LIVONIA, Mich. -

The potential for electric vehicles seemingly is giving fleet operators quite a jolt of interest.

On Tuesday, behavior and analytics advisory firm Escalent released the latest findings from its Fleet Advisory Hub, a platform designed to explore the needs, expectations and emotions of commercial and fleet vehicle decisionmakers.

The firm said fleet decisionmakers are so optimistic about the promise of EVs for their fleets in the coming years that nearly two-thirds (65%) are already shopping for EVs.

However, data within the Fleet Advisory Hub showed that underlying operational and infrastructure concerns — including financing for private charging, variable routing patterns and calculating EV operating costs — remain among the most significant barriers to widespread adoption.

Escalent explained that its newest report offers a “clear” look at the opportunity light and medium/heavy duty fleet and commercial vehicle manufacturers and charging technology companies have in the coming years, as 57% of fleet decision-makers plan to replace their vehicles in the next three years and an overwhelming majority of those (65%) are proactively shopping for EV solutions.

 Moreover, while few electrified products are in the market today, Escalent said the pipeline to meet the coming demand of fleets is plentiful, so competing brands must take an aggressive approach with fleet decision-makers to answer questions, address concerns, and win the favor of this key group coming into the EV market.

“Vehicle manufacturers and charging infrastructure companies alike are looking at what is their best chance yet to spark a wave of electric vehicle purchases for fleet use, marking a critical crossroads in the path toward widespread adoption of the technology,” said Michael Schmall, automotive & mobility vice president at Escalent.

“The brands that rise to the top will gain an edge by finding solutions to unique problems for fleet applications, including significant operational infrastructure challenges,” Schmall continued in a news release.

The latest Fleet Advisory Hub study indicated paying for charging solutions tops the list of fleet decisionmaker concerns:

• 82% of adopters finance their private charging infrastructure and 68% of shoppers expect to

• 32% of adopters report higher-than-expected private charging infrastructure costs

• 29% of fleets allow employees to take and store vehicles at home, adding another layer of complexity for implementing a robust charging infrastructure

Escalent pointed out manufacturers must also grapple with a significant knowledge and information gap when outlining the benefits of EV applications.

According to the latest Fleet Advisory Hub study, more than half (57%) of decisionmakers operate fleets with variable routing patterns and other operational considerations that require extensive usage data to implement a viable electrified program.

Furthermore, the study showed 42% of operators understand there are unique EV factors, though they are not familiar enough with them to calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO) of this new application in their fleet operations.

According to another Fleet Advisory Hub study, TCO is a leading factor influencing a fleet decisionmakers’ decision to adopt.

“To take a leadership position in the EV adoption race among primed and eager fleet decision-makers, product manufacturers and service providers must proactively develop catered solutions that mitigate up-front costs and knowledge burden for shoppers,” Escalent said.

“Regardless of the electric vehicle itself, simply offering an off-the-shelf or standardized infrastructure solution will result in ongoing challenges, frustration, and, in the worst case, defection from the technology or brands,” the firm went on to say.

Escalent noted that its Fleet Advisory Hub is one of the largest collections of commercial and fleet decisionmaker insights available. Currently, nearly 10,000 fleets collectively numbering more than 800,000 vehicles are represented.