ACT Expo 2026 is shaping up to be the most comprehensive show in the event’s 16-year history. The transportation expo, held this year in Las Vegas, brings nearly 400 speakers, over 200 vehicles on display and in the Ride & Drive, and typically over 12,000 attendees. This year’s conference highlights a commercial transportation industry in the throes of technological transformation—and wrestling with what to do about it.
Beyond the sheer scale of the event, there’s also an expansion of what attendees will find on the show floor. Emerging green technologies will still be there, but ACT Expo will showcase the digital technology layer that sits on top of advanced vehicle platforms. This focus will make the show useful to any fleet that needs pragmatic advice about measurable returns of new technologies taking hold in the market.
Erik Neandross, president of Clean Transportation Solutions at TRC, and host of ACT Expo told FreightWaves in an interview that the event reflects a maturation of the industry’s approach to emerging technologies. As always at ACT Expo, fleet presentations on their experiences with new technology deployments will be a cornerstone of the conference. That real-world experience provides more insight than a showcase of innovation.
“There’s no end to the technology choices, fuel options and drivetrain options available to commercial operators,” Neandross said. “But the key is what really makes sense for them from a financial perspective. Where can fleets expect to achieve equivalent or improved Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and thus, a return on their investment in a given period of time?”
That question—where the value actually lies for fleet operators—will drive much of the conversation at this year’s event.
The Digital Frontier Expands to Fleets
A big focus of ACT Expo 2026 is what Neandross calls “the digital frontier”—a catch-all term encompassing software-defined vehicles (SDVs), real-time data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) in fleet management, the growing role of predictive maintenance, and a lot more.
“Last year we explored software-defined vehicles, which was kind of a new topic, and we will see continued progress in this area this year,” Neandross said. “While the digital frontier can be all-encompassing and overwhelming to fleets, especially given how loosely the term ‘AI’ is thrown around these days, when a customer is able to make the right technology selections to fit their application and operation, we have seen fleets reporting significant improvements in uptime, asset utilization and productivity, the driver experience, and safety. There is real value here, but it’s important for fleets to understand the landscape of the digital frontier and make the right selections in terms of technology and partners.”
Another big focus of ACT Expo 2026 will be driver assist technologies and autonomous vehicle (AV) commercialization. The conference will feature a main stage panel with leading figures in the autonomous space including Aurora, Kodiak, Waabi, Torc, and PlusAI. These industry leaders will be discussing where the technology stands as it moves beyond pilot demonstrations and into a commercialization phase. A key focus will be identifying where and how the technology best fits into a fleet’s operation, and ultimately, how to achieve the right ROI on the investment.
“Regardless of the product we’re talking about, ACT Expo has always served the market to showcase technologies moving from the R&D and pilot phases and into the commercialization phase,” Neandross explained. “Between the conference sessions and technology on the show floor, the event highlights how the industry will scale a technology from a handful of units, to dozens to then hundreds or thousands on the road.”
As part of this advanced digital transformation – which includes driver assist and autonomous technologies, the use of AI, and a lot more – safety is an area of focus that is gaining a lot more attention from fleets.
“That’s something we heard loud and clear last year,” he said. “In all of the conversations we were having about digital or autonomy, I just kept hearing safety, safety, safety.”
For an event historically focused on clean technology and alternative powertrains, the emphasis on safety represents a notable addition. The driving forces aren’t mysterious; nuclear verdicts in trucking litigation have become almost routine headlines, and fleets are looking for every available tool to protect themselves, improve driver and vehicle safety, increase uptime and reduce costs.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are at the center of this conversation. Lane-keeping technology, collision avoidance systems, automatic braking, and camera systems—both inside and outside the cab—are increasingly working together to create safer vehicles.
The economic benefits extend well beyond avoiding crashes. Neandross outlined a cascade of advantages for fleets that invest in safety technology: improved driver retention, reduced downtime and lower repair costs (the vehicle spends less time in the shop), happier customers (deliveries arrive as scheduled), reduced legal and public image liability, improved Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scores (which attract more business), and better insurance outcomes.
“Fleets that operate more safely have better CSA scores, which they can then use to better retain existing customers, attract more customers, and develop longer-term, more robust relationships,” he said. “You’re avoiding litigation, lawsuits, nuclear verdicts, all those sorts of things. And then ultimately, we also see it helping with fleets having better access to insurance coverage options, and lower insurance costs.”
The challenge lies in quantifying these benefits. Unlike a 3% efficiency improvement from an aerodynamic package, the return on investment (ROI) for safety technology involves variables like mitigated repair costs and insurance savings that don’t fit neatly into traditional total cost of ownership (TCO) models.
