This week, Autoworld in Brussels transformed into a hub for Europe’s electric mobility community as Eurelectric hosted EVision 2026 and launched its new report on Fleet electrification. Industry leaders, policymakers and innovators came together to advance a question that is quickly becoming central to Europe’s clean mobility transition: how to accelerate the electrification of corporate fleets.
Both the event and report could not be more relevant. Europe is preparing for major shifts under the Automotive Package, including the proposed Regulation on Clean Corporate Vehicles. The initiative aims to use the purchasing power of large companies to speed up the deployment of zero- and low‑emission vehicles across the continent – providing real savings to fleet operators, creating demand for EV manufacturers, and driving the electrification of a key part of Europe’s vehicle fleet.
With corporate fleets representing around 60% of new car sales in Europe and virtually all new vans and trucks, their electrification is not a niche ambition but instead one of the most powerful levers for reducing transport emissions at scale.
EVision explored how that shift can happen in practice: from policy frameworks and charging infrastructure to business models and on‑the‑ground fleet operations.
Fleet Forward: the business case for electrification
At the event, Eurelectric and EY launched their joint report Fleet Forward, which details both the economic and system‑wide benefits of electrifying Europe’s corporate fleets. The findings point to a decisive acceleration point: fleet electrification could generate €246 billion in cumulative operating‑cost savings for fleet operators by 2030, thanks to lower energy, maintenance and tolling costs. Beyond these cost savings, the impact on emissions and energy demand could be equally significant.
The report also highlights the broader impact of fleet electrification:
· One billion tonnes of CO₂ savings by 2030
· Up to 95 billion litres of diesel displaced
· Around 140 TWh of additional electricity demand, highlighting the potential of EVs as flexible, schedulable loads.
These figures show why fleets are increasingly viewed as the tipping point for Europe’s EV transition. As Eurelectric President Markus Rauramo underscored during his fireside chat, success now depends on coupling a stable regulatory framework with targeted economic levers – a message reflected in Eurelectric’s broader work on automotive electrification and grid readiness.
The psychology of the switch – Rory Sutherland’s E-Vision
EVision had the pleasure to welcome Rory Sutherland herland to the stage this year as he delivered a fascinating keynote on the mobility transition, cutting right into the heart of the battles that people have with others (and themselves!) when making the move to an electric vehicle. He argued that the real barrier to mass EV adoption isn’t battery chemistry – it’s brain chemistry.
As we agonise about how far an EV can go on a single charge (quite far these days!) we try to solve for range – why not solve for the anxiety? Small, intuitive tweaks to how we display battery charge could shift adoption behaviour more than hardware upgrades – range anxiety is often a perception problem, not a performance one.
A striking statistic from his presentation – that 95% of drivers never return to a combustion engine vehicle – tells the whole story, with Rory coming to the conclusion that this is the best proof that we have that the concerns about EV ownership are a pre-purchase misperception, and not a post-purchase reality. His valuable keynote underlined that the mobility transition is not just a technical challenge, but a behavioural one, and illustrated that if Europe wants to scale e-mobility, it must address the human side of the transition as much as the technical one.
Logistics: where electrification moves fastest
Among all segments discussed at EVision, logistics emerged as one of the fastest‑moving opportunities for electrification. Delivery vehicles typically follow predictable routes, travel relatively fixed distances and return to depots overnight – conditions that make them ideally suited to EVs and managed depot charging.
Last‑mile delivery in particular is already gaining momentum across Europe. Electric vans reduce fuel and maintenance costs significantly while helping operators comply with increasingly stringent low‑emission zones in European cities. EY’s analysis in the joint report shows that light commercial EVs can cut operating costs by up to 40%, making them financially attractive even before additional incentives are considered.
Speakers from across the logistics sector emphasised that this shift is no longer a pilot exercise but a strategic move to future‑proof operations against rising fuel prices, CO₂-based road charging, and tightening air‑quality rules.
Getting the grid ready
Retail The success of transport electrification is fundamentally linked to ensuring that the necessary charging infrastructure and electricity networks are ready to support the increased charging demand, and to take advantage of the new use patterns that come with it.
