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It’s now more important than ever for us to be thinking about our long-term impact on the environment. With transport representing the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the UK—34% of all emissions in 2019—we’ve all got to play our part in reducing carbon emissions from road transport.
With figures like this, it should come as little surprise that businesses, which have the potential to lose out hugely in terms of both sunk costs and reputational damage by continuing to operate with their fossil fuel-powered fleets, are leading the charge when it comes to the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), two-thirds of all new EVs bought in the UK are purchased by businesses.
This trend is set to continue as we race towards 2030 when the UK Government plans to ban the sale of all petrol and diesel-powered vehicles. If you’re a fleet manager who is pondering a transition to EVs, it’s better to get started sooner rather than later. After all, it’s inevitable that you’ll have to do it eventually, and by setting things in motion now you can get ahead of the competition and begin to take advantage of the benefits.
Simplifying the transition
Despite the many benefits of transitioning to an EV fleet, there are many challenges unique to today’s EVs that have fleet managers feeling hesitant about the prospect of electrifying their fleets.
One of the biggest concerns is so-called “range anxiety”. This is the fear that an EV might run flat mid-journey due to insufficient charging infrastructure. In addition to this are other challenges such as the higher upfront cost of commercial EVs and short-term supply chain problems such as the ongoing microchip shortage, which means some EVs take longer to acquire.
However, a solution already exists for fleet managers that can be used to simplify the transition from fossil fuel-powered to EV fleets and overcome challenges such as range anxiety. This solution is specialist EV telematics solutions.
Getting the most out of your EV fleet
At Trakm8, we offer the first telematics solution on the market that has been optimised for EV fleets. It provides fleet managers with full insight into fleet operations, helping them monitor and manage their EVs from a single portal.
Here’s a look at how Trakm8 can help fleet managers get the most value out of their EVs.
Monitor driver behaviour
Although your drivers are your greatest asset, it’s important to keep track of how they’re behaving on the roads. This is because one bad driver could be a huge liability for the business. With Trakm8 telematics, you can see how your drivers are doing in real-time and identify potential problem behaviours with data insights.
That’s because the Trakm8 EV fleet telematics system continuously gathers data about your EVs and provides you with a complete, real-time overview of how drivers are behaving behind the wheel. Information reported can include routes taken, distance travelled, driving time, average vehicle speed, harsh acceleration and braking, and exceptional events such as breakdowns and accidents.
Plan more efficient routes
Trakm8 includes GPS and real-time map tracking. This not only helps you deter theft and keep an eye on your vehicles, but it also enables you to carry out proactive route planning. Using Trakm8, fleet managers can plan data-led routes that get the most out of their vehicles’ batteries. It’s also possible to plan routes according to available charging infrastructure and mitigate range limitations.
There are many other benefits of real-time tracking and route planning, too. These include avoiding accidents, traffic jams, congestion, and maintenance work. Fleet managers can use Trakm8 to watch for all these things and more in real-time and step in to divert drivers where necessary.
Create optimised charging schedules
As we’ve already mentioned, a major challenge faced by fleet managers when transitioning to an EV fleet is range anxiety and figuring out how to keep vehicles charged up. It’s something that requires careful planning around driver schedules, routes, potential congestion, and even environmental factors such as weather and temperature—batteries are more sensitive to these than petrol and diesel-powered engines.
An EV telematics solution like Trakm8 allows fleet managers to achieve this by using real-time data to help them plan recharging priorities based on schedules and routes and pinpointing available charging stations to allow drivers to select the best routes based on current charging needs. If a vehicle’s battery ever depletes to a critical level, fleet managers will also be notified so that they can step in to help.
View remaining vehicle range
Even the very best route planning cannot account for every eventuality. The unexpected can (and will eventually) happen. This can force your drivers to take longer routes to reach their destination, which is not ideal for EVs if the charging infrastructure isn’t there.
This is one of the main reasons why a telematics system like Trakm8 is crucial for EV fleets. Trakm8 provides fleet managers with an immediate view of how much range their vehicles have remaining, which enables them to react more quickly and easily in response to unexpected scenarios such as delays and detours. With vehicle range data right at their fingertips, it becomes possible to plan new routes with available charging infrastructure on the fly.
Get vehicle health alerts
The sensors used by EV fleet telematics systems like Trakm8 provide fleet managers with an insight into overall vehicle health. Using the Trakm8 system’s cloud-based platform, for example, they can access instant insights into things like tyre pressure and receive alerts about potentially faulty parts and battery health. Fleet managers can also use the platform to schedule servicing and maintenance in a way that avoids disruption to schedules and routes.
Supercharge your EV fleet transition with Trakm8
Trakm8 is the first telematics solution on the market that has been optimised for both EVs and ICE vehicles. Read more in our Guide to Electic Vehicle Telematics.
Is your fleet ready for the transition to Electric Vehicles? Find out today by completing the free Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment tool from Trakm8.
Get in touch with our team today and we’ll learn all about your business, fleet and daily operations to decide what telematics devices would provide the most value to you.
