Electricity advances in company fleets

While the demand for electric cars remains weak for the market as a whole, in the fleet sector the discourse changes. In 2025, the focus of Italian companies on alternative fuels remains strong: as a matter of reducing fuel costs, but mainly to meet their own sustainability targets. In the next three years, four out of five Italian company fleets will have at least one low-emission car in their fleet.

The transition to the new motorisations will mainly concern cars, while for light commercial vehicle fleets it is expected to be slower, also due to the limits linked to access to public recharging points. The latest Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer keeps track of the changes in the motorisation of Italian fleets, but not only, and identifies the ESG issues and uncertainties linked to the energy transition as the main challenges to be faced. On the part of companies there is awareness of the importance of adopting low environmental impact solutions, but at the same time the estimated costs of implementing alternative fuels, combined with an evolving regulatory environment, are slowing their full adoption. The picture that emerges, as is easy to assume, is jagged.

According to the study, 79% of Italian companies will have at least one electric or hybrid car in their fleet over the next three years. There is a waning preference for hybrids, while favour is growing for plug-ins, considered an increasingly attractive solution for the transition. But pure electrics will also play their part: according to Arval Observatory estimates, within three years one in four cars in Italian fleets will be 100% electric. This is the expected trend for passenger cars, while for light commercial vehicles the numbers are different. In this case, the market has yet to take off and within three years forecasts speak of one in every five full electric LCVs in the fleet.

Csr and Esg issues are the main reasons for the adoption of alternative energy technologies: 34% of Italian companies state that the need to comply with their CSR policy is the main motivation for the energy transition of their fleet vehicles, environmental impact comes second (29%), followed by the possibility of driving in a low-emission area (26%) and the reduction of fuel expenses (26%).

Over the past four years, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of company vehicles has risen by 28 per cent at European level, putting companies in great difficulty. The cost of energy, which was falling in 2024, has also risen again in the first months of this year. Awareness of residual values therefore becomes even more important, especially when it comes to an electric vehicle. According to an Arval analysis conducted on a European sample of more than 8,000 vehicles, today the battery's operational status is, compared to when it left the factory, on average 93% after 70,000 kilometres, 90% after 200,000 and about 85% after seven years. Data that can be considered reassuring and that wink at the extension of the duration of long-term contracts, even up to five or six years, making it possible to reduce TCO without fearing side effects on vehicle performance.