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Opinion

The EV investment dilemma: What’s stopping businesses from charging ahead?

Neil Pein, CEO at BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, explains how usage-based models can help businesses de-risk the EV transition.

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Geopolitical conflict has driven petrol prices up sharply across Europe this year. In the UK, petrol now retails at around £1.50 per litre – up approximately 20% since the start of the year.

Across the EU, fuel prices have followed a similar trajectory, with average prices in April 2026 around 20% higher than a year earlier.

As a result, the shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) is accelerating. For years, EVs have faced criticism over their perceived cost and complexity, but rising fuel prices are changing the equation.

In the UK, EVs have reached a record 30% share of the new car market, with rising fuel costs helping to drive adoption. The picture is similar across mainland Europe, where more than one in five newly registered cars are now electric, representing a 16% increase on 2025.

For many fleet operators and corporates, they are increasingly being considered the more economically viable option.

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So, does this mean we’re racing towards a fully electric future for commercial vehicles? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Several factors are preventing businesses from making the transition at the pace they would like.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is the availability of charging infrastructure. Recent Department for Transport data shows the UK needs to more than double the number of charge points installed each year to meet its EV targets.

There’s also a high level of geographical disparity in how accessible they are, with more than 40% of public charge points concentrated in London and the South East, leaving many other regions underserved.

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The challenge is even greater across Europe, where research suggests the continent will need to install eight times more charging points annually by 2030 if it is to remain on track to meet its emissions targets.

For fleet operators and transport and logistics companies, this presents a problem. These organisations rely on access to high-power charging and dependable infrastructure along major transport routes.

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Detours, delays, and downtime are simply not acceptable with an industry built on tight schedules and narrow margins.

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Businesses looking to invest in their own charging infrastructure also face a substantial upfront cost. A single charging unit can cost anywhere between £10,000 and £60,000 before installation, maintenance, and future upgrades are taken into account.

That investment can feel even more daunting when businesses consider how quickly charging technology continues to evolve. Our research found that more than six in ten (61%) transport and logistics leaders have delayed investment because of uncertainty around future technology developments, while 45% say equipment becomes obsolete before achieving return on investment at least occasionally.

This highlights the dilemma many organisations face. They recognise the need to invest in charging infrastructure, but concerns over cost, technological change, and equipment lifecycles are causing them to delay decisions.

Flexible financing models, including leasing and usage-based finance, can help overcome this challenge by reducing the upfront investment required.

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Rather than committing significant capital at the outset, organisations can spread costs over time and align payments more closely with usage.

This enables businesses to begin investing sooner and expand infrastructure as their fleets become increasingly electrified.

This approach also changes how charging infrastructure is managed. Installation, maintenance, and upgrades are typically included within a single agreement, reducing operational complexity while limiting exposure to unexpected costs.

Taken together, this means equipment can be upgraded as technology evolves, while charging capacity can expand alongside demand without requiring repeated capital investment.

This is where finance has a key role to play in supporting infrastructure. Expanding the number of charge points is important, but so too is ensuring they are deployed in the right locations, at the right capacity and through funding models that businesses can adopt with confidence.

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Neil Pein is CEO at BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions

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