Electric vehicles (EVs) aren’t only the wave of the future; they’re the topic of today. Leading the charge in significant carbon savings for companies across the globe, they positively impact our environment and also the bottom line for fleet-based businesses.
But what is the sustainability impact of fleets that are moving toward hybrid or fully electric models? Let’s explore some of the common misconceptions about electric vehicles, and how they impact both global sustainability goals and everyday fleet operations.
Myth 1: Electric or hybrid energy is worse for the environment than internal combustion engine (ICE) fuels.
Busted: Some methods of generating the electricity used to charge EVs does create carbon pollution, such as coal or natural gas—but renewable energy sources like wind or solar do not.1 And EVs don’t create tailpipe emissions, making them responsible for much lower levels of greenhouse gasses than the average (brand new) ICE vehicle over their lifecycle. One study found that EV emissions can be up to 43% lower than from diesel vehicles.2
Renewable power is also predicted to expand by 50% by 20243, leading to even lower emissions for the overall EV lifecycle. Companies that are laying the EV groundwork now will be in a winning position as eco-friendly vehicles become even more mainstream.
Myth 2: The impact on the environment to manufacture EVs is more harmful than ICE vehicles.
Busted: Some may think that producing an EV battery can create more CO2 pollution than a gasoline vehicle, mostly due to the amount of energy needed to create the battery. But the CO2 from manufacturing an EV battery actually equals the emissions from driving a gas-powered vehicle for only 1-2 years. The full lifecycle of an EV, battery included, creates significantly less CO2.4
Today, approximately 50% of the emissions from EVs comes from the battery manufacturing and assembly5, but producing those batteries using renewable energy can help substantially reduce lifecycle emissions—and there are many companies that are up to that task.
Myth 3: Just adding electric vehicles to your fleet is enough to see big sustainability results.
Busted: To realize the full potential of electric vehicles within your fleet, you need to maximize their utilization—and that’s where fleet automation comes in. There’s always a large amount of data coming from the vehicles that are a part of your daily operations, and it’s critical to turn those insights into action, to automating decisions across various makes, models, and fuel sources.
Additionally, shared mobility will be a huge positive factor in sustainability models across the globe. Here are some of the ways it will positively impact fleets and consumers:
- Shared mobility eliminates expenses including car payments, fuel, insurance, parking, and maintenance.
- Shared services offer more freedom and flexibility offering a wider variety of vehicles to match mobility styles.
- Apps and key digitization have made it easier and faster to request rides or vehicles than traditional services.
- Ride and car sharing reduces private vehicle ownership, taking cars off the street and making city living more accessible while reducing carbon emissions.
Smarter utilization of our resources is vital to our planet, which means better solutions benefit us all. Making big strides in sustainability will require us to use more electric vehicles, and over the short and long run, it is much more environmentally friendly to implement EVs into your fleet.
It’s time to make electric vehicles sustainable in real life, rather than just in theory. In part two of our EV blog series, we will be taking a deeper dive into some of the financial advantages of going electric.
Author: Stacey Papp, Director, Content, Ridecell
Sources
1 EPA.gov
2 Carbonbrief.org
3 IEA.org
4 Politifact.com
5 Carbonbrief.org