UK-based electric fleet leasing company Zenobē said it will invest AUD 100 million ($100 million AUD) in Australia to accelerate the deployment of electric trucks and associated infrastructure.
The company aims to more than double the number of heavy-duty electric trucks in the country from around 1,000 today to 2,000 by the end of 2026, positioning the sector for broader adoption as aging diesel fleets are replaced.
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“With 56 per cent of Australia’s truck fleet now more than a decade old, operators are increasingly making decisions about replacement technologies as vehicles reach the end of their operating life,” Zenobē said in comments to Energy Magazine.
The investment will be used to procure electric trucks for commercial operators and to develop what the company described as a full supporting ecosystem. This includes charging infrastructure, battery replacement services and vehicle deployment solutions, alongside fleet planning tools such as depot assessments and energy modelling.
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Zenobē said the approach is designed to lower barriers to adoption by aligning the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric fleets with diesel alternatives. The company also plans to provide certain advisory services to operators at no cost.
Gareth Ridge, Zenobē country director for Australia and New Zealand, said the coming years will be critical for the sector’s development. “The direction we set in the next five years will define the trajectory for the next two decades. Our goal is simple: to make the transition total cost of ownership neutral so the sustainable choice is also the commercial one,” he said.
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Zenobē did not disclose the source of the funding. The company previously received AUD 6 million from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to support leasing electric trucks to retailer Woolworths, as part of a broader AUD 19 million initiative involving the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The company said there is no indication that the new investment is linked to those earlier programmes.
The announcement comes as Australia’s freight sector faces increasing pressure to decarbonise, with electric trucks expected to play a growing role in reducing emissions from road transport.
