Electric vs. gas: Which is best for your fleet?

When people think of electric vehicles, smaller passenger cars often come to mind first. But the commercial EV landscape has changed dramatically. Electric pickups, delivery vans, and work trucks are no longer concepts waiting to happen. They're on the road right now, and fleet managers would be wise to pay attention.

The real-world proof is already accumulating. Amazon grew its Rivian electric delivery van fleet by more than 50% in 2025, and now operates over 30,000 custom-built electric vans delivering packages across thousands of U.S. cities. This is part of its commitment to deploy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2030. To keep that fleet running, Amazon has installed over 50,000 chargers at more than 250 delivery stations across the U.S., making it one of the largest private charging operators in the world.

On the truck side, six electric pickup trucks are now on the market in the U.S., including the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T, GMC Hummer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and Tesla Cybertruck, a lineup that would have seemed ambitious just a few years ago. That said, the electric truck market is still finding its footing. Several leading models have faced slowing sales heading into 2026, with manufacturers recalibrating their strategies following the expiration of federal EV tax credits.

For fleet managers, the honest takeaway is this: electric trucks are no longer a distant proposition, but they aren't yet a plug-and-play replacement for conventional workhorses either. Range, payload, charging infrastructure, and total cost of ownership still require careful evaluation for heavy-duty applications. The question for forward-thinking fleet operators isn't whether electric trucks will become a significant part of the commercial landscape; it's how quickly that transition will make sense for their specific routes, duty cycles, and budgets.

The allure of going electric: Reduced fuel and maintenance costs

The efficiency advantage of electric motors over internal combustion engines is substantial. EVs convert over 60% of electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels, while conventional ICE vehicles operate at an efficiency rate of only about 20–30%, meaning a significant portion of every dollar spent on gas is lost as heat rather than used to move the vehicle. For fleet operators running high-mileage vehicles, that gap translates directly to the bottom line.

The maintenance savings are equally compelling. A traditional internal combustion engine relies on thousands of moving parts: spark plugs, a multi-speed transmission, a complex fuel system, and a full exhaust system with catalytic converters and mufflers, each requiring regular inspection, fluid changes, and eventual replacement. Battery electric vehicles, by contrast, use a single electric motor with far fewer moving parts. There's no fuel system to service, no spark plugs to replace, no exhaust system to inspect, and no transmission fluid to change. According to Consumer Reports, estimated lifetime maintenance and repair costs for a battery electric vehicle average $4,600, compared to $9,200 for a conventional vehicle, roughly half the cost. And thanks to regenerative braking, brake components in EVs typically last two to three times longer than in ICE vehicles, adding yet another line item to the savings column.

Fuel for thought: Cons to electrifying

Higher up-front cost

Electric trucks remain a significant investment — and the market itself is still sorting out what's viable. Ford ended production of the all-electric F-150 Lightning in December 2025, citing market realities and the fact that the company was never able to sell the truck profitably. Ford plans to replace it with an extended-range electric vehicle version of the F-150 that pairs electric motors with a gasoline generator, a telling sign of where the industry believes the near-term sweet spot lies. The Rivian R1T remains on the market, starting at around $71,700 for the base configuration and climbing past $100,000 for top-spec models.

The incentive picture has also changed significantly. Federal EV tax credits, which had offered up to $7,500 on eligible new electric vehicles, expired at the end of September 2025. InsideEVs Some state-level incentives remain in certain markets, but fleet managers should now run their cost-benefit analysis without assuming any federal purchase offset.

Taken together, the high upfront cost, the loss of federal incentives, and the retreat of some manufacturers from full battery electric vehicle (BEV) trucks paint a nuanced picture — one that reinforces why many fleet operators are treating this as a "when, not if" transition that still requires patience and careful timing.

Adoption is still a work in progress

The resistance to electric trucks among fleet operators isn't really about stereotypes anymore; it's about practical, operational realities. A FleetOwner survey found that among fleet operators who don't own EVs, 43% say they never want one, while another 35% are interested but cite application-specific barriers like range, cost, and weight restrictions. Those aren't perception problems; they're legitimate engineering and infrastructure constraints that the industry is still working through.

