Electric van adoption must be led by fleet data

The debate around the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate has focused heavily on passenger cars, but for fleets, the challenge sits with light commercial vans.

Electric van adoption has become one of the most challenging tests of the UK’s road transport transition.

The current ZEV mandate requires manufacturers to increase the proportion of new zero-emission vans they sell, reaching 70% by 2030.

In 2025, electric vans accounted for 9.5% of the market, against a 16% target.

Reports that the Government may now rethink parts of the mandate have sparked mixed reactions across the sector, with questions around what any change could mean for manufacturer planning, charging investment and fleet decarbonisation. And the change in Prime Minister adds another layer of uncertainty.

For van fleets, though, the most important issue is not the target, but how the transition is delivered.

A weaker target will not solve the operational barriers holding back electric van adoption.

What fleets need is a clearer, more practical route from policy ambition to day-to-day operational reality.

That route has to be led by data.

Vans cannot be treated like cars

The company car transition has benefited from several factors that do not apply in the same way to vans.

Benefit-in-kind tax has created a strong driver incentive.

Many company car drivers can charge at home.

Most cars operate within relatively predictable daily mileage patterns, and the compromises around payload, equipment and working time are limited.

A van may need to carry a heavy payload, tow, power equipment, visit multiple sites, or operate from a depot with limited grid capacity.

Some drivers take vans home and have no off-street parking.

Others rely on public charging that may not be designed for longer or taller vehicles.

Some vehicles have enough dwell time overnight to charge easily, while others are used across shifts and cannot afford long periods off the road.

This is why broad claims about electric vans being either suitable or unsuitable are rarely helpful.

Suitability depends on the vehicle, the route, the load, the depot, the charging window and the operating model.

One van might be an ideal electric candidate, while another in the same fleet might be a poor fit.

The right question is “which vans first?”

The ZEV mandate debate often treats the van market as one block.

In reality, most fleets need a sequenced transition.

The first wave is likely to include vehicles with predictable routes, modest daily mileage, regular depot return and enough overnight dwell time to charge.

These are often urban delivery vans, service vehicles, local authority vehicles, utilities fleets and other operations where daily use is well understood.

The second wave may include vehicles that are suitable with some operational change.

These might need depot charging upgrades, route changes, schedule adjustments, driver charging support, or different vehicle allocation.

The third group may include harder use cases: high-mileage vehicles, heavy payload operations, rural or unpredictable routes, towing, specialist-bodied vans or vehicles with limited downtime.

These may need more capable vehicles, better charging access, grid upgrades or more time before electrification becomes practical.

That is a very different model from asking whether the whole van fleet can switch at once.

From mandate to method

The ZEV mandate review should, therefore, not become a reason to pause van electrification.

It should be used to make the transition more targeted, more practical and more credible for the fleets expected to deliver it.

Vans are an essential part of road transport decarbonisation.

They support construction, logistics, utilities, local services, retail, maintenance, healthcare and public sector operations.

If van electrification stalls, the wider transition becomes harder.

If you are a van operator reading this, perhaps ask yourself the following questions: Which vehicles can switch now? Where should chargers be installed? How much downtime is available? Which drivers need charging support? How will payload affect range? How will electric vans affect the total cost of ownership?

You will not have all the answers in your head.

But your data will, and that is where the next phase of electric van adoption has to start.

Oliver Holt is senior sales manager UK and Ireland at Geotab