U.S. President Joe Biden has been vocal about his goals to boost federal investment in electric vehicles and EV infrastructure since the start of his administration. His proposed American Jobs Plan includes $174 billion for promoting the domestic production of EVs and notably electrifying the entire federal fleet.
The American Jobs Plan will create incentives to continue to lower the cost of and support market demand for electric vehicles. These incentives are a proven policy to support the growing market for EVs, which then drives down the purchase price as the auto industry scales up production and creates incentives for domestic production.
The administration plans to grow the number of charging stations in the U.S. from 42,000 to 500,000 by 2030. Yet even then, perceived upfront costs may deter some state and local governments from purchasing EVs — even those who see EV adoption as an ideal solution to reducing the environmental impact of public fleets.
State and local government leaders interested in electrifying their fleets but put off by the upfront costs of purchasing EVs should take into account the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of these vehicles throughout their lifetime. Running a TCO calculation may reveal that an electric fleet can actually present greater long-term savings, thereby easing the path to adoption.
Looking at the TCO equation alone, it may seem like the costs outweigh the returns. But there are aspects to operating EVs that are far more cost-effective than their internal combustion engine counterparts. For example, EVs require less maintenance because there is no need for oil changes or transmission repairs.
Whereas an ICE car has more than 2,000 different moving parts — many of which will need service or replacement at some point — an EV only has 20 moving parts. A study finds that annual maintenance costs for an EV are $330 less than that of an ICE car, and the Department of Energy finds that the average cost of driving an EV is about half the expense of an ICE vehicle.
Certainly, TCO calculations provide essential projections that can facilitate the first steps to adoption. But once purchased and deployed, how can state and local leaders, as well as government fleet managers, know if their electric fleets are truly providing savings over time? This is where vehicle telematics can be hugely beneficial.
Telematics solutions can capture and share detailed, real-time information about how each EV performs, in addition to its location and battery and charging status. These metrics provide valuable intelligence for fleet managers, helping to more accurately measure TCO, improve daily fleet management and even proactively detect issues to enable preventative maintenance. Notably, some of the metrics that managers would be monitoring for can be unique to an electric fleet, including:
- Historical driving distance data: Telematics solutions can track the exact mileage that a vehicle covered on a particular route or day. This data is also tracked in a traditional ICE fleet, but its purpose on an electric fleet is different.
- EV charging station maps: EV charging station maps on a telematics app can show drivers and managers where nearby charging stations are, as well as details about those stations. These maps can help inform route planning and decisions about when a driver should stop and charge. If plans to grow the nationwide charging infrastructure are successful, these decisions and the ability to locate stations will become easier in time.
- Vehicle charge status: Real-time state-of-charge reporting provides visibility into the battery status of each EV so managers can make smarter decisions about where and when to deploy a vehicle.
- Recharging: If recharging stations back at the lot or depot is limited, real-time, state-of-charge reports can help managers prioritize the order in which vehicles must be charged. They can decide whether to delay charging to take advantage of off-peak electric rates and which vehicles should be plugged into faster charging stations.
