A case study
700 trucks, 300 of them electric and further 50 carbon-neutral: these are the impressive fleet figures of ASKO, Norway’s leading grocery wholesaler and part of the NORGE Group. Today, ASKO operates more than 20% of Norway’s entire electric truck fleet, managed through PANION.
Six years ago, the picture looked very different. At the time, ASKO was among the first companies to invest in electric heavy-duty transport, operating just ten electric trucks. It quickly became clear, however, that electrification involves far more than simply purchasing new vehicles. “With diesel trucks, you don’t have to think about battery capacity, charging times, or how to allocate the available power across different vehicles. We realized early on that these were challenges that would need to be adressed as the number of electric trucks continued to grow,” says Arne Bjone, Development and Project Manager for Transport at ASKO NORGE.
From the very beginning, ASKO was determined to find solutions that would not only look good on paper but also prove themselves in day-to-day operations. While the initial charging infrastructure was sufficient to charge all electric trucks simultaneously, it was obvious that this would eventually change. “We knew that, in the long run, we would have significantly more vehicles than charging stations. That’s why we wanted to start developing a solution early on. Systems like these take time to develop, and we wanted to be ready when the need arose,” says Bjone.
With a clear objective in mind, ASKO began searching for the right partner. They found one in k2.mobility. Working closely together, the two companies jointly developed PANION, a software solution for planning and managing charging operations. What started as a pilot project has since evolved into a solution that is now deployed across all ASKO companies. To understand how it got there, we need to go back to the beginning.
Norway’s largest grocery wholesaler.
More than 700 trucks across 19 locations. Multi-shift delivery operations with multiple routes per day
Company-owned vehicles, subcontractors, and third-party transport providers. More than 300 electric trucks from various manufacturers.
Around 125 chargers with more than 345 charging points. Integration of multiple telematics and transport management systems.
When our collaboration began in 2022, we were a young company with one major customer: ASKO. Our greatest strength? Listening. Rather than relying on endless PowerPoint presentations, we took the time to understand the customer. How did their operations work? Which routes did the electric trucks run? What depots did they operate, and what made each one unique? Only then did we develop a solution, tailored to the market and their fleet. “This wasn’t an off-the-shelf solution, but software built specifically to meet ASKO’s requirements,” explains Tobias Zschech, Lead Program Manager at k2.mobility. “I think ASKO recognized that we were genuinely committed to understanding their business.”
So how does the fleet and charging management platform actually work? PANION analyzes each vehicle’s state of charge, available energy supply, and the operational status of the electric fleet in real time, to optimize charging priorities: Which vehicles need to be charged first? When should they be charged? And how should the available grid capacity be allocated? The result is a flexible and efficient charging operation.
“What’s great about PANION is that the system takes care of the complexity for us. We have different battery capacities, different vehicle types, and different charging stations. Yet every electric truck has to be ready exactly when it’s needed,” explains Bjone. But that’s not all: “PANION also helps us combine operational requirements with economic considerations. By planning charging more effectively and taking advantage of periods with lower electricity prices, we can reduce our energy costs while ensuring operations run smoothly.”
Bjone is convinced that the close collaboration between ASKO and k2.mobility was a key factor in the project’s success. “k2 had direct access to the people using the solution everyday. They spoke with drivers, transport planners, and other operational staff who understand the realities of electric trucking better than anyone. That made it possible to develop a system that truly meets their needs and addresses real-world challenges.”
Ultimately, the biggest challenge in this transformation is not the technology itself, it’s changing the way people think. Years of experience with diesel vehicles must now give way to entirely new questions: When should I charge? Which vehicle should be assigned to which route? How do I plan with kilowatt-hours instead of liters?
“ASKO approached this transformation with courage, optimism, and a pioneering spirit. They didn’t wait for the perfect moment. They simply got started, learned, adapted, and ultimately scaled very successfully. Today, dispatchers say that PANION makes visible what previously relied on experience and gut instinct. Drivers value the vehicle’s quiet operation, cleanliness, and modern technology. Many of them say they wouldn’t want to go back,” says Tobias Zsesch, reflecting on the project.
What’s great about PANION is that the system takes care of the complexity for us. We have different battery capacities, different vehicle types, and different charging stations. Yet every electric truck has to be ready exactly when it’s needed.
Thanks to the strong collaboration, ASKO has been able to continuously scale its electrification efforts. In 2024, PANION had been rolled out across seven locations, managing 84 electric trucks and 150 routes per day. Just a year later, the platform was operating across 15 locations, supporting 170 electric trucks and 300 daily routes. Today, PANION is deployed across all 19 ASKO sites and manages the company’s entire fleet of 300 electric trucks.
The impact on productivity has been particularly significant. In 2024, the electric fleet operated on a single-shift basis. Since the start of 2026, the vehicles have been running in two-shift operations, effectively doubling their utilization.
That also adds up to an impressive amount of electricity: the fleet consumes around 18 million kilowatt-hours per year. In other words, 18 gigawatt-hours annually, which is roughly equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of a small town with 5,000 households.
The goal is clear: within the next three to four years, ASKO aims to become completely carbon-neutral. “What’s still needed is the transportation and charging infrastructure required to make electric long-haul logistics truly viable on a larger scale. Interestingly, despite longer distances and lower population density, the Scandinavian countries are tackling this challenge earlier than we are in Central Europe. And k2.mobility is helping to drive that transation. We are actively involved in European research projects that are laying a solid foundation for electric long-haul logistics across Europe,” says Zsesch, outlining the company’s future plans.
“Many people are still discussing whether electric heavy-duty transport can work in practice. We’ve chosen to focus on finding solutions and putting them into action. Our collaboration with k2 and the development of PANION show how strong partnerships can make electrification work in the real world,” comments Bjone.
“Over the past four years, our collaboration with ASKO has evolved from an early pilot project into a fully scaled solution for managing electric vehicle fleets. Together, we’ve demonstrated that intelligent charging and planning can be seamlessly integrated into even the most complex logistics operations. This success is about more than technology. It’s the result of the strong, solution-oriented partnership we have built,” concludes Zsesch.
Managing Director
Managing Director
