Rising diesel prices, pressure to reduce operating costs and the increasing availability of electric commercial vehicles are prompting fleet operators and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to scrutinise the business case for e-trucks more closely. In this opinion piece, Paul Plummer, chief commercial officer at Everlectric, argues that successful electrification starts not with choosing a vehicle, but with understanding fleet operations and total cost of ownership (TCO). Here’s his advice….
For South African fleet operators, diesel volatility has become a boardroom issue. Every fuel price increase affects margins, pricing, route profitability and cash flow. That is changing how CFOs evaluate electric vehicles. CFOs are increasingly asking not whether to move a fleet to electric, but how and where to start. These six questions provide a structured way to work through that decision.
Q 1: How do I know if EVs make sense for my fleet?
Start with the work, not the vehicle. Look at daily routes, monthly kilometres, payload, dwell time, charging access and whether the vehicle returns to a depot. EVs tend to be strongest where routes are predictable, utilisation is high and vehicles can charge without disrupting operations. Dense urban delivery, retail distribution, courier and last-mile routes are often good starting points. Long, irregular routes with limited access to charging typically take longer to justify.
Q 2: Should I electrify the whole fleet?
No. That is usually the wrong way to begin. The better approach is to identify the parts of the fleet where the economics already work. A business may start with one route, one vehicle class or one depot, then build from there once the data is proven. Electrification is not a branding exercise. It is a route-level operating decision.
Q 3: How do I choose the right EV?
Do not choose the EV first and force the operation to fit around it. Match the vehicle to the job. That means assessing payload, cargo volume, route length, energy use, charging window, driver behaviour and service expectations. A sales vehicle, a one-ton delivery van, a larger cargo van and a refrigerated distribution vehicle all have different operating profiles. The right EV is the one that can reliably cover the route at a lower total cost of ownership.
Q 4: When will I start seeing savings?
Based on Everlectric’s fleet modelling, suitable commercial EV routes can deliver 10% to 25% lower total cost of ownership over a five-year holding period, using current tariff assumptions. The outcome depends on mileage, route profile, utilisation and residual value.
Everlectric’s modelling shows that an electric one-ton equivalent began to compete at around 3 000 km per month when diesel was closer to R22/litre. At diesel prices in the high-R20s, that threshold can move closer to 2 000 km per month, depending on the route, payload, charging model and vehicle utilisation. For a CFO, monthly kilometres and fuel exposure are more useful than a universal break-even number. Predictable routes and higher fuel spend generally bring the savings forward.
Q 5: What if I cannot afford the upfront cost?
Buying the vehicle is not the only route into EV adoption. Everlectric’s EV-as-a-Service model allows operators to access electric vehicles through a managed arrangement that can include the vehicle, charging infrastructure, maintenance, insurance, telematics and operational support. This can reduce the initial cash outlay, simplify implementation and provide the business with clearer visibility into its monthly fleet costs. It also reduces the need to build internal expertise in charging, maintenance and EVs before starting.
For CFOs, the structure still needs to be assessed against the company’s cash-flow priorities, risk appetite, fleet term and accounting requirements. The accounting treatment will depend on the specific contract and whether it contains a lease under IFRS 16. The practical advantage is flexibility. A business can begin with the routes where the economics already work while choosing a funding and service structure suited to its own operation.
Q 6: What should I do first?
Map the current fleet before looking at brochures. Identify vehicles with predictable routes, high fuel spend, regular return-to-base patterns and enough monthly kilometres to make the energy saving visible. Calculate the current cost per kilometre, assess charging windows and compare the total cost of ownership rather than the purchase price. A sound EV decision begins with the routes, fuel spend and utilisation data already within the business, rather than a vehicle catalogue. That is where the real electrification opportunity usually sits.
Editor’s comment: The economics of commercial vehicle electrification continue to improve but the pace of adoption will differ across fleet types. As Plummer notes, operators are likely to achieve the best returns by targeting predictable, high-utilisation routes first, rather than attempting wholesale fleet replacement. For South African trucking businesses, electrification is increasingly becoming a financial and operational exercise – one driven by data, route analysis and total cost of ownership rather than technology alone.
Click on photograph to enlarge
