FLEETDRIVE
Gaining a thorough understanding of the use cases for fleet vehicles, and tackling vehicle under-utilisation is fundamental to good fleet management practice. Right sizing the fleet before considering transition plans is key to minimising both the associated costs and implementation complexity.
Fleet Optimisation principles are pivotal to managing transition costs – there is little point in planning charging infrastructure for 80 vehicles, if the fleet should really be 60! The cost to the organisation of under-utilised vehicles is effectively multiplied where BEVs are unnecessarily deployed.
Importantly, there are also numerous strategies that can be used to reduce carbon emissions which do not rely on the sole use of BEVs.
Enabling Successful Implementations
To enable an organisation to demonstrate solid progress towards their transition objectives, we expect:
Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement- it is necessary to recognise that a Fleet Transition Plan is an invaluable tool that should provide comprehensive guidance on the strategies, core operational considerations and financial modelling required to effect organisation decision making.
However, organisation leadership must ensure that all key stakeholders are engaged in the journey, ensuring that the effective plan can be carried to successful implementation.
In doing so, the organisation should create the necessary project management framework that will ensure that key aspects of resourcing, change management and financial budgeting are suitably incorporated.
Fleet Strategy and Operational Delivery – whether conducted in conjunction with the outcomes of a Fleet Transition Plan or preferably well before, it is pivotal that an organisation develop and execute an effective fleet strategy.
The path to Fleet Optimisation is indeed lined with gold, but it takes a lot of work to mine these riches!
As part of this strategy and with the necessary leadership support in place, organisations can either choose to resource project management internally or consider outsourcing options.
In considering this issue further, we consulted with EVenergi for their view on transition planning and implementation experiences. EVenergi is a leading supplier to all levels of Government and other industries in Fleet Transition Plans and associated transition support services, including their BetterFleet software.
They agreed that they have experienced similar issues, which led to their development of a framework designed to better facilitate implementation, and a broadening of their services to support their clients through the challenges of operational delivery.
It’ s a comprehensive framework with the core elements being:
• Long Term Strategic Planning
• Short Term Planning
• Implementation Planning
• Continuous Improvement
“ Reducing emissions in fleets is a multifaceted challenge that requires coordinated decisions across many stakeholders. These decisions often have downstream impacts on other departments, and without clear visibility, organisations risk falling into inaction. We’ ve also seen the pursuit of perfection delay progress, where decisions are stalled because 10 % of unknowns remain unresolved.
From our experience supporting over 250 fleets globally, real progress comes from collaboration with internal and external partners, pragmatic decision-making, and structured planning. Operating within a framework that spans long-term planning, short-term planning, implementation, and continuous improvement enables organisations to build alignment, maintain momentum, and confidently adapt as conditions evolve.” – James Gard, EVenergi Business Development Manager.
Paul Oliver is the Director & Principal Consultant of Fleet Advisory. Paul provides independent expert advice and fleet consulting services to business, not for profit organisations & government – see Fleet Advisory for more information.
ISSUE 53 JUNE 2025 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU 19