Restricted traffic zones across Europe are no longer limited to a handful of major cities. In 2026, low-emission and restricted zones are a widespread reality with evolving regulations, automatic enforcement and growing costs for non-compliant vehicles.
In Rome, starting July 1st 2026, even 100% electric vehicles will need a permit to enter restricted zones. Free access is no longer guaranteed.
For companies managing urban last mile deliveries — pharmaceutical distribution, food & beverage, e-commerce — the question is no longer “whether” to go electric, but “which vehicles” should make the switch. And the answer lies in your fleet data.
The problem: deciding without data
Most distribution companies approach the “electric or not” question based on gut feelings, news articles or regulatory pressure. They lack the data for an objective assessment.
The result is two opposite mistakes:
- Buying the wrong electric van — a vehicle with insufficient range for its assigned routes, which ends up sitting idle or creating operational problems
- Postponing indefinitely — waiting for the “right moment” that never comes, while restricted zones multiply and permit costs increase
Both mistakes come from the same root cause: no visibility into your fleet’s operational data.
What data you need to decide
If you have a telematics tracking system on your fleet, you already have the information you need. Here’s what to look at:
1. Average daily km per vehicle
The real-world range of an electric van in 2026 sits between 150 and 300 km, depending on the model, payload and conditions. If one of your vehicles averages 80-120 km per day with frequent urban stops, it’s an ideal candidate for electric. If it covers 250+ km with interurban routes, probably not.
2. Percentage of routes in restricted zones
How many of your vehicles regularly enter restricted traffic areas? If 40% of a vehicle’s deliveries happen inside restricted zones, the electric advantage is twofold: savings on permits and access fees, plus operational efficiency.
3. Idle patterns and charging windows
Do your vehicles return to the depot every evening? How long do they stay parked? A van that returns at 5 PM and departs at 7 AM has a 14-hour charging window — more than enough for a full charge even with a slow wallbox.
4. Fuel costs per route
How much does an urban delivery cost with a diesel vehicle? Fuel consumption, wear, maintenance. Compare it to the estimated energy cost of an EV on the same route. Telematics data gives you the real cost, not the theoretical one.
5. Driving style and stop-and-go patterns
Urban deliveries with frequent, closely-spaced stops are the perfect scenario for an electric vehicle: regenerative braking recovers energy at every stop, and the electric motor is more efficient at low speeds. Driving style data confirms whether routes are suited for EVs.
How to read the data: a practical example
Consider a fleet of 15 vans for pharmaceutical distribution in a major city:
| Data point | Vehicles A (5 vans) | Vehicles B (10 vans) |
|---|---|---|
| Avg daily km | 85 km | 210 km |
| % deliveries in restricted zones | 65% | 15% |
| Overnight depot parking | Yes, 14h | Yes, 10h |
| Avg stops/day | 35 | 18 |
| Monthly fuel cost per vehicle | €680 | €1,250 |
Vehicles A are perfect candidates for electric: short routes, high restricted-zone exposure, many stops (regenerative braking helps), and long charging windows. The investment pays back through fuel savings and lower zone-access costs.
Vehicles B remain more efficient as diesel — at least for now. Long routes, minimal restricted-zone exposure, and a premature switch wouldn’t deliver operational benefits.
Without data, you’d buy 15 electric vans or zero. With data, you buy 5 — the right ones.
The cost of having no data
Companies that don’t monitor their fleet end up making binary choices: all electric or all diesel. Neither is the right answer for most fleets in 2026.
The cost of missing data shows up in three ways:
- Wrong investments: buying electric vehicles for routes where they don’t pay off, or not buying them where they would
- Rising zone-access costs: permits, fines and restrictions that erode margins on urban deliveries
- No leverage for negotiation: with customers, suppliers and partners, whoever has concrete data negotiates from a stronger position
Where to start
You don’t need to wait until you have an electric fleet to start collecting data. In fact, the best time to install a telematics system is before the transition.
Your current fleet data — diesel or mixed — is the foundation for every future decision. Which vehicles to replace, when, with what model, and with what savings expectations.
Telematics doesn’t tell you whether to go electric. It tells you where it makes sense to do it.