How many miles do we drive? How often would I need to charge my vehicles? Do we need to install charging stations, or could we have our drivers charge at home? These and many other questions are on the minds of fleet managers and mobile businesses as they consider making the leap from internal combustion engines (ICEs) to electric vehicles (EVs).
Whether it makes sense to swap a few vehicles out or convert the entire fleet over to EVs, a new partnership between Verizon Connect and fleet electrification analytics firm Sawatch Labs aims to help fleets with more than 10 vehicles plan their EV strategies.
With EVs poised to become a significant part of vehicle fleets in the coming years, growing to 31% of the market by 2050, or about 672 million vehicles, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the need for fleet management solutions tailored to EVs continues to grow.
See also: Fleet electrification: Go or no-go for launch?
“Every fleet is thinking about going to EVs, and the new Verizon Connect and Sawatch Labs integration helps them decide budget, timing, charging, staffing—everything they need to consider in the process, leaving nothing to chance,” said Erin Cave, director of product management at Verizon Connect. “Using Verizon Connect Reveal will give customers the critical data they need to make smarter, more cost-effective, long-term investments in their fleets, their business and in the environment.”
“Sawatch Labs is providing the data critical for customers to confidently deploy and charge a fully electrified fleet,” said Sarah Booth, chief operating officer at Sawatch Labs. “Partnering with an industry leader like Verizon Connect ensures fleets around the country will have the real-time insights required to optimize their vehicle purchasing decisions.”
Sawatch integrates vehicle data from Reveal to perform EV analytics, including feasibility and infrastructure planning. Duty-cycle analytics can help identify how an EV can meet drivers’ needs and provide customizable suggestions to help ensure that carriers have the right size fleet to make accurate procurement and assignment decisions, according to the company.
