Deep Dive No. 008
Reading Time: 4 Minutes
From service-led truck access to integrated electric bus solutions, new business models are changing how transport operators acquire capacity, manage costs and deliver mobility.
FROM ASSET OWNERSHIP TO SERVICE ACCESS
For generations, growing a commercial fleet meant buying more trucks, buses or delivery vehicles. Growth demanded capital, financing commitments and responsibility for maintaining those assets throughout their working lives.
Operators now have more choices. Instead of buying every vehicle they need, they can rent or lease trucks, take bundled support services or buy transport capacity through broader service contracts. Public transport operators can go further, accessing integrated electric mobility packages that combine vehicles, maintenance and charging infrastructure.
The underlying shift is significant. Businesses are asking not only which assets to own, but which transport capabilities they need and the most commercially effective way to secure them.
Three labels describe this shift: Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS), Freight-as-a-Service (FaaS) and Electric Bus-as-a-Service. They are not interchangeable. Each changes a different part of the relationship between the customer, the vehicle and the service provider.
WHY THIS MATTERS
For fleet operators, the choice can influence capital requirements, cost predictability, operational responsibilities and the ability to respond to changing demand. For manufacturers and service providers, it opens the way to longer-term customer relationships built around services and outcomes, not only vehicle sales.
TWO ROUTES BEYOND OWNERSHIP
The move towards service-led mobility is not a single business model. In practice, it runs along two routes.
The first is about freight, and TaaS and FaaS sit at different points along it. In a TaaS arrangement, a customer accesses a truck through a service-style commercial package that combines rental or leasing with maintenance and other support, depending on the contract. The operator may still drive and manage the vehicle but need not buy it outright or arrange every supporting service independently. FaaS goes a step further. It focuses on the freight capability a business needs, so a customer may procure transport services or defined logistics outcomes without owning all the assets required to deliver them.
The second route is public transport. Electric Bus-as-a-Service applies the service model to electrification, bundling vehicles, maintenance, batteries, charging infrastructure and operational support.
One route changes how a business secures freight capacity. The other integrates the assets and services needed to run electric public transport. That difference is central to the economics.
ROUTE ONE: TRUCK AND FREIGHT AS A SERVICE
Flexibility before fleet expansion
Freight demand rarely stays constant. Seasonal peaks, new contracts, shifting delivery requirements and uncertain markets make long-term vehicle ownership hard to align with actual needs. A service-led approach offers an alternative: rather than committing to more vehicles, an operator can rent, lease or outsource capacity, depending on the requirement.
Mercedes-Benz CharterWay is a useful example of flexible access. With around 6,000 vehicles, it operates the largest manufacturer-owned rental fleet in Germany, offering Mercedes-Benz and Fuso models for anything from one day to three years. From the start of 2025, its rental business became part of Daimler Truck Financial Services, with rental contracts and services such as insurance and maintenance continuing without interruption. Daimler said the European rental market continues to grow strongly, and that some customers increasingly find rental more suitable than purchase.
Electric trucks are now part of the offer. Since June 2025, customers have been able to rent the long-haul Mercedes-Benz eActros 600, supported by a modular service package that includes charging infrastructure, consulting, maintenance and digital services.
CharterWay shows how a manufacturer-backed business can pair vehicle access with supporting services to give greater flexibility and more predictable costs. But it is principally a rental and leasing model, which places it nearer the TaaS end of this route than pure FaaS. A genuine freight-service contract goes further, because the customer buys transport capacity or a defined freight outcome, not access to a vehicle.
That is why FaaS deserves a close look. For a company whose core business is manufacturing, retail or distribution, buying transport as a service can reduce the need to manage every element of a fleet operation internally, and the provider can build its offer around the customer’s actual requirements.
The commercial opportunity
The value of service-based freight depends on the contract. Operators must compare the full cost of ownership with the total price of the service, including utilisation assumptions, mileage limits, maintenance responsibilities, insurance, fuel or energy, service levels and any penalties or termination charges.
Flexibility is valuable when demand is uncertain, but it is not automatically cheaper. A high-utilisation fleet with stable demand may still benefit from ownership, while a business facing seasonal peaks may find variable capacity more appropriate. The strategic opportunity lies in the balance: own assets where long-term utilisation supports the investment, access vehicles where flexibility matters, and outsource freight where a specialist can deliver the service more effectively.
ROUTE TWO: ELECTRIC BUS-AS-A-SERVICE
Beyond supplying the vehicle
Electrifying a bus fleet involves far more than swapping a diesel bus for an electric one. Operators must consider charging infrastructure, battery management, maintenance, route requirements and how the new vehicles fit into daily operations. An integrated service model brings these together, so that electrification becomes a transport-system decision, not a standalone vehicle purchase.
