For fleet operators under pressure to reduce emissions, ordering electric vehicles can look like the obvious first move.
But Travis Weir from Geosecure believes there is another step fleet managers should take first: understand the fleet they already have.
Speaking during a supplier panel at Everything Electric Sydney, Weir said utilisation data, right-sizing and fit-for-purpose analysis should form the foundations of an EV transition strategy.
Geosecure was one of the supplier sponsors of the Fleet News Group Awards represented on the panel, alongside FleetGuru, DingGo and Origin Energy.
Start with the fleet you already have
Weir said organisations can get caught focusing on the drivetrain before determining whether every vehicle in the fleet is actually required.
“It’s predominantly right-sizing the fleet and then seeing what’s fit for purpose,” Weir said.
The starting point should be understanding utilisation, kilometres travelled and how individual assets are being used.
That information can then identify the vehicles that represent the easiest opportunities for electrification rather than attempting to replace vehicles simply because they are reaching the end of their normal replacement cycle.
Weir drew on his previous experience as Fleet Manager at Wagga Wagga City Council, where telematics provided greater visibility of fleet utilisation.
“We were able to save $1.5 million in the first 12 months on unnecessary capital expenditure, and then another $900,000 on unnecessary fuel spend,” he said.
Those savings also created a stronger platform for the organisation to begin transitioning vehicles.
Reducing emissions without changing drivetrains
The lesson for fleet managers is that reducing emissions doesn’t necessarily begin with replacing an internal combustion engine vehicle with an EV.
Removing an unnecessary vehicle, improving utilisation or allocating the correct asset to a task can reduce fuel consumption before a new vehicle is purchased.
It can also strengthen the financial case for electrification because the organisation has a clearer picture of the number and type of vehicles it actually needs.
“We can transition and we can implement the EV strategy,” Weir said. “It’s understanding what those internal cost recoveries are, and are we going to get the use out of the asset?”
That becomes particularly important for councils and larger organisations where emissions targets may be developed separately from long-term fleet replacement and financial plans.
Data before procurement
For fleet managers, the message from the panel was not to delay electrification, but to make sure the transition is built on evidence.
Benchmarking the current fleet gives an organisation a baseline against which it can measure the impact of electrification while helping identify the first vehicles that should be replaced.
“By benchmarking your data, then you’ve got those little small wins,” Weir said.
Instead of starting an EV transition with the most difficult vehicle in the fleet, organisations can identify applications where utilisation, daily distance and operational requirements already suit an electric vehicle.
And before asking how many EVs the organisation should buy, fleet managers may find that the better first question is how many vehicles the organisation actually needs.
