Electric Vehicle telematics… The solution to your EV fleet management
While the environmental benefits of electric vehicles aren’t to be argued the total cost of ownership has much more discussion around. Fleet managers will need to weigh up the initial cost of acquisition of an EV compared to an ICE equivalent. Although cost of energy is much lower than cost of petrol and diesel, range anxiety and EV performance are major issues in the decision making of electrifying fleets. This is where Geotab EV telematics solution can assist in your EV fleet.
Geotab EV telematics can ease any doubts decision makers may have over electric vehicles. In this blog we will discuss why EV telematics is important not only for the transitioning period but once transitioned to an electric fleet. We will also explore the benefits EV telematics has for fleets and how any concerns fleet managers have over electric vehicles can be eliminated through the data produced by Geotab.
Growth in the EV market
The electric vehicle (EV) market has been growing at substantial rates over the last few years and that growth is only going to continue, especially with the government’s announcement of the ban of production on ICE vehicles by 2030. More and more business fleets are starting to transition to EVs after this announcement and according to Harris Group, 56% of light commercial vehicles and 81% of new bus sales will be electric by 2040. In March 2021, 495,000 UK vehicles were electric which is a 12% increase from 2020 in just 3 months, giving electric vehicles a market share of 13.8%. In comparison in 2015 electric vehicles only had a 1.1% market share. The growth in 2020 was considerable even though there was a worldwide pandemic with a 66% growth in the UK of electric vehicles compared to 2019.
EV telematics can identify which ICE vehicles could be replaced by electric vehicles
Starting the electric vehicle transition process starts with connecting Geotab telematics to current ICE vehicles in the fleet. Geotab’s Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment (EVSA) tool guides fleet managers decisions on an electric fleet by assessing EV suitability by analysing existing telematics data from current ICE vehicles in the fleet and creates an electrification recommendation based on each vehicle driving patterns. This report will analyse the journeys taken by the ICE vehicle and determine if electric vehicles can complete the same journey on a single charge battery. Any journeys which exceed the battery range, the report will identify public chargers or corporate charging locations where the vehicles can charge up along the journey. The EVSA will even suggest which electric vehicles would be best suited. The difference between Geotab EV telematics and other competitors EV telematics is that the Geotab platform supports over 160 electric vehicles, the next best telematics device only supports 8 electric vehicles fully.
Geotab EV telematics
Geotab EV telematics can play a huge role in fleet management never more so in electric vehicle fleet management. The data collected from the telematics is essential to fleet success and plays a role in the planning, routing and scheduling, driver behaviour and cost reduction of an electric vehicle fleet.
Driver Behaviour reports
Driver behaviour can have a significant impact on electric vehicles. Poor driving habits and techniques will quickly drain the battery of an EV, meaning driver productivity will be dramatically decreased. Geotab EV telematics solution collects real-time data on driving behaviours and produces driver performance reports. Through the Geotab EV Telematics reports fleet managers are able to track driver performance and act upon any behaviour which falls below company expectations, ensuring that all electric vehicles are being driver correctly to get the best driving results.
Live state of charge (SOC) information
Another key function the Geotab platform offers for electric vehicles is the live state of charge feature, showing the fleet manager the battery level of each electric vehicle, when the vehicle needs to be put on charged and once on charge how long until fully charged. All this data is critical to the routing and scheduling of electric vehicles and having the data all in one dashboard makes organising vehicles to be ready for the working day a lot easier and convenient.
Maintenance information
The benefit of electric vehicles is that maintenance costs are much lower compared to ICE vehicles due to the less moving parts in an EV. There is a shortfall in EV-specialist mechanics in garage workshops and not properly planning for maintenance can lead to electric vehicles being off the road for longer than needed. The Geotab EV telematics alerts fleet managers about any parts or tyres at risk of failure, providing sufficient time to organise the maintenance required can be planned well ahead any breakdown, ensuring the electric vehicle is off the road for the shortest amount of time.
Integration with EV chargers
The Geotab EV telematics offers authentication at point of charge. What this means is through the Geotab device you are able to see which electric vehicle is on what charge point and all the charging information. This is particularly useful if employees charge their electric vehicles at home on a home charger. The platform offers the ability for employers to directly pay the energy supplier for the cost of charging a work electric vehicle at the employee’s home rather than reimbursing the employee. What we have found this is particularly useful for employers as they are able to identify when the work vehicle has been on the home charger and how much the cost of charge is. This mitigates other non-work vehicles charging on the home charger and the employer covering that cost as well.
Thinking of going EV? Get in touch today to discuss transitioning to an electric fleet.
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