• Why the cheapest charger can be the most expensive
  • drivEV, News, Thought Leadership

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News release

Many people assume charging an EV is straightforward: Find a charger. Plug in. Continue your journey.

In reality, fleet operators and drivers face a decision that is far more complicated.

Over the years, as we’ve worked with businesses across different industries and supported thousands of charging sessions, we’ve observed a common pattern: what appears to be a simple charging decision often involves balancing multiple competing priorities.

At drivEV, we call this the Charging Trilemma.

Every charging decision involves balancing three factors: time, cost and charging performance.

1. True Time: How long is this REALLY going to take?

Most people think about charging time.

Fleet operators think about total time.

That includes the time required to detour to a charging station, potential traffic congestion, waiting for an available charger, charging time itself, and the time needed to return to the intended route.

For commercial fleets, these minutes add up quickly.

A charger may promise faster charging speeds, but if it requires a 15-minute detour and a queue on arrival, the overall journey could end up taking longer than charging at a nearer location with lower rated power.

In fleet operations, productivity is measured in deliveries completed, jobs attended, or customers served. Every minute spent charging is a minute that a vehicle is not generating value.

The question is therefore no longer, “Which charger is fastest?”, but “Which charging option gets my vehicle back on the road fastest?”

2. True Cost: How much does this REALLY cost?

Charging tariffs tell only part of the story.

The real cost of charging can include parking fees, route deviations, toll charges, driver time, vehicle downtime and even missed opportunities.

A charger offering a lower tariff may appear attractive at first glance. However, if reaching that charger requires additional travel time or removes a vehicle from service for longer, the overall true cost may be significantly higher.

We’ve seen fleet operators basing charging decisions heavily on cents per kilowatt-hour, only to discover later that labour costs and lost productivity had a far greater impact on their total operating costs.

This isn’t unique to EVs. Fleet operators have always understood that the cheapest option on paper is not necessarily the most economical option in practice.

3. Charging Performance: Will my vehicle REALLY charge as expected?

This is often the least understood aspect of EV charging.

A charger rated at 120kW does not automatically mean a vehicle will charge at 120kW.

Actual charging performance depends on numerous factors, including battery state of charge, battery temperature, vehicle model, charger capabilities, site power availability and charging demand from other vehicles.

For example, a vehicle arriving with a nearly full battery may charge considerably slower than one arriving with a lower state of charge, even when connected to the same charger.

Similarly, multiple vehicles charging simultaneously may affect available charging power depending on site configuration.

The result is that two charging sessions at the same charger can produce very different outcomes.

Understanding these variables becomes increasingly important as fleets scale and charging operations become more complex.

The real challenge isn’t charging. It’s optimisation.

The EV industry often talks about charging as an infrastructure challenge: Install more chargers. Build more stations. Expand coverage.

While infrastructure is definitely important, the conversation is beginning to shift.

As fleets electrify, charging is becoming more of an optimisation challenge: which charging option delivers the best outcome based on real-world operational priorities at that time?

The good news is that charging decisions don’t need to rely on guesswork.

As charging networks become more connected and more data becomes available, fleet operators are gaining greater visibility into charger availability, charging performance, utilisation patterns and operating costs.

This is where we believe the next phase of fleet electrification will be won.

Not through bigger batteries or faster chargers alone, but through better decisions.

Because ultimately, successful fleet electrification isn’t just about keeping vehicles charged. It’s about keeping vehicles productive.

Back

Press Release

Many people assume charging an EV is straightforward: Find a charger. Plug in. Continue your journey.

In reality, fleet operators and drivers face a decision that is far more complicated.

Over the years, as we’ve worked with businesses across different industries and supported thousands of charging sessions, we’ve observed a common pattern: what appears to be a simple charging decision often involves balancing multiple competing priorities.

At drivEV, we call this the Charging Trilemma.

Every charging decision involves balancing three factors: time, cost and charging performance.

1. True Time: How long is this REALLY going to take?

Most people think about charging time.

Fleet operators think about total time.

That includes the time required to detour to a charging station, potential traffic congestion, waiting for an available charger, charging time itself, and the time needed to return to the intended route.

For commercial fleets, these minutes add up quickly.

A charger may promise faster charging speeds, but if it requires a 15-minute detour and a queue on arrival, the overall journey could end up taking longer than charging at a nearer location with lower rated power.

In fleet operations, productivity is measured in deliveries completed, jobs attended, or customers served. Every minute spent charging is a minute that a vehicle is not generating value.

The question is therefore no longer, “Which charger is fastest?”, but “Which charging option gets my vehicle back on the road fastest?”

2. True Cost: How much does this REALLY cost?

Charging tariffs tell only part of the story.

The real cost of charging can include parking fees, route deviations, toll charges, driver time, vehicle downtime and even missed opportunities.

A charger offering a lower tariff may appear attractive at first glance. However, if reaching that charger requires additional travel time or removes a vehicle from service for longer, the overall true cost may be significantly higher.

We’ve seen fleet operators basing charging decisions heavily on cents per kilowatt-hour, only to discover later that labour costs and lost productivity had a far greater impact on their total operating costs.

This isn’t unique to EVs. Fleet operators have always understood that the cheapest option on paper is not necessarily the most economical option in practice.

3. Charging Performance: Will my vehicle REALLY charge as expected?

This is often the least understood aspect of EV charging.

A charger rated at 120kW does not automatically mean a vehicle will charge at 120kW.

Actual charging performance depends on numerous factors, including battery state of charge, battery temperature, vehicle model, charger capabilities, site power availability and charging demand from other vehicles.

For example, a vehicle arriving with a nearly full battery may charge considerably slower than one arriving with a lower state of charge, even when connected to the same charger.

Similarly, multiple vehicles charging simultaneously may affect available charging power depending on site configuration.

The result is that two charging sessions at the same charger can produce very different outcomes.

Understanding these variables becomes increasingly important as fleets scale and charging operations become more complex.

The real challenge isn’t charging. It’s optimisation.

The EV industry often talks about charging as an infrastructure challenge: Install more chargers. Build more stations. Expand coverage.

While infrastructure is definitely important, the conversation is beginning to shift.

As fleets electrify, charging is becoming more of an optimisation challenge: which charging option delivers the best outcome based on real-world operational priorities at that time?

The good news is that charging decisions don’t need to rely on guesswork.

As charging networks become more connected and more data becomes available, fleet operators are gaining greater visibility into charger availability, charging performance, utilisation patterns and operating costs.

This is where we believe the next phase of fleet electrification will be won.

Not through bigger batteries or faster chargers alone, but through better decisions.

Because ultimately, successful fleet electrification isn’t just about keeping vehicles charged. It’s about keeping vehicles productive.