That said, nearly 75% of all trucks in the U.S. travel fewer than 100 miles per round trip, a usage profile that is well within the range of current battery-electric options. For fleet managers willing to match the right vehicle to the right route, the operational case for electric trucks is stronger than the headline skepticism suggests. The gap between interest and action is closing — just more slowly than EV advocates once hoped.

Range anxiety is real, but improving

Most combustion-powered vehicles offer fuel ranges of 300–450 miles per tank. On that front, EVs are closing the gap: the median EPA-rated range for model year 2024 EVs reached a record high of 283 miles per charge, which is up from 234 miles just a few years ago, and more than four times the median range of early EVs from 2011. Several mainstream models now exceed 300 miles, and top-spec options push well past 400.

That said, real-world range is always lower than the EPA estimate, and two variables hit fleet operators particularly hard. First, speed: EVs use significantly more energy at highway speeds, and Consumer Reports testing found that cold weather at around 16°F depletes roughly 25% of range when cruising at 70 mph compared to mild-weather driving. Second, temperature: real-world testing shows EVs typically lose 20 to 40% of their range in cold weather, with the exact amount depending on how cold it gets and how the vehicle is used. At 32°F, EVs retain an average of 78% of their maximum range. And at 20°F, that drops to around 70%.

For fleet operators running long-haul or variable routes in colder climates, these are genuine operational considerations, not just marketing caveats. The good news is that heat pump technology — now standard on many newer models — can extend cold-weather range by roughly 10% compared to conventional resistance heaters, and battery preconditioning features can further soften the impact. But for heavily loaded commercial trucks covering significant highway miles in cold regions, combustion or hybrid powertrains still offer more predictable range performance for now.

What the future has in store

A great entry point

The original concern about EV charging infrastructure has improved considerably. As of February 2026, there are over 326,000 publicly accessible Level 2 and DC fast charging ports in the U.S. And the country added more than 18,000 new DC fast-charging ports in 2025 alone, a 30% year-over-year increase and the largest single-year expansion in U.S. history. That said, coverage remains uneven, and rural and long-haul routes still face real infrastructure gaps.

Which is exactly why starting with local and last-mile routes remains one of the smartest entry points for fleet electrification. For these applications, the fit is near-perfect: EVs are built for city driving, with compact size, quiet operation, and stop-and-go efficiency that makes them well-suited to tight urban routes, and their lower operating costs reduce the total cost of delivery over time. Major logistics operators have already demonstrated this at scale.

For fleet managers not yet ready to commit fully, local-route electrification is the ideal proving ground with lower risk, faster ROI, and a tangible way to start building the operational experience that will matter as EV capabilities continue to expand.

Heavy-duty, efficient models

Many electric trucks are built with the modern façade of an electric car, but the fortitude of a hefty combustion pickup. Tesla’s Cybertruck, for instance, is built with ultra-hard stainless steel — allegedly bulletproof. Meanwhile, Chevrolet made the first ever electric Silverado that can carry up to 10,000 lbs. of max towing and an estimated range of 400 miles, which is appealing for many truck owners. Along with towing capacity, horsepower is a top priority for those who use trucks; the GMC Hummer EV Pick-up truck boasts up to 1,000 horsepower and up to 380 miles of range.

Charging options

A common pain point for EV drivers is range anxiety, or the fear that a vehicle won’t make it to its destination before getting to a charging station. With a need for more charging stations on the road, the focus of EV charging will most likely be “return-to-base” charging, where fleet vehicles will only route locally and then power up on the fleet site. Other charging options have become available; Rivian, for instance, has announced bidirectional charging capabilities that will allow its vehicles to charge other EVs or even a home if the power goes out. Even more advanced charging technologies are also on the horizon—like electrified roads, which will soon be underway in Sweden.

Ideal for fleets

Electric truck fleet usage may be ideal for delivery services. Places like California that have high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes), which EVs often qualify for, can meet criteria to help them deliver packages more quickly. They’re economical, can be used for routes specifically catered to a model’s operating range, and charging can happen at the fleet site overnight.

There are pros and cons to early adoption of electric trucks—but considering the amount of change that has happened in the last decade, we can expect EV technology to only improve in the coming years. That’ll put fleet managers in the best position to add electric pickup trucks to their fleet. Not only does the future of electric trucks speak to a more eco-friendly future, but it also promises stronger, faster, and tougher vehicles.