What if your fleet management company didn’t just lease electric vehicles but helped you install chargers, plan your infrastructure, and ensure your EVs actually work for your team? Meet Inspiration Mobility, the first FMC focused solely on electric vehicles. In this episode of Truck Chat, Lauren Fletcher from Work Truck talks with Amy Soderquist and Jack Leffler about what makes their model different — and why their customers are sticking with EVs. Here’s what you’ll take away:
- Why treating EVs like gas vehicles is a rookie mistake
- What it really takes to support EV adoption (hint: it’s more than a plug)
- How Inspiration combines vehicles, charging plans, and support under one roof
- Why driver satisfaction is key to long-term EV success
From charging plans to on-the-ground infrastructure support, this team helps fleets make electric vehicles work — not just in theory, but in the real world.
Q: Can you introduce yourselves and your roles at Inspiration Mobility?
Amy Soderquist: I’m Senior Director of Charging Solutions at Inspiration Energy. I’m on the energy side and I primarily work with customers to help them figure out what the right charging solution is as they’re going all electric.
Jack Leffler: I’m Vice President of Customer Success at Inspiration Fleet.
Q: What makes Inspiration Fleet unique in the fleet management space?
Jack Leffler: Inspiration Fleet is the first eFMC ™ in the industry. We’re a fleet management company solely focused on electric vehicles. We don’t just lease vehicles and offer typical FMC services — we also install EV infrastructure and help every customer with a charging plan. We make sure that the EVs you put into service are actually utilized and drive satisfaction for your drivers.
Q: What challenges do companies face when first adopting EVs?
Jack Leffler: In my experience, when companies go to put EVs in service for the first time, they tend to think of EVs as being the same as any other vehicle. We don’t want EVs put into service without drivers knowing how to use or charge them — otherwise they sit idle, and people conclude that EVs aren’t ready for business when they actually are if done the right way.
Amy Soderquist: Tools that aren’t being utilized aren’t really helping a fleet do anything. Making sure they’re utilized and reducing downtime across the fleet can make a big impact.
Q: What’s one of the biggest curveballs fleet managers are facing today?
Amy Soderquist: One of the biggest curveballs I see is not thinking about charging early enough. Customers get excited, order electric cargo vans or trucks, and then a month out from delivery they have no idea how to charge them. Infrastructure takes time. We use what we call an EVOA — Electric Vehicle Opportunity Analysis — where we gather data on the fleet and figure out the right charging solution based on use case. The earlier you start, the more time and money you can save.
Q: What’s your process for guiding customers through fleet electrification?
Jack Leffler: We start with an EV opportunity analysis to help customers identify which parts of their fleet EVs make sense in today and can drive cost savings, efficiency, and reduced downtime. We then help close the loop by putting the right charging plan in place for every vehicle and location, and partner with you to be the change agent for your operation.
Amy Soderquist: Most fleets aren’t ready to completely flip the switch and go all-electric. Identifying the right use cases and how to make that process happen is very valuable.
Jack Leffler: We want to be realistic. There are definitely parts of the country and applications where EVs just don’t make sense yet. But there are absolutely areas where they do — where they can drive efficiencies, cost savings, and improve driver satisfaction.
Q: How is Inspiration Mobility helping fleets stay ahead instead of just keeping up?
Jack Leffler: As the first EFMC, we’re uniquely qualified to help customers move forward and prove the viability of EVs. Traditional FMC analysis tends to be broad. We go deeper — specific to application, driver, location, and charging solution. That’s where we add value — making sense of all the data.
Amy Soderquist: Many companies start with a pilot program, which is great. But we help them think beyond the first 5, 10, or 25 vehicles. How will you charge the entire fleet over time? How do you standardize rollout across locations so the employee experience is consistent? And how do you futureproof and scale?
Q: What trends should fleets pay more attention to in 2025?
Jack Leffler: The political landscape needs to be addressed. For example, the 45W tax credit is currently available for EVs in service — a valuable incentive that may go away. It’s available now, so acting soon is important. If you feel it’s an important incentive, contact your political representatives and push for it to stay.
There are several incentives we work with, and 45W is just one that offers potentially sizable savings. If you’re planning a pilot or trying to make a pitch to your finance or procurement teams, start looking at EVs sooner rather than later.
Amy Soderquist: There’s never been a better time to really make that happen if that’s something you’re looking at.