The three finalists in the 2026 Fleet News Group Fleet of the Year Award are taking very different approaches to reducing fleet emissions, but all three are using electrification as part of a broader fleet management strategy.
Blacktown City Council, Ausgrid and Parkes Shire Council operate fleets with very different duty cycles, geographic challenges and service requirements. Their progress shows why there is no single formula for fleet electrification.
For some organisations, the opportunity is to electrify quickly across a large proportion of the fleet. For others, the priority is understanding which applications are suitable, building the charging network around operations, or reducing fuel use from the vehicles that will remain in service for years to come.
Industry voting is now open, giving fleet and automotive professionals the opportunity to decide which organisation should be recognised as Fleet of the Year.
Blacktown City Council: rapid change backed by driver engagement
Blacktown City Council has moved quickly.
Two years before its Fleet News Group Awards interview, the council estimated that around five per cent of its fleet was ready for electrification. At the time of the interview, 43 per cent of the fleet was hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fully electric.
That transition is significant for an organisation managing approximately 2,000 road-registered assets, including around 600 heavy vehicles.
Importantly, Blacktown has not treated electrification as a simple vehicle replacement program.
The fleet team has involved drivers and operational teams in vehicle trials, testing, delivery and handover, helping users understand how new technologies fit into their daily work.
Telematics, utilisation and duty-cycle data are also being used to determine whether a replacement vehicle should be electric, hybrid or remain diesel.
Blacktown reported early savings in parts of its light-vehicle fleet. In one example discussed during the interview, a diesel vehicle may have consumed around $20,000 in fuel over a comparable operating period, while an electric alternative used approximately $4,000 to $5,000 worth of electricity.
The council also reported lower routine maintenance requirements for some electric vehicles.
Blacktown’s longer-term objective is zero tailpipe emissions by 2038.
Ausgrid: taking electrification into operational vehicles
Ausgrid is pursuing electrification at scale across a fleet that supports electricity distribution to more than four million customers.
At the time of the interview, approximately 11 per cent of the fleet had been electrified, with a target of 24 per cent by the end of FY2027 and close to 80 per cent by the end of FY2029.
Most of the passenger fleet had already been electrified, but the more important next step is moving EVs into harder operational applications.
Ausgrid had introduced close to 30 electric vans and five electric trucks in the 4.5-tonne class, while also testing heavier electric vehicles.
The organisation is also treating charging as a fleet-management issue rather than simply an infrastructure project.
Its charging strategy is built around a hierarchy of depot charging, substation charging, home charging and public charging.
Ausgrid has been testing 40kW DC charging at substations and investigating vehicle-to-vehicle charging as an operational backup.
The fleet team is also exploring whether home-charging reimbursement for take-home vehicles can be automated using information from in-vehicle monitoring systems and payroll.
This broader approach recognises that an electric vehicle only works for a fleet if the charging system around it supports the duty cycle.
Parkes Shire Council: reducing emissions before replacing the fleet
Parkes Shire Council is taking a more gradual approach to electrification, which reflects the realities of managing a regional fleet across approximately 5,000 square kilometres.
The council has introduced its first electric passenger vehicle, a Kia EV5, as a pool car so a broader group of employees can gain experience with the technology.
Telematics data is also being used to assess where electric, hybrid or conventional vehicles may be appropriate in future replacement cycles.
But Parkes is also demonstrating that reducing fleet emissions does not start and finish with buying EVs.
The council identified approximately 750 hours of idling per week across around 150 monitored assets.
Through reporting and operational discussions, that figure was reduced to about 500 hours.
Using the council’s estimate of four litres of fuel consumed per idle hour, the reduction equates to approximately 1,000 litres of fuel avoided each week.
At an assumed fuel price of $2.20 per litre, that represents around $2,200 in weekly fuel savings.
Parkes is also increasingly purchasing plant with automatic engine-stop functions to reduce unnecessary engine hours when equipment is stationary.
For a regional fleet with graders, trucks, plant and specialist equipment, this type of operational improvement can deliver immediate emissions reductions while the market for electric alternatives continues to develop.
Three different approaches, one common goal
The three finalists demonstrate why fleet decarbonisation needs to be based on operating requirements rather than a single technology target.
Blacktown City Council is moving quickly across a large urban fleet while focusing heavily on driver engagement and operational suitability.
Ausgrid is pushing electrification beyond passenger vehicles into vans, trucks and operational applications while developing the charging infrastructure required to support them.
Parkes Shire Council is combining early EV adoption with practical fuel-reduction measures across the fleet it already operates.
Each approach reflects a different fleet profile and a different stage of the transition.
The common thread is that electrification is being treated as part of fleet management rather than as a stand-alone sustainability project.
Have your say
Blacktown City Council, Ausgrid and Parkes Shire Council are finalists in the Fleet of the Year category in the 2026 Fleet News Group Awards.
Now it is up to the industry to decide which organisation is doing the best job of combining fleet management excellence with safer, more efficient and lower-emission operations.
Vote for the organisation you think deserves to be named Fleet of the Year.
The winners will be announced in Sydney on 14 October 2026. Fleet and automotive industry professionals can also register their interest to attend the Fleet News Group Awards Night.
