Tag: EVs

Reduce fleet fuel costs

Six Ways to Reduce Fleet Fuel Costs

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on Six Ways to Reduce Fleet Fuel Costs

Inflation, the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine have all contributed to an already exorbitant rise of fuel costs in North America. Fleet managers everywhere are looking for ways to reduce fleet fuel costs.

In 2019 alone, fuel was $2.60 per gallon. In March, 2022 fuel prices reached $4.17. With no relief in sight, fleet managers are continuously looking for ways to improve fuel economy.

Here are six ways that your organization can reduce fleet fuel costs.

#1: Dispatch the Right Vehicles to Reduce Fleet Fuel Costs

It might be time for a fleet upgrade. Newer trucks, such as EVs, use alternative fuel sources or are hybridized for better fuel efficiency.

While you may not necessarily have the resources to replace every vehicle, adding even a few of these trucks can help your fleet become more fuel efficient. More miles per gallon means less fuel consumption.

#2: Preventative Maintenance

Proper maintenance of vehicles ensures they are operating at full capacity. In many ways, good vehicle health can reduce the overall costs associated with their operation. Regular engine checks can ensure that nothing goes wrong on the road.

Tires

Tires are a big pain point for many organizations. Keeping tires in good condition and properly inflated can reduce gas mileage by 0.2% for every 1 psi lower than recommended.  

Payload

Reducing extra weight in your trucks can have a positive effect on fleet fuel costs. In fact, reducing a truck’s weight by just 100lbs could save nearly $500 in fuel costs.

A/C

While everyone loves to cool off during the hot summer weather, reducing air conditioning usage in your vehicles can also reduce fuel consumption by 3%. The same goes for turning down the heat in colder weather.

Many telematics solutions can monitor maintenance needs across the whole fleet and send automatic notifications if a vehicle requires a tune-up or inspection.

#3: Improve Driver Habits

Bad habits such as speeding, aggressive driving and harsh braking can incur fuel costs for fleets to the tune of an additional 27%. 

Provide drivers with insights into their driving behaviour and offer constructive coaching to get them back on track and improve overall fuel efficiency. 

Telematics can provide valuable data sets to support driver coaching and scorecards, both of which are incentives to feel more engaged while positively impacting your fuel costs.

#4: Improve Vehicle Routing

Optimized routing not only shortens delivery times, but can also improve fuel economy. Telematics and fleet management software enable fleet managers to create and alter routes in real-time by considering factors such as weather, construction, accidents or other road obstructions.

As a result, trucks get where they need to be on time and faster, saving fuel costs in the process.

#5: Reduce Idling 

According to a recent report, idling can use a quarter to a half gallon of fuel per hour.

Depending on the size of your vehicles and of your fleet, those numbers can spell big trouble for fuel economy. Fleet managers can reduce fuel wastage by:

  • Turning off the engine when making a delivery or waiting for a pick-up.
  • Reduce idling while in heavy traffic by turning off the engine
  • Don’t idle to warm up the engine.

The right telematics solution can monitor specific data sets around idle time, enabling fleet managers to address fuel waste.

#6: Invest in Telematics to Reduce Fleet Fuel Costs

There is no other singular solution that offers the most fuel savings. Telematics enables fleet managers to make significant changes to their operations in real-time, reducing costs and improving outcomes. 

Telematics works by providing instant communication between vehicles and the fleet manager, offering valuable data and insights into various facets of the operation, including:

  • Vehicle location information and driver recognition
  • Maintenance problems and engine health
  • Poor driving habits such as harsh braking and excessive speeding
  • Vehicle (and fuel) usage

The more data available, the more fleet managers can learn about their operations. By accessing insights around driving habits, route optimization, traffic delays and weather conditions, organizations can apply their learnings to future operations, all with the focus on choosing the best fuel solution. 

The right type of fleet management software integrates telematics and other smart systems to reduce human error and improve operations. By leveraging this software solution to monitor fuel consumption, organizations are better empowered to lower fuel costs and grow their revenue. 

 

yellow transport truck

EVs Are Here; Is Your Fleet Ready?

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on EVs Are Here; Is Your Fleet Ready?

Many fleets are choosing to make the switch to electric vehicles (EVs). Or rather, the choice is being made for them. In Europe, gas-powered vehicles will no longer be sold to consumers as of 2025. The question is no longer if EVs will be commonplace on the road, but when.

 

To add to this challenge, EV manufacturers aren’t required to standardize the way in which they provide access to vehicle-side data, which could, in theory, require a new approach for accessing said data (and essential telematics insights) for each new EV model that hits the road. That is, of course, unless there is a telematics platform that helps bridge the gap and allow for a seamless integration of data.

 

Looking 5-10 years into the future, fleet managers closer to home are recognizing that transport vehicles are on the list to get “plugged in”, and that there’s inherent value in investing in the infrastructure to support them. But what do they need to know to make wise investments in EVs and their supporting architecture, while supporting the vehicles they already have? In this piece we’ll look at what you need to know to invest in the EV evolution, and how GoFleet can help make the transition near-effortless.

 

GoFleet Can Assess Your Current Vehicles

 

There’s no need to dispense with your entire gas-powered fleet just yet. The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is an estimate of the total cost to own a car for a five year period. It includes all spent expenses and losses incurred due to the vehicle’s depreciation. As a general rule of thumb, it’s time to replace your vehicle when the costs to repair are higher than the costs to buy, and using the TCO is a great way to predict and assess which vehicles will stay and which ones need to be replaced. This is just one of the ways GoFleet can save you time and money; purchase less and use what you’ve got.

 

Let us help you decrease the risk when the time comes to make difficult purchasing decisions. We’ll help you gauge the health of your gas-powered fleet, guide you through what to replace, and how to pool your resources more efficiently and effectively. We’ll help you create a hybridized fleet based on your business needs, while weighing them against the EV wave.

 

The OEM Connection

 

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are already collecting data around vehicle heath. GoFleet offers a software interface that partners with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to leverage embedded telematics systems and improve your purchasing decisions. Currently we support over 100 EV makes and models, including John Deere, Ford, GM and International to feed your UI with essential information.

 

The data produced by vehicles provide critical insights that help fleet operators manage and optimize their vehicles. Any vehicle that is not supported could become a liability for fleet managers.

 

GoFleet has spent years developing an industry-leading approach to accessing data, and we have intentionally built systems to make it easier and quicker to “speak with” various EV models, ensuring that we continue to grow our list of supported EVs.

 

We offer support for fleets of all sizes, including the largest EV makes and models available. We work directly with vehicle manufacturers to develop unique access to EV data, ensuring your EVs will have strong, critical data support now and in the future as you continue to augment your fleet. We have your entire fleet covered, and you can operate in confidence knowing there’s nothing missing from your data.

 

Manage New EVs Through Custom Notifications

 

GoFleet can create customized notifications and personalized, built-in rules to manage your EV fleet successfully. You can for example:

  • Receive notifications when a vehicle’s battery reaches a critical level while on the road and requires charging
  • Prioritize charging order for fleet EVs based on lowest charge level
  • Remind drivers when it’s time to plug in and charge the battery
  • Avoid charging during peak electricity times and rates by establishing ‘no-charge time’ rules

 

Map Functionality

 

Immediate charging status provides a view of which vehicles are actively being charged at any given time. GoFleet’s telematics include battery charge data in real-time, as well as charging status, allowing you to identify which EVs in your fleet have the greatest battery charge so you can dispatch the right vehicles to get the job done. 

 

GoFleet Keyless Solutions

 

What if you could remotely manage your fleet with a digital key solution that enables multiple drivers to share vehicles, without the need for physical key exchanges? The ability to use any vehicle without keys lowers the number of vehicles in your fleet to save time, money and resources. 

 

GoFleet provides a mobile app that allows you to start the vehicle and unlock the doors remotely. Secured keyless access ensures only authorized drivers can access your vehicles. No more waiting for the driver of an assigned vehicle to show up with the only set of keys in the fleet; with secured keyless access, you can take advantage of complete fleet visibility to reduce, repurpose or redistribute assets and increase utilization.

 

“It’s real money,” says Vishal Singh, President of GoFleet. Singh is a major proponent of cost-saving efficiencies through digital keyless solutions. “At any given time, only 50% of your vehicles are running. So rather than sharing keys, everyone has access to an app that allows them to use any vehicle in the fleet. So now you’ve lowered the number of vehicles you need in your fleet.” A move, Singh says, that can add up to major savings over time. 

 

“Let’s say I cut 20% of the vehicles in my fleet. If the average cost of a vehicle is $50,000, that’s a million dollars I’ve just saved because those vehicles aren’t just sitting in the lot. And I’m basically operating at the same efficiency and capacity as before, with fewer vehicles,” Singh says.

 

Reporting

 

Whether you have a gas-powered fleet or are looking to incorporate EVs into your business, GoFleet’s telematics can offer cost-saving opportunities with detailed reporting and valuable insights into how your vehicles are operating. Manage and support your fleet through real-time updates. Review fuel and energy usage to assess an average electric range and the performance of your EVs against regular fuel vehicles. 

 

Determine if you’re maximizing battery usage with a charging report; a complete history of your EVs from a charging perspective, showing you when and where your EVs are charging, how long they were charging at a specific location, and the amount of charge they received. GoFleet’s EV Charge Assurance provides an in-depth look at the charging status of all of your fleet’s electric vehicles, ensuring that they’re charged and ready to complete their route:

  • Receive alerts when battery levels of a vehicle reaches a dangerously low level while on the road and requires charging. 
  • Send reminders to your drivers when it’s time to plug in and create a charging order for your vehicles.
  • Eliminate charging during peak hours; set hours when your fleet should not charge due to peak electricity rate times and receive notifications when a vehicle is charging during those hours.

 

Conclusion

 

Making the transition to an electric fleet requires a shift in mindset. What does your fleet need? How can you make the best choice around when and how you acquire new vehicles? Whether you’re already ahead of the curve with a new EV fleet, or looking to integrate electric vehicles into your existing roster, GoFleet has the telematics tools to make the transition as seamless as possible. Let us bridge the gap with scalable solutions that help you get on the road faster and more efficiently – contact us today!