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Fleet Electrification Study Questions

Mastering the Basics

  • What is the difference between an EV, BEV, PHEV, and a ZEV?

  • What are the benefits of using electric vehicles?

  • What does the E.O. require in terms of adding electric vehicles to fleets?

  • How do electric vehicles compare to other alternative fuel vehicles, such as flex fuel and hydrogen vehicles? 

  • What will electric vehicles look like in the next 10-20 years?

 Especially for Federal Managers

  • What are the current usage patterns of vehicles in the fleet in terms of miles driven, routes, and weather conditions, and how many existing conventional gasoline vehicles could be replaced with electric vehicles? 

  • Will a purely battery electric vehicle be sufficient for your uses or is it necessary to purchase a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle? 

  • What are the best options for purchasing electric vehicles – through GSA or other options?

  • What are the best locations for electric charging stations in my facilities and how can they be best deployed? 

  • What data can be collected from the electric vehicles and charging stations and how can I use this information to maximize fleet performance?

  • Based on information from the Alternative Fuels Data Center, what kind of greenhouse gas emission reductions can you expect from switching to electric vehicles in your state? 

  • What kind of training would work best for your agency? 

What would you do if…

…you were trying to introduce an electric vehicle and someone refused to use it because they had tried a similar product in the past that did not work?

…you did not have money in your budget to install a charging station?

…you determine that using an electric vehicle is more expensive up front and it is not clear that the purchase would even make sense over the life of the vehicle?

…you do not know how electric vehicle range and battery performance will change in the next year or two and therefore are unsure when to invest in this technology?

Extra Credit

How would you implement a pilot project with electric vehicles in your agency? What steps would you take before starting one? What oversight would you provide during the pilot? How would you determine the results of a project? How would you use those results?

What are some strategies you could use to promote user buy-in for electric vehicles? To convince a skeptical customer, would you focus on the benefits of driving electric vehicles for the environment or more immediate payoffs, such as the high-level performance of such vehicles? 

How would you react if other fleet managers said that acquiring and implementing electric vehicles was too expensive with too little payoff?