Webfleet and fleet EV specialist Vev announce strategic partnership

Webfleet has entered into a partnership with fleet electrification specialist Vev to help accelerate the adoption of commercial electric vehicles (EVs).

As well as initial site electrification, charge point infrastructure installation and EV sourcing and financing, the company also supports ongoing EV fleet operations.

Effective EV fleet management is as much about energy management and charge scheduling as managing vehicles, journeys and drivers. Mike Nakrani, CEO of Vev, explained: “Webfleet is a critical component of the electrification journey, from initial planning to in-service operational optimisation.

“The data is vital for Vev to optimise the design of the EV transition to avoid costly over-specification of vehicles, chargers and depot energy infrastructure.

“When used in-service, telematics helps fleet managers understand vehicle, driver and energy patterns to bring data-driven intelligence and ensure the most cost-effective use of energy back at the depot.”

Taco van der Leij, vice president of Webfleet Europe at Bridgestone Mobility Solutions, added: “Webfleet is helping businesses worldwide to achieve their sustainability ambitions, but we recognise that the solutions needed by fleets to successfully transition to zero emission vehicles come from collaboration.

“This partnership demonstrates how much the role of the fleet manager is changing. In addition to managing vehicle operations, EV fleet managers must be able to optimise energy consumption to minimise downtime, cut charge times and optimise battery health as a critical asset.”

Webfleet telematics data will help shape initial EV strategy by confirming vehicle journey times, duration, frequency and ‘return to depot’ behaviour. It will then enable fleet managers to track range, energy consumption and mechanical status in real time.

“Fleet electrification becomes exponentially more complex, so an integrator partnership is essential to cover all aspects and ensure cost-effective operations across mission-critical fleets,” continued Nakrani. “We regularly see clients that have been upsold charge points and energy supply which they don’t need.

“Charge efficiency is not necessarily about the biggest battery; it’s about finding the best operational options for a particular fleet’s routes.

"Accurate telematics data and holistic decision-making across vehicles, charging and energy are the critical success factors.”