Poor planning drives up electrification costs by a third

May 13, 2026

2 min read

Operators are being urged to prioritise early-stage planning and data analysis to reduce the cost of fleet electrification as poor upfront planning is increasing the cost and complexity of the transition.

This is according to VEV, which has conducted analysis on operational data from more than 10,000 commercial vehicles and found that early-stage decision making based on data can reduce transition costs by up to 30%.

VEV argues that many electrification programmes stall not because of technology but because the required upfront planning for infrastructure, energy demand and grid capacity is lacking.

George Hobbs, Data Lead at VEV said: “Most fleets don’t fail at electrification because of technology – they fail because they don’t start in the right way.

“Using real-world operational data allows us to remove uncertainty, demonstrate viability, and build a clear, investable roadmap that allows operators to scale with confidence.”

Early-stage analytics can reportedly improve the total cost of ownership by driving down costly grid upgrades by as much as 70% and identifying energy savings of up to 20%.

This approach has already been applied to multi-site environments like Manchester Airports Group alongside large logistics fleets, emergency services and critical infrastructure operators managing fleets of more than 10,000 vehicles.

Grid connection delays are also a significant constraint and as lead times increase and access to funding remains competitive, therefore early planning is essential to achieving a smooth and successful transition.