After interviewing Fleet Managers that have already started the journey to electrify their fleets, we’ve developed a five step process to help other organisations embark on their own adventure.
Step 1 – Review how many kilometres each vehicle travels during the month and where they go.
This first step might not make sense, however a fleet management MANTRA is ‘Fit for purpose’ which also applies to EVs.
Currently EVs aren’t suitable for every driver or every job role. So you’ll need to understand which vehicles within your business are good candidates for the ‘test and trial’ phase.
You’ll also use information in your communications plan when stakeholders start raising questions about vehicle range, size and charging infrastructure.
There’s been lots of information released by telematics providers and businesses that taken this first step that indicate the average daily distance by motorists drivers is approximately 30 kilometres. This will be different of each vehicle in your fleet depending on the job role and where the driver lives. It will be different now compared to pre-pandemic so you can’t rely on old data.
After 90 days you’ll understand the habits of your drivers and be prepared to advise Senior Management and other stakeholders if you’re ready for electric vehicles.
The things you’re looking for in the travel habits are:
- Passenger vehicles that are similar in size EVs that are on sale today.
- Consistent daily kilometres. It could be 30 or 100. It doesn’t matter because most EVs on the market today can travel more than 300 kilometres on one charge and it’s unlikely a fleet driver will do more than that in a day.
- An employee that starts and finishes at home so they can charge overnight.
- Vehicles are in the outer suburbs or regional areas because they are more likely to have a garage or off-street parking.
Starting with this list you’ll probably find 10% of your fleet that meet the criteria for an EV in 2022. In this group you should help you find some willing early adopters which will become advocates when it’s time to roll out electrics vehicles across the entire fleet.
The five steps are:
- Review how many kilometres each vehicle travels during the month and where they go.
- Introduce your staff to electric vehicles via information sessions and experience days.
- Conduct internal surveys to find willing early adopters and identify operational challenges.
- Perform an audit of buildings to determine suitability for EV charging infrastructure.
- Evaluate the available EVs in the market to determine a suitable vehicle.