Volvo Buses showed the approach in Trondheim, Norway. In September 2017, it announced an order from operator Tide Buss for 25 Volvo 7900 Electric buses, sold as a complete turnkey package in which Volvo would handle all vehicle and battery maintenance at a fixed monthly cost. The buses were due to start service in August 2019 on four routes of 12 to 15 km each, taking Tide Buss to 35 electric buses, the largest electric bus fleet in Norway. Charging would take place at route termini through the open OppCharge interface, which is designed to work with buses from other manufacturers. Volvo also said the buses would use about 80% less energy than equivalent diesel models, a manufacturer’s claim.
The significance went beyond the propulsion technology. Vehicles, maintenance and charging arrived as one coordinated solution, so the operator could procure an integrated electric bus service instead of treating each component as a separate investment.
A note of caution is in order. This is a 2017 announcement, and it did not publish contract values beyond the fixed monthly maintenance cost. It shows how the package was structured, not how it performed commercially.
Making electrification commercially manageable
For public transport operators, the appeal of an integrated model lies in aligning spending and responsibilities. A fixed monthly payment for specified elements can improve cost visibility, and a coordinated supplier arrangement can reduce the complexity of managing multiple contracts.
Yet the model still needs careful scrutiny. Operators must understand what the agreement covers, how vehicle availability is defined, who pays for infrastructure and energy, how battery performance is managed and what happens when service requirements change. A turnkey package does not remove operational risk. It redistributes it according to the contract.
For suppliers, the opportunity is to move beyond vehicle delivery and take a longer-term role in how the transport system performs. For operators, the attraction is a coordinated solution without necessarily carrying every asset and technical responsibility themselves.
TWO MODELS, ONE STRATEGIC SHIFT
The two routes address different needs, but they share a common thread. It is not the disappearance of vehicle ownership. It is the growing ability to separate the transport service a customer needs from the ownership of every asset required to provide it.
That makes the decision more nuanced for fleet managers. Ownership can remain attractive where demand is stable, vehicles are intensively used and in-house expertise is strong. Service-based arrangements can be compelling where flexibility, integrated support or lower upfront investment matters more. As electric commercial vehicles become more widespread, integrated offers may grow more relevant to operators that want new technology without assembling every part of the operating system themselves.
But service models are not a universal replacement for ownership. Contracts can create dependency on suppliers, limit flexibility through their terms and cost more under different operating conditions. The winning model will depend on what the operator needs, what the provider can reliably deliver and how the commercial risks are shared.
emBRWace Perspective
The future of fleet management will not be defined by ownership alone. It will be shaped by the ability to choose the right combination of owned assets, flexible vehicle access and integrated transport services.
CharterWay and Volvo’s Trondheim package illustrate different points along that transition: service-led access to commercial vehicles in one case, and a turnkey combination of electric buses, maintenance and charging in the other.
For fleet operators, the strategic question is no longer simply how many vehicles to buy. It is which capabilities to own, which to access and which to procure as a service.
The objective is not to own less for its own sake. It is to deliver more transport value from every commercial commitment.
emBRWace Explains
1.What is the difference between TaaS and FaaS?
TaaS centres on accessing trucks and associated services through arrangements such as rental or full-service leasing. FaaS focuses more broadly on procuring freight transport or logistics outcomes as a service. The exact scope depends on the contract.
2.Is Mercedes-Benz CharterWay a pure FaaS model?
No. CharterWay is principally a truck rental and leasing offer with supporting services. It illustrates the move towards service-led access to freight vehicles, but it should not be confused with a contract in which the customer simply buys freight movement as an outcome.
3.What makes Electric Bus-as-a-Service different?
It can integrate electric buses with maintenance, battery management and charging infrastructure, giving the operator a coordinated transport solution rather than a vehicle alone.
4.Does a service-based model always cost less than ownership?
No. Its value depends on utilisation, contract pricing, included services, operational requirements and the allocation of risk. Operators should compare the total cost and obligations of each option.
5.What should fleet managers assess before choosing a service model?
Total cost, flexibility, service-level commitments, contract duration, maintenance responsibilities, energy and infrastructure costs, supplier dependency and exit conditions.
Thought to Take Away
Own the assets that make commercial sense. Access the services that create flexibility. Procure the outcomes that move the business forward.
Sources:
Daimler Truck, “Truck-as-a-Service: Daimler Truck Financial Services integrates rental offer from CharterWay” (16 January 2025); Daimler Truck announcement on adding the eActros 600 to CharterWay’s rental fleet (2025); Volvo Buses, “Volvo receives largest ever order of fully electric buses for Trondheim, Norway” (18 September 2017
