It has become one of the defining stories in Electric Vehicles — and it is reshaping how the sector operates across Europe. Sweekly spoke with executives, engineers and investors to understand what is really driving the shift, and what it means for the businesses that will live with the consequences.
Software is becoming the product; the vehicle is increasingly a platform for it.
What's holding it back
Battery supply, not vehicle demand, is the constraint the industry is racing to solve.
The corridor model — high-power hubs spaced along freight routes — is proving out on the longest lanes.
“The vehicle is becoming a smartphone on wheels. The value is in the software.”— VP of Product
The infrastructure question
The freight sector's math is unforgiving, which makes its shift to electric all the more telling.
Grid capacity at the depot is the unglamorous bottleneck operators keep running into.
What to watch
- A stable, ethically sourced battery supply chain
- Software that turns the vehicle into a managed asset
- Grid capacity upgrades at depots and hubs
- Sufficient high-power charging along key freight corridors
The economics
Range and charging speed, once the sticking points, have quietly ceased to be dealbreakers for most fleets.
Residual values are stabilizing as the used-EV market matures.
The bottom line
Software is becoming the product; the vehicle is increasingly a platform for it.
Sources & further reading
Written by
Gustav HedlundTransportation Correspondent
Gustav reports on the electrification of everything that moves, from city fleets to heavy haulage.
Discussion(5)
We're seeing exactly this on the ground. The economics only work once the software ties it together.
This matches what our team has been forecasting for the sector. Well argued.
Excellent analysis. The point about permitting timelines really is the crux of the whole thing.
Would love to see a follow-up on how the smaller players are adapting to this shift.
Would love to see a follow-up on how the smaller players are adapting to this shift.