The removal of this downtime translates into maintenance savings, Reeser added.įleet drivers also don’t need to refuel during the day as their vehicle’s electric charge should last through their entire work day.įleets also won’t be beholden to the volatility of gasoline or diesel prices, so they should see fuel cost reductions. The vehicle won’t need oil changes and the regenerative braking reduces strain on the brakes, which can reduce the number of brake changes needed on a vehicle. Those seven days of maintenance can be eliminated with an electric powertrain, according to Reeser. So, that’s about seven days of expected downtime for typical maintenance in an average year. This means that a typical van with this mileage has five days of expected downtime.Ī brake change will also happen in this time frame, and that will account for about two days of downtime on its own. In a situation where a typical van is driven 25,000 miles a year, that van will see about five oil changes in that time frame. On the Matter of Downtime and Maintenance “It will be more expensive up front, but they don’t have the fuel costs and the oil changes and maintenance costs. “To the end fleet customer, the vehicle will look the same as leasing a gasoline or diesel vehicle,” said Reeser. allocate their money differently, Reeser stated. In states such as California, all fleets whether they’re government or commercial have access to the same grants and incentives. ![]() This means that an electrified van might make more financial sense to fleets in states that offer these sorts of incentives. Through these incentives, the cost of the company’s electric powertrain can drop anywhere from 50%-90%, which results in a cheaper lease, Reeser noted. Incentives and grants available in certain states will help reduce the cost of a lease or purchase. Lightning Systems provides the electric powertrain to a Ford dealer the Ford dealer packages the powertrain and vehicle, installed and ready to go, to the leasing company and then the leasing company provides the vehicle to the end customer. To offer these leased electric vans to fleet customers, Lightning System partnered with fleet leasing companies, one of which is Mike Albert Fleet Solutions. Leasing these vehicles has been such a popular option among fleets that Reeser says leasing will account for 60%-80% of his company’s business going forward. “We’re also seeing a lot of companies leasing it, a lot of our customers are leasing the vehicle or leasing the batteries to even the playing field of operating costs and capital costs.” That sounds expensive, but when you offset it with operating savings, and offset it with grant and carbon credit funds, of which there is over $5B available throughout the U.S., companies are often able to justify the investment,” said Tim Reeser, CEO of Lightning Systems. ![]() With an average $40,000 price for a Ford Transit, this puts the all-in cost of the electrified van at about $120,000 for the 60-mile option and $140,000 for the 120-mile option. ![]() The retail price for the 60-mile option is about $79,000 while the 120-mile option will cost about $99,000. Lightning Systems offers two electric powertrain options for the Ford Transit, a 60-mile option and a 120-mile option, the difference between the models lies in the batteries found inside them. While there are other aftermarket providers that offer conversion kits, we’ll be looking at Lightning Systems’ conversion process. The vehicle conversion offered by the company that is most applicable to commercial fleets in city environments is the Ford Transit conversion. The Loveland, Co.-based company outfits vehicles with gasoline powertrains with electric powertrains.
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