Webinar Session Determines Electric Vehicle Viability For Fleet

Representatives of FedEx Express, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), and Dow Kokam shared ways electrification has made economic sense for their companies. The secret seemed to be overcoming barriers to electrification with innovative solutions, according to FedEx Express and PG&E.

These conclusions were arrived at following a webinar session organized by FleetAnswers and The Electrification Coalition. With unstable fuel prices and issues with the recent economy, both FedEx Express and PG&E see electrification as a favorable strategy in managing costs. Dave Meisel, Director of Transportation Services for PG&E, remarked the compounded annual growth rate of the price of fuel over the past fifteen years has made petroleum-based fuels an unsustainable option for them.

Keshav Sondhi, Manager of Global Vehicles Asset Management for FedEx Express, added with fuel prices continuing to rise, electrification becomes increasingly attractive. Describing the innate mechanical efficiencies of the electric drive train, Sondhi said, "with 90 to 95 percent efficiency, (electric vehicles) are certainly the single most efficient way of rolling wheels on the road."

The move to electrification has proven to be so positive for PG&E that early data for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and solely electric vehicles has shown savings up to seventy percent in operational costs. According to their statistics, the elimination of idling in EV’s alone can reduce costs up to thirty percent.

Despite increased efficiency, productivity, and operational savings from electrification, Sondhi admitted the higher initial cost of electric vehicles, up to two or three times their gas or diesel counterparts, has made the conversion to electric power difficult for some fleets.

FedEx currently has forty-three all-electric commercial vehicles deployed in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York City, and Paris. They also have 330 hybrid-electric delivery vehicles, including an all-hybrid station in New York City.

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