Executive Summary

• Fleet electrification is moving from a legislative-led initiative to mainstream business strategy – yet a recent article from Aurora Utilities argues pace of change will only be as fast as that of grid reform
• The certainty provided by secured connection dates, with Gate 2 reform in mind, unlocks investment for fleets across vehicle orders, depot upgrades, and charging rollout, Aurora argues
• More than half of organisations’ fleets on average are now electrified according to EO Charging data, with many seeing reduced total cost of ownership as a key driver

Fleet electrification is moving from a nice-to-have sustainability discussion to providing clear business benefits for operators, according to recent studies. Back in February, a report commissioned by EO Charging, of more than 300 senior decision makers responsible for the electrification of fleets of more than 100 vehicles, found almost half (43%) were seeing reduced total cost of ownership as a result of their transition to electric.

More than half (53%) of organisations’ fleets on average were now electrified – with the 2030 deadline for phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles looming – while more than four in five (84%) polled have at least partially introduced a net zero transportation initiative. Of that number, 54% saw cost savings and long-term financial benefits as the primary driver.

Commercial electrification, noted EO Charging CEO Richard Staveley at the time, was clearly evolving from ‘primarily a legislative-led initiative to meet environmental targets’ to mainstream business strategy. “Driven by seeing tangible cost efficiencies, organisations across multiple industries have long moved beyond small trials and pilot schemes to embrace electrification as a transformational business benefit,” said Staveley.

It was a similar story a month later when EY published a report, alongside Eurelectric, which argued fleet electrification could cut operating costs by up to 64% for company cars and 38% for corporate light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The report, which assessed the UK, France, Germany and Sweden, found that from a UK perspective, the country has one of the highest penetration rates of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in corporate fleets.

More than three quarters of new corporate car registrations were electric in 2025, according to EY analysis. This strong performance was largely put down to low Benefit in Kind (BiK) taxation, again noting the cost saving side. Maria Bengtsson, EY UK & Ireland mobility leader, said the findings provided a ‘compelling argument in favour of fleet electrification for UK companies.’

Many fleets, as Octopus notes, already suit themselves to electrification, being vehicles that operate predictable routes, or return to base regularly with moderate mileage demands. Yet it is not that straightforward. In a blog post published this week, Aurora Utilities, the Ofgem-licenced last-mile electricity distribution network operator across Britain, argued why grid reform will decide the pace of fleet electrification.

It is an argument shared by EY. “As the UK moves from early adoption to mass uptake, the progression of wide-scale fleet electrification will hinge on the speed of infrastructure development, including charging availability, affordability and interoperability,” noted Bengtsson.

Aurora decried a ‘deeply uneven’ infrastructure rollout – just 15% of charge points serve rural England, for instance – and argued that, while the UK’s electrified bus fleets are the ‘standout success story in transport decarbonisation’, the story beyond buses is different.

The true accelerator, however, is the grid. The Gate 2 reform, aimed at reforming the way projects connect to the electricity network, is seen as ‘pivotal’ by Aurora. The certainty of secured connection dates unlocks investment for fleets across vehicle orders, depot upgrades, and charging rollout.

“A streamlined grid connection process could finally push fleet electrification from pioneering projects into the mainstream,” Aurora noted. “This will however only be possible if charging infrastructure is recognised – in practice, not just policy – as essential national infrastructure.”

So this seems to be the key issue to solve. Yet some inspiration can come from a wider outlook. Take Stagecoach as an example. As Electrical Insight reported in April, the operator – working with Aurora – now has 17 sites live across bus depots, enabling capacity for around 1,330 new electric buses at 16% of its total UK fleet. Yet an interesting note in the story was that Stagecoach was also investing in battery storage and on-site solar to ‘strengthen its energy resilience.’ In what is a ‘complex, inconsistent and opaque’ process, as per Ofgem’s 2024 review, resilience may well be the watchword.

Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash