Autofleet Launches Self-Serve Fleet Planning Simulator for EVs - Autonomy

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Autofleet, a leading provider of optimization solutions for fleets and mobility operators, was founded around the core premise that fleets have a critical role to play in the value chain of mobility and by applying advanced technology and optimization through fleet planning, they can launch new mobility services that are efficient, sustainable and profitable.

During the last 12-18 months, Autofleet have seen fleets begin their journey to electrify with the promise to reduce emissions and costs. However, it also became apparent that there are many challenges on the way to an EV future. Especially for professional fleets that use their vehicle extensively and need to meet business goals.

The problem – Maintaining a high level of service and avoiding costly mistakes while transitioning to EVs

For fleet professionals, adopting EVs may affect crucial key performance indicators (KPIs). Depending on the fleet’s business, these can be the percentage of trips completed, deadhead miles, or estimated time of arrivals (ETA). It can create more downtime, force inefficient routes to accommodate charging locations and more.

Alongside fleet operators, city planners, utilities and charge point operators all face similar challenges regarding fleet planning, especially around the right charging strategy and infrastructure needed.

Efficient fleet planning through simulations de-risks the transition

Therefore, every second spent planning pays off in operational certainty, leaving you confident you made the right decisions.

A proven tool for mitigating these risks, and ensuring a smooth adoption of EVs, is Autofleet’s self-serve Fleet Planning Simulator. It was designed to offer a quick, easy, and accurate way to optimize existing vehicle fleets and for planning new initiatives.

Simulations can be used to plan all aspects of the deployment of electric vehicles and build-out of charging strategy. It accounts for vehicle constraints and available infrastructure with answering questions such as needed vehicle models and range, charger placement, type and quantity, measured against a wide range of both operational and financial key performance indicators.

It works by using actual fleet data, including historical bookings or telematics data, leveraging real-world traffic data, charging networks, and other supporting data sets in order to produce accurate results.

Complete control over scenarios and experiments

Once the data has been uploaded to the Simulator (a simple upload of a csv file), planners can run “experiments” and simulations across a variety of filters, including geography, type of vehicle, number of drivers/shifts needed, different charging strategies, and many more.

Operators are able to simulate the addition of different numbers and types of EVs into an existing fleet or create a new EV fleet, calculate vehicle range, plan charging infrastructure, optimize fleet operations and run complete Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis. This way fleet professionals can be sure they maintain the same level of service, or even improve it.

Already in use

Electrification looks like a done deal. Between the genuine desire to become more sustainable, regulations, and the long-term economic benefits of going electric as reflected in the TCO, we all understand the need to transition to EVs. However, this process can be fraught with difficulties, many of which can be easily avoided with prudent planning.

Autofleet’s Fleet Planning Simulator is already being used by leading fleets and mobility operators such as Scania, Zipcar, Ford and Terawatt to name a few, across a variety of verticals, including rental, delivery and logistics, taxi, car sharing, public transport, and more. City planners, utilities companies and charge point operators also use it to strategise, plan and design their charging infrastructure, decide which routes to electrify first and more.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of electrification. Every fleet has different needs, different operational infrastructure requirements, and different considerations affecting TCO. Autofleet’s Fleet Planning Simulator empowers operators to experiment in a data driven but risk-free environment, and to move forward with implementation only when they are ready with more than mere gut feelings.