Addressing the barriers to electric vehicle adoption in government fleets

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption remains a strong point of interest among North American government fleets. Approximately 5% of U.S. fleets have transitioned to fully EVs, while 95% stay at various stages of adopting solutions, infrastructure, and materials.

But shifting from traditional fuel to all-electric power can be extremely difficult for fleet managers. Even at the federal level, EVs comprise just 1% of U.S. government fleets—a sign of the difficulty of making this switch.

So, what keeps government fleets from adopting EVs? Are there ways to overcome these obstacles and acquire these vehicles for your fleet?

Let’s take a look at common EV barriers and their solutions.

What are the obstacles to electric vehicle adoption in government fleets?

From financial barriers to infrastructure limitations, several obstacles prevent public fleets from adopting EVs. Five of the biggest ones are:

• Poor EV charging station infrastructure: By 2030, the U.S. could need more than 2.1 million public chargers and 28 million private chargers to keep EVs charged at full range.
• EV battery supply: An economic shortage of lithium and structural underinvestment in supply capacity has made EV batteries much harder to buy.
• Electricity limitations: The state of California alone expects EVs to need more than 17,000 gigawatt-hours of power by 2030, which is more than most localities can provide.
• Range anxiety: While major metros command approximately 500 to 1,000 charging stations per 25 square miles, most suburban areas have just one to twenty-five outlets (while rural areas typically have none).
• Costs: More than a third of all fleet managers are concerned about EV-related expenses, while 74% feel that they don’t have the financial support to carry out the transition.

These EV barriers present enormous challenges to fleet managers and their agencies. However, enterprising organizations have shown that each can be overcome—provided that you design the right adoption strategies and opt for proactive development.

Solutions for EV adoption for North American governments

There are several ways to overcome the obstacles wedged between public agencies and EVs. These include utilizing cost savings, incentives, ZEV goals, and solutions for non-traditional vehicles and joining forces with your community.

Let’s take a closer look at each.

Adopt cost-effective tracking software

Tracking software enables you to collect practical data that underlines the true benefits of EVs. It also provides you with plenty of reporting tools so you can justify EVs to stakeholders and public audiences.

Be sure to consider telematics like:

• Fuel tracking (to show how much fuel you’ve saved)
• Maintenance tracking (to show how much less EVs require)
• Route tracking (to evaluate pathways to greater savings)

Take advantage of fiscal incentives

Despite the higher price tag of new EVs, local and state governments can access financial incentives that reduce or even cover their upfront costs. These incentives include tax breaks or rebates and fee-free grants that cover the cost of acquisition.

For example:

• Maryland’s Zero Emission School Bus Grant Program and Study helps local organizations purchase EV buses for their schools.
• UDOT’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program offers financial assistance to state, local, and tribal governments wanting to purchase EVs.
• California’s Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program enables governments to purchase EV-friendly boats, trains, trucks, lawnmowers, and agricultural equipment.

Create an EV adoption or zero-emissions goal

Building a clear timeline for EV adoption can help offset the uncertainties of your greening initiatives. Once you collaborate with other members of your agency, you can set a date (or year) when you expect to reach your zero-emissions goal.

From here, you can start working backward to answer questions like:

• How long do you have to become a zero-emissions fleet?
• How does this translate into new EV acquisitions per year?
• How much do you need to budget to make this a reality?

Focus on solutions beyond passenger vehicles

Passenger vehicles are among the first EVs that local and state governments acquire. However, many more solutions are available on the market, including boats, trains, and trucks.

First, calculate the cost of your EVs, and perform an analysis to determine the breakeven point. Continue to do this with your other options until you settle on the solution that’s right for your agency.

Join forces with others in your community

It’s impossible to transition to EVs in a vacuum, especially as a smaller locality. The most successful EV plans involve connection with the community, including marketing campaigns designed to drive interest, awareness, and collaboration.

In studies, communities with active engagement initiatives saw a 60% increase in EV adoption compared to other communities. This could be key to drumming up support and encouraging private EV adoption among the audiences that you serve.

Partners to rely on for the EV transition

Eliminating the barriers to electric fleet adoption requires planning, strategy, and support. Fortunately, you can rely on many third-party organizations to assist at any stage of your transition.

Regardless of your organization's size or location, you can partner with professionals at:

• Electrification Coalition: An organization driving policies and actions to make EVs more accessible to fleets
• Climate Mayors: A bipartisan group of over 750 municipal lawyers dedicated to greening the future for their civilians
• Sourcewell: A government organization designed to help other government organizations acquire EV solutions through competitively solicited cooperative contracts

You may contact Sourcewell at any time to discuss EV solutions, greening programs, and cooperative contracts for your North American fleet.

See how easy it is to get the EV fleet you need without the hassle using Sourcewell’s cooperative purchasing program. Streamline the public procurement process by choosing from hundreds of suppliers already on contract. Sourcewell’s procurement experts competitively solicit and award contracts on behalf of 50,000 participating agencies in North America. Sourcewell is a government agency that has been empowering other government organizations since 1978. Check out our contracts here.