Consulting: Understanding Fleet Electrification Needs

By Landre Eagleton, Director, Zero Emissions Consulting & Solutions, for International Truck and IC Bus

International Truck and IC Bus recently launched a new podcast, “The EV Fleet Road Map,” to help truck and bus fleets and dealers gain a better understanding of what to expect along their journey toward zero emissions.

For the podcast series, I had the opportunity to take a deep dive into the consulting process, which is the first step of our three-step approach to commercial fleet electrification. Ultimately, our goal is to make electrification easy for those doing the real, essential work day in and day out—hauling goods from A to B and safely and sustainably transporting our kids to school every day.

Today, International Truck and IC Bus have a lot of solid market experience to pull from our battery-electric medium-duty truck and bus applications. We leverage that expertise during the consulting process and initiate dialogue around a fleet’s specific needs. That expertise and those dialogues become even more critical as the regulatory environment continues to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions transport.

Right now, California is leading the charge with its Advanced Clean Fleets and Advanced Clean Trucks rulemakings, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also released its most stringent greenhouse gas emissions standards for all commercial trucks and buses. We know for a fact that these regulations are going to affect all of us at some point in the near future. That's reality check number one.

The second reality check is that the transition to EVs is not a cookie-cutter approach. In fact, each fleet’s transition is unique and based on use case and their specific applications. To identify what makes the most sense for each operation and duty cycle, first and foremost, fleets must look at their specific telematics data to understand their vehicles’ routes, traffic flows, and driver dwell times to optimize charging schedules and route planning.

And because specific fleet electrification needs don’t fit into one uniformed approach, the regulatory and funding landscape could seem daunting for many. That’s why it’s so important to work with partners who can help fleets decipher the regulations in the states in which they are domiciled or where they operate.

Then, there’s the third reality check—the funding piece of the puzzle. In many states right now, there's funding available for electric buses and trucks, but there's also funding for infrastructure. In addition, utility companies are also starting to offer incentives for EV deployment.

At the end of the day, our consultants are here to simplify the process as much as possible. For us, that means serving as a single point of contact to engage with utility companies, to help facilitate grant applications with the associated municipalities that are involved, and to effectively be the trusted advisor for our dealers and fleet customers.

For additional insights, check out the second episode of “The EV Fleet Road Map” podcast, where we take a deep dive into the entire consulting process. To get the conversation started with us, don’t hesitate to reach out to your International® Truck and/or IC Bus® Dealer.