The shift towards electric vehicles is well underway in Australia. For businesses managing fleets – whether fully electric or mixed with traditional vehicles – understanding EV charging is not only about plugging in vehicles, but also about managing costs, minimising downtime, and keeping your fleet operations running smoothly.
The Real Challenges of EV Fleet Charging
If you’re running a business fleet, you’ll quickly discover that EV fleet charging is critical to business function in ways that petrol refuelling never was. Here are the real challenges faced when managing EV fleet charging.
Infrastructure Costs
Infrastructure costs present the first major hurdle. DC fast chargers, which are essential for minimising vehicle downtime, start at around $50,000 and can reach $150,000 or more for high-capacity units. Level 2 AC chargers are more affordable at $2,000 to $7,000 per unit, but installation costs in Melbourne typically add another $5,000 to $50,000 per site, depending on electrical upgrades and site complexity.
Charging Downtime
For businesses managing mixed fleets of EVs and traditional petrol or diesel vehicles, keeping track of charging and fuel costs can add another layer of complexity. Without the right systems in place, it can be difficult to allocate costs accurately and ensure businesses don’t miss out on potential tax benefits or compliance requirements.
WEX Motorpass® is the only multi-brand fuel card in Australia to offer digital payments experience for mixed fleets. This EV functionality gives fleet managers insight into charging payments, integrated into your fleet account – all in one place.
How to Charge Electric Cars: Understanding Your Options
When it comes to determining how to charge electric cars in a fleet environment, fleet managers typically have three main options, each with distinct characteristics.
- Level 1 (Standard AC Power – 230V Single Phase): Plugs into a standard Australian wall socket delivering ~2.3 kW to 3.7 kW, adding roughly 10 to 20 km of range per hour. While not suitable for heavy commercial use, Level 1 can support plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) or serve as emergency backup charging.
- Level 2 (Fast AC Charging – 240V / 415V Three-Phase): Delivers 7 kW to 22 kW of power, adding 40 to 100 km of range per hour. Level 2 chargers are the ideal, cost-effective solution for depot-based fleets where vehicles park overnight or between shifts.
- DC Fast Charging (Direct Current): Ranging from 50 kW up to 350 kW+, DC fast chargers deliver 100 km of range in as little as 10 to 15 minutes. This is essential for high-utilisation fleets, delivery vans, and long-distance commercial transport requiring fast turnarounds.
Ultimately, the right mix of charging levels only gets you so far if your fleet can’t charge beyond the depot. Vehicles on longer routes, unexpected detours, or multi-day trips need reliable access to public EV charging infrastructure to avoid downtime and keep drivers moving. This is where partnering with a fuel card provider offering a large, nationwide charging network becomes essential.
Managing Charging Costs for Business Fleets
Australia’s EV charging market reached USD 304.4 million in 2025 and is projected to grow to USD 1,692.2 million by 2034. This growth reflects the convergence of policy support and rising EV penetration, suggesting the industry is trending towards transitioning into increased EV or mixed fleet adoption.
Another consideration: Most fleet charging happens at drivers’ homes when vehicles are parked overnight. This means you’ll need systems to track and reimburse home charging, whilst also managing depot charging. Having separate systems for tracking these costs creates administrative headaches and inaccurate reporting.
Smart charging strategies can significantly reduce your operating costs. Many businesses schedule their EV charging during off-peak electricity periods when rates are lowest. This requires charging management software that can automatically optimise when vehicles charge, based on electricity pricing and route schedules.
WEX Motorpass is already equipped to support your electric fleet. Your drivers can locate approximately 3,000 charging plugs across 2,500+ stations nationwide using the WEX Motorpass Driver App, ensuring smarter route planning and access to real-time fuel prices.
Battery Health: How Long Do Electric Vehicle Batteries Last?
How long electric vehicle batteries last comes down to the best practices used to maintain battery health in daily operations. Here are the top charging tips for good battery health and a longer battery lifespan.
The most important rule: keep batteries between 20% and 80% charge for daily operations. Repeatedly charging to 100% or depleting to 0% causes the most damage to battery cells. Where the manufacturer recommends it, set charge limits in your vehicle management system to stop at 80% for daily use. Charging recommendations vary by battery type and manufacturer. Some batteries, such as LFP, are commonly recommended to be charged to 100% regularly, so always follow the manufacturer’s charging guidance for each vehicle in your fleet.
Avoid frequent deep discharges below 20%. Occasional dips to 15% won’t destroy your battery, but making it a habit accelerates wear significantly. Similarly, moderate your use of fast charging ports. Whilst DC fast charging is incredibly convenient, it should be reserved for when you genuinely need rapid turnaround rather than daily use.
Temperature management matters too. Batteries operating in extreme heat or cold degrade faster. Where possible, charge vehicles in covered or climate-controlled areas. In hot climates, keeping the battery cool through proper thermal management helps to extend the battery’s lifespan considerably.
Best Practices for Managing Mixed Fleet EV Charging
Managing a mixed fleet of EVs and traditional vehicles requires systems that can track both fuel and charging costs in one place. With the increasing adoption of EVs and mixed fleets globally, fleet managers need a better way to manage mixed fleets and EV charging for modern fleet operations. Here are our expert tips:
- Install Scalable, Modular Infrastructure: Choose modular AC commercial chargers that can scale as your business expands its EV ratio, protecting your capital investment against costly civil re-works later.
- Implement Dynamic Load Management (DLM): Distribute power intelligently across depot chargers to avoid expensive electrical grid upgrades and protect your business from peak demand energy tariffs imposed by local distribution networks.
- Automate Off-Peak Charging Schedules: Use smart software to schedule depot charging during off-peak overnight electricity rates, dramatically lowering your per-kilometre operational costs.
- Establish ATO-Compliant Home Charging Reimbursement: Set up structured tracking policies for employees charging fleet vehicles at home to ensure seamless FBT (Fringe Benefits Tax) reporting and ATO compliance.
- Monitor Network Availability in Real-Time: Equip drivers with real-time tools, like the WEX Motorpass Driver App, to check charger uptime across Australia’s public charging network before arriving.
- Consolidate Fleet Expense Management: Eliminate fragmented systems by managing petrol, diesel, and EV charging expenses under a single ATO-compliant WEX Motorpass account.
A fuel card built for mixed fleets, like WEX Motorpass, brings fuel and EV charging payments together into one account. As your fleet’s EV adoption grows, this kind of unified solution scales with you, so you’re less likely to be stuck retrofitting your systems to keep pace with your vehicles.
Simplify Your Fleet Management with WEX Motorpass
Managing fuel cards for your petrol vehicles whilst separately tracking EV charging expenses creates unnecessary complexity. You’re juggling multiple systems, struggling to get a complete picture of your fleet’s energy costs, and spending valuable time reconciling different accounts.
WEX Motorpass’s EV charging solution solves this by bringing both fuel and EV charging management into one simple solution. You can manage fuel and public EV charging payments on one account, giving you clearer visibility of your mixed fleet’s energy costs without the burden of multiple systems.
Whether you’re just starting your EV transition with a few vehicles or managing a substantial mixed fleet, having integrated tracking from day one makes scaling your EV adoption significantly easier.
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