EV data in real time: up to 24.5% savings on your fleet

In the European Union, in the first 6 months of 2023, only 12% of new vehicles purchased by companies were electric.

And yet it was widely anticipated that the corporate market would play a leading role in the transition to electric vehicles. To the fleet managers defence, the transition to full-EV is by no means trivial. It involves radical changes to the company’s organisation, mindset, habits and even infrastructure. With a considerable risk of productivity and financial losses.

However, fleet managers are not totally unprepared for this necessary transition. By analysing their current fleet usage in detail, they can determine which vehicles and/or drivers are eligible for a switch to electric vehicles. This is the type of use made possible by a tool like Echoes’ CarFleet, which centralises the data transmitted in real time by the vehicles. And it does all this without installing a box or intervening in the fleet.

Electricity transition: France lagging behind

If we take France as an example, the market share of electric cars in company fleets did not exceed 11% in the first half of 2023, which is less than the European average. Yet the Mobility Orientation Law (LOM) enacted at the end of 2019 imposed a strict timetable for companies to acquire green vehicles (<60g CO2/km):

• 10% of fleet renewal from 1st of January 2022 ;
• 20% of this renewal from 1st of January 2024 ;
• 40% of this renewal from 1st of January 2027 ;
• 70% of this renewal from 1st of January 2030.

Unfortunately, in the absence of sanctions, it is difficult to motivate companies to comply with these thresholds. According to the NGO Transport & Environment, last year “66% of companies, 64% of local authorities and 87% of government departments failed to meet the legal quotas for greening their fleets”. (source)

Real-time data to the rescue of fleet managers

Against this backdrop, it is vital to help fleet managers prepare for and implement this transition. To this end, Echoes’ CarFleet tool provides an in-depth analysis of the use of the internal combustion and electric fleets within a company, thanks to the real-time data generated and transmitted natively by the vehicle to the manufacturer. This data is collected by Echoes without any intervention on the vehicle, thanks to agreements with all the manufacturers, then reprocessed, consolidated and displayed in the interface.

This information is critical to understand the use of combustion-powered fleets and determine which drivers or vehicles are most likely to be eligible for electric replacement. To do this, Echoes allows you to find out, for each vehicle :

• Trip history (location, mileage, driving time)
• Average and total consumption
• The  refuelling frequency

This helps us analyzing drivers’ habits in detail and identify those who are most likely to make the transition to electric vehicles:

• employees who only make short journeys,
• those with low average fuel consumption who are therefore aware of the importance of eco-driving, or
• those who keep their vehicles at home in the evenings and can potentially recharge them at home.

Real-time management of the electric fleet

Better still, for electric cars (EVs) acquired by the company, real-time data analysis will enable fleet managers to better manage the use of their low-emission fleet:

• By detecting suction cars that remain connected to the company’s charging points, even when they are loaded.
• Rechargeable hybrid vehicles that are not charged frequently enough, with the risk of their fuel consumption spiralling out of control.
• By being alerted to any over-consumption by certain EV drivers, and by educating them about eco-driving if necessary.
• Ensuring the best possible rotation of electric vehicles within the workforce

An electric fleet is also less expensive

However, ecological awareness cannot and should not be the only motivation for companies to switch to an electric fleet. The superiority of zero-emission cars in terms of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is well established.

LeasePlan, the full service leasing company, analysed the European market and determined the average TCO of a car, taking into account the cost of fuel/energy, depreciation, taxes, insurance and maintenance in 22 European countries*. It revealed that :

• For the B segment, the average TCO is €697 per month for an EV, compared with €774 for a diesel car and €753 for a petrol car.
• In segment C, the average TCO is €735 per month for an EV, compared with €904 for a diesel car, €868 for a petrol car and €961 for a plug-in hybrid.
• In segment D, the average TCO is €861 per month for an EV, compared with €1,140 for a diesel car, €1,066 for a petrol car and €1,114 for a plug-in hybrid.

For the D segment, this means savings of up to 24.5% by switching to electric power compared with diesel. All the more reason for a fleet manager to take a proactive stance in favour of this transition.