The Manufacturer's Range: A Starting Point, Not the Whole Picture

When it comes to EV range, the figures provided by manufacturers should be taken with a grain of salt. While these numbers give you a baseline estimate, they often don't fully account for the myriad of variables that can affect range in day-to-day operations. For delivery fleets relying on precise route planning and execution, trusting solely in manufacturer estimates can lead to costly mistakes and missed jobs/deliveries.

Why Range Matters

In the world of EVs, understanding range is critical to both route planning and execution. Not only do you want to ensure your routes are optimised for the range of your EVs, but you also need to make sure that every EV has the mileage to complete its assigned route. Inaccurate range estimations will throw a wrench into even the best-laid plans, leaving dispatch teams scrambling to adjust routes on the fly.

Done well, better range planning can improve EV productivity by up to 30% and ultimately leads to a more reliable end-customer experience.

Range data from thousands of vehicles shows how even the same make-model could have wildly different ranges. Temperature can play a key part but so does many other variables.

Understanding Range

EV range is influenced by various factors, including:

• Weather Conditions: Extreme temperatures, precipitation, and wind can affect battery performance and reduce range. Cold weather increases energy consumption, while hot weather tends to accelerate battery degradation.

• Terrain: Hills and steep slopes require more energy to navigate. Route planning should account for elevation changes to minimize energy consumption.

• Payload: Carrying heavy loads increases energy consumption and reduces range. Optimizing payload distribution and minimizing unnecessary weight can help extend range.

• Driver Behavior: Aggressive driving, rapid acceleration, and frequent braking can drain battery power quickly. Encouraging smooth driving habits and adopting eco-friendly driving practices improves range efficiency.

• Battery health: Older vehicles may have lost significant mileage and this needs to be accounted for in allocating vehicles to routes.

Best Practices for Doing More with EVs

To avoid range becoming a limiting factor to your operations, fleets can implement the following strategies:

• Route Planning: When planning routes, ensure to take into account all the above variables. Some legacy route management systems can be configured to give good enough results - Guided connects to your existing tools to generate the best routes.

• Vehicle Allocation: Match jobs with vehicles based on their current charge levels, range capabilities, and route requirements.

• Energy Management: If power is a bottleneck, ensure to prioritise power to the right vehicle at the right time so that each vehicle has the range it needs.

• Driver Training: Use data to train drivers on the impact of driving style on range. Encourage eco-friendly driving habits, such as gentle acceleration, coasting, and regenerative braking, to maximize range and minimize energy consumption.

Conclusion

In the world of electric fleets, managing vehicle range is crucial. While following best practices helps, using advanced technology like Guided Energy's AI platform can make it easier and more profitable to run your EVs.

At Guided Energy, we solve the complexities of range management using advanced AI and deep integrations across the EV ecosystem.

• Plan: Better routes accounting for weather, terrain, payload and more.

• Action: Assign routes to the most suitable vehicles based on their current charge levels, route requirements, and other parameters. Then ensure each is powered enough and in time for its upcoming route.

• Monitor: Keep a close eye on route progress and identify risks and suggestions on how best to react to them.

• Analyse: Use metrics such as cost, utilisation, energy consumption, driver behaviour and more to iterate on the performance of your fleet.

This smart approach increases EV productivity and lowers the cost per mile for fleets. By choosing Guided Energy, you're ensuring efficient and cost-effective EV operations, making your business more sustainable and successful in the long run.