Fleets adopting electric vans are using them over longer daily routes than previously, according to the 2025 Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer.
Respondents who already operated electric vans, or planned to use them, were asked whether they expected vehicles to cover more or less than 100 miles per day.
For fleets with small electric vans, 32% reported routes over 100 miles, compared to 18% under that distance.
For medium vans, the split was 30% over and 17% under, while large vans were 29% over and 27% under.
John Peters, head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said the results challenge the “more pessimistic commentary” around electric van adoption.
He added: “They indicate that operators are not limiting their electric van ambitions to local routes. In fact, a basic calculation suggests the majority of these vehicles are covering 25,000 or more miles a year.
“Clearly, these fleets are successfully overcoming the kind of range and payload objections that we hear about electric vans, and are using them in a similar, intensive manner as they would diesel panel vans.”
The figures also showed a decline in fleets operating electric vans on sub-100-mile daily routes compared to 2024 – falling from 25% to 18% for small vans, and from 24% to 17% for medium vans.
Peters said this suggested real-world experience is showing operators that “electric van operation is less compromised than the general narrative suggests.”
The research was based on interviews with 8,605 company decision-makers across 30 countries, including 300 in the UK, carried out between August and November 2024 by Ipsos.
