As the world moves towards a more sustainable future, fleet electrification is becoming increasingly vital. As a fleet manager, transitioning to electric vehicles can seem like a daunting task, but having a solid EV adoption strategy in place can make all the difference. This strategy should cover a variety of topics, including assessing EV suitability, selecting specific models, determining optimal charging infrastructure and identifying the different ways you may need to update your existing operations.
When considering transitioning to EVs, it’s important to examine the utilization of all your current vehicles. By analyzing your driving data, you may find that you can rightsize your fleet and replace multiple vehicles with a single EV. This would not only help take another CO2-emitting vehicle off the road but it can also reduce your operating costs.
New EV models are entering the market every day and just like with any fleet vehicle, choosing the correct one for the application is critical. In order to determine the best EV for your application, there are three questions that need to be answered.
1. What is the maximum distance the vehicle will drive in a day?
The first step is to understand what the range requirements are for the vehicle, which is most likely going to be determined by how far the vehicle will drive in a single day.
2. What is the total cost of ownership of the vehicle?
Next, you need to consider a vehicle’s total cost of ownership (TCO), which includes the acquisition, maintenance and operating costs over its lifespan. It is true that EVs usually have a higher upfront cost than ICE vehicles, but they often have a lower TCO in the right applications. In fact, Enterprise Fleet Management found they could potentially replace 45% of their fleet with EVs, which would save them $167 million over the life of the vehicles.
3. What is the vehicle’s dwell time and where does it occur?
Finally, to ensure your vehicles are fully charged when they need to be, you have to consider where they sit and how long they will be there. This will determine how many charging stations you will need, where you should place them and the overall power requirements. Every fleet’s dwell time and location is going to be different so it is important to use data from your own fleet when reviewing this question.
With these questions answered, you are ready to choose the specific models that will work best for you. To get recommendations based on your unique operational requirements, you can use Geotab’s EV Suitability Assessment (EVSA) tool. The EVSA identifies which vehicles are best suited for electrification and provides highly tailored EV recommendations by leveraging real-world driving data. EV model suggestions are calculated based on model availability, range suitability, estimated state-of-charge, vehicle dwell locations and durations and your preferences for charging (at depot, home or on-route) to ensure a realistic and precise approach to EV adoption.