June 6, 2024
The Role of Fleet Data Analytics in Enhancing EV Operations
5 Min. Read
Visibility is critical to making better decisions in modern fleet management, especially as your operations grow in size and complexity. Integrating fleet data analytics has been a game-changer driving increased value, continued growth, and even enhanced profit margins for many organizations.
This is particularly relevant in the context of fleet electrification, as electric vehicles (EVs) make data more accessible than ever, which is crucial to optimizing routes and charging times.
In this article, we’ll explore the role of fleet data analytics and how EVs can help enhance operations with increased visibility on performance and other vital metrics for your fleet business.
Data Collection and Integration for EVs
EVs are built with smart features that many traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles do not have, allowing for superior visibility. With some models including over 100 sensors that can deliver real-time data for acceleration, braking, battery health, and more, incorporating EVs into your fleet will allow you to better understand driver behaviors and vehicle performance, and provide a clear path on how you can continue to improve your vehicle performance.
In addition to data captured from fleet vehicles with advanced sensors and monitoring technology, charging equipment manufacturers have also developed digital solutions that communicate with vehicles, electric vehicle fleet charging infrastructure, and other players to develop and ensure the charging process is efficient at every stage.
Some fleet managers are enhancing visibility by also incorporating predictive data about weather and traffic patterns, or leveraging internal data to track projected demand, expenses, and usage rates. Organizations are now even able to integrate partner data for increased collaboration and transparency as supply chains grow in complexity. This in turn allows for a more comprehensive view of the business’ logistics—enabling better coordination, planning, and decision-making.
This new data ecosystem is an incredible source of value, but it requires an infrastructure that can integrate data from multiple sources, highlight connections between data points, and make insights accessible to fleet managers and other users. With the rise of AI, the capabilities of fleet data analytics are more accessible and affordable than ever, even for smaller fleets.
As a fleet manager, you must build a modern telematics platform incorporating an EV fleet management software solution. By partnering with both EV and charging equipment manufacturers, you can better leverage their tech solutions and keep up with the latest advancements.
Utilizing Predictive Analytics for EV Fleet Optimization
Increased visibility into fleet operations, combined with advancements in AI-powered analytics solutions, will lead to better predictive fleet data analytics.
Use cases of predictive analytics for fleets include anticipating maintenance needs to lower your TCO, optimizing routes, or creating a more efficient charging schedule. Research suggests that leveraging data can reduce maintenance, fuel, and insurance costs by as much as 20%.
For fleet electrification, predictive analytics can address challenges that influence range and performance linked to charging to get the most out of your fleet’s electric vehicles. An advanced analytics solution that assesses multiple data points to assist with planning for and optimizing your fleet EV charging based on factors such as driving conditions, weather, or load can significantly influence range and performance. Additionally, multiple data points can be used by this type of program for increased accuracy in range estimates and better-optimized route mapping.
Predictive maintenance is another noteworthy use case. Compared to ICE vehicles, EVs can reduce maintenance costs by $6,000 to $12,000 per year and proactively addressing potential maintenance issues can maximize these savings while reducing avoidable and extended downtime for your fleet vehicles.
Additional benefits of embracing predictive analytics include managing your costs more effectively and gaining visibility for future planning — allowing you to get the most out of your fleet electrification and making your fleet more competitive.
Plus, optimizing routes and charging can result in a better driver experience. With half of fleet professionals citing labor shortages and retention as a challenge, leveraging predictive analytics for smarter scheduling can make a difference.
Operational Efficiency and Cost Reduction
Improving visibility with fleet data analytics creates opportunities for improving operational efficiency, lowering costs, and enhancing your profit margins.
Examining your data to pinpoint inefficiencies in fleet operations will allow you to better determine where your greatest opportunities are.
Challenges for fleet management and improving your operations include determining causes of and preventing: excessive downtime for fleet vehicles, ineffective scheduling for drivers, and failure to take advantage of lower time-of-use electricity rates when charging EVs. By using EV fleet data analytics, you can better evaluate and avoid these inefficiencies to improve your operations and profitability.
Next, you can leverage data to adopt a strategic approach to electric fleet optimization and achieve goals such as minimizing and eliminating vehicle downtime, reducing charging costs, and lowering your total cost of ownership (TCO) through better maintenance.
You can also utilize predictive analytics for smart scheduling, enhancing driver satisfaction while making arrival or delivery times more predictable for your customers.
As you continue growing your electric fleet to meet ESG goals, fleet data analytics can play an essential role in informing procurement decisions by helping you set more precise requirements to identify the best EVs or EV charging solutions for your fleet.
Plan Your Fleet Electrification Project with Qmerit
Fleet electrification and the rise of advanced telematics are transforming fleet management. These technologies support efficiency, reduce costs, and result in more sustainable fleets that grow thanks to data-driven decision-making.
Data analytics should be a key component of your fleet electrification strategy and inform your charging infrastructure’s development.
As you explore fleet charging solutions, forming the right partnerships can help you leverage expertise in this field and manage costs more effectively.
As the largest and most trusted electrification network in North America, our network of certified electricians has installed over 450,000 EV charging stations in homes and businesses across the U.S. and Canada and our custom fleet EV charging solutions will help you enhance your operations with reliable charging for increased vehicle uptime and performance.
We’ve earned our reputation as the most experienced and high-quality electrification service and EV charger installation network and can help make your transition easy with our experience and commitment to your business.
Find out how an electric vehicle fleet can help build your business for the future. With a simple and seamless installation experience and top-quality service you can trust, Qmerit makes driving electric easy—no matter where your drivers need to charge.
Contact Qmerit today to learn how we can support your fleet electrification project and help you enjoy the benefits of a seamless EV experience without the typical complexities of EV charger installation.
