In this episode I’m Joined by Mike Nakrani, CEO of VEV. Mike is an OG in the electrification of transport, and that’s ignoring the milk float joyride! We talk about the challenges, opportunities and many converging technologies and factors that impact fleet electrification.
There are of course many examples now that light and heavy-duty electric fleets are here and scaling. Grid connections aside, the biggest challenges is to demonstrate and achieve better TCO and true commercial viability. As Mike said during our conversation, “Electrification only works when it works commercially.”. We also talk about how having worked in behemoths like Ford and BP have been a positive rather than a negative as he leads a nimble start-up, taking the good and the bad, and how he sees and leads innovation at speed.
We talked through:
- The new economics of fleet electrification
- What genuinely drives ROI
- Why scaling is very different from running a pilot
- Financing models and infrastructure ownership
- The role of software and optimisation
- And what kind of leadership this next phase requires
It’s a thoughtful conversation about what it really takes to move from ambition to operational reality, from pilots to scale.
I hope you enjoy it.
Mike Nakrani:
With more than two decades of experience spanning automotive OEMs, mobility services and energy transition, Mike Nakrani is steering VEV’s mission to support commercial fleets in moving to electric power.
He stands at the intersection of automotive, mobility services and the energy transition – three sectors converging rapidly. Through his role at VEV, he represents how commercial fleet electrification must be executed at scale: not just with EVs, but with systems, infrastructure and business models that work. His leadership offers insight into how fleets can drive real-world decarbonisation.
Nakrani promotes a pragmatic, ‘technology-neutral’ view of fleet decarbonisation – emphasising the transitional role that fuels such as HVO have to play, while reinforcing the scale and operational efficiency electrification delivers in the long term, delivering the most compelling business case for organisations needing to decarbonise.
About VEV:
VEV helps organisations deliver on their carbon reduction ambitions with an end-to-end fleet electrification solution that integrates across vehicle
About Hyperion Search:
At Hyperion Search, we specialize in building world-class teams for the cleantech and energy transition sectors. We focus on leadership roles but also recruit strategically critical individual contributors who drive business growth. Whether you’re a founder scaling a startup, a board member guiding a scaleup, a VC/PE investor, or a corporation committed to energy and mobility transitions, we find the talent that will deliver impactful, sustainable results.
- Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyperion-search-ltd
- Website: www.hyperionsearch.com
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