A connected fleet links each vehicle’s telematics, payments and compliance records, so you can see cost, location and driver activity for the same vehicle in one place. Payment platforms such as FleetWallet3 add the part most fleets are missing by checking each fuel payment against the vehicle that made it.
Most European operators already track their vehicles. There were 18.1 million fleet management systems in use across Europe at the end of 2024, and Berg Insight expects that figure to reach 30.5 million by 2029. Far fewer fleets can match that data to what each vehicle spent, or pull it into the format a regulator or tax authority now asks for.
That gap matters more each year. New EU rules on driver hours, carbon pricing, e-invoicing and freight documents all depend on vehicle-level records. Below, we go through the four parts of a connected fleet and then set out the deadlines that rely on them.
What a connected fleet covers
A connected fleet brings four kinds of data together: telematics, payments, compliance records and, as more fleets add electric vehicles, charging. Most operators have the first and pay for the second, yet the two usually sit in different systems with different owners.
Telematics: where vehicles are and how they’re driven
A telematics unit records location, speed, fuel level, engine faults and driving time, then sends that data to a back-office system. Most new heavy trucks now leave the factory with manufacturer telematics fitted as standard. Vans more often rely on a unit added after purchase.
Vans are where many fleets will feel the next change. Europe had 36.7 million light commercial vehicles in use in 2023, and most of them carry goods and parcels or support mobile workers. Since 1 July 2026, vans over 2.5 tonnes and up to 3.5 tonnes on international or cabotage work have had to follow EU driving and rest rules and use a G2V2 smart tachograph, as the European Labour Authority sets out. Domestic van work isn’t covered.
For a multi-depot delivery operator, that means some vans now need the same driver-hours records as the trucks. Telematics is where those records start.
FleetWallet3 uses the telematics data a fleet already has, so there’s no extra hardware to fit.
Payments: fuel, tolls, parking and charging
Fuel is the cost most operators can control directly, yet it’s often paid with a card that knows nothing about the vehicle. The card approves the sale, the statement arrives weeks later, and someone in finance matches receipts to vehicles by hand.
That delay is where misuse hides. Common examples are a card shared between drivers, snacks and cigarettes on a fuel receipt, a fill larger than the vehicle’s tank, and fuel bought on a day the vehicle never left the depot. Each one looks small on its own. We’ve written more on how small fuel card losses add up.
FleetWallet3 checks each transaction against vehicle data before it’s approved, so a mismatch is stopped at the pump. It works alongside existing fuel cards and is accepted at more than 5,300 fuel retailers in 12 European countries through a partnership with CarPay-Diem. Fleets using FleetWallet3 have reduced fuel spend by [METRIC: approved source required].
Tolls, parking and charging follow the same pattern. Each arrives on a separate statement from a separate supplier. A connected fleet brings them into the same per-vehicle record as fuel, so cost per kilometre covers everything the vehicle spent.
Compliance: tachographs, tolls, VAT and freight documents
Most new EU transport rules ask for records a fleet already produces. What changes is the format, and how quickly you can hand them over.
Tachograph data is the obvious case, and it now reaches vans. Truck tolls are another: many EU countries charge by a vehicle’s CO2 class, so emissions show up on every toll bill. Freight paperwork is going digital too. From 9 July 2027, authorities in every EU country must accept freight transport information shared through certified platforms under the electronic freight transport information (eFTI) Regulation.
VAT follows in 2030. Under the ViDA package adopted in March 2025, e-invoicing and near real-time reporting become mandatory for intra-EU transactions from 1 July 2030, according to the European Commission. For a cross-border haulier, every fuel or toll purchase abroad will need a structured, traceable record.
Each FleetWallet3 payment records the driver, vehicle, location, amount and merchant type. Finance teams get a per-vehicle audit trail for VAT and spend checks without chasing paper receipts.
Electrification: charging and carbon cost
Electric trucks are still a small share of new sales. Electrically chargeable trucks took 4.8% of EU registrations in the first half of 2026, up from 3.6% a year earlier, while diesel took 92.1%, based on ACEA figures.
Regulation will push that share up. Under the EU CO2 standards for new heavy-duty vehicles, truck makers must cut the average emissions of new trucks by 45% from 2030, 65% from 2035 and 90% from 2040. Charging is being built to match. The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) requires truck charging pools at least every 60 km on the core TEN-T road network by the end of 2030, each with at least 3,600 kW of power, as KPMG’s summary of AFIR explains.
