New Technologies at a Tipping Point to Help Companies Cut Fleet Emissions
Dec 8, 2022 | 5 min read
Making a business more sustainable is a lofty goal–and until recently, a pretty unattainable one–especially if the company has a fleet of vehicles to fuel and maintain. A firm can recycle, add solar power, reduce waste and conserve water, but businesses have not been able to leverage their fleets of trucks and vans to meet their sustainability goals.
Using Ford ProTM electric vehicles and software to track their use can potentially help fleet managers cut costs.
Now new technologies are starting to make it easier for companies of all sizes to be more sustainable while increasing productivity. From farmers to major manufacturers to small businesses, the availability, sophistication and falling costs of technologies that help to reduce carbon emissions for vehicle fleets are starting to make more business sense.
This is true for electric vehicles, charging hardware and the software systems that monitor them. EVs can reduce fuel costs dramatically because of the high efficiency of electric-drive components, according to the the US Department of Energy.1096 Transportation of goods causes 27% of the world’s carbon emissions, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.1097 Shifting to electric vehicles is vital for companies to reach their net-zero carbon emissions goals.
The automobile industry now produces “more than 70 makes and models of electric vehicles,” said Josh D. Boone, founder and executive director of Veloz, a California-based nonprofit that encourages companies and consumers to use electric vehicles.1098 “People want small cars, SUVs, everything they have now (in EV form). We’re on the cusp of a whole lot of EVs (hitting the market). It’s not a future thing. They’re here and ready to go.” He called the coming pivot to electric vehicles “the largest shift since the Industrial Revolution.”
The Largest Shift Since the Industrial Revolution
A survey of 24 companies in the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance found that they plan to buy 330,000 EVs over the next five model years.1099 The companies operate 1.3 million fleet vehicles in the United States, according to Ceres, a nonprofit that encourages companies to cut carbon emissions.1100
Ford E-TransitTM and wall charger
The US has the largest number of EV commercial vehicles as defined by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) , with 11.5 million sold in 2020 from several manufacturers. China is next at 5.1 million.1101 Those vehicles include light commercial vehicles and medium/heavy vehicles (Classes 1-8), including fleet sales.
Ford Motor Company expects 40% to 50% of its global vehicle volume to be fully electric by 2030, the company has said.1102
Ford is doing that with Ford ProTM, a division that sells commercial EVs and EV services within Ford that is a crucial part of the company’s plan for growth. Ford Pro leverages technology to offer a revolutionary range of electric and gas commercial vans, trucks, hardware and connected software, including end-to-end charging solutions, which will help business and government customers improve productivity and lower their total cost of vehicle ownership.867 Ford is cranking up production of its new EV commercial vans and trucks, but demand is so strong that fleet managers should start now to discuss and plan for their EV futures.
Sonoma County Winegrowers Will Try Out EV Fleets
Ford Pro and the Sonoma County Winegrowers, a group of more than 1,800 grape farmers in Northern California, have started a pilot program that will add Ford F-150® LightningTM Pro pickups, E-TransitTM cargo vans and Ford Pro Intelligence products and services to three farms in Sonoma County, one of the world’s most renowned wine regions.1103 Shifting to EVs is expected to save businesses money in lower maintenance and gasoline costs. Ford Pro estimates that maintenance costs for its all-electric E-Transits will be 40% less than the average scheduled maintenance costs for a gas-powered 2020 Transit over eight years and 100,000 miles.
Ford Pro Telematics867 can be used on all Ford Pro EVs and Ford and other gas-powered vehicles, as well as older Ford vehicles (model years 2015-2019) that are fitted with a plug-in device.
Steve Dutton is a fifth-generation wine grape grower at Dutton Ranch in Sonoma County, California.1032 Dutton Ranch is one of three Sonoma County growers that Ford Pro is sponsoring to test the all-electric F-150 Lightning trucks and E-Transit cargo vans across their land.
“I started to think about electric vehicles here on the ranch when we started hearing about Ford coming out with an actual pickup truck that would be like a regular F-150 without a combustion engine and just with electric motors. So that . . . was a game-changer to us because it’s a real work truck. I don’t want some fancy vehicle that, you know, we wouldn’t be able to use in the field,” said Dutton.
Incorporating sustainability practices into vineyard development and management has increasingly become a priority for many Sonoma County winegrowers. They include Duff Bevill, founder of progressive farming firm Bevill Vineyard Management and part of Sonoma County Winegrowers’ sponsorship with Ford Pro.1033
“You’ve got to be cognizant of the environmental impact, the economic impact and the social impact” of farming, notes Bevill. “We view our responsibility to the land as how do we hand our land to the next generation actually in better condition than we got it from our previous generation.”
Incorporating electric vehicles into vineyard management is an important – and increasingly profitable – next step in that mission.
Learn about Ford Pro’s new electric vehicles for commercial fleets and how you can start planning for an EV future at your business: https://fordpro.com/en-us/charging/
Disclosure(s)
“Electric Vehicle Benefits and Considerations,” US Department of Energy, https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricitybenefits.html#savings, Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.
"Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions" US Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions, Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.
"Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance Survey Analysis." Ceres, https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/ceva-survey, Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.
GLOBAL SALES STATISTICS 2019 – 2021” The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, https://www.oica.net/category/sales-statistics/, Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.
"Ford to lead America’s shift to electric vehicles with new BLUEOVAL CITY mega campus in Tennessee and twin battery plants in Kentucky; $11.4B investment to create 11,000 jobs and power new lineup of advanced EVs." Ford Motor Company, https://corporate.ford.com/articles/locations/blue-oval-city.html, Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.
Available on vehicles with embedded modem or equipped with approved plug-in device (PID). May require modem activation. Ford ProTM Telematics and Ford ProTM Data Services require a purchased subscription. Terms and conditions apply. Telematics service and features, and access to vehicle data, depend on subscription and compatible cellular network availability. Evolving technology/cellular networks/vehicle capability may limit functionality and prevent operation of connected features.
“Farming of the Future: Ford Pro, Sonoma County Winegrowers join forces to electrify business of farming.” Ford Motor Company, https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2022/01/26/ford-pro-sonoma-county-winegrowers.html, Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.
Dutton Ranch is one of three participating in a paid sponsorship with Ford Pro.
Bevill Vineyard Management is one of three grape growers participating in a paid sponsorship with Ford Pro.