Vehicle Connectivity: 3 Use Cases That Drive Sustainability Savings

Connectivity is a cornerstone of any successful fleet management strategy, regardless of your fleet size or vehicle type. This data-driven approach opens the door to gathering new kinds of information on your fleet, optimizing operations and enhancing driver safety. And while those are undoubtedly primary drivers of fleet connectivity for many businesses, organizations are beginning to see the significant link between connectivity and another major motivation: sustainability. 

Vehicle connectivity is quickly becoming one of the most creative tools to adopt for greening your fleet. Whether you’re ready to use your telematics data to make a case for an EV change, optimize your current EV program or green your non-EV fleet, our team at Wheels can help you tap into your vehicle’s data to deliver sustainability savings. 

Below, I’ve outlined three actionable ways to use your fleet telematics data to prioritize sustainability goals regardless of where you’re at in the EV deployment journey. 

Use Case 1: Using Telematics Data to Make a Case for Change

The first way you can use telematics data to deliver sustainability savings is by leveraging it to make a case for a corporate sustainability change. If your fleet is in this stage, maybe you’re just starting to consider the operational and cost-saving benefits of an EV transition but haven’t made the leap for the full investment. In this phase, telematics data can offer a lot of clarity on current fleet operations, costs, existing business policies and processes. You just need to know what to look for.

Start by assessing how many vehicles are in the fleet. What types of vehicles are there? How old are they? It’s important to ensure an EV transition makes financial sense, so understanding the vehicle makeup of your fleet is an essential step in calculating the upfront investment. For example, the purchase price of EVs may be higher than a traditional vehicle, but the total cost of owning and operating these vehicles tends to be lower. Once you assess your fleet makeup, you can use telematics data to evaluate their uses.

How much time is the vehicle in operation each day? How far does it drive daily, weekly? What kind of roads and routes does it take, and what is the weight of the load it typically carries? It’s critical to determine your fleet’s maximum drive distance to know how much range you need with your new EVs and mitigate any anxiety around charging availability.

Next, you’ll need to evaluate the potential cost savings and CO2 reduction of the EV alternative. Think about how certain electric vehicles perform, including the range limits. What does the real-time performance of your vehicles highlight about your ability to adopt EVs in the future? Based on your vehicle’s distance requirements, starting with a pilot program of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) might make the most sense. However, if there’s charging infrastructure already in the operating area, you might be able to make the leap to full battery electric vehicle (BEV) options.

Ultimately, the data provided by vehicle telematics, like driver behavior, odometer readings, trip data, maintenance needs and more can provide answers to your fleet sustainability questions and help make the case for a fleet change.

Use Case 2: Using Telematics Data to Green the non-EV Fleet 

The last major use case for telematics in supporting corporate sustainability goals is to inform greener operations for non-EV fleets. If your fleet is in this phase, perhaps you’re not ready to fully invest in EVs, or they’re not available to you. Luckily, sustainability efforts don’t have to hinge on full EV deployment, and there are still plenty of actions you can take as a fleet manager to operate your vehicles in a more eco-friendly way. 

As part of governmentally-driven sustainability policies, the transport and logistics sector has been pressured to meet imposed sustainability targets or face the consequences. For example, in Canada, the government offers point-of-sale incentives of up to $5,000 for consumers who buy or lease an EV. Similarly, in the USA, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that vehicle manufacturers adhere to more rigorous standards to help reduce pollution from heavy-duty vehicles and engines starting in model year 2027.

Non-EV fleets can take steps to adhere to these policies by using telematics data to cut down on idling hours and curb driver behaviors that burn more fuel. This involves using data to choose the least-congested driving routes, avoiding road construction and obeying other pre-emptive alerts activated by road conditions. Driver behavior will improve as the process of evaluating telematics data is normalized and the team is measured on a truly equal footing. When you use less fuel and resources to complete routes, your business benefits from fuel savings, reduced vehicle downtime and less wear, tear and repairs. 

Use Case 3: Using Telematics Data to Optimize Your Current Program 

The next way you can deliver sustainability savings with telematics data is by using it to optimize your current EV program. In this stage, you have either fully or partially deployed EV vehicles in your fleet and are looking to get the most out of your investment and further your sustainability commitment. There are four key ways to get the most out of your EVs with telematics. 

1. EV Charging: Keep track of the state of charge when your vehicle is plugged into a charger. This is a critical data point when observing all your EVs, including those on the road and those sitting idle or being charged. With telematics, you can view the state of charge and increase the visibility of all your vehicles simultaneously. This is especially useful for fleet operators and branch managers to be in sync and informed.
2. Home Reimbursement: If drivers decide to charge their vehicles at home, it can be difficult to calculate an accurate reimbursement if that’s part of your policy. Use your telematics data to accurately identify home charging to use for reimbursement, regardless of whether a charger is installed in a home without an internet connection.
3. Battery Optimization: Using telematics data, you can gauge the charging habits of your drivers and make optimizations for cost savings and fleet productivity. If your fleet has different branch locations or depots, telematics can help you keep tabs on where your vehicles are charging to help optimize routes. What are the different costs for different charging stations? Like fuel prices, you want to direct your drivers to the most economical charging stations. Lastly, use data to see the amount of charge your drivers put on the EV and craft a strategy that promotes battery health. For example, you don’t want to charge to 100% every time because it can cause the battery’s health to decline.
4. Ensuring Data Accuracy: Without telematics, you rely solely on your EV charger for data; the ideal situation is integrating the two. Leveraging data from both sources helps you minimize data discrepancy and narrow the gap in data available in traditional ICE vehicles and your EV vehicles. For example, non-EV fleets use odometer readings from fuel transactions to kick off maintenance events, vehicle replacements, and for reporting personal use. EVs don’t have odometer information, and while you’ll get a little bit of information from a charger, you only get part of the picture. Telematics data helps you see the whole picture. This data accuracy is also critical when you start approaching ESG compliance and understanding internal cost structures associated with electricity.

Fleets already piloting PHEV or BEVs can gain so much insight from telematics data. Connectivity tools monitor the performances of batteries and provide insights that translate to better charging habits, driving behavior and fleet visibility.

Your Partner in Vehicle ConnectivityIf you’re ready to learn how Wheels’ connectivity solutions are the perfect pairing to achieve your sustainability goals, our team is here to help. Contact us today for support on your EV journey.