Freight Innovation Fund used That One And It Just perfectly captures the mood right now.

00:01:41: Yeah, we're gonna cover everything from grid constraints and AI tool sprawl to The really surprising economics of things like side swipes

00:01:49: because Like we said it's not a debate about adopting the tech anymore.

00:01:52: It is entirely a survival game of integrating it without breaking your core business.

00:01:57: So let's start with the biggest physical transition out there which is electrification.

00:02:01: But we're actually going to pivot immediately away From the vehicles themselves.

00:02:04: great

00:02:05: the trucks are kind of an easy part.

00:02:06: no

00:02:06: exactly.

00:02:07: Cody C over GM pointed this out in a great post.

00:02:10: He basically said the era of asking which EV should we buy is behind us.

00:02:16: The question now, how do we actually scale this operationally?

00:02:19: Yeah, and Yasmin Mamudian from Canberra Charging highlighted this beautifully because fleet electrification just falls apart when operators underestimate the sheer you know uncompromising complexity of the ecosystem.

00:02:33: You're not just swapping a diesel engine for a battery pack anymore?

00:02:36: Not at all!

00:02:36: You are suddenly forced to navigate duty cycle compatibility incredibly complex utility tariffs and like layers of software integration.

00:02:45: And

00:02:45: if just one of those pieces breaks down your

00:02:47: trucks don't move.

00:02:48: It's that simple.

00:02:49: And the financial shock of that is staggering.

00:02:52: Deepak Chandra shared a really stark reality check on this, he pointed out that US fleet operators budgeted for electric trucks but they completely failed to budget for infrastructure.

00:03:03: Oh!

00:03:03: The six megawatt substations?

00:03:05: Yes things like Six Megawatt Depot substation these massive utility timelines and just crippling demand charges.

00:03:13: What's fascinating here is that the bottleneck has entirely shifted from.

00:03:30: You

00:03:32: know, drop that into an industrial park.

00:03:34: Plus utility companies don't just charge you for the total electricity use

00:03:38: right?

00:03:38: They hit you with demand charges exactly

00:03:41: based on The maximum rate of power you pull at any given moment.

00:03:44: So if you plug all your trucks in it once Your Utility bill can instantly exceed what used to pay for diesel It Just completely collapses your Total cost of ownership.

00:03:52: so the grid is the bottleneck.

00:03:54: I mean our fleet's just stuck In An Eighteen Month Waiting Room.

00:03:57: it feels like buying a brand new smartphone But having To wait A year and a half Just to get the charging cable.

00:04:02: Well, they would be stuck if they waited for the grid.

00:04:05: But they aren't waiting.

00:04:06: Diane Collise shared some excellent insights from Eden Red Mexico on this exact

00:04:11: problem.

00:04:11: Oh...the depot.

00:04:12: first strategies?

00:04:13: Right!

00:04:14: Fleets are aggressively deploying depot-first strategies.

00:04:17: They aren't waitin' to public charging networks to mature and definitely not waiting for utility monopolies to upgrade their local grid.

00:04:25: They're just building localized solutions by bypassing

00:04:27: it Exactly.

00:04:28: And the capital markets are rushing in to fund it!

00:04:31: Matthew Steffant noted that decade energy just raised twenty-two million euros specifically to solve this depot bottleneck across Europe.

00:04:39: Wow, twenty two million?

00:04:40: Yeah

00:04:41: and what they're doing is taking on the upfront capital expenditure for site owners to build out onsite battery storage solar generation and grid connections.

00:04:50: That makes total sense because building fleets have to rethink the hardware to bypass these massive utility upgrades.

00:04:59: Angelo E broke down what he calls, The new baseline for charging

00:05:02: and it's not a one size fits all approach right?

00:05:05: No Not at all.

00:05:06: It's basically two different techs For overnight fleets.

00:05:09: So you know your last mile delivery vans that come back To the depot And sit for eight to twelve hours.

00:05:14: nineteen point Two kilowatt level-two ac Charging is the sweet spot

00:05:18: because its slow and steady

00:05:20: Right!

00:05:21: It takes A battery from zero to a hundred percent in about four to five hours.

00:05:25: It's relatively low power, so no insane utility fees.

00:05:28: but that only works if your vehicle sits still for eight hours.

00:05:32: what?

00:05:32: If you operate heavy-duty terminal trucks or like yard equipment That runs almost continuously

00:05:38: then You absolutely cannot wait eighteen months For an upgrade.

00:05:41: and slow AC charging is just dead in the water.

00:05:44: exactly.

00:05:45: And that's where battery integrated DC fast chargers are changing the math.

00:05:49: Angelo mentioned solutions like the orange juicer.

00:05:52: Right, which pairs an on-board battery directly inside of a fast charger.

00:05:56: Yes and Nicolas Sommios from Tool brought up something similar.

