Electric vehicle fleet management: assign, charge and monitor every vehicle

Managing a fleet of electric vehicles means assigning each vehicle according to its actual mileage, planning on-site charging and checking the state of charge before departure. Enedis (the French electricity distribution network operator) found that on-site charging is sufficient in 95% of cases (July 2024 survey).

The survey covers 301 French companies that had started electrifying their light vehicle fleet by December 2023. The 95% figure applies to those with a car park and at least one charging point. Among these, only 21% manage their charging, and more than a third do not know the power rating of their charging points. On the public network side, Avere-France counted 200,926 publicly accessible charging points at the end of August 2026, 13% more than a year earlier. This article covers day-to-day operations. The quotas set by France’s Mobility Orientation Law (LOM) and taxation are covered on other pages, including the one on fleet electrification and transition tracking.

How does managing an electric vehicle fleet differ from managing a combustion engine fleet?

Managing an electric fleet adds four variables that combustion engine fleets do not have: the state of charge at departure, the availability of a charging point on return, the downtime during charging and the power available on site. Mileage is still useful data, but it is no longer enough to plan a working day.

In the Enedis survey, fully electric vehicles cover an average of 69 km per day, compared with 94 km for combustion engine and hybrid vehicles. The 25 km gap shows that electric vehicle journeys remain shorter in this sample.

Charging replaces refuelling and is planned in advance

A combustion engine vehicle refuels in a few minutes at any filling station. An electric vehicle charges while it is not being driven, and this downtime must be built into the schedule. Enedis observes that the surveyed companies’ vehicles are driven during the day and return to the site at night, which makes slow overnight charging possible.

State of charge becomes operational data

The state of charge at departure determines the mission as much as the fuel left in a tank. The fleet manager checks it before each round. Telematics reports it for every connected vehicle. With Fleeti, you monitor the state of charge of each electric vehicle from the platform. A vehicle that leaves with insufficient charge leads to a shortened mission or an unplanned public charge.

How do you assign each electric vehicle according to actual use?

You assign an electric vehicle when its maximum daily mileage over the last twelve months stays below its measured range minus a safety margin, and when the vehicle stays parked long enough to charge. A vehicle-by-vehicle audit applies these two tests to each assignment. In Fleeti, the eligibility audit automatically cross-references each vehicle’s actual mileage, journey profile and idle time with the range of equivalent electric models.

According to ADEME (the French Agency for Ecological Transition, October 2026), an electric car consumes between 12 and 24 kWh per 100 km depending on the model. With a 50 kWh battery, the theoretical range therefore varies from 208 km to 417 km.

Maximum daily mileage and measured range

The test focuses on the busiest days of the year, because an average of 69 km per day hides days of 150 km and winter consumption. Take a vehicle whose peak over the last twelve months reaches 160 km and whose measured range on its actual journeys is 220 km. With a 30% safety margin (an assumption for this example), the usable range drops to 154 km. The vehicle is not suited to this assignment, but suits a role whose peak stays below this threshold.

Downtime and access to a charging point

The second test compares the available idle time with the charging time required. A vehicle that returns at 6 pm and leaves at 7 am has 13 hours. If it consumes 20 kWh per 100 km and drives 70 km, it needs 14 kWh, or about 2 hours on a standard on-site charging point. For a vehicle shared between several teams, the calculation is based on the idle slots during the day.

Special cases: loaded vans and plug-in hybrids

A loaded van consumes more than an empty one, and its range is measured with the usual load for the mission. A plug-in hybrid that is never plugged in burns fuel on every journey. Monitoring how these vehicles are charged reveals those that are driven like combustion engine vehicles.

Real-world range and battery ageing: the data to measure

The certified range is a reference point when buying. To assign a vehicle, you measure its consumption in kWh per 100 km on its actual journeys and track its battery capacity over time. ADEME uses a capacity loss of 1.7 to 2.3% per year, based on large fleets.

Consumption per vehicle: kWh per 100 km

Consumption can double from one model to another, so it is recorded vehicle by vehicle. For the same vehicle, it also varies with temperature and the load carried. Compare each vehicle with the average for its category over the same month: a lasting gap calls for a check on driving style or tyre pressure.

Battery capacity: tracking over time

A loss of 1.7 to 2.3% per year represents around 7 to 9% of capacity after four years, if it remains steady. ADEME states that up to 89% of the original capacity can remain at 200,000 km. Review the usable range for assignment every year: a vehicle that suited a 154 km peak in year 1 may fall outside the threshold in year 4.

What charging infrastructure should you install for a site with 30 vehicles?

First calculate the energy to be recharged each night, then the power available on site. For 30 vehicles driving 70 km a day at 20 kWh per 100 km (assumptions for this example), the overnight energy requirement reaches 420 kWh. A medium-power charging point recharges a vehicle in about two hours, provided the power drawn simultaneously is limited.

Charging point power and charging time

Charging time is energy divided by power. Enedis reports that the power ratings installed at companies range from 2 kW (standard socket) to 22 kW (three-phase charging point). The table below applies this calculation to the 14 kWh in the example, excluding charging losses and subject to the limit of the vehicle’s on-board charger.

Number of charging points and subscribed power

One charging point per vehicle is the most common setup: 58% of companies with a car park have chosen it, according to Enedis. In the example, 30 charging points of 7.4 kW would draw 222 kW if all the vehicles were plugged in at the same time. The 420 kWh spread over ten hours at night only requires 42 kW on average. Smart charging therefore reduces the power to subscribe by a ratio of about 5 to 1.

Home charging and public charging

A company without an equipped car park charges in a private car park, on the street or at the employee’s home, which is what 25% of the companies concerned do, according to Enedis. When the vehicle is charged at the employee’s home, some of the surveyed companies cover the installation and electricity costs. The treatment of electricity paid for by the employer for a company car is detailed in the guide on benefit in kind for electric vehicles. The public network (200,926 points at the end of August 2026) serves as a back-up for long journeys.

Smart charging: smoothing the power drawn on site

Smart charging staggers charging sessions to stay below the subscribed power and finish each vehicle before its departure time. According to Enedis, 21% of companies with at least one charging point have a smart charging system, most often charging point scheduling set up by the company itself.

Scheduling charging according to departure time

The simplest priority rule ranks vehicles by departure time and by missing energy. The vehicle that leaves earliest with the greatest need charges first. Set the end of charging one hour before departure to keep a margin in case of interruption.

Operational alerts: vehicle not plugged in, insufficient charge

Four alerts cover most charging incidents: vehicle returned without being plugged in, state of charge below the threshold at the planned departure time, interrupted charging and undeclared off-site charging. Each alert goes to the fleet manager or branch manager before the driver sets off.