Why Is This Important?

Climate change is real and catastrophic, and vehicle fleets contribute about 10% of U.S.-based greenhouse gas emissions. Electrifying vehicles is the only meaningful pathway to demonstrably reduce fleet emissions…so, we should do that.

Who Is This For?

Fleet electrification isn’t just about buying EVs and plugging them in. This report is for those who actually want to make fleet electrification work—whether you are a fleet manager, industry leader, policymaker or sustainability advocate. Even if you’re just here for the horror stories of shady business deals and institutional disfunction, you’ll find something worthwhile.

What Will You Gain?

Fleet electrification projects often stall not because of technology, but because of people. This report highlights the real-world challenges that make or break electrification efforts. You’ll walk away with a better understanding of how to navigate key relationships, avoid common pitfalls, and maybe even retain a shred of dignity along the way**.

** Results may vary

Introduction

Back in the Day

More than a decade ago, a small military base received the U.S. Air Force’s first two electric vehicles. They were Ford Transit Connect EVs, which were actually produced by the now-defunct Azure Dynamics as a retrofit to Ford’s popular gas-powered cargo vans. At that time, I was just getting started as the Defense Department’s lead for fleet electrification. Eager to put the vehicles into use, the base’s fleet manager called me to gather information.

He asked a key question: How do we charge these things?

In the decade prior to receiving the vehicles, the military had procured a few thousand low speed electric vehicles (LSEVs). The LSEVs serve a real function but are essentially glorified golf carts that were often charged by running extension cords out of windows of buildings. There was little awareness of EV charging stations at the time, but — with some explanation — the fleet manager ordered a charging station through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

Several weeks later, I received another call: We received the charging station. How do we install it?

With some delicacy, I advised the fleet manager to talk to the base facility manager to identify an appropriate location for the charging station and work through any design and engineering work required to install the device. With some frustration, he accepted the advice and a few months later had the charging station installed.

And thus was my first introduction to how inadequate stakeholder engagement sows frustration and slows progress towards fleet electrification.

Pretty Much Yesterday

A decade later, I received an urgent message from a longstanding client. This client is a large corporation that builds and operates critical infrastructure. The company’s fleet management team had placed an order for 400 Ford eTransit cargo vans (this time, actually manufactured by Ford) to replace part of their fleet of service technician vehicles. Our point of contact was the facilities director, and he had not been informed of the procurement of 400 electric vehicles until about 3 months before deliveries were scheduled to commence across 10 of his depots.

I received an urgent phone call: How are we going to charge these things?

Now, this is a sophisticated client and the world’s understanding of EVs and charging stations had vastly improved from my first experience with the Air Force. But the client still needed help, so we were retained to perform a detailed analysis of vehicle and charging requirements. Our results were interesting — 6 of 10 depots needed power system upgrades; about 15% of vehicles on order would not function for their intended use; on an extreme cold day, about 33% of the fleet would not be able to successfully perform its full duty cycle. Within about 4 weeks, we produced our findings and provided alternative deployment plans, risk mitigation strategies, and procurement documentation.

While our results were interesting, our process was critical. We emphasized deep engagement with key stakeholders throughout the project. The facilities team provided us with detailed information on power and physical space constraints at each depot, and the fleet manager provided us with technical requirements for their vehicles. Yet, the most important information came from their operations director — the person responsible for dispatching vehicles on a daily basis. Technician vans don’t operate on fixed routes. Their daily duty cycles can appear random but are actually defined by a predetermined set of complex geographic constraints. By including their operations team in the conversation, we were able to effectively model real world operations and deliver recommendations with very high confidence.

Now, the Problem

The large number of internal stakeholders needed to deliver a fleet electrification program is daunting, and any missed and/or dissenting person along the way can kill the project or (worse) result in the delivery of a project that fails. One stranded electric van on a cold day has major implications for not just the driver but the program as a whole. Fortunately, we were able to get the right information from the right people before a mistake was made for our client. As a result, they were able to proceed promptly and with confidence to procure and install charging infrastructure at their first facility within……..checking notes……..18 months.

Why did it take so long to commission the first site? Because internal stakeholder alignment is necessary but insufficient to getting fleet electrification projects off the ground. There is a myriad of external stakeholders that must also be aligned to advance fleet electrification programs. In this case, our client experienced delays from contract negotiation, permitting, and power system upgrades. Then, Ford pushed back the vehicle delivery dates by several months. These types of delays are momentum killers that reinforce the perception that electric vehicles themselves are prone to risk when, in fact, the challenge is typically as much about getting people and organizations motivated as it is about technological or financial limitations.

As a proponent of fleet electrification, I am very concerned that the organizational challenges of the last 15 years have not been resolved and, rather, are often 200x bigger. This report consists of a series of essays, through which I will explore some of the nuances and challenges of engaging various internal and external stakeholders towards zero emission fleets. My intention is not to paint caricatures of professionals doing their jobs. In fact, no single stakeholder is as consequential as the immense task of organizing disparate stakeholders around a common purpose. Here, I intend to capture the organizational complexities involved in fleet electrification and begin to untangle the web of divergent interests that serves as an impediment to progress.

Relive the Magic

1. Introduction

   Dig into the Stakeholder Soup of Fleet Electrification:

2. Internal Organizing: How I Met Your Contract Lawyer

3. Products & Services: What Can I Do to Put You in an EV Today?

4. Power & Permitting: The Flat Circle of Power & Permitting

5. Leased Property: The Case of Furley v. Roper (Coming Soon)

6. Public Policy: The 250lb Orangutan in the Room (Coming Soon)

7. …And the Rest: People You Don’t Know You Should Know (Coming Soon)

   Or, Skip to the Punchline:

8. Conclusion