Lately, EV boo-birds have been trumpeting some surveys that found that substantial numbers of EV owners would consider going back to burning gas. New research by Cox Automotive found that the opposite sentiment prevailed among fleet owners operating both EVs and legacy vehicles.
The Future of Fleets: Path to EV Adoption found that, compared to ICE vehicles, EVs had higher scores among fleet owners on key metrics such as “overall satisfaction,” “cost of ownership” and “vehicle usage and capabilities.”
Conducted in Q1 2024, the survey collected data from fleet decision-makers in various regions of the US, across differing fleet sizes. Data shows that 14% of fleets presently operate EVs, and that 87% of decision-makers expect to see EVs in their fleets within the next five years.
“The EV is much larger than just the retail story,” said Zo Rahim, Senior Manager of Research and Market Intelligence at Cox Automotive. “In many ways, electric vehicles can be an ideal solution for fleet operations, which often have set routes of known distances, vehicles that routinely overnight in the same location, and operations that prioritize the cost of ownership. We expect the EV share of the fleet market to expand in the coming years.”
We often hear that finding and taking advantage of available incentives for EV deployment is a challenge for fleets. But Cox’s research indicates that awareness of fleet EV incentives is high among operators. Barriers to EV adoption in the fleet business include high acquisition cost and inadequate charging infrastructure.
Lower maintenance costs are often cited as a benefit of going electric. Surprisingly, Cox’s survey results indicate that EVs have a slightly higher frequency of service compared to ICE vehicles. Nonetheless, 48% of respondents said they are more satisfied with their EVs when it comes to service (27% said they are more satisfied with their ICEs, and 24% see no difference).
The most regularly serviced items among EV fleet owners are wear-and-tear items such as tires and brakes.
Among Cox’s respondents—fleet operators who run both powertrain types—EVs have the highest “overall satisfaction” and “total costs of ownership” satisfaction scores. EVs also edged out ICEs in terms of “ability to complete the business purpose” and “vehicle usage and capability.”
“It is a good sign that overall satisfaction with EV in the fleet business is relatively high,” said Rahim. “There are certainly challenges in shifting a business away from traditional ICE powertrains, but if owners and operators are generally satisfied with the outcome and see tangible savings, EV adoption could certainly accelerate through the end of the decade.”
Source: Cox Automotive
