EV van fleet chief highlights main problems

Tristan Thomas, Packfleet chief executive and co-founder, told industry magazine Fleet News that the last mile delivery specialist was facing challenges on multiple fronts, including charging, servicing, residual values (RVs) and procurement. The business has plans to expand its concept outside of London to other cities in the UK later this year.

Thomas said:

Anyone who spends time in the logistics industry can see that things are not set up in the UK for businesses to switch to a 100% electric fleet. Sourcing vehicles is a key risk for the future. In order to grow, we are going to have to guarantee the supply of more vehicles. We can’t just fall back on adding a diesel van to fill the gap. Our fleet team is constantly thinking about how we’re able to scale up and expand with other manufacturers.

One of the biggest challenges facing Packfleet’s further expansion is public charging infrastructure. While Thomas acknowledges that public charging within the M25 has improved since 2021, he still describes it as poor. Packfleet has around 30 fast and rapid chargers at its main warehouse, but the majority of charging is done on the public network.

Charging sessions are closely incorporated into Packfleet’s Pathfinder route scheduling technology, with telematics data feeding back the most efficient route depending on traffic, time of day, weather, as well as battery and range information on each vehicle.

The goal is to minimise vehicle downtime as much as possible, with no unscheduled charge stops. Charging sessions are planned so they happen before or after a route. If a charge is needed, Pathfinder will automatically guide drivers to their best charging solution.

Thomas said:

If you don’t do that, you end up with a cascading series of failures with drivers. They run out of charge or get low, or don’t have the experience to know how to solve it.

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