Powering the Future: Managing EV Fleets

As of June 2024, the market share for fully electric vehicles in Ireland stood at 12.99%, with Plug-in Electric Hybrids coming in at 8.86%. This trend is to be seen in countries across Europe. For this reason, Automotive Fleet Managers need to take their approach to EV fleet management more seriously than ever, for this is more than just a flash in the pan. When you’ve been used to managing a fleet of petrol or diesel vehicles for years (maybe decades), it’s easy to get overwhelmed at the thought of what is maybe the biggest change to the automotive industry since motor vehicles became available in the first place. There’s no need to be, however, and we’ve put together this article outlining some of the considerations Fleet Managers should take towards effectively managing an EV fleet.

Good EV Fleet Management Requires Accessible Data

Whether it’s an ICE fleet or an EV fleet (or a mix of both), Automotive Fleet Managers should always be aware of what their actual SMR costs are. Be it service charges, tyre costs, windscreens, cleaning, aircon recharges, recovery—even the cost of loan cars—this data must be readily accessible for Fleet Managers. This information will equip you when it comes to making decisions on fleet replacement or expansion going forward, not to mention when your directors or finance department call you in for a short-notice cost review. ForWare is a comprehensive automotive fleet management system that will give you all this information at your fingertips, enabling you to make informed decisions when weighing up the financial implications of maintaining an EV fleet over an ICE one.

Be Familiar with Your EV Fleet’s Warranty

Warranty is as critical for EV Fleet Management as it is for ICE fleets. As usual, it is important to make sure that your EV fleet is serviced according to the manufacturer’s guidelines or you will run the risk of voiding the warranty should a fault arise (even one that’s not directly related to the service it missed). Fleet Managers using the ForWare system will get notifications as a vehicle’s service becomes due, to help reduce the risk of missing one. Naturally, Vehicle Health Checks are important to keep on top of too. Fleet Managers should also pay close attention to the warranty on parts items, with batteries being a particularly critical one in EV fleets; battery warranties may be different from those of the vehicle itself so be sure to read your warranty documents thoroughly. 

Can Your Existing Workshop Cover Your EVs?

Whether you’re managing a mixed fleet of ICE vehicles and EVs or a purely EV one, it’s important to make sure that your service partner can adequately service your EVs to manufacturer guidelines. The ForWare Workshop Network can be a major help here, for even if your regular workshop can’t handle your EV fleet, it will give you direct booking access to other service agents who can help. This is also helpful should your first choice of workshop be booked out for a number of weeks. And don’t worry, this won’t cause you more admin and invoicing hassle—when you use ForWare all work is consolidated into one monthly invoice, whether you use one garage or twenty, regardless of how many jobs each carries out.

Familiarise Your Drivers With Charging Points

Range anxiety is one of the common concerns brought up by those considering the switch to EV. Things are improving, for example, in Ireland, the ESB has installed 42 multi-vehicle charging hubs in the last two years alone, and vehicle km ranges are also improving. That being said, it doesn’t pay to be complacent about it. EV Fleet Managers should research the locations of charging points on their common routes and ensure that their drivers are equipped with this information—it could be something as simple as an information card in the glove compartment of all company vehicles. If your drivers are embarking on an unfamiliar route, there is more reason for this information to be researched in advance. Do this in advance and you need not worry about your EV fleet running short. Your drivers will thank you for it too.

As can be seen, managing an EV fleet isn’t really that drastically different from managing an ICE one when you look at it closely. A good automotive fleet management system to integral to efficient fleet management of any kind, be it ICE, EV, or both. ForWare provides all-in fleet management software that will help you keep on top of your fleet regardless of fuel type. It can also be fully integrated with the Keyloop DMS system allowing for seamless service booking and transfer of vehicle data and service history. Interested? For a free demo, call Alan Maher today at 021 484 5554 or drop an email to alan@forware.io.