On the line from Boston, Massachusetts, David Lewis, CEO and founder of MoveEV, joins Fleet News Group podcast host Caroline Falls for a conversation about the US political landscape and implications for electrification there, and his game changing ReimburseEV product being taken up by Fortune 500 companies.
MoveEV offers a technology solution for accurate reimbursement of costs associated with at-home charging.
Lewis explains how he used his experience as a fleet reimbursement specialist, and time out during COVID to develop the thinking and technology solution behind Reimburse EV.
It includes using vehicle telematics to track at-home charging time and analysis of drivers’ utility bills to calculate how much a fleet business needs to reimburse drivers for the particular energy usage.
“Our focus is a gap in the market, which is charging-at-home reimbursement. And so what’s happening now, in America, as fleets are adopting electric vehicles, 80 percent of them are getting sent home to charge.
“Sending them home to charge creates a new business expense for an employer and an obligation of an employee to provide the electricity and we sit squarely in the middle there to make sure that the electricity and the funds flow freely.”
There’s no need for smart chargers under this model. And, it promotes using the 240-volt general home power outlet for charging, saving employers the costs of financing installations for drivers who may or may not be with the company for a long time. This approach is also appropriate for the bulk of fleet vehicles that on average travel about 70 miles, or 112 kilometres, a day.
Another great benefit of using trickle charging is that it’s deemed best for the vehicle’s battery life.
Lewis said he expects exponential growth of electric vehicles in the US fleet market, with a focus on electric pickup trucks, no matter who wins the November 5 presidential election.
“Both parties, Democrats and Republicans, are for creating jobs, as well as lowering costs for businesses. And electric vehicles are a great way to create jobs in America, and also reduce operating costs for businesses, and put more money into the economy and waste less money on fuel. So the cat’s out of the bag here,” said Lewis.
Later, he added, “The elite fleets in the space are showing such promise and success with these electric vehicles,” said Lewis, there’s no stopping them now.
And about half the US states have progressive policies in place to incentivise take-up. For example, in California at least 25 percent of a vehicle fleet of more than 100 vehicles need to be electric powered.
