Experts see electric vehicles eventually having a significant impact in the fleet space.

With that thinking in mind, behavior and analytics advisory firm Escalent recently released the latest findings from its Fleet Advisory Hub, a platform designed to explore the needs, expectations and emotions of commercial and fleet vehicle decisionmakers.

The newest report examined fleet decisionmakers’ familiarity with and opinions of many top brands with electrified vehicle plans across duty segments, as well as their likelihood of considering products from each brand for fleet implementation.

Escalent highlighted that among the key findings are clear indicators for the automotive industry’s biggest brands:

• Ford and Tesla earn top marks for electric vehicle (EV) applications in light and medium/heavy duty fleets.

• Tesla is the brand most synonymous and emblematic of the electrification movement, viewed as the “absolute leader for electrification” by approximately half of both light duty and medium/heavy duty fleet participants. This reflects similar Escalent EVForward findings, wherein retail consumers are most aware of Tesla as a leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.

• Among light duty brands, startups such as Rivian and Lordstown lag far behind legacy automakers and their observable products and accelerating marketing campaigns.

“With respect to electric vehicles, Tesla has carved out a unique position of ubiquity and alignment with the overall movement,” said Michael Schmall, vice president of automotive and mobility at Escalent.

“However, Ford is the clear winner from a consideration standpoint among fleet decisionmakers, a position it has reinforced with the introduction of the electrified Ford F-150 Lightning,” Schmall continued in a news release.

Escalent said the study also provides a closer look at the factors most likely to influence EV adoption among fleet decision-makers.

What didn’t surprise firm experts, they pointed out total cost of ownership (TCO) leads the factors most influential to adoption — though clarity also lacks, with many uncertain of EVs’ impact to the traditional TCO calculation.

Escalent added that fleet decisionmakers are also considering electrification potential around uptime, a brand’s reputation or their relationship with it, charging and infrastructure concerns and information available about brands’ EV offerings. including services to ease a transition to electric vehicles.

“Startup brands have a lot of catching up to do among light duty fleet decision-makers, where familiar brands and their electrified products dominate mindshare,” Schmall said. “The story is a bit different for those operating medium and heavy duty fleets, as few tangible products in this segment can be seen on the road, offering a more level playing field.”

Among fleet decisionmakers, Escalent said the road map for implementation has begun to come into focus.

Along with the needed definition for adjusting the TCO calculation, the study identified fleet decisionmakers’ perspective for the expected timeline to achieve operating cost parity with their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, with most expecting to reach that point after two to three years of integrating an EV.

Fleet Advisory Hub is one of the largest collections of commercial vehicle and fleet decision-maker insights available on the market today. Currently, nearly 10,000 fleets collectively numbering more than 800,000 vehicles are represented.

More details about the Fleet Advisory Hub can be found via this website.