Marathon, not a Sprint: Strategic GTM Readiness for EV Trucking

The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is well underway, despite certain market setbacks, with an increasing - and mandated NetZero - focus on transitioning to cleaner and more sustainable transportation options across the globe. In the US, we have certain realities that impact speed to market and our market is feeling the complexity of public/private sector misalignment and financial setbacks for key EV technology and manufacturing contributors at the moment.

Regardless, "it's coming" and intra- and interstate trucking investment areas stand to gain also with the reduction of emissions, lower total operating costs, and improvement in overall efficiency in the longer term. Leading companies understand that electric trucks are gaining traction as a viable alternative to traditional diesel-powered vehicles with benefits helping profit margin, people and planet simultaneously. As a career enterprise marketer, the reality is that to realize and maximize longer term commitments (3-5 year plans for instance), its critical that your teams still account for strategic business development, product, partnership and programs to build the readiness muscles you'll need as your organizations builds capabilities to fully operationalize. With this in mind, I've elevated a few key ways (not exhaustive) to harness core go-to-market efforts that support the EV fleet trucking evolution in the United States in particular. While these thoughts might sound "simple", the planning required and due diligence takes time and should be part of an overall Go-To-Market strategy aligned to corporate Net Zero intiatives as well as map specifically to your growth plans. Welcome your thoughts and additions, as always....

Partnerships and Collaborations:

One key strategy for bringing electric trucks to market is through partnerships and collaborations between EV manufacturers, fleet operators, and charging infrastructure providers. Partnerships are tantamount to scale most technology offerings and have been table-stakes for most enterprises for years. But, a few examples in this category exist too...namely....We know companies like Rivian and Amazon have partnered to deploy electric delivery vans, while Nikola Corporation has collaborated with companies like Anheuser-Busch and CNH Industrial to develop electric and hydrogen-powered trucks. And while I was running US marketing at Shell Recharge Solutions, Shell's then EV focused organization, we partnered with Penske to develop pilot Fleet charging hubs in New York. Planning for growth will require the need to discover opportunities to formulate collaborative offerings and also provide a tremendous way to test and validate use cases as product and service offerings are brought to market as part of a roadmap capability. Think of telephony and utilization monitoring, for instance among so many others.

Incentives and Subsidies:

Government incentives and subsidies play a crucial role in promoting the adoption of electric trucks (and consumer vehicle adoption too via NEVI corridor federal funding). Federal and state-level incentives, such as tax credits, grants, and rebates, help offset the higher upfront costs of electric truck manufacturing and charging and make them more competitive than with traditional diesel vehicles who don't have these readiness incentives at both the federal and state levels (some municipality as well). There are also interesting OEM programs, like the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund in California , which provides funding for the replacement of older diesel trucks with cleaner, more efficient alternatives. At the moment, there are a number of compelling incentives and subsidies that companies can leverage through policy teams which then help shape strategy through business development, product and marketing motions to bring the right services and technology to market meeting the needs of each of the incentives captured. More on this below in this post....

Pilot Projects:

Pilot programs are another effective way to showcase the benefits of electric trucks and gather real-world data on their performance. By partnering with fleet operators to deploy electric trucks in their operations, manufacturers can demonstrate the vehicles' capabilities, reliability, and cost savings. These projects help build confidence in electric trucks and encourage more fleet operators to make the switch. Gathering real-world intelligence (and I mentioned the Shell/Uber pilot we conducted in 2023) is critical and the largest gathering of these vehicles will be available, for instance, in North America at the upcoming Advanced Commercial Technology expo in Las Vegas May 20-23. (And no, I'm not paid to highlight this, but it is THE best opportunity to see emerging Fleet and Trucking technology on a global scale)

Charging Infrastructure Expansion:

We all recognize a robust charging infrastructure is essential for the widespread adoption of electric trucks. Companies are investing in building out charging networks along key transportation routes and in urban areas to support the growing fleet of electric trucks. Initiatives like the National Electric Highway Coalition , which aims to create a network of charging stations along major highways and provide information for consumer and b to b electricfication, are critical for enabling long-haul electric trucking (among other use cases). A crucial piece of this ability, in the US in particular, is the distribution of grants made possible from the DOE's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program .

You can plan accordingly with commercial builders, partnerships with charging and fueling brands and understand the ROI on expansion and the impact each station will have to your revenue - think not only about the charging footprint, but the experience and revenue opportunity for the customer and say fleet driver ecosystem and how to maximize revenue or operational costs accordingly (e.g. screens, downtime, etc.). And, plan for policy and grant applications and pay attention to municipality and state-wide differences.

Customer Education and Support:

My belief also is that a great marketing and product go-to-market requires advocacy and education - especially if you have a category leadership brand. Not only is it "duty", but quite frankly, part of your overall brand customer-value proposition and well positions a brand for a leadership capacity. For instance:

• Fleet operators can build credibility about the benefits of electric trucks by providing support throughout the transition process, readiness consulting and content which will then help 'lead' industry solutions and shape outcomes;
• Manufacturers and industry organizations can also offer training programs, workshops, and technical assistance to help fleet operators understand the technology, charging infrastructure requirements, and maintenance needs of EV trucks - and help set the stage for standards and also gather insightful intel to help advise better roadmap activities.

I hope my thoughts have provided some simple go-to-market readiness considerations supporting electric fleet trucking. While niche, I believe an incredibly important category to help foster EV business adoption and promote "going electric" to better economy, people and planet. Truly welcome any feedback and deeper examples for this conversation.