For years, the slow uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in Australian fleets has been blamed on two key issues: the lack of suitable EV models and inadequate charging infrastructure. While these are undoubtedly challenges, they are not the primary roadblocks. The real reason EV transition is stalling in Australian fleets lies elsewhere—at the executive level, specifically with the Fleet Manager’s boss.
The Fleet Manager, despite being the person responsible for vehicle procurement, maintenance, and day-to-day operations, often lacks the authority to drive strategic change. That responsibility falls to their boss—whether that’s a CFO, Procurement Manager, Operations Director, or even the CEO. The failure to transition fleets to EVs is largely due to a lack of leadership, prioritisation, and organisational commitment at this level.
By examining the five common elements of an EV fleet transition plan, it becomes clear how the Fleet Manager’s boss is the missing link in making real progress.
- Policy and Planning – A Leadership Responsibility
The foundation of any successful EV transition is a clear and structured policy. Yet, fleet managers rarely have the authority to develop such policies on their own. Their role in most organisations is operational rather than strategic, meaning they lack the influence to initiate or lead the transition.
In many cases, fleet managers are not even referred to as Fleet Managers but as Fleet Coordinators, reflecting their limited decision-making power. Without executive leadership driving the policy, there is no strategic direction for electrification. A robust EV policy must be endorsed by senior management, outlining the organisation’s commitment to reducing fleet emissions, identifying usage needs, and establishing guidelines for procurement, charging, and reporting. Without this, the fleet operates under outdated policies that do not account for the transition to EVs.
The lack of organisational prioritisation means fleet managers are left without the mandate to explore EV options seriously. No policy, no direction—no transition.
- Fleet Assessment – No Demand for Data from Above
A critical step in EV transition is understanding the current fleet—its utilisation, fuel consumption, emissions, and potential for electrification. Any competent fleet manager should have access to this data and be using it to assess transition opportunities. The problem? The Fleet Manager’s boss never asks for it.
Without executive demand for fleet reports, many organisations lack a structured approach to analysing their fleet’s potential for EV adoption. Senior leaders don’t request monthly or quarterly reviews of fleet utilisation, CO2 output, or vehicle replacement strategies. As a result, fleet managers are not pushed to develop data-driven business cases for EV adoption.
There should not be a single 10-year fleet replacement plan in Australia today that doesn’t include EVs. Yet, because executives fail to ask the right questions, fleet managers are left operating in a vacuum, following legacy approaches instead of proactive EV planning.
- Change Management – Fleet Managers are Not Project Managers
One of the most overlooked aspects of EV transition is change management. Introducing EVs into a fleet requires significant behavioural and operational shifts, from educating drivers to modifying procurement and maintenance strategies. This is a massive change project that most fleet managers are not trained to handle.
The expectation that a fleet manager can manage an EV transition alone is unrealistic. Change management is a specialist skill—one that should be supported by executives. Organisations with strong leadership should provide fleet managers with additional resources, such as learning and development teams, project managers, or external consultants, to assist in transition planning.
Instead, fleet managers are often left without guidance or support, expected to drive adoption in an organisation that has provided no roadmap for success. The result? EV transition stalls.
- Charging Infrastructure – A Strategic Decision, Not an Operational One
Executives often assume that setting up EV charging is as simple as distributing fuel cards. This misconception is a key reason why fleets struggle with infrastructure planning.
The reality is that charging infrastructure decisions—whether for home charging, depot charging, or reliance on public networks—must be made at the senior leadership level. These decisions require budgeting, cross-departmental collaboration, and long-term planning.
A fleet manager cannot independently decide to install chargers at every depot. That requires buy-in from property teams, financial approval, and integration with broader organisational strategies. If leadership fails to provide clarity on how vehicles will be charged, fleet managers are left without direction, and transition efforts stall.
- Asset Procurement – The One Thing Fleet Managers Do Well (But It’s Not Enough)
If there is one part of the transition plan that fleet managers excel at, it is vehicle procurement. They know the market. They understand the total cost of ownership. They can compare EVs to ICE vehicles and identify cost-effective solutions.
But procurement alone cannot drive transition. If an organisation has not completed steps one through four—policy, assessment, change management, and charging infrastructure—then the knowledge a fleet manager has about EV models is useless. The business will continue to default to buying diesel and petrol vehicles simply because there is no directive to do otherwise.
Additionally, senior leadership must understand whole-of-life costing. Many executives still compare EVs to ICE vehicles based on upfront purchase price alone, failing to account for lower maintenance and fuel costs. Without executive knowledge in this area, fleet managers struggle to get EV procurement approved, even when financially viable.
Breaking the Stalemate – The Role of the Fleet Manager’s Boss
For EV transition to succeed, fleet managers need a directive from above. Their bosses must:
- Establish clear policies that define how and when EVs will be adopted. Request and review fleet data to understand emissions, utilisation, and opportunities for transition.
- Provide change management support by leveraging internal resources or external expertise.
- Make strategic decisions about charging infrastructure instead of leaving it to fleet managers to figure out.
- Educate themselves on whole-of-life costing to make informed procurement decisions.
Until executive leadership takes ownership of these responsibilities, Australia’s fleet EV transition will continue to stall. It is not a matter of waiting for the ‘right’ vehicles or ‘better’ charging networks—it is a matter of organisations stepping up, setting a plan, and committing to change. The fleet managers are ready but their bosses are not.
