01657448

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The declining cost of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is attracting the attention of government fleets. However, navigating the complex tradeoffs between BEVs and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) – in terms of vehicle depreciation, operational costs, fleet-related discounts and savings, and loan versus purchase decisions – can be challenging for fleets of any size. This paper presents the results of a total cost of ownership analysis using the Fleet Procurement Analysis Tool, a new publicly available tool developed by the authors for the EV Smart Fleets initiative. Using the tool, which allows comparison between different vehicle procurement structures, the authors answer the question: what factors determine a fleet’s suitability for BEVs? Nine factors are examined: access to the federal tax credit, electricity and gasoline cost, vehicle miles traveled, cost of carbon, battery costs, financing rate, self- versus third party insurance, self- versus third party maintenance, and bulk discounts. The authors find that the most important factors for shifting costs in favor of BEVs is the fleet’s ability to capture the federal tax credit and deploy these vehicles in high mileage applications. Battery costs also play an important role in the relative attractiveness of BEVs versus ICEVs. A brief discussion with strategies on how fleets can access the tax credit is provided. Other factors have only moderate impacts on the suitability of BEVs.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADC80 Standing Committee on Alternative Transportation Fuels and Technologies.

18-05901

English

12p

2018

Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Alternate fuels; Electric batteries; Electric vehicles; Fleet management; Procurement; Vehicle fleets

Energy; Finance; Highways; Vehicles and Equipment

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2018 Paper #18-05901

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 8 2018 11:31AM