Electric Fleet Owners: When to Invest in Your Own DC Fast-Charging Infrastructure

Imagine this. You run a fleet of 20 delivery vans. Every one of them travels 200 miles a day, zipping through city blocks to keep groceries fresh, packages on time, and customers happy.

You wanted to do the right thing. You tried electricity. You bought five EVs. You told your CFO this was the future. But reality hits hard. The vehicles weren’t charged when your drivers were. The grid wasn’t there when you needed charging infrastructure.

You lost money on downtime, and your drivers were waiting for charging— not delivering. Your electric fleet wasn’t a operational win. It was a logistical nightmare. You quietly went back to diesel.

You’re not alone. Electrifying delivery van fleets promises lower operating costs and emissions, but it also introduces a critical decision: when should a fleet operator invest in dedicated fast-charging infrastructure versus relying on public chargers or slower depot charging? 

Fleet Size: The First Threshold

At the pilot phase—typically 5 to 10 vehicles—most operators rely on Level 2 (L2) charging. FedEx, for instance, limited early EV rollouts at depots to avoid triggering expensive electrical upgrades. Public DC fast chargers may suffice for occasional top-ups at this scale.

However, as fleets grow into the 10–50 vehicle range, cumulative demand often exceeds what L2 infrastructure can support. Many operators, such as UPS, have turned to on-site battery storage and smart energy systems to delay or offset utility upgrades. These allow for moderate fast-charging deployment without straining the grid.

At 50+ EVs per site, dedicated charging becomes inevitable. Amazon, for example, has installed over 70 chargers at certain depots to support 100+ Rivian delivery vans. By this stage, level 2 charging is insufficient, both operationally and logistically.

Utilization and Daily Mileage

After size of fleets, the next factor to consider is utilization. A fleet of five vans running 200 miles a day often needs fast charging more urgently than 20 vans driving 50 miles. Once daily use approaches the vehicle’s range, especially in two-shift operations, L2 charging no longer suffices.

A practical benchmark: fleets where daily routes consistently exceed 150–200 miles per vehicle often require mid-day fast charging. Amazon has adjusted depot strategy accordingly, deploying DC fast chargers for high-mileage or multi-shift vehicles.

Urban vs. Suburban Routes

Route density matters. Urban delivery routes are typically shorter with frequent stops, which means more regenerative braking and less battery drain. In cities, L2 overnight charging often supports even large fleets. However, space constraints and electrical service limitations may slow charger expansion—UPS’s London depot, for instance, maxed out at 65 vehicles without smart-grid upgrades.

In contrast, suburban and rural routes often span longer distances with fewer breaks. A 100+ mile daily route in such areas pushes battery limits and heightens the risk of mid-route depletion. For these operations, DC fast charging becomes necessary even with fewer than 10 vehicles.

The Limits of Public Charging

Public fast-charging infrastructure can help early on—but rarely scales well. Network unreliability, long wait times, and lack of guaranteed uptime can compromise tight delivery schedules. In California, the average ratio is one public charger for every 29 EVs, and utilization remains under 10%, largely due to unreliability and limited geographic coverage.

Fleet operators value predictability. Once a fleet grows beyond a few vehicles or requires consistent midday charging, public infrastructure quickly becomes a liability. Most shift to owning their own systems by the time they hit 5–10 EVs in regular service.

Depot Constraints: Power and Layout

Electrical service limits and yard configuration often dictate charging feasibility. L2 systems can scale up to around 20 EVs without upgrades in many cases. But once a site’s capacity “breaks,” upgrades or alternative solutions become necessary.

Some operators pre-wire depots during renovations or buildouts, while others turn to modular energy solutions. Opportunity charging—where vans top up during loading/unloading—is increasingly common, and strategically placed DC fast chargers support this model.

Cost-Benefit Calculus

Cost remains the driving force behind most infrastructure decisions. Public fast charging can cost $0.40–$0.70/kWh, while depot charging often delivers energy for under $0.15/kWh. Moreover, each hour spent waiting at a public charger may cost an operator $30–$50 in driver wages alone.

Though a DC charger installation may cost $50,000–$100,000, utilities often provide grants or demand charge relief. Managed charging software further improves ROI by minimizing peak usage. Many fleets recoup these investments as their EV count passes the 10–20 vehicle mark. Integrating energy storage with site here can also relieve demand charges.

Some smaller fleets are adopting charging-as-a-service models, leasing chargers and paying per kWh or via subscription, which mitigates capital outlay. This can bridge the gap for mid-sized operators, though over time, direct ownership tends to be more cost-effective for high-utilization fleets.

Charging Speed Requirements

Fleet operators often start with L2, scaling until route demands or turnaround times necessitate DC fast charging. For example, USPS is deploying over 14,000 L2 units to support mail vans with long dwell periods, while Amazon supplements L2 infrastructure with a few fast chargers per site for vans on double shifts.

The transition is rarely binary. Most operators deploy a mix—L2 for baseline energy, DC fast chargers for operational flexibility. One DC unit might serve a 15-vehicle fleet efficiently if only a few vehicles need midday top-ups.

The Conclusion: Know When to Build

There’s no universal threshold, but common inflection points exist. By the time a fleet has 10–20 EVs or starts seeing daily use that pushes range limits, the case for owning fast-charging infrastructure becomes compelling.

The risk of operational disruption, rising public charging costs, and unpredictable delays make dedicated infrastructure not just a cost issue—but a strategic one. The most successful operators, from UPS to FedEx, treat charging as core to logistics—not a bolt-on.

For fleet operators that want control without complexity, solutions like ElectricFish offer a new path forward. ElectricFish provides 350kW fast-charging systems with built-in energy storage and AI-based energy management—designed to be installed in days, not years, and without utility upgrades.

In an industry where uptime is money and the grid moves too slowly, ElectricFish is helping operators future-proof their electrification strategy—one depot at a time.

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References:
1. emea.socomec.com
2. https://chargedevs.com/newswire/amazon-finds-utility-approvals-to-be-the-biggest-ev-charging-infrastructure-bottleneck/
3. https://electrada.com/blog/depot-vs-on-route-charging/
4. https://mercer-trans.com/2023/11/16/ups-tackles-ev-infrastructure-hiccups-in-california/
5. https://electrificationcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FedEx_case_study.pdf



This article is written by Anurag Kamal, CEO at ElectricFish.