Adding electric vehicles to your fleet takes planning and asking the right questions.
As the business case for including or switching to electric vehicles in a fleet continues to grow, it’s important for fleet managers to understand how to begin that process or evaluate it accordingly.
Whether you plan on adding 1 EV or completely replacing your entire fleet you need to understand the true benefit that such a move might make.
We at GPS to GO help small and medium sized business owners and fleet managers on a daily basis with their GPS tracking needs both for existing fleets and future fleet needs. Given our experience, we believe that any fleet managers looking to go green must ask themselves four questions.
Here are those questions that any owner or fleet manager must ask in order to have a successful transition:
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.
4. How can Geotab help with sustainable fleet management?
Geotab offers a full range of sustainability solutions, including:
• EV fleet management to ensure fleets get the best performance and greatest value out of their electric vehicles
• Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment to support and justify the transition to electric
• Environmental performance dashboards and reports to enable fleets to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants
• Vehicle tracking to enable fleet and dispatch managers to optimize routing and reduce transport mileage
• Data insights to enable local authorities and other government agencies to improve traffic safety, reduce congestion and improve local air quality
Whether your have all electric, all fossil fuels, or a mix of power sources, GPS to GO, as an authorized Geotab reseller, can help you best optimize your fleet and increase your efficiency. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you, start by clicking here and sign up for a free and complimentary price quote.
