It’s 7:00 AM. A new electric bus rolls into your service bay. There is no rumble of a diesel engine, just the quiet hum of high voltage. Your lead mechanic looks at the chassis, then at your old, fixed hoist and realises the world has changed. The lift points are different, the vehicle looks heavier and he does not even know where to begin on safety.

Electric and hybrid heavy vehicles are not just on the way; they are already here. For Australian workshops, this shift is not about throwing away your tools; it’s about upgrading your way of operations. By 2026, the most successful workshops will be the ones with the most flexibility, not the tools or the mechanics.

Here are five steps to ensure your workshop does not just survive the transition but can lead it.

Step 1: Respect the New Heavy

In the diesel world, weight is constant. Of course, in some vehicles, there might be a few extra accessories that might increase the weight, but the weight range is always predictable. In the EV world, weight is a moving target. Battery packs, often mounted deep within the chassis, can make a vehicle significantly heavier and shift its centre of gravity in ways that a standard hoist will not be able to manage.

What can you do? Assess your current lifting capacity now. Portable heavy vehicle column hoists like Endurequip or Finkbeiner are popular in the EV era because they don't lock you into one position. Both hoists allow you to adjust your lift points vehicle-by-vehicle, ensuring that a $500,000 electric truck stays perfectly level and safe.

Step 2: Redefine the Safe Zone

High voltage systems bring a new kind of tension to the workshop floor. Even a routine brake job or suspension repair now requires a Safety First procedure due to high voltage for isolation procedures and exclusion zones.

What can you do? Create dedicated EV service bays with clear visual boundaries. Use lifting equipment that offers precise, synchronised control and clear feedback. When your team hears the solid click of hoists that are synchronised, they will feel confident that the hoists with the vehicle are safe.

Step 3: Choose Flexible Over Fixed

The days of being attached to the floor like a service pit or a fixed hoist are disappearing. As your fleet grows to include everything from hydrogen ready or electric buses and trucks, your floor plan needs to be fluid.

What can you do? Think of your workshop floor as a blank canvas. Portable heavy vehicle hoists allow you to reconfigure your entire layout in minutes. Whether you are servicing a long wheelbase bus today or a compact hybrid truck tomorrow, you will never have to turn a client away because the vehicle won't fit in the bay.

Step 4: Staff Training

Focus on awareness. Your mechanics don’t need to become electrical engineers, but they need to be EV ready. Due to the rapid technological changes, there is uncertainty in many workshops, but we need to replace that uncertainty with familiarity.

What can you do? Focus on awareness. Teach the team why hoist positioning is critical for battery safety and how to use custom lifting adaptors and ramps for new chassis designs. When a mechanic understands the why, the how becomes second nature.

Step 5: Prepare for the Workshop You Will Have in 2030

Buying equipment for today’s vehicles is not a great plan. Ask yourself the question - Are you buying for the diesel fleet of yesterday or the mixed energy fleet of tomorrow?

• Choose equipment with load capacity headroom for heavier batteries
• Look for modular systems that can grow with you
• Select manufacturers who offer quality, long-term compliance and local support. Endurequip has been Australian-Made for over 35 years, while Finkbeiner has been made in Germany since 1927, with national service support for both brands

Preparing Without the Panic

Transitioning to electric and hybrid fleets does not mean starting from scratch; it means working smarter. By focusing on weight, safety and flexibility, you turn the 2026 deadline from uncertainty into a competitive edge.

The workshops that invest early in flexible portable heavy vehicle hoists and staff training will be able to transition better for the future.

Additional Notes:

HVIA - Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia is a passionate advocate of funding incentives to accelerate the low and zero emissions transition and the following are a result of state and federal funding:

• CEFC and Volvo Trucks Australia: A $70 million financing package to drive down the cost of battery-electric trucks - Click to read
• NSW Kick-start Funding: Financial incentives for businesses to purchase up to 15 electric vehicles - Click to read
• Victoria Freight Sector Co-Investment Fund: $8 million to assist operators in trialling low emission equipment - Click to read

This information is accurate at the time of publication, and RUD Australia takes no responsibility for any errors, inadvertent or otherwise. Some pictures are for illustration only.