Delivery Fleets Are Going Green: Should You Follow Suit?
One of the biggest trends in business today is “going green.” Politics aside, positioning your operations toward more environmentally friendly methods has many benefits, including financial (there is a huge amount of incentives and rebates), corporate goodwill and the demands of your target audience.
Of course, there are many other things to consider: Is this being done for the right reasons? Is this a real way to save money? Are you jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon because it makes your origination seem environmentally woke, or are new carbon regulations forcing you to think ahead?
Going Green Trends
For the past several years, there has been a proliferation of electric vehicles on the road, for both personal use and corporate fleets. Once considered an expensive novelty, electric vehicles have become a mainstream mode of transportation, and are produced by upstart vehicle manufacturers (Tesla, for example) and virtually all of the major auto manufacturers.
With nations world-wide working toward zero emissions (some with deadlines; others with plans to phase them in), there are increased demands for corporations to decrease their carbon footprints. In the United States, the transportation sector alone used around 6 billion barrels of petroleum!
Benefits of Going Green
The benefits of having your delivery fleet transition to electric vehicles are numerous. These include:
Savings on Fuel: Electric vehicles are far more energy-efficient when it comes to converting energy to wheels — 77% as compared to 30% or less for vehicles with internal combustion engines.
Lower Maintenance Costs: Many of the high-ticket maintenance costs associated with internal combustion engine vehicles are not applicable or noticeably less so for electric vehicles, such as engine maintenance and fluids, brakes, and purchasing and storing fuel and other fluids. Electric vehicles have one-fifth the amount of powertrain parts, and their regenerative brakes have a lifespan of three times longer than those in conventional vehicles.
Environmental Benefits: Needless to say, electric vehicles are beneficial to the environment. Without getting too mired down in the science of different types of emissions and their impact on the planet, it’s safe to say that electric vehicles don’t generate the smog-producing emissions that their internal combustion engine counterparts do. And it’s not simply a matter of the petroleum products that fuel the cars; it’s also the pollution that comes from extracting, processing and shipping the oil.
Of course, there are some disadvantages when it comes to electric vehicles. The driving range is one, since it is typically shorter than the range of comparable internal combustion engine commercial vehicles. Recharge time is also a factor. Having to stop to charge an electric vehicle is also a disadvantage for green fleets. However, technology and developments are improving both factors; electric vehicles are constantly moving toward longer driving ranges and shorter recharge times.
Charging Is Changing (For the Better)
In addition to the transportation world migrating away from gas-powered fleets, the infrastructure that supports electric vehicles is growing exponentially, with a projected compound annual growth rate of over 36% by 2028. Governments around the world are welcoming (and rewarding) owners of electric vehicles and businesses who install charging stations with tax incentives, and regulations are beginning to be enacted that will limit vehicles with internal combustion gas engines, thus opening the door for even-greater acceptance of electric commercial vehicles.
You don’t have to go it alone to get your share of the benefits and incentives for installing charging stations and switching the electric vehicles. This proliferation of charging stations and overall infrastructure growth makes it easier to find a partner, such as EV Connect, to install and manage charging stations when you make that switch.
The Final Word
Electric vehicles are not a fad; they’re a robust mode of transportation that gives owners (not to mention the rest of the world) huge benefits. They’re not saddled with gas-guzzling engines, they’re not polluting the atmosphere and the total cost of ownership is heading nowhere but down as new technologies are adopted.
References: