What does your plan look like? Are you operating a government fleet? If so, electric vehicles (EV) are in your future. To what degree and extent, that will vary. We have seen EV commitments from large cities such as Los Angeles, Portland, New York as examples. According to estimates, by 2030 half of all US car sales will be EVs, and the number of EVs in the US will be around 26 million. Where do the majority of cities across America stand on electric vehicles for their fleets? Partial or fully converted to Electric Vehicle fleet? Your government fleet may not be able to answer that question, or you already have the answer. A strategic approach and planning are essential. Electric vehicles are in your future.
Here is a simple question, which contains a myriad of sub-questions and concerns: How will you support an EV fleet? Fleet managers are responsible for managing an EV fleet, regardless whether maintenance is performed in-house or outsourced.
Below are some common concerns:
- Higher upfront cost
- Charging infrastructure
- Service and safety capability of your fleet garage and technicians
- Service wait times at dealers
- Viable EV Technology for HD trucks and equipment
- Anxiety caused by extreme temperatures, especially in hot or cold climates
- What fleet departments are going EV first?
- Which fleet departments may not or should not go EV?
These are straightforward questions and concerns. Upon deeper investigation, we find a number of questions that will produce infrastructure, personnel, and service changes that government entities may need to address:
- Is your electric grid up to additional requirements?
- Where and how many Electric Vehicle charging stations are needed?
- EV charging stations require more maintenance than gas or diesel pumps
- EV Charging stations are subject to copper theft, a growing trend
- How will patrol and service areas be affected by range for emergency services?
- Training your fleet technicians on EV technology
- Shop layout, tooling and capability
There are no simple answers to these questions. The larger the EV commitment, the larger your list of concerns become.
Like other alternative fuel options that have come before EV, CNG & LNG, government fleets are faced with infrastructure, cost and serviceability challenges. Although these challenges still exist with an EV fleet, the advanced technology brings even more factors into play. Again, with every question, there are sub-questions that arise.
From users and operator input, infrastructure, public services and welfare, there needs to be a team of people looking 10 years forward to successfully transition a fleet to all or even partially electric. Most governments are willing…but are they ready?
