For various reasons, commercial vehicle fleets are likely to be the first segment of the auto industry that will see widespread electrification. With more than 16 million public and private fleet vehicles on the road in the US, it’s not a small niche. To make it easier for fleet operators to get charged, the Electrification Coalition and FleetAnswers have announced a partnership to provide online resources on EV deployment.

The resources available on FleetAnswers’ web site will include information on best practices in vehicle deployment and case studies from early-adopter companies such as FedEx Express and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which operate two of the largest fleets in their respective industries, and have already deployed substantial numbers of EVs.

“This partnership between the Electrification Coalition and FleetAnswers is an important step toward accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale to dramatically reduce our nation’s dangerous reliance on oil,” said Robbie Diamond, President of the Electrification Coalition. “Fleets possess important characteristics that allow them to be leaders in the electric vehicle space, such as a willingness to consider the total cost of ownership of the vehicle, defined routing, access to central parking facilities, and the ability to leverage low maintenance costs.”

“FleetAnswers has a community of thousands of fleet professionals who can benefit from the electric vehicle expertise and resources provided by the Electrification Coalition and the leading companies that are engaged in this space,” said Michelle Chen, Project Manager for FleetAnswers. “This partnership will provide interactive content and access to best practices and industry research, all of which will help guide the decision-making process for fleets looking to expand their use of electric vehicles.”

“The transportation sector accounts for 70 percent of the total oil consumed by the United States – a dependence that threatens our national and economic security. Imagine if we can transform transportation to instead be flexible about its energy source. Transportation electrification can do this,” said FedEx Express VP Dennis Beal.  “We share our knowledge and experience in this case study to help pave the way. As a member of the Electrification Coalition and an organization with more than 45,000 vehicles of various types, FedEx Express believes that the lessons we have learned can help other organizations make informed decisions on how electric vehicles can be a part of fleet mix.”

“For PG&E, a critical element of deploying electric vehicles is to demonstrate a positive return on investment,” said Dave Meisel, Director of Fleet Services for PG&E. “At PG&E, we have worked to capture the value of plug-in electric vehicles across a wide range of activities, which helps to make the economics work today.”

Image: Electrification Coalition