Range anxiety is still top of mind for electric vehicle owners and operators. EV users and fleet operators often fear losing power before reaching their destination or charging point and it is one of the most commonly perceived disadvantages of electric vehicles. Solving this issue is a complex task that involves multiple stakeholders with different areas of expertise.

According to research by Volvo, “the largest reason that consumers have avoided purchasing an electric car is range anxiety. That is, 58 percent of drivers are afraid that they will run out of power before being able to charge their vehicle, while another 49 percent fear the low availability of charging stations.” Therefore, automotive OEMs and their smart mobility partners must adopt new strategies to alleviate this anxiety as well as realize the full potential of the evolving EV market, according to the World Economic Forum. Today, a small number of OEMs are already proactively marketing the advantages of driving and owning an EV and although E-Mobility is seen as an innovation catalyst, there are still some barriers to adoption.

This article, written by an Associate member of our Partner Network, Fleetonomy, examines the challenges of operating an electric vehicle fleet-based service and using smart mobility solutions can enhance fleet efficiency.

To read more articles about shared electric vehicles, click here.

Electric Vehicle Mobility Services: Overcoming the Challenges of Operating an Electric Vehicle Fleet-Based Service

To be successful in the eMobility market, electric vehicles require a different value chain and processes to support success in the current business environment. This new value chain includes utilities, charging locations, and charging infrastructure operators as well as service providers, vehicle users, mobility providers, financial services, and fleet owners, to ensure electric vehicle success and in order to speed up the adoption of EV technology.

Additionally, The WEF report recommendations envision eMobility value creation across three dimensions: the environment, energy, and mobility.

With regard to the environment, the WEF states that “as the share of miles driven by EVs increases, urban mobility emissions will decrease progressively; electrification combined with a clean energy mix and optimized charging patterns will further reduce emissions, improving air quality and benefiting human health, with a much-decreased ecological footprint.”

Regarding energy the WEF finds that “EVs are a relevant decentralized energy resource (DER), providing a new controllable electricity demand, storage capacity, and electricity supply when fully integrated with grid edge technologies and smart grids. Smart charging will create more flexibility in the energy system, improving stability and optimizing peak-capacity investments. Fleets of electric and, later, AVs can amplify the potential of smart charging, through the aggregation of multiple vehicles and higher control of load profiles. This will also open the door to broader energy efficiency services.”

And finally, with regard to mobility, the WEF states that “EVs will become more affordable than vehicles powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs) as the cost of batteries declines. Smart-charging services will reduce charging costs (for example, by charging when energy prices are low, if dynamic pricing is implemented), and as prices decline, the potential for greater revenue streams for fleet operators rises, as they will be able to easily provide more electric vehicle-powered services worldwide.

Electric Vehicle Optimization Challenges

When looking to launch and operate profitable EV-based mobility services, the high level of technological sophistication required to power them can have substantial long-term implications for providers. For example, when an EV-based service is launched and is already running efficiently, it means thousands of miles driven at a much lower cost than gas-powered vehicles that would otherwise cost much more, as well as lower pollution taxes for operators. 

To effectively manage electric fleet vehicles where charging requirements represent operational efficiency, organizations must have a mobility service management solution that provides visibility into planning, scheduling, and routing combined with predictive technology to maximize efficiency for both consumers and EV operators.

Choosing the right mobility technology platform to manage EV-based new mobility services is crucial and can help with the following challenges faced by the industry today:

•   Capacity Planning
•   Workforce Management
•   Schedule Optimization
•   Synchronizing Battery Charging with Total Fleet Constraints – charging locations and stop preferences according to predicted charging times and station capacities.
•   Predicting Demand for Services

Additionally, when planning and scheduling services and new mobility initiatives based on electric vehicle fleets, operators must consider the following factors:

•   Maximum vehicle range 
•   Mileage tracking 
•   Available charging stations 
•   Recharge times 

Enhancing Fleet Efficiency with Smart Mobility Solutions

Automakers and fleet owners must find the right technology partners and solutions enabling them to deploy profitable services that increase efficiency across multiple smart-mobility technologies to manage successful EV mobility offerings. 

Earlier this month, Fleetonomy announced its most recent partnership with Jaguar Land Rover on their newest mobility service, Havn, in London. Fleetonomy was chosen by Jaguar LandRover to provide the end-to-end technology required to efficiently manage Havn’s EV-based premium mobility service which exclusively runs Electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles.

Fleetonomy’s platform uses machine learning and AI to predict demand for Havn’s service. This is done by combining a variety of data sources, such as traffic, weather, events in the city, flight delays and historical data from the service itself. Predicting demand allows Fleetonomy’s platform to constantly rebalance the fleet, making sure vehicles are in the right place at the right time according to the demand, thus reducing ETA, ensuring on-time arrival, and allowing Havn to run on higher utilization rates.

In addition, Fleetonomy’s platform constantly receives real-time battery level updates from all vehicles operating in the fleet. Our dispatcher engine will always make sure that a vehicle has enough juice to complete a journey, from the initial location to passenger’s pick-up point, to drop-off, and still have enough battery to make it to the nearest charging point. 

Furthermore, Fleetonomy’s platform also provides a smart charging strategy engine, which can make real-time decisions on which vehicles need to be charged, and when. For example – choosing between fast charging, which is quick but pricey, to slow charging, which is longer but much cheaper. Our The charging strategy oversees battery levels across the entire fleet, and chooses which vehicles need to be charged, when, for how long, and for what cost, in order to meet demand and ensure profitability.

Havn by Jaguar Land Rover selected Fleetonomy’s smart mobility platform for automotive subscription services and ride-hailing models because it reduces costs maximizing vehicle usage in fleet-based services and helps generate new revenue streams by launching efficient and profitable through their app-based mobility services. 

About Fleetonomy

Fleetonomy provides cloud-based, end-to-end fleet management solutions for automakers, car rental companies, and smart mobility operators designed to maximize fleet efficiency, reduce operational costs, and create new revenue streams based on smart mobility services.

The Fleetonomy next-generation fleet management platform enables mobility service providers to efficiently manage multiple smart mobility services such as ridesharing, dynamic shuttles, car subscription, and on-demand car rental services using the same fleet of vehicles. Fleetonomy’s technology is already deployed with global top tier OEM’s, car rentals and transit agencies helping them predict demand, increase utilization and create new revenue streams.

Learn more at https://www.fleetonomy.io or contact info@fleetonomy.io to schedule a chat.

Want to learn more about Fleetonomy? Let us know at info@movmi.net and we’ll introduce you!