What Is Electric Vehicle Fleet Management?

Electric vehicle fleet management handles the acquisition, deployment, maintenance, and general operations of the electric vehicles (EVs) in your company fleet, optimizing your company’s use of EVs to minimize costs and maximize efficiency. With electric vehicles becoming an ever-more attractive solution to reducing carbon footprints and operating costs, EV fleet management is becoming increasingly important to companies around the world.

EV fleet operators handle the hard work of managing their company’s electric vehicle fleet, including monitoring and analyzing vehicle performance data, developing their EV charging infrastructure, and studying the behavior of fleet drivers to find ways to improve fleet operations.

What should EV fleet operators care about?

Effective EV fleet management requires a thorough understanding of the latest trends and best practices in operating electric fleet vehicles, with a special focus on areas such as vehicle range and charging infrastructure, cost of ownership and adoption, vehicle performance and maintenance considerations, and training considerations, along with the many benefits that come with EV fleet adoption.

EV Cost of Ownership

The cost of adopting and maintaining an EV fleet is vitally important for fleet operators to consider. The total cost of ownership for an EV fleet includes the costs of the vehicles themselves, as well as the cost of charging infrastructure, maintenance, and electricity.

EVs typically have a higher upfront cost than a comparable conventional fleet vehicle, although the lifetime operating costs tend to be significantly lower. One of the more significant expenses of an EV fleet tends to be the charging infrastructure, and while EVs require less maintenance overall, the cost of replacing batteries can be significant as well.

In the long run, though, EV fleets save money by being more fuel-efficient and having lower maintenance costs, in addition to retaining their value much better throughout their lifetime than conventional fleet vehicles.

Electric Vehicle Fleet Charging Infrastructure and EV Range

The biggest difference between electric vehicles and conventional vehicles to consider when managing an EV fleet is range and charging infrastructure. Electric vehicle fleet charging infrastructure is a work in progress across much of the United States, and thoroughly understanding how far your electric fleet vehicles can travel in between charges and the placement of charging stations along your regular routes is critical to getting the most out of your EV fleet.

EV Fleet Performance and Maintenance

Electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs than conventional gas and diesel-fueled vehicles, but they also have very different performance and maintenance considerations compared to conventional vehicles. While EV maintenance is less frequent and costly than gas-powered vehicle maintenance, to get the most out of your EV fleet, regular preventative maintenance and the know-how to perform repairs when things go wrong is still essential.

Your maintenance staff needs to be well-informed and on the cutting edge when it comes to maximizing the performance and lifespan of your electric fleet vehicles’ batteries, electric motors, cooling systems, and software, which differ significantly from their equivalents in conventional gas-powered vehicles, in addition to brake and tire maintenance.

EV Fleet Driver Training

Driving an electric fleet vehicle is different from driving a conventional gas-powered fleet vehicle. Just as technicians need training in repairing and maintaining EVs, EV fleet drivers need training in the use and charging of their electric fleet vehicles.

Your fleet drivers need training to adjust to the smoother, quieter driving conditions provided by EVs and to understand how their driving style can impact their vehicle’s performance and range; for example, aggressive driving with frequent acceleration can lead to an EV’s battery becoming depleted more quickly.

EV drivers need to understand the range of their vehicles, how to manage their vehicle’s energy consumption, how to charge their vehicles, the specific safety features of their vehicles, and how to take precautions regarding certain EV safety risks, such as battery fires or high-voltage components.

The US Department of Energy provides a wealth of further information regarding the fleet applications of EVs and the important considerations regarding EV fleet management.

Thinking of making the switch to an electric vehicle fleet? Let’s take a short walk through all the benefits you can reap from electric fleet vehicles, from cost and performance benefits to improving your corporate image:

What are the benefits of an EV fleet?

If you’re considering swapping out your fleet of conventional gas-powered vehicles for electric vehicles, you’re not alone. As EVs grow more affordable and accessible and electronic vehicle technology advances, electronic fleet vehicles are catching on. Today, EVs can fill roles in light-duty, medium and heavy-duty, and even off-road applications, even outperforming conventional vehicles in several areas.

Here are just a few good reasons to transition over to an EV fleet:

• Cost savings: With electricity prices proving less volatile than those of gasoline and diesel and EVs reaching fuel economies of as low as three cents per mile, EV fleets offer lower operating costs. EVs also have fewer moving parts and no need for oil changes, spark plugs, or transmission fluid, making maintenance less costly as well and contributing to overall lower operating costs.
• Performance benefits: One of the most attractive features of EVs is their superior driving experience. EVs produce maximum torque and smoother acceleration over conventional vehicles, which can be especially useful when hauling heavy loads, and ride quietly compared to conventional vehicles, reducing noise pollution and providing a more comfortable and enjoyable driving and riding experience for driver and passengers alike.
• Environmental benefits: An EV fleet produces zero greenhouse gas emissions and vastly reduces air pollution, keeping our planet cleaner and having positive downstream effects on air quality and public health, especially in urban environments.
• Energy independence: EV fleet vehicles can charge their batteries off any source of electricity, including renewable sources such as solar and wind power, making electric vehicles a powerful tool for lessening our society’s dependence on nonrenewable and carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
• Better resale value: Electric fleet vehicles generally retain their value better than conventional fleet vehicles due to their lower operating costs and maintenance costs, which means that when you need to replace the vehicles in your fleet, you can get more money back from reselling your vehicles—which is money you can funnel back into growing your EV fleet and expanding your operations!
• Take advantage of government incentives: The Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act includes a raft of private and public sector investments for affordable electric vehicles as part of the administration’s goal to have 50 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. Modernizing your fleet can make you eligible for tax credits, rebates, and other financial incentives to save money and offset the costs of modernization.
• Corporate social responsibility benefits: Today, every corporation is especially conscious of its sense of social responsibility—especially its obligation to commit to environmentally sustainable practices and reduce its carbon footprint. The high efficiency and low-emission benefits of an EV fleet can improve your brand reputation and attract environmentally conscious customers and employees to your business.

When it comes to modernizing your fleet with EVs, the hardest part is starting out. Electric vehicle fleet management comes with many benefits and advantages but also comes with high upfront costs for adoption and new factors to consider, such as cost of ownership, maintenance procedures, driver training, and vehicle range and charging infrastructure. Be sure to perform a thorough cost-benefit analysis to determine whether an EV fleet is right for your business.

Winn-Marion is dedicated to helping fleet managers overcome the logistical challenges of electric fleet vehicle adoption and reap the substantial benefits of their EV fleets through reliable, cutting-edge, end-to-end automation, controls, and electric vehicle charging solutions. We bring comprehensive EV fleet solutions from acquisition to installation to lifetime support to end users across a wide range of industries and sectors to meet the unique needs of your business.

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