What Singapore logistics operators often overlook when electrifying fleets

Fleet electrification is not just a procurement or sustainability decision. It needs coordination across the business. 

Singapore's push toward commercial vehicle electrification is gaining traction. That shift is visible not only in today’s sharper fuel cost pressures, but also in the way the wider electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem is steadily maturing.

In the first two months of 2026 alone, 119 electric heavy vehicles were registered under the Heavy Vehicle Zero Emissions Scheme. New charger grants and the elevation of the national EV charging standard to SS 722 are adding to a more supportive environment for commercial adoption.

For logistics operators, that is an encouraging shift. But policy support and operational readiness are not the same thing. In logistics, electrification is not simply about replacing one vehicle with another. It depends on whether routes, charging patterns, facilities, scheduling and teams are set up to make those vehicles work in daily operations.

The gap between interest and readiness is visible elsewhere, too. In a McKinsey survey of more than 200 trucking fleets, more than half were piloting zero-emission vehicles, yet fewer than 10% believed there was a viable path to scaling them significantly. That gap suggests the main constraint is no longer interest, but execution.

Currently, the conversation around fleet electrification still tends to focus on the parts that are easiest to see, whether there are new vehicle purchases or public sustainability targets. What gets less attention is whether day-to-day operations can actually support the shift. In logistics, that is ultimately where the swap to electric vehicles succeeds or fails.

The first step is understanding which parts of the fleet are suited to electrification today.

Some vehicles run predictable urban routes and return to base on a regular schedule. Others operate under tighter turnaround times, less predictable delivery schedules, or larger delivery loads. These are not small differences. They shape whether an electric vehicle can perform reliably in the field and whether charging can be integrated without disrupting deliveries. Treating electrification as a single fleet-wide decision rather than a route-by-route one is one of the earliest mistakes operators can make.

Route length, vehicle loads, delivery density, and customer service expectations all affect whether a vehicle will work as expected once it is deployed. When those variables are not assessed properly upfront, the risk does not go away. It just means they show up later, when they are harder and more expensive to fix.

The second consideration is charging readiness. National charging infrastructure is improving, which is a positive step. But for operators, the more immediate question is simpler: Can charging fit into daily operations without disrupting the fleet?

An EV charger somewhere in Singapore is not the same as a charging setup that works for the vehicles, routes, and turnaround times an operator is managing every day. If charging windows do not align with operating patterns, the impact goes beyond inconvenience.

It can lead to lower vehicle utilisation and more complicated deployment planning, and greater pressure on time-sensitive operations. A 2025 survey by VISASQ/Coleman found that only about 30% of fleet operators recovered from a charger failure in under four hours, whilst nearly half faced outages lasting between four and 24 hours. In a tightly scheduled logistics environment, even short interruptions can create knock-on effects across scheduling, service reliability, and customer experience.

Another point that is often underestimated is how many parts of the business need to be involved. Procurement may lead the vehicle purchase, but operations have to run those vehicles day to day. Facilities teams need to look at site readiness and charging installation, scheduling teams may need to adjust deployment plans, and finance may need to take a longer view on costs. If those conversations only happen after the vehicles arrive, the transition becomes harder than it needs to be.

This is why fleet electrification is not just a procurement or sustainability decision. It needs coordination across the business from the start.

Some operators are already taking a more phased and practical approach, and Singapore’s broader EV transition shows why that is necessary. EV adoption has accelerated as infrastructure and policy support have matured, with electric cars accounting for around 18% of new car registrations in 2023, about one-third in 2024, and 45% in 2025.

Commercial fleets are also beginning to shift, but the transition is still taking shape. In 2024, only 0.9% of newly registered heavy goods vehicles, excluding buses, were electric. Yet in the first two months of 2026, 119 electric heavy vehicles were registered under the Heavy Vehicle Zero Emissions Scheme, suggesting that momentum is starting to build.

In Singapore, electric vehicles currently make up around 6% of our local fleet, and across our transfer centre parks here and in the region, we have also introduced electric forklifts to reduce emissions from warehouse and park operations..

Singapore’s enabling environment is improving, and that creates real opportunity. But the businesses that will make fleet electrification work will be the ones doing the harder operational work early: Assessing route suitability, aligning charging with actual fleet patterns, coordinating across functions, and expanding in phases that reflect how the network really runs.
 
Fleet electrification may start with the vehicle, but whether it works in practice is decided at the operational level.