Diesel will also carry a carbon price. ETS2, the EU’s emissions trading system for road fuels, starts in January 2028 after a one-year delay agreed in November 2025, the European Environment Agency reports. Fuel suppliers pay for allowances, and the cost reaches fleets through the pump price.
For an operator, a mixed fleet means paying for energy in two places, at the pump and at the charger. Both need to land on the same vehicle record. Without that, you can’t compare cost per kilometre between a diesel van and an electric one on the same route.
How to build a connected fleet, step by step
You don’t need to replace your telematics or your fuel cards to start. Most of the work is linking what you already have.
- List every data and payment source. That means telematics units, tachographs, fuel cards, toll boxes, parking accounts and charge cards. Note who owns each one and where its data goes.
- Link payments to vehicle data first. Fuel is usually the largest cost you can control, and it’s where late information costs most. Start with the transactions you can check against a vehicle.
- Put the deadlines on one calendar. Use the table below to see which rules touch which vehicles, and which records each rule needs.
- Set up fuel and charging under one record per vehicle. Do it before the first electric vans or trucks arrive, so cost comparisons work from day one.
EU deadlines for connected fleet operators
| Date | Rule | Who it affects | Records it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 (in force) | EU driving rules and G2V2 tachographs extended to vans | Vans over 2.5 tonnes on international or cabotage work | Driver hours and tachograph data |
| 9 July 2027 | eFTI Regulation applies in full | Freight operators sharing transport documents | Electronic freight transport information |
| January 2028 | ETS2 carbon price on road fuels | Every fleet buying diesel or petrol | Fuel volumes per vehicle |
| From 2030 | New heavy-duty vehicles must emit 45% less CO2 on average | Truck makers, and so the trucks you can buy | Fleet mix by powertrain |
| 1 July 2030 | ViDA e-invoicing and reporting for intra-EU transactions | Businesses trading across EU borders | Structured invoices per transaction |
| 31 December 2030 | AFIR truck charging every 60 km on the core TEN-T | Operators running electric trucks | Charging sessions and cost per vehicle |
Where FleetWallet3 fits in a connected fleet
FleetWallet3 is the payments layer of a connected fleet. It checks each fuel payment against the telematics data you already collect and records it against a driver and a vehicle. That cuts manual reconciliation and gives you a per-vehicle record that’s ready for the VAT and freight rules due before 2030.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a connected fleet?
A connected fleet is a group of vehicles whose telematics, payment and compliance data are linked, so each cost and record ties back to one vehicle and driver. Europe had 18.1 million fleet management systems in use at the end of 2024. FleetWallet3 adds payments to that telematics layer by checking each fuel transaction against vehicle data.
Do vans need a tachograph for cross-border work?
Yes, if they weigh more than 2.5 tonnes and up to 3.5 tonnes and carry goods internationally or on cabotage work. Since 1 July 2026 they must use a G2V2 smart tachograph and follow EU driving and rest rules, though domestic van work isn’t covered. FleetWallet3 ties each fuel payment to the same vehicle and driver, so spend and driving records can be read together.
How do I stop fuel card misuse?
Check each payment against what the vehicle was doing at the time, instead of weeks later on a statement. A fill larger than the tank, or fuel bought while the vehicle sat at the depot, should be caught at the pump. FleetWallet3 checks each transaction against vehicle data before it’s approved.
What changes when a fleet adds electric trucks or vans?
You start paying for energy in two places, at the pump and at the charger, and both costs need to sit on one vehicle record. Electrically chargeable trucks reached 4.8% of EU registrations in the first half of 2026. FleetWallet3 already links each fuel payment to the vehicle that made it, which is the starting point for comparing diesel and electric running costs.
How will ETS2 affect fleet fuel costs?
ETS2 puts a carbon price on road fuels from January 2028, and fuel suppliers pass that cost on through the pump price. The amount will depend on the allowance price at the time. Per-vehicle fuel records in FleetWallet3 show which vehicles and routes carry most of that cost.
See every fuel payment against the vehicle that made it
See how FleetWallet3 checks each fuel payment
About Cubic3
Cubic3 is a Dublin-headquartered connected vehicle platform company backed by SoftBank. FleetWallet3 is a connected fleet payments platform for delivery and logistics fleets.
