"A lot of EV 1.0 Companies Simply Underestimated the Challenge" - B-ON CEO Stefan Krause's Vision for EV 2.0

B–ON, a manufacturer of electric light commercial vehicles (eLCVs), recently reached a new milestone. The company calculates that its 23,000 vehicles have officially crossed the 250 million mile mark. That's the equivalent of 10,000 trips around the globe.

Auto Futures recently caught up with Stefan Krause, B-ON's Founder, Chairman and CEO.

"Since founding the company, we’ve been committed to one core mission: to make electric vehicles (EVs) work better for businesses," he says.

The company, which is headquartered in Luxembourg with locations in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and Latin America, acquired eLCV-maker StreetScooter Engineering from Deutsche Post DHL in January, 2022. Under the new management, it began producing vehicles in the existing vehicle capacity facility in Germany the following month.

B-ON has subsequently transitioned from being an OEM to become a full EV solution provider. 

"We deliver fleet managers maximum uptime (and maximum profit) through a simple, straightforward solution that provides all the pieces of the EV puzzle in one place. B–ON works by streamlining the entire process for not just fleet managers, but also their employees, their drivers, and everyone on their teams. From vehicles to charging infrastructure, financing and advanced telematics software, our primary objective is to provide bespoke solutions that work for each individual customer all through one uncomplicated point of contact," says Krause.

"By focusing on unique, tailored approaches to each company, we’re ultimately able to determine a successful strategy for both short- and long-term goals when approaching EV adoption and continued fleet management. Our team of seasoned automotive and tech experts has brought together an entire network of market leaders in each area of the EV puzzle to finally provide the holistic solutions that the market so desperately needs, making fleet electrification easier and simpler for everyone."

The UK is a vital market for the company. In April 2023, it signed two cooperation agreements focused on supporting the UK market. First, with International Motors Limited (IML), who will support distribution and aftersales country-wide. The second is with EO Charging, an EV charging provider, which enables B–ON customers to access its commercial charging infrastructure and services in the UK and Europe.

"As you can see, we’re working on a variety of strategies and initiatives that will hopefully further capitalise on the growing demand for commercial vehicles (CVs) and charging infrastructure in the UK, and we also plan to focus on some educational initiatives that will help to dispel myths, address some concerns and encourage more companies to switch to EV fleets," he explains.

As well as its eLCV product line-up, B-ON offers ElectrOS, a complementary suite of electrification services that includes infrastructure changes, charging, driver education, software, and financing.

"We can help guide customers through the whole process and find the best solution for their specific needs based on our own real-world data. ElectrOS is really about that – providing the ecosystem of services that work together to make the transition to EVs successful and profitable, and helping customers navigate the process overall, with one point of contact. Customers save time and money, not to mention massive hassle." 

The EV Conundrum

Over the last year, a number of EV manufacturers have hit major challenges or even failed.

"EV 1.0, as we like to call it, was really that first generation of EV producers making big promises over the last five years that (unfortunately for all of us) never quite made it to fruition. There are several major reasons to point out when we think about why this happened, but the biggest and most important one is actually pretty simple – making cars at scale is really, really hard," says Krause.

"A lot of EV 1.0 companies simply underestimated the challenge. Approaching the problem through the lens of a 100-year-old industry was also a big stumbling block, as automotive overall has historically been very vertically integrated." . 

A lot of young companies tried to figure out the entire EV solution by themselves, instead of teaming up with existing experts to overcome their problems.

"They quickly learned that vertical integration is not only complex overall, but also extremely capital-intensive. A lot of companies blew through money they didn’t need to spend, duplicating infrastructure such as setting up proprietary charging networks and building massive offices and manufacturing plants. Investors eventually grew weary of continuously rescuing them, and a once bountiful supply of willing capital understandably dried up," he adds.

Holistic Solutions For Fleets

B–ON’s EV 2.0 model focuses on an integrated and asset-light approach to manufacturing and financing.

"First off, from the business model side; B–ON’s EV 2.0 is all about an asset-light approach, which allows us to do more with less investment and de-risk a lot of the business overall. Working with existing expertise, such as contract manufacturing partners, localised and established distributors for sales, and even charging specialist companies instead of building out a proprietary network, all enable us to move more quickly with less cost," explains Krause.

"EV 2.0 further incorporates looking at everything from driver education, vehicle performance, charging and energy infrastructure to efficient service and maintenance solutions so that we can minimise downtime in every way possible. Additionally, EV 2.0 includes robust telematics and software capabilities to enable real-time performance optimisation. Providing more holistic solutions for fleets makes our offering much more adapted to demand."

"By introducing scalability and flexibility to the world of EV fleets with a cohesive ecosystem that provides both the hardware and the software to bring everything together in one seamless view, this is what the future will look like. This is EV 2.0," he adds.

2030 And Beyond

Finally, we asked Krause what fleet transportation will look like by the end of the decade.

"EVs are expected to dominate fleet transportation by 2030. Driven by developments in technology, environmental concerns and changing consumer demands, the shift to EVs is likely to come at a far greater speed now than ever before, further accelerated by the fact that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned by 2030 in the UK. eLCVs will play a huge part in this shift, so it’s crucial that they adopt electrification as soon as possible," he predicts.

"By 2030, I expect to see fleet operators will be increasingly adopting Mobility-as-a-Service models (MaaS), allowing customers to access transportation services on-demand through digital platforms. Fleet management will also become more data-driven, leveraging real-time data and analytics to optimise routes, predict maintenance needs and improve overall fleet efficiency and reduce operational costs – some of which we are already accomplishing with [B–ON's] ElectrOS."

"B–ON remains committed to continuing to make EV adoption accessible and user-friendly, making the switch from ICE to EV a seamless process while nurturing habits that facilitate easy EV driving. We all need to take that crucial step towards a more sustainable and greener transportation system and bring about significant positive impacts on the environment, economy and our communities to 2030 and beyond," concludes Krause,