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availability, use case scenarios, as well as a survey of a fleet’s drivers.

Organizations can then consider what level of electrification works for them given their circumstances. Drivers who take their vehicles home but live in apartments, for example, may not be able to charge those vehicles easily. Routinely carrying heavy goods can degrade the battery or the range. As well, how cold the climate is can also affect a fleet’s suitability for electrification. Moving to a smaller internal combustion engine (ICE) or hybrid vehicles as a first step may be better options for some organizations, Marcus says.

“One facet says ‘great’, but the rest of it says, ‘not right now,’” he says of the criteria for electrifying a fleet. “So, you might want to look at a hybrid solution, something that’s going to be a better solution on a pathway.”

There is low-hanging fruit available for fleets looking to electrify, says Todd Marron, decarbonization and electrification lead for PowerON and another speaker at the expo. For example, large organizations with several different vehicle types can look first to electrify their pickup trucks, rather than long-haul rigs that drive hundreds of kilometres each day.

“A lot of it has to do with the duty cycle,” Marron says. “A good example would be a large entity that sells tinned beverages, but they also sell very lightweight chips. The chips side of the business is becoming electrified because the payload, is it’s a volume thing, not a weight thing, whereas the tin soda is not even close. So, there are these types of considerations.”

Information rules

Gathering data is key for organizations looking to start electrifying their fleets, says Elizabeth Baker, partner at Deloitte Consulting, who also spoke at the conference. Having the right information about your fleet, network, electrical capacity, and other key areas is important.

“What are your emissions targets? What are you expecting to get from emissions targets? What percentage are you expecting to come from your fleet?” she says. “Then starting to leverage that data to drive out the considerations around vehicles, infrastructures, and financials. Once you have your data, you understand what your current network looks like. You can start to look at what are the routes that current vehicles can start to replace and be leveraged for. What are the routes that are potentially longer range or higher payload that the current technology won’t cover?”

Sequencing and prioritization are vital in building the business case for electrification, Baker notes. Consider the total cost of ownership: while there are often large capital costs upfront, operational costs can be lower due to less vehicle maintenance and a lower cost of electricity per kilometre, compared to fuel for the same distance.

“The market is evolving so much that you’re not going to be able to put a roadmap down and say, ‘this is what we’re going to do over the next seven years,’” Baker says. “The roadmap needs to be agile and flexible enough to change with the evolving market, but it gets your leadership aligned and it gets you onto a path that you’re able to govern through. It’s not a linear procurement journey.”

Another conference speaker, James Carter, principal consultant with Vision Mobility, also stresses the importance of measuring the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electrification. Don’t look at the high upfront vehicle costs; rather, look at its TCO while viewing charging as an infrastructure cost associated with the depot, or whatever facility charging happens at.

“With infrastructure, you tend to have a longer payoff period of 20 or 30 years,” Carter says. “It’s important for fleets to understand what the TCO is, and that the cost upfront for charging the vehicles will really only add value to wherever you’re putting that.”

While the environmental benefits of fleet electrification are important, organizations are also interested in the financial incentives of the process, Carter says. Leading with the potential to lower vehicles’ TCO, while then also addressing the environmental benefits, can help to get decision-makers on board with the process.

“The first thing you should do is get the data,” he says. “Get your telematics in, understand carefully what that is. Understand carefully what your range is, what your use case is, where you’re operating it – that’s the starting point.”

Getting drivers to buy in to a switch to electric vehicles can be challenging. Yet Carter says that generally, EVs are popular with end users since they’re smooth, quiet, and powerful. They often include the latest high-tech features. Some companies even reward drivers with the use of EVs for a good driving record.

Having an EV champion who can praise the vehicles can also help to convince other drivers that adopting them is beneficial, Carter adds. It works better to have drivers talk to other drivers about their positive experiences with EVs than to have a manager do so.

“If they like EVs, if they own one already or if it’s something they’re interested in, put them in first,” he says. “They’re able to share their experiences with the other drivers and get them on board.”

Basil Marcus of Foss National Leasing and LeasePlan Canada agrees on the benefits of having an EV champion who is also a driver. Driver surveys can also help to identify and understand unique situations and circumstances. Some drivers who take vehicles home on weekends may use them on Saturdays and Sundays, causing concern about a vehicle’s range. Include drivers in the process, do the research with them, then train them properly in the use of electric vehicles, Marcus says.

“It’s a whole process of iteration as you go through this and it’s evolving so quickly,” he says. “If it doesn’t work today, that doesn’t mean it won’t work in a year’s time, two years’ time, so it’s going to change dramatically.”

Have a plan

Switching fleets to EVs can be time consuming and complex, says Baker of Deloitte Consulting. Organizations with 2030 sustainability goals must act now if those targets include fleet electrification, she notes. Organizations must know what their targets are and how they will reach them. For private-company fleets that haven’t made ESG commitments for 2030, the switch to EVs can be a bit further away. But they must still start now.

“Where are you trying to get to? Start small, but with the big picture in mind,” Baker says. “Have an idea where you’re getting to and start small. But just start. Because it’s coming, and those who wait are potentially going to miss out on some of those opportunities to really optimize the process of the transition rather than being forced into it.” FM/S

By Kate Vigneau