Overview
The commercial transport sector is of particular relevance for the overall transport system and its climate impact. It is assumed to be one of the early adopters of electromobility. In order to increase market penetration, SELECT will provide deeper knowledge on commercial transport with respect to the potential for electromobility. Special emphasis will be given to usage patterns and related technological and organisational requirements.
As research will consider the actual state and expected development in different European countries, national similarities or differences will be taken into account. Survey data to be collected during the project will provide the empirical background for in-depth analysis. Respective findings will be used twofold: First, a methodological framework will be developed that builds the basis for further industrial development of tools and services that address new opportunities and challenges when utilising EV within commercial fleets. Second, recommendations will be derived addressing the broad range of stakeholders including policy, industry, and users. Recommendations will consider not only technological solutions, but also economic, political and infrastructural environments notably supporting the customers shift from conventional to electric vehicles. Suitable ELEctromobility for Commercial Transport
Stakeholders such as logistics operators, industry, academia, and policy will be consulted through-out the project to benefit not only from their particular perspective and in-depth knowledge, but also to address and meet their interest. Within the SELECT consortium research institutions will work together with business companies that already have integrated electric vehicles into their fleets or are going to develop supporting services.
Funding
Results
The main goal of the project was to identify branches suitable for electric mobility in commercial transport in Austria, Denmark and Germany. With a three-step approach economic sectors suitable for electric mobility have been identified.
From the analysis we can conclude that for specific firms a low average tour distance seems to be less important than maximum tour distances below common EV range thresholds. As companies want to use them as direct substitution for conventional vehicles, EVs must be capable of meeting all transport needs. Targeting these needs is a more effective driver for EV diffusion than addressing fleet managers’ attitudes, which are generally in favour of EVs.
From an operational point of view the introduction of EVs is possible in the short to medium term in areas where cars or small vans are required. The methods developed in SELECT allow to efficiently manage the operations of such EV fleets.
Besides experiencing EVs in real life, a broader choice of vehicle technologies dedicated for commercial transport is required. For passenger vehicles at least a small range of different models is available, while light duty vehicles for urban freight distribution are still lacking. Furthermore, the long term reliability of vehicle and battery technology needs to be proven for light duty vehicles. For commercial users, the resale value of vehicles is of high importance and needs to be validated. For the widespread introduction of electric mobility in commercial transport, it is recommended to give companies the possibility to learn about the ease of use of EVs.