The landscape of fleet management is undergoing a transformative shift. For fleet managers, staying abreast of these changes is not just beneficial—it’s imperative. This article is intended to serve as a guiding light to some the key signals poised to redefine fleet- and mobility management trends in 2024 – and beyond.

Radicalized decarbonization

COP28 left us with the continued insight that decarbonization is a must – and it needs to be radical.  Statistics tells that between 1/4 and 1/3 of all GHG emissions in Europe stems from ground transportation – hence the importance to decarbonize commercial fleets.

As part of the global push towards decarbonization, policies and regulations are increasingly shaping fleet management strategies. In Europe, the European Union’s Green Deal, CSRD, the EU Green Taxonomy and similar initiatives worldwide are setting ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. In 2024, these policy directives are guiding fleet managers towards more sustainable practices, emphasizing sustainability as a core aspect of mobility management, instead of looking at mobility as just a practice of operational efficiency.

Increased commercial EV adoption

Given the demands on sustainable practices more and more businesses and public organizations will turn to electrification of their fleets – regardless of the development among private vehicle buyers.

Fact is, it has never been easier to decarbonize a fleet and it has never been easier to run an electric one. With recent major advancements in infrastructure in general, like development of public charging networks and lowered costs of installing own chargers to get, many companies are integrating electric and hybrid vehicles into their operations.

Conversation shift: HOW rather than the WHAT or the WHY

Yet, there is still more to do in order to help companies and organizations with the practical aspects of decarbonizing their fleets, but in 2024 we’ll see a major shift in the conversation switching from the WHAT and the WHY, rather diving in to details on the HOW. At this point, the very few fleet owners still reluctant to electrification will find themselves forgotten as the rest of the industry leaves them behind in order to change the dialogue to become slightly more action oriented.

Fleet operators want to know HOW to get going with their electrification journeys and they are tired of generic messaging about that ‘it is time to decarbonize’. Their main concern is how to make electrification a business case and they need help with the actual data and the calculations – the fact based estimates on how to approach their electrification journeys, at what pace and to what cost – without compromizing their businesses or exceeding their budgets.

V2G/V2X Technology

V2G/V2X will be a game-changer for mobility management and fleet managers – even though we’re not quite there yet. This technology enables seamless interaction between electric vehicles (EVs), the power grid, and their environment, offering unparalleled operational efficiency – and possibly also the possibility to capitalize on commercial fleets as batteries and energy storage. There is still a long way to go, especially within policy making, for V2X and V2G to be available at scale – but the efforts to explore the field will continue in 2024.

More reading: In 2023 Vialumina, Mer and Elis shipped a pilot to explore technology for V2G development.

The future of fossil fuel

While we’re still supporting electrification and decarbonization of commercial fleets, it is not unthinkable that there will be shift in the dialogue about the actual use of fossil fuel too. Gasp! What did we write? Well, let us explain.

Geopolitical matters and perspectives shared from an increasingly instabile world will call for sane, action oriented discussions on the actual use of fossil fuels from the perspective of when the excuse of use exceed the damage done from emissions. Read: There will be situations where it will be completely fine and even encouraged to run vehicles on fossil fuels e.g. in crisis situations – but these parameters needs to be defined further.

Conclusion:

As we navigate the complex terrain of modern fleet and mobility management, these signals stand out as beacons illuminating the path forward and shaping the trends of tomorrow.

Fleet- and mobility managers who embrace these signals early on will be able to position themselves to not only overcome current challenges but also to excel in a future where adaptability and technological integration are keys to success.