Discussions at EVision highlighted encouraging progress: public charging installations have grown rapidly, surpassing 1.2 million charging points across Europe, providing a strong backbone of public charging throughout Europe and providing certainty to both consumers, as well as the manufacturers of EVs and charging technologies.
The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) sets binding targets for the rollout of charging infrastructure along major corridors, ensuring a sufficient number of chargers to facilitate transport electrification. With the expansion of the charging network, grid integration remains key to the continued rollout of charging infrastructure.
But infrastructure is only one piece of the puzzle – fleet operators, charge point operators (CPOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs) stressed the need for clearer visibility of capacity, faster connection processes and earlier coordination on depot electrification projects, ensuring that new demand can be integrated efficiently into the electricity system.
These themes build on Eurelectric’s continued work on grid planning and readiness – most recently reflected in the Grids Package and our analyses on the infrastructure needs of the energy transition. With fleet electrification accelerating, ensuring “grid‑ready” deployment will be a decisive factor in scaling EV uptake.
Making EVs affordable
Although operating economics are rapidly improving, upfront vehicle costs remain a barrier for many operators, particularly in the heavy‑duty segment. A significant portion of the haulage industry is made up of SMEs, who may not have the immediate financial ability to electrify their fleets.
However, the EY report shows that 60–75% of the total cost of ownership (TCO) for fleet vehicles lies in operating costs – where EVs already have a strong advantage thanks to cheaper energy, lower maintenance and reduced exposure to fossil‑fuel price volatility.
As electricity prices stabilise and carbon pricing continues to increase the cost of diesel, the economics of electrification will strengthen further. Meanwhile, new financing models – including leasing‑based solutions, fleet‑as‑a‑service packages and depot‑charging bundles – are emerging to make electrification more accessible.
Flexibility and fleets
Fleet electrification brings benefits beyond transport. As more EVs connect to the grid, they create the potential for flexibility services, allowing charging to shift to lower‑cost or high‑renewable hours. This was the topic of the previous EVision report – Plugging into Potential: Untapping the Flexibility of EVs – which highlighted the major system value in managed charging and depot‑based optimisation
Fleet depots – where dozens or hundreds of vehicles can charge simultaneously – represent particularly strong opportunities. Managed charging, energy‑management systems and onsite storage allow operators to reduce electricity bills, avoid peak charges and support grid stability. As EV numbers rise, fleets could become integral to balancing Europe’s increasingly renewable power system.
Heavy-duty vehicles: the next frontier
While cars and vans are electrifying at pace, heavy‑duty vehicles remain the most challenging segment. Long‑haul trucks require large batteries, megawatt‑scale charging and robust corridor infrastructure.
Still, progress is accelerating. Market share for electric trucks and buses is steadily increasing, supported by improvements in battery performance, depot‑charging strategies and the emergence of Megawatt Charging Systems (MCS), a technology crucial to providing ample charge to trucks during short breaks in operation.
The Fleet Forward report shows that electric trucks can already deliver operating‑cost savings of 7–20% on major European corridors when charging strategies are optimised, illustrating that HDV electrification is becoming a economic advantage, not just an environmental one.
With sustained policy support, targeted subsidies and infrastructure investment, heavy‑duty transport could become the next major breakthrough in Europe’s mobility transition, providing significant decarbonisation and economic benefits.
Looking ahead
EVision 2026 delivered a clear message: corporate fleet electrification is no longer a distant ambition: it is becoming a central pillar of Europe’s mobility transition.
From logistics operators and manufacturers to utilities and policymakers, stakeholders across the value chain are now aligning around electrification as the strategic path forward – economically, environmentally and system‑wide.
These discussions continue in the coming months, including at the Eurelectric Power Summit in June, where Europe’s energy leaders will reconvene to explore the future of the power sector. Some lucky winners will be joining us in Helsinki after proving successful in the EVision lottery.
In the meantime, you can explore the full findings of the report here.
This blog post was originally published as part of Eurelectric’s LinkedIn Friday Features. Subscribe here to stay updated and never miss an edition.
Disclaimer: This article is for communication purposes only and may not reflect Eurelectric positions. Any positions taken in this article shall not be attributable to Eurelectric’s official positioning. Official Eurelectric positions are reflected only in position papers published here.