How to boost an efficient fleet electrification strategy

Electric vehicles are key for sustainable mobility

The upcoming revolution in mobility is poised to be centred around green and sustainable transportation. This shift is driven by several factors. The first being to meet the targets set by major countries to reduce CO2 emissions.

Another reason will be the scarcity of fossil fuel resources in the future, which will make it necessary to use other sources of energy that are more sustainable.

The EV market is booming in Australia. The Electric Vehicle Council states that “there are now approximately 130,000 EVs on Australia’s roads, made up of around 109,000 BEVs and 21,000 PHEVs. If EV sales continue at the same rate for the remainder of 2023, the fleet should reach close to 180,000 by the year’s end”. (1)

In fact, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries highlights that “taking the total number of new electric cars sold in 2023, EVs now represent 8.4% of all new cars sold in Australia. This is a 120.5% increase compared to all of 2022”. (2)

However, commercial vehicle fleets in Australia are quickly shifting to electric vehicles (EVs).

For Australia, the percentage of fleets that contain electric vehicles stood at 50% in 2023, a 31% increase compared with the previous year, which revealed a solid growth for EVs. (3)

Download the Fleet Technology Trends Report Australia 2024 for more information on electric vehicle use in Australia.

What are the key benefits of fleet electrification?

Environmental: An electric vehicle fleet reduces emissions and helps tackle climate change. Showing a commitment to sustainability in this way has the knock-on effect of improving your brand reputation. It’s also a great way to comply with emissions regulations.

Economical: Although the purchase price may be higher for electric vehicles with new battery technology, the running costs are much lower than ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles, making them more economical in the long run. 

Social and health: Electric vehicles produce less noise and are very comfortable to drive – there are no gear changes, for example. This helps improve the driving experience and reduce fatigue.

The challenges of adding EVs to your fleet

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to adopting electric cars in fleets is their pricing, as well as the lack of grid infrastructure and public charging points.

As for the price of electric vehicles, many countries offer subsidies and incentives for those purchasing electric cars and although this helps, many consumers are waiting for a drop in the price of EVs.

Regarding charging point infrastructure, most countries are working against the clock to ensure that they can meet the requirements to make EV adoption a reality.

According to the Electric Vehicle Council, “there are about 5,000 public charging stations around Australia, which is enough supply to meet current demand, but that won’t be the case for long as the take-up of EVs grows in coming years”. (4)

There are a total of 558 public charging locations in Australia. From them, 438 are Fast (24kW - 99kW DC) and 120 are Ultrafast (100kW DC and above). (5)

In detail, “the geographical area that has the fastest EV charging points is NSW with 131 (Fast charge points) and 43 (Ultrafast charge points) followed by Victoria with 97 (Fast) and 32 (Ultrafast) (6).

Despite the number of EV charging points greatly increasing, even more are needed in order to meet ambitious targets for reducing emissions into the atmosphere.

In fact, “to achieve the federal government’s emission target we’ll need a near fully zero-emission vehicle fleet by 2050. To stay on track that means reaching 1 million EVs by 2027 and around 3 million by 2030”. (7)

Developing an efficient fleet electrification strategy

Electric vehicles represent the future of sustainable transport and mobility. Once the challenges involved in adopting EVs for light commercial vehicle fleets and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) have been tackled, this has the potential to change the future of transportation to a more sustainable and zero emissions future.

Advanced fleet management technology can help your company make a smooth transition to electric vehicles as it is able to identify the needs of your fleet. The technology can:

• Monitor fleet emissions: Obtain a clear overview of your fleet emissions and carbon footprint and address these areas with the help of EVs in your fleet.
• Determine EV suitability: Analyse vehicles that may be well suited to transition to an electric vehicle due to their characteristics.
• Plan grid and infrastructure design: Obtain data insights which enable the planning and implementation of charging frameworks and the energy requirements for electric vehicle adoption.
• Tariff optimisation for your EVs: Identify and select the most cost-effective electricity plans for charging electric vehicles.
• Transition planning: Strategically plan and manage the shift from traditional vehicles to EVs, getting it right the first time.

Is going green the smart choice for your fleet?

This question doesn’t have a simple “yes” or “no” answer because it depends on your company’s medium to long term strategy. While there are many things to improve for EVs such as autonomy, charging points, or their prices, they also bring many benefits to a fleet.

Some of the benefits include decreasing CO2 emissions, reducing carbon footprints, saving on fuel and maintenance as well as the incentives received for adopting EVs.

In addition, “in order for Australia to achieve its climate targets, it is expected that more than 50% of all new cars sold in 2030 will need to be EVs. This means Australia will need to aim for around 1 million EVs on the roads by the end of 2027”. (8)

Preparing for the emerging landscape of zero-emission mobility is a strategic move for companies aiming for a seamless transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

Download our eBook Identifying 3 challenges to fleet electrification to discover the benefits of going green. 

Fleet management and EVs: The perfect match

A fleet management solution can help fleet-based businesses to manage electric vehicles with ease. The solution lets you know battery status, charging status, if vehicles are plugged in correctly and charging and much more.

Sources: 

• (1)https://electricvehiclecouncil.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/State-of-EVs_July-2023_.pdf

• (2)https://www.fcai.com.au/news/index/view/news/812

• (3) Fleet Technology Trends Report Australia 2024

• (4)https://electricvehiclecouncil.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/AUSTRALIAN-ELECTRIC-VEHICLE-INDUSTRY-RECAP-2022.pdf

• (5-6) https://electricvehiclecouncil.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/State-of-EVs_July-2023_.pdf

• (7)https://electricvehiclecouncil.com.au/media-releases/australia-set-to-pass-100k-ev-milestone-but-more-speed-required-to-reach-1m-on-time/

• (8)https://electricvehiclecouncil.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/State-of-EVs_July-2023_.pdf