“Those are things that are not necessarily easy to put into a TCO model,” Neandross acknowledged. “But they matter, they’re important, and the economic value is there. The challenge, and opportunity for us, is to help illustrate the business case for fleet safety investments, which will be a key area of focus for ACT Expo this year as fleet presenters will highlight their experiences with these technologies and their return on investment.”
2026 Brings an EV Reality Check
When asked about the state of commercial electric vehicles heading into ACT Expo 2026, Neandross noted that the event will take this topic head-on.
“Clearly the interest level in EVs is a bit reduced from frenzied pitch we saw a couple of years ago,” he noted. “The changes and removal of several EV-forcing regulations in California and other states, along with reductions in federal funding support for EVs and charging infrastructure are having an impact on the market.”
However, he pointed to data showing consistent growth in commercial battery-electric vehicle deployments.
“When you look at the data, that always tells the real story,” Neandross said. Market figures show commercial EV deployments rising year over year, from about 800 in 2021, to 13,500 in 2022, 26,000 in 2023, and more than 41,000 battery-electric commercial vehicles deployed in 2024, according to the 2025 edition of State of Sustainable Fleets. While many projected higher growth rates based upon the regulatory environment that previously existed, the industry is clearly maturing and has been roughly doubling year-over-year.
Much of this growth has occurred in the cargo van segment, driven by Rivian’s partnership with Amazon. Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe will deliver a keynote address at the conference.
The company committed to putting 100,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road, and that program is well underway.
In the heavy-duty segment, Tesla’s Semi program appears ready to drive significant growth in the Class 8 battery electric truck market, alongside OEMs like Volvo Trucks and Daimler Truck which have significant deployed fleets. Tesla recently announced a partnership with Pilot to install charging infrastructure across five states, and its Semi production facility is expected to begin commercial production in the coming months, poised to again shake up the market as this product begins to roll out to customers.
“As pricing decreases and a product’s operational capability improves, the EV business case becomes increasingly more attractive, even without incentives or regulations,” Neandross said. “As customers see the ROI on technology that meets their operational needs, and financial and environmental goals, we are going to see the needle really start to move in these applications. This, in turn, drives increased competition in the marketplace, which then further benefits the customers with improved products and lower prices.”
Gaseous Fuels, Alternative Powertrains and Clean Diesel
In addition to the attention paid to digital tech and electrification, ACT Expo 2026 will feature substantial programming on gaseous fuels—natural gas vehicles (NGVs), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and hydrogen—where significant activity continues.
Cummins has provided strong updates over the past year on its X15N natural gas engine product, with more deployments generating real-world data which prove the use-case, operational feasibility and ROI.
“Natural gas is one of the technologies that’s a great example of what we’re talking about—there’s real TCO there,” Neandross said. “In the right application, with the right project team and approach, we have seen tremendously positive economic outcomes for a customer. As one large over-the-road fleet once told me, ‘these things print money.’ ”
Clean and advanced diesel technology will also be given significant attention at this year’s ACT Expo, driven in part by the finalization of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2027 emissions standards.
“The OEMs are excited to talk about EPA 2027 compliant engine solutions they are bringing to market, as we all prepare for those federal standards to take effect,” Neandross said. “There is new technology that fleets need to know about, and increased costs, but some real benefits to these new engines. In addition to the technology aspect, we’re seeing more use of renewable diesel, B100, those sorts of things; so we’ll have a lot of coverage on diesel.”
Sessions will examine fuel efficiency and reliability improvements across advanced powertrains, along with how fuel management technologies and hybrid systems are improving uptime and reducing costs for diesel fleets.
Professional Development Opportunities
Another big addition to this year’s ACT Expo will be the introduction of a continuing education certification program.
More than 25 sessions have been approved by the NAFA Fleet Management Association for Continuing Professional Education hours applicable toward Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM) recertification. Additionally, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) has also confirmed that 10 ACT Expo workshops meet its criteria for general continuing education hours.
“Given the massive array of technology that’s out there these days and all the different varieties—from the clean diesel to the gaseous fuels to the electric drive to everything digital overlaying all of the powertrain and fuel technologies—there’s just a ton going on,” Neandross said. “We’ve been talking about these continuing education credits for a couple of years, and the team was able to make it happen this year. It’s exciting because attendees can return home with stronger credentials and knowledge they can apply to their job right away. It provides even more value for fleets attending the event this year.”
The workshop programming spans practical applications of artificial intelligence and software-defined vehicles, automation and advanced safety systems, EV charging strategies and grid integration, alternative fuel pathways, cleaner combustion and vehicle efficiency, and market dynamics shaping fleet investment decisions.
“We realize fleets are pressed—frankly, everyone’s pressed—for time and budget,” Neandross said. “Our agenda puts people in a position to maximize their time and learn which new technologies will have the biggest impact on their financial returns and operational success. That’s what will allow for further investments in these advanced technologies, and what will ultimately make the industry stronger.”
To learn more, visit www.actexpo.com.
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