{"id":4543,"date":"2020-03-07T17:23:35","date_gmt":"2020-03-07T16:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=4543"},"modified":"2020-03-07T17:23:35","modified_gmt":"2020-03-07T16:23:35","slug":"electric-dreams-vs-current-realities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/03\/07\/electric-dreams-vs-current-realities\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric Dreams vs. Current Realities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Electric Dreams vs. Current Realities<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Would you buy an electric truck? Or would you buy an electric truck if you could be sure you could charge it and have at least a projected total cost of ownership for it?<\/p>\n

That question was\u00a0like electricity in the air\u00a0on March 3 throughout many of the sessions on alternative-power solutions at this year\u2019s Green Truck Summit in Indianapolis, held alongside the 2020 Work Truck Show.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say Herculean efforts and massive investments are not being made. Companies ranging from automotive behemoths in business for over 100 years to disruptive startups just a few years in existence, as well as by government agencies across the world, are attempting to harness the power of electricity to drive commercial vehicles to zero emissions at the tailpipe as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

The electric road is coming. That\u2019s for sure. What isn\u2019t certain is how quickly, simply, and cost-effectively it will become the smooth highway that truck fleets would like to see themselves gliding over to reach a sustainable future.<\/p>\n

Household names or not, OEMs and powertrain suppliers seem to be rolling out new electric trucks<\/a> or electric-drive systems<\/a> every week \u2014 including at this year’s Work Truck Show.<\/p>\n

And many of them are also taking pains to talk up how critical it will be to educate fleets on every aspect of operating battery-electric and fuel-cell trucks, including, most critically, how charging infrastructure must be further developed, standardized, and implemented on a massive scale.<\/p>\n

The Main Motivator<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Keynoter Sean Waters, Daimler Trucks North America\u2019s vice president of product compliance and regulatory affairs, <\/strong>said at the Green Truck Summit that \u201c<\/strong>diesel will be here for a long while, and [knowing] total cost of ownership remains the main motivator of acceptance for battery-electric and fuel-cell trucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also pointed out that while CO2<\/sub> reduction has been a focus for decades, much progress on electric vehicles has been made in the past two years, noting that Daimer has developed such vehicles as electric school buses, the Freghtliner M2e and the eCascadia trucks in North America, and the Fuso eCanter truck globally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can build an electric truck for any segment,\u201d Waters said. But the three factors crucial to acceptance and eventual widespread adoption are the products themselves, the ability \u201cto enable the e-mobility ecosystem,\u201d i.e. the charging infrastructure, and seeing governmental policies and regulations put in place to support electric vehicle use.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are we on commercial vehicle infrastructure?\u201d Waters asked. \u201cWe aren\u2019t there yet. He said truck fleets also want to be sold on the total cost of ownership for electric trucks and want to learn about how they will determine routes, maintenance requirements, and ultimately, what will happen when trucks finish their useful life.<\/p>\n

Yet, Waters added, \u201cI think [charging] infrastructure is the biggest concern\u201d for fleets. He pointed out that DTNA has been focusing first on vehicles that can be centrally charged, such as P&D, regional hauling, drayage, food and beverage, and last-mile applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cCentral charging is a game-changer,\u201d he said, \u201callowing a [cleaner] solution for delivery right into your neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Waters said how quickly electric trucks expand from that centralized-charging model will depend on how quickly rapid-charging stations built to industry-standardized specs can be developed and installed where needed to increase truck range.<\/p>\n

The Biggest Question<\/strong><\/h5>\n

\u201cThat,\u201d he said, \u201cis the [biggest] question on the minds of buyers.\u201d He noted that public utilities will play a big role in building out charging. \u201cBut they won\u2019t build infrastructure for no money. The only way they are going to build it is if they can pass along the cost in rate increases.\u201d But of course, those rate hikes have to be approved by utility commissions, and there\u2019s no guarantees on that happening.<\/p>\n

As for government\u2019s part, Waters said actions here at home such as reducing the FET on electric trucks and providing incentives or rebates for early adopters \u201ccould help balance TCO\u201d for fleets.<\/p>\n

On a much broader scale, he expressed the hope that national governments across the globe will work faster to develop standards for electric vehicles and charging. \u201cWe have to think of [moving to zero emissions] in terms of the global family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to get better economies of scale [to accelerate electric power developments] and we can get better economies of scale if we can easily transfer technology\u201d from one country or region to another.<\/p>\n

Waters also said that the type of \u201cco-creation\u201d that comes from working closely with customers on truck design that Daimler is pursuing as it develops electric trucks is \u201ca key to success\u201d to bringing these vehicles to market successfully and expanding demand for them.<\/p>\n

To that end, he noted that DTNA has launched a \u201ccustomer experience fleet\u201d<\/a> to place some pre-production Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 all-electric trucks into customer hands ahead of the planned launch of these models in 2021.<\/p>\n

by David Cullen<\/a><\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.truckinginfo.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

\"fleet<\/p>\n

Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n