Fleet Electrification Strategy Planning

It's hard not to notice the number of zero-emission fleet vehicles being operated these days, and any company operating a fleet has likely at least entertained the notion of transitioning partially or fully to EVs. However, fleet electrification requires a substantial infrastructure beyond buying new vehicles. Electric vehicle fleets usually also merit a substantial EV charging station dedicated to them and attuned to their needs.

Studies like this one by Cox Automotive show that 14% of fleets already operate EVS, and the trend will likely increase over the next five years. Now is the time to assess what fleet electrification can and should look like for you.

Fleet Electrification Planning: Before You Get Started

People know that ​​transitioning a fleet to zero-emissions EV charging requires changes in protocol to account for any time needed to charge. However, there are ways to bring intelligent design and charger choices to your work to keep your costs manageable and boost your ROI on the electrification process. Thoughtful planning goes a long way toward making this transition smooth and effective.

Why You Should Electrify Your Fleet

The long-term benefits of fleet electrification are a key part of your initial planning. After all, you must get stakeholders on board with the transition process and the upfront investments involved. It's essential to make sure everyone understands why EV fleets are the vision you're aiming to achieve:

• Fuel costs are lower and more price stable in the long term, protecting you from the volatility in gasoline markets.
• EV fleets have reduced maintenance expenses due to the lower complexity involved in the machinery - some estimates set the expenses at half as much to maintain. This can also lead to less time in the shop, which causes fleet interruptions.
• With three-quarters fewer greenhouse gases emitted by EV vehicles than their gas-powered counterparts, you'll hit emissions reduction targets much faster. This is a huge part of reaching commitments to clean energy adoption and pollution reduction for businesses operating fleets.
• Zero-emissions EV fleets showcase a commitment to sustainability in a way that less concrete green messaging may not impact customers. Making your brand strongly associated with clean energy commitments can position you to your brand's advantage.

Fleet Electrification Challenges and Considerations

Fleet electrification has so many benefits that it's hard not to encourage moving forward quickly. Still, there are benefits in tracking key considerations and ensuring you have the key EV data to make your roll-out as successful as possible. There are standard considerations, like where you'll get the funding for your project and assessing the site where your EV chargers will be located.

For instance, there's no need to feel EV fleet range anxiety, but there is significant value in tracking the data and determining what range is needed to maximize the value your EV fleet brings to your company. Similarly, your operations will differ when you must coordinate the timing for various vehicles to charge at the same stations and stay topped up on days when they'll need their entire range. Deploying your EV fleet will require testing and adjustment to be sure you've created an optimal operational protocol for your teams—it's only a challenge, though, if you haven't accounted for this factor in your plan for EV fleet electrification.

Incentives for EV Fleet Electrification

PowerFlex's team of incentive specialists keeps an eye out for various funding sources for our many clean energy project customers. As incentives emerge for EV fleet electrification in particular, our specialists can help you determine how to defray costs via rebates and initiatives at the national, state, and local levels. Seventeen states are already leading the charge toward zero-emissions fleet vehicles, and more programs are being considered and adopted all the time, so don't ever rule out the possibility of incentive funding until you've talked with us.

Key Steps in Developing a Fleet Electrification Strategy

The path to a great design, timeline, and milestones in fleet electrification requires thoughtful steps. At each step, align your final goals with your fleet's unique needs.

Understand Your Goals

Your first step involves getting a realistic set of goals created; stakeholders are more likely to stay on board with the transition if you have a strong vision for how much of your fleet will be involved, how quickly you want to stand up the new system, and how you want to measure success as you electrify the fleet. Whether you're trying to take advantage of solar and storage systems that allow you to produce electricity for use in your fleet or want to cut the emissions of your current fleet, the clearer your goals are, the easier it will be to build the infrastructure to make them happen.

Fleet Assessment

If making these goals raises more stakeholder questions, you can continue refining goals as part of your fleet assessment period. This involves documenting current vehicle usage,  driving data, environmental impacts, any software you're currently using, and the responsibilities/rhythms of the fleet manager that will be impacted by electrification.

One main limiting factor that should be a key part of the fleet assessment is assessing daily driving needs and how much different EV ranges would affect the fleet's functionality. While vehicles with a shorter range can be more affordable, they must be factored against how often they need to be charged and whether frequent charging would interrupt your fleet's daily functions.

Feasibility Analysis of Fleet Electrification

Once you understand the data on your current fleet, you can begin creating an electrification plan and determining the feasibility of transitioning on the timeline you prefer.

First, you'll determine which part of the fleet will be electrified. While 100% adoption may sound great, depending on your needs, keeping some fleet vehicles gas-powered and using a hybrid approach may be more beneficial. You'll also want to learn more about the software, hardware, and services needed to keep your EV fleet and chargers in shape. This is where PowerFlex can help you get valuable context to make your electrification plan fit your needs.

Then, you'll decide on the numbers: how many EV chargers are needed, what types of chargers and vendors you want to work with, and what energy management system will serve your needs, provide strong support, and be long-term functional.

You'll also want to assess your site location with a critical eye - picking a strategic charging system location and making needed facility upgrades can take time, but getting that ironed out before you start the process will help you avoid costly changes in direction down the road.

Finally, you'll want to crunch the numbers with your chosen vendors and determine what funding sources might help you reduce the total costs of your electric fleet and charger system. Upfront incentives can help make the benefits and ROI of fleet electrification possible sooner. You'll also want to determine if other facility upgrades could cut your energy costs for this fleet.

Risk Assessment

Before moving forward with your final plan, consider challenges like security requirements, regulators that might need to be involved, and ease of access to your charging sites, all factored into the site's design. Mapping out how you'll protect your fleet's assets while getting all needed stakeholders access can have a massive benefit once your EV fleet ramps up to entire operations.

How PowerFlex Can Support Your Fleet Electrification Goals

As you can see, fleet electrification requires much more than trading in vehicles. When done well, it can positively impact both overall emissions and your company's bottom line. PowerFlex is an end-to-end solutions provider. We don't just parachute in for part of this process; we're here to help you see your clean energy journey through to its completion, including ongoing monitoring and maintenance work.

When policies, incentives, and standards change in this rapidly growing industry, PowerFlex is proactive in working with your company to adjust course and make sure that your plans still work for your goals, even as national and state programs and funding sources may change focus. Get to know us and our extensive experience working with EV fleets today—we can't wait to hear from you and help you get started.