Electrifying fleets and what it takes to turn strategy into reality
WORDS BY ANBY ALCOMENDAS
Fleet electrification is gaining momentum across Australia, but organisations are discovering that success depends on far more than simply purchasing electric vehicles.
At the 2026 Australasian Fleet Leadership and Education Summit, a panel of fleet and sustainability leaders shared their real-world experiences during the session, Electrifying Your Fleet: Case Studies of Roadblocks, Change Management and Success.
Moderated by Anna Martinis, Manager – Electric Fleets and Electric Vehicle Integration at the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the discussion explored the practical realities of transitioning fleets to electric vehicles.
Joining her on stage were Tim Kynock, Fleet Engineering & Strategy Manager at Endeavour Energy; Peter Murray, Managing Director of PM Electric; and Mitchell Kirsch, Sustainability Projects Officer at Woollahra Municipal Council.
Representing a utility provider, a local government organisation and a private business, the panellists offered different perspectives on electrification, but several common themes emerged: charging infrastructure remains a major challenge, change management is critical, and organisations that start small and learn through experience are achieving the strongest results.
Building confidence through early successes
For Mitchell Kirsch, fleet electrification has been driven by both emissions reduction goals and sound financial outcomes.
Woollahra Municipal Council adopted a staged approach, beginning with a shared EV pool vehicle that allowed staff across the organisation to experience electric driving firsthand. This simple initiative helped reduce uncertainty and provided valuable feedback before larger fleet decisions were made.
Today, the council is close to achieving its target of a fully electrified passenger fleet. However, Kirsch noted that charging infrastructure has become increasingly important as EV numbers have grown.
Initially, chargers were installed as required. As the fleet expanded, the council undertook detailed infrastructure planning to assess electrical capacity, future demand and sitespecific requirements. One particularly challenging project involved upgrading charging infrastructure within a heritage-listed building, requiring extensive approvals and careful project management.
Kirsch also shared the council ' s experience with Charging-as-a-Service( CaaS), which has enabled the organisation to reduce maintenance responsibilities while ensuring chargers remain operational through service-level agreements.
Preparing for the next stage of electrification
Tim Kynock discussed Endeavour Energy ' s experience managing one of the more complex fleet environments represented on the panel.
With approximately 1,500 assets ranging from passenger vehicles to heavy vehicles and specialised equipment, the organisation ' s challenge extends beyond simply replacing cars with EVs.
10 ISSUE 59 JUNE 2026 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU