Fleets running electric vans are now using them over longer daily routes, official new research shows.

The 2025 Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer surveyed respondents who already have electric vans, or were planning to use them, and asked them whether they would cover distances of more or less than 100 miles.

The results showed a definite bias towards more extensive use. For small vans, the findings are 32% longer routes, 18% shorter; for medium vans, 30% longer, 17% shorter; and for large vans, 29% longer, 27% shorter.

John Peters, head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said the results contradict the more pessimistic commentary that has emerged in the last couple of years around electric van adoption.

“They indicate that operators are not limiting their electric van ambitions to local routes. In fact, a basic calculation suggests the majority of these vehicles are covering 25,000 or more miles a year.

“Clearly, these fleets are successfully overcoming the kind of range and payload objections that we hear about electric vans, and are using them in a similar, intensive manner as they would diesel panel vans.”

When compared to 2024’s Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer, the new findings also showed some reductions in the percentage of fleets operating electric vans over sub-100-mile distances daily – down from 25% to 18% among small vans and 24% to 17% among medium sized vehicles.

“To an extent, these trends suggest the real-world experience of fleets over time is that electric van operation is less compromised than the general narrative suggests,” he pointed out.

Which vans and daily mileage profiles have you or are you considering in the transition from diesel to battery electric?