Moving Words – Electric Vehicles Part 2 (Pros)
Timothy Brady
“Don’t focus on negative things; focus on the positive, and you will flourish.” – Alek Wek
In the first Moving Words blog article for this month (March 2022), we discussed some of the negatives involved with moving your local moving fleet into Electric Commercial Vehicles (ECV). In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of ECV ownership and operations.
1. Cost of Operation
According to the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, a 2018 study determined the average cost to operate an EV in the United States per year was $485 versus a gasoline powered vehicle of the same size at $1,117. This study was based on residential electricity and a passenger EV, but didn’t include four other costs that come with every EV:
Cost of a residential charger
Cost of commercial electricity
An annual EV tax, which in Michigan ranges from $135 to $235 per year depending on the vehicle model (This is to make up for not paying any gas tax)
Deadhead miles to get to a fast charger
When these costs are figured in, a mid-priced internal combustion car getting 33 miles per gallon going 12,000 miles per year would cost $1,030 and the EV would be around $1,554.
However, this study doesn’t factor in the lower maintenance costs. There’s no need for oil changes and no radiator, thus no antifreeze levels to maintain. So in that 12,000 annual miles with an EV, there would no need for four oil changes and no break in your schedule to sit in a service lounge waiting for your vehicle to be serviced. Or in the case with a fleet of ECVs, your mechanics would not be spending their time doing oil changes or the typical vehicle maintenance required on a commercial vehicle combustion engine. An example: in Ocala, FL the city has 5 BYM Electric Refuse Trucks which they have determined provided a 75% savings in maintenance costs. Of course the savings typically decrease for larger EVs, like Class 8 trucks, where higher truck and charger costs, larger payload demands and duty cycle make TCO more difficult.
In 2020, “Consumer Reports” did a 45-page cost comparison and found the savings benefit to ownership costs for an EV is significant the first few years (most expensive equipment needs: purchasing and installing the infrastructure for charging the EVs). The costs continue to go down the longer you own an EV. “Consumer Reports” compared the nine most popular EVs priced less than $50,000 with the “best-selling, top-rated, and most efficient vehicles in their class.”
(Here’s a link to the Consumer Reports Study: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/assets/2020/10/EV-Ownership-Cost-Final-Report-1.pdf)
2. Better Community Image
Going ‘green” with an EV fleet is big news today. It provides the opportunity to show your community that you care about the local environment. It also gives your operation a quieter footprint as your crews go into neighborhoods and subdivisions to pack, load, unload, unpack or haul away moving debris. The positive PR possibilities are huge. And the first ‘green’ mover in a community is the one who’ll reap the largest PR benefit from going electric.
3. Happier Employees, Shippers and Neighbors
Employees who drive or ride to and from jobs or use ECVs in their daily routes have constantly given the ECVs high praise. It’s quieter, with fewer vibrations for those in the vehicle. Add to this your people are going into neighborhoods in the early morning with near-silent running has got to be a welcome change for the local inhabitants. So not only are the exhaust emissions non-existent, noise pollution is near zero too.
4. One Pedal Operation
Regenerative braking allows the operator to just remove their foot from the accelerator to come to an easy, gradual stop. Brake regen can be adjusted on most ECVs permitting a faster stop or a more gradual one. Battery charge rates from the regen system will be impacted accordingly. In other words, everything is smoother.
5. Instant Acceleration from a Standstill
In EVs there’s no hesitation for the power train to engage and as it reaches the optimal RPM before max torque is obtained. With this greater torque, the vehicle doesn’t lose power on hills like an internal combustion engine.
6. Portable Power Supply
Having gas or diesel generators powered up at a shipper’s residence can be very disruptive to the neighbors, since they’re loud and air polluting. With ECVs comes the possibility for exportable 110v and 220v power. As an example, the Ford E-Transit offers 2.4 kW of juice for power tools, etc. Ford also offers the same in its electric F-150. This would be a boon for packers as they would be able to build crates and handle other packing or unpacking tasks that require household current. Packers would even have their own power source for lights for residences or locations where the power’s been turned off or there isn’t any electrical service.
7. Possible New Revenue Generating Source
The capital investment to install an EV Charging Station is considerable. However, they don’t need to be looked at as a cost to your business, but rather a potential revenue generator. As businesses of all stripes start looking to “Go Electric,” many of them aren’t going to have the space or the area to place an electric charging station. It might be prudent to research the construction of multiple charging stations which could be rented out to other businesses in your area. And of course as the moving industry moves toward building EV fleets, other agents will be searching for locations away from their facilities where they can charge their EVs. With emerging vehicle-to-grid technology, these opportunities can only grow.
In closing, I did some research into whether there are any truck rental companies who rent or short-term lease ECVs so a mover could determine the viability to expanding their local fleet with electric vehicles. At the time this article is published, rental of an Ford eTransit van or box truck is not available anywhere nationally. One national rental company did indicate they’re preparing to roll out an EV rental service at some time in the near future. I’ll let you know if and when this occurs.
Finally, it should be noted and placed into your 5- and 10-year strategic plan that several vehicle manufacturers are planning on going 100% electric by 2030.
“If ‘pro’ is the opposite of ‘con’ what is the opposite of ‘progress’?” – Paul Harvey
