North America may lead in total connected electric vehicles, but it lags in both adoption momentum and operational maturity, according to Geotab’s 2026 State of Commercial Transportation report.

The data underscores what the report describes as a North American electrification plateau, with EV maturity in 2025 reaching 2.2% in Canada and 1.6% in the U.S. – the lowest levels of all regions analyzed. The United Kingdom is leading the race with an EV maturity rate of 10.8%, while the European Union is at 8.0%.  Mexico stood at 1.9%.

Growth rates reflect the same pattern. While Canada saw a 32.1% increase in EV growth year over year, U.S. recorded 27.4% increase in 2025. Mexico follows Canada with a 36.4% increase. Meanwhile, EU saw a spike of over 146%, and UK increased its EV adoption by 76.5%.

Currently, electric vehicles represent 2.8% of Geotab-connected vehicles globally. Because the majority of devices are residing in North America, this region currently dominates the absolute number of connected EVs.

But but the report characterizes U.S. electric truck market as “volume without velocity” — large in scale but lacking growth momentum.

For every one EV added, fleets in the U.S. are adding nearly 60 new ICE vehicles, Geotab says, explaining that the country’s rate of EV activations fell from 2.9% in 2024 to 1.6% last year.  

EV underutilization

And despite traveling more than 920 million miles globally last year, EVs accounted for only 2% of total commercial mileage in Geotab’s database. This indicates that many vehicles are not being deployed at full operational capacity.

Buying an electric vehicle is only the first step, but realizing a return on that capital investment depends heavily on asset utilization, the report notes. One of the clearest indicators of operational maturity is depth of discharge (DoD) — the percentage of battery capacity used between charges in a typical day.

While European fleets demonstrate what Geotab describes as a “progressive usage pattern,” consuming an average of 48% of battery capacity daily, U.S. fleets operate more conservatively, averaging just 36% DoD. American fleets tend to ‘panic charge’, with 65% of electric trucks plugging in early, often before battery levels drop below 50%.

The disparity seems to be driven by infrastructure confidence — European fleets have had more time building confidence in their EVs and capabilities, they also have a more robust network of public charging, Geotab says. U.S. data, meanwhile, indicates less reliance on public infrastructure, and less confidence in the range capabilities of their vehicles. This leads to underutilization, effectively leaving efficient miles, and ROI, on the table.

While manufacturer-stated range figures represent theoretical maximums under ideal conditions, in practice, variables such as speed, payload, terrain and weather real-world factors such as speed, payload and weather reduce actual range.

For suitable light commercial vehicles, transitioning to electric can generate average lifetime TCO savings of about $1,900 per unit, with higher utilization increasing returns. Battery degradation averages just 2.3% per year, which, Geotab says, proves batteries are built to last. By utilizing data insights to verify battery health, fleet managers can transition from fixed replacement schedules to condition-based retention, lowering the lifetime cost per mile.

Heavy-duty adoption may also be more viable than generally believed. An Altitude by Geotab study analyzing U.S. truck movement confirms that 53% of heavy-duty vehicles never exceed 400 miles a day, and 56% of medium-duty vehicles stay under 250 miles—falling within existing battery range capabilities.

The full report can be found here.