The first steps toward fleet electrification

Electromobility has arrived, including in company fleets and delivery fleets. In this blog post, we cover why to go for e-vehicles now and what the first steps of fleet electrification look like.

Why should I electrify my fleet now?

1. Sustainability and climate protection

Internal combustion engines emit countless pollutants into our atmosphere, further accelerating climate change. Electric cars represent an efficient, more environmentally friendly alternative that, when combined with renewable energy, leads to emission-free mobility.

3. Diesel ban in Germany - take advantage of government subsidies

Driving ban for diesel engines and phasing out of internal combustion engines by 2035: The political tracks are set here and subsidies can still be obtained for registered and commercially used electric vehicles until September 2023. Whether a new follow-up subsidy will follow is to be clarified in spring 2023.

2. Tax benefits for companies and employees.

An electric car is exempt from vehicle tax for 10 years. In addition, private journeys in a company-owned electric car are not taxed as heavily.

First steps on the road to fleet electrification

Electromobility offers many benefits, yet converting from a fuel-powered fleet to an electric fleet requires many well-thought-out steps if corporate fleet electrification is to be sustainable, cost-efficient and effective.

Step 1: Preparation

As with any complex undertaking, fleet electrification should be managed as a project. At the beginning, responsibilities, goals and resources should be defined.

Subsequently, it should be checked whether the technical requirements for a charging infrastructure and the acquisition of e-vehicles are met. When expanding the charging infrastructure, lines must be laid and charging stations installed. The consent of the landowner is required in advance for this. When setting up the charging infrastructure, there is a need for investment and specialist know-how is required. Before things get more concrete, it is advisable to seek advice. Advice from infrastructure suppliers, fleet management providers or even specialist tradesmen can be helpful in the preparation phase.

In this step, it is also advisable to look for suitable government subsidies and inquire about them at an early stage. Those who want to enable employees to charge off-site should consider purchasing RFID charging cards or cards from an emobility provider (EMP).

Step 2: Analyse & Planning

To determine the necessary measures, user groups with different mobility requirements must be defined. Here, it is necessary to determine how high the energy and power requirements and the number of charging stations and vehicles will be. IO-Dynamics advises and supports fleet electrification with expertise and computer-aided planning software: The planning tool collects all data for the needs analysis and designs possible scenarios using software. The results obtained form a sound planning basis for all further steps. The result provides the expected costs, number of stations and, if applicable, the required e-vehicles.

In addition to the demand analysis, it is important to include intelligent charging management to avoid high electricity costs and ensure optimal vehicle availability. With IO-ELON, an energy and charging management software, charging processes are adapted to the capacity limits of the power grid in a fully automated way and a charging plan for the next 24 hours is created from this. Locations with PV systems benefit particularly from intelligent charging management: the weather forecast and data from the system are incorporated into the landing planning. This makes the fleet particularly cost-efficient and environmentally friendly.

With proper planning and the right know-how, converting the fleet to electric will be a successful project.