00:05:59: They launched power system to pull high power charging from low power connections at constrained sites.

00:06:04: So it's basically acting like a buffer Like filling massive water tank using standard garden hose over time

00:06:10: And then when truck pulls up It dumps all that fast charging power instantly

00:06:15: Because many fleets don't own their buildings.

00:06:18: If you're leasing a temporary site, You aren't going to pour millions of dollars into permanent substation.

00:06:24: Exactly!

00:06:25: You need agile hardware To survive the realities Of leased buildings.

00:06:29: But even agile Hardware has to survive The real world.

00:06:32: Lindsay Yeoman at F-IVEV Provided this much needed reality check On what depo chargers actually face.

00:06:39: Right it's not like Glossy brochures.

00:06:42: Not all It is brutal.

00:06:43: We are talking forklifts Backing in them bins crashing against them, extreme weather.

00:06:49: If that hardware isn't maintained you get that dreaded six AM.

00:06:52: why is this not working moment?

00:06:54: And at six AM a broken charger isn't just an IT ticket it's a failed delivery

00:06:59: exactly which Is Why Daniel Hill Snip Better Fleet was talking about AI software.

00:07:03: Oh to reduce the physical number of chargers needed.

00:07:05: yeah

00:07:06: by managing energy costs smartly.

00:07:08: You Just Need Less Hardware.

00:07:09: To Begin With Fewer Physical Chargers Mean Fewer Points Of Physical Failure.

00:07:13: That makes a lot of sense.

00:07:15: So why endure the headache of six megawatt substations and broken chargers in the first place?

00:07:20: Because the math of internal combustion is becoming a massive financial liability.

00:07:26: David B from Geotab pointed out that logistics fleets in Thailand, for instance are facing a twenty-two percent fuel price spike.

00:07:34: Wow!

00:07:34: Twenty two percent

00:07:36: Yeah which makes data driven fuel management mandatory just to survive.

00:07:40: And that leads into this mind-blowing concept from Smart Freight Week shared by Johann Olsen.

00:07:45: A diesel floater!

00:07:46: Yes, can you unpack the diesel floator for us?

00:07:49: Because it is wild

00:07:50: It really is.

00:07:51: So diesel fleets are paying full cost of fuel at a pump today right But they have to wait months for their transport contracts To actually reimburse them based on lagging index adjustments Which

00:08:01: creates massive cash flow nightmare

00:08:03: Exactly.

00:08:04: But if we connect this to the bigger picture, electric fleets have incredibly low stable actual energy costs today.

00:08:11: They still build their clients at a higher diesel reference rate.

00:08:13: Oh wow!

00:08:15: So Parity's officially here and they're just pocketing the difference?

00:08:17: Basically yeah.

00:08:19: Anasoya shared data showing that PHEVs plug-in hybrids are already net cheaper than ICE vehicles over three year lease

00:08:27: And Jana Koss had some really exciting news on the heavy duty side.

00:08:31: Electric trucks have reached diesel price parity up front, with energy savings of to eighty four percent.

00:08:37: Eighty-four percent is huge!

00:08:39: But you can't just run a business on broad averages, right?

00:08:42: Gut feelings are thing of the past.

00:08:44: Right because if I'm hauling max payloads up a mountain in the freezing cold my parody vanishes Exactly!

00:08:50: Which is why Abila J. Burr from Trailer Dynamics launched a total cost-of ownership web app.

00:08:55: It uses actual route specific economics.

00:08:58: it shows profitability heat maps and payload tradeoffs to prove exactly where electric trucks win for your specific routes.

00:09:04: That level of precision is exactly what's needed.

00:09:06: But to optimize that total cost of ownership, fleets are naturally turning into software.

00:09:11: Right but the new problem is they have too much of it.

00:09:14: John Older had this great quote.

00:09:15: he said Fleets don't need a system problem.

00:09:18: we've got two many systems problems.

00:09:20: The

00:09:20: tool sprawl is

00:09:21: so real.

00:09:22: Okay let's unpack This.

00:09:23: You Have One Tool For Tracking one for cameras and maintenance all held together by a spreadsheet And

00:09:30: that frustration is driving a massive push for platform consolidation.

00:09:34: Everyone wants a single pane of glass, and that's where AI is entering specific

00:09:39: workflows.".

00:09:40: But there's so much confusion about what AI actually means for fleets right?

00:09:45: Drake Bauer noted that from the NAFO event...

00:09:47: Yeah Chris Pellegrino made a crucial distinction here.

00:09:50: There's general AI like using chat GPT to summarize your emails Which

00:09:54: it just a parlor trick compared to what we need.

00:09:56: Right, and then there's fleet-specific AI which actually knows your routes understands your driver history And proactively predicts vehicle breakdown before they

00:10:05: happen.

00:10:05: The examples from the sources were super tangible.

00:10:08: like Mark Canton at RTA using AI to capture sublet invoices It cuts entry time by seventy five percent.

00:10:14: That's massive for admin time.

00:10:16: In.

00:10:16: Emily Breudner Peterson at Fleetio talked about an AI service advisor that speeds up routine maintenance approvals.

00:10:23: then Mantel Vincentelli pointed out Michelin's new connected fleet AI assistant.

00:10:27: But the goal isn't just AI for the sake of AI, Dara Mahan at Werner Enterprises emphasized this at ACT Expo.

00:10:35: Right separating real value from hype.

00:10:37: Exactly you have to focus only on tools that respect a fleet manager time and secure reliable capacity.

00:10:43: Which leads perfectly into most critical area where AI absolutely has to yield Real-world results Driver safety and risk management.

00:10:52: Oh, this is such a big one!

00:10:53: I have a shocking stat from Rob Carpenter... When we think of fleet risk?

00:10:58: We think of massive catastrophic highway wrecks.

00:11:01: but that's not what bleeds fleets dry.

00:11:04: it's side swipes.

00:11:05: wait really just everyday sideswipes yeah

00:11:07: same direction.

00:11:08: side swipes make up thirty-one point.

00:11:09: three percent of large trucks involved in property damage only crashes.

00:11:14: It's the daily bad lane discipline and poor mirror habits.

00:11:19: And that connects directly back to the data problem.

00:11:22: Samuel Elkins pointed out that fleets are sitting on a goldmine of telematics' data, but they treat it like a garbage archive.

00:11:27: They only look at after an audit or after a crash has already happened?

00:11:30: Exactly!

00:11:31: Nikola Vukovic noted that gap isn't data collection anymore—it's turning this into actual behavioral change through coaching and gamification…

00:11:41: But wait is just for massive thousand truck

00:11:44: haulers?!

00:11:45: It's counterintuitive...but no.

00:11:47: Chris M. Gald showed that small fleets actually suffer the most, think about it.

00:11:52: a ten-truck fleet lacks the scale to absorb losses.

00:11:55: Oh right one or two claims can just double their premiums overnight.

00:11:58: Exactly risk visibility levels the playing field for them.

00:12:02: and Holly Dolinger added to this.

00:12:04: She noted that AI powered dash cam's with structured coaching are reducing crash rates by up to seventy three percent.

00:12:09: Seventy Three percent is incredible.

00:12:11: So we've seen the operational hurdles, financial traps and software sprawl.

00:12:15: Let's finally look at the macro forces policy in market momentum pushing industry over the finish line.

00:12:20: The momentum globally is just undeniable

00:12:22: It really is.

00:12:24: Paul Dupas noted California HVIP program delivered one billion dollars in incentives.

00:12:29: it proves that tribe before you buy model works its scale.

00:12:33: And Michael Miller pointed to NYC expanded clean trucks program relaxing scrapage requirements.

00:12:38: But on flip side Even Mulholland had a really sobering warning about Ireland.

00:12:44: They are lagging badly on e-truck adoption, it's under .

00:12:47: five percent.

00:12:48: And that despite having vehicles capable of crossing the entire country?

00:12:51: Exactly!

00:12:52: The range is there but the infrastructure isn't.

00:12:55: Josh Green pointed out That the only thing holding corporate fleets back right now Is political will and corporate inertia not technology itself.

00:13:05: That comes from really unexpected places, like the Vatican.

00:13:08: Oh yeah that was a wild example!

00:13:10: Joshy Jenerman and Till Kristoff Topol share that The Vatican partnered with VW's Ellie Mobility to manage its growing electric fleet across Europe.

00:13:20: When The Vatican is optimizing fleet software for charging tariffs.

00:13:23: You know, we've hit the mainstream.

00:13:25: We really

00:13:25: have and going forward.

00:13:26: Johan Olsen shared a massive point from Smart Freight Week.

00:13:30: Chinese OEMs are entering Europe in twenty-twenty seven

00:13:33: which is gonna change everything.

00:13:34: it will accelerate electrification faster than any subsidy program ever could.

00:13:39: The question is no longer if fleets would go electric but they'll be ready to operate at scale when that moment hits.

00:13:45: So what's take away for people listening right now?

00:13:47: While with those Chinese OEMs arriving in twenty-twenty seven and the technology already hitting price parity, The true competitive moat for mobility companies isn't the vehicles they own.

00:13:57: It's the agility of their infrastructure.

00:13:59: Exactly!

00:14:00: Merrick Fitzgerald brought up a fire at the Mont Blanc tunnel.

00:14:03: that single localized disaster rewrote European supply chains overnight.

00:14:08: So imagine what a paralyzed, unupgraded power grid will do to fleets that wait too

00:14:32: long.