Power Trip

🚚 A Trucking awesome update from AutoTalk Media 🚚 We discussed our new logistics and heavy vehicle updates with EVs and Beyond's editor in this week's online edition! Check out the article for an awesome summary of what we've been working on. #ElectricVehicles #Sustainability #Innovation #FleetManagement #EVs

Achieving great things takes teamwork. We're excited to announce that two awesome, new partnerships will bring exciting new opportunities to fleets in Australia! We're working with Grant Mitchell from Toranos Electric Vehicle Consulting and Thundergrid | A Landis+Gyr Company to create fast, effective EV Roadmap reports for fleets looking to eliminate their tailpipe emissions. Grant is a seasoned trucking expert with more experience in electric trucks than almost anyone we've ever met, he'll be using Game Plan to provide expert advice on how to electrify a fleet (of cars or trucks) effectively. Thundergrid are a home-grown charging network who've just landed in Australia to help charge up their fleets, and will be using Game Plan to provide in-depth assessments of the fleet's charging requirements. These Roadmap Reports will provide everything a fleet needs to know to about going electric, quickly and easily. For more information, or to get your own report, take a look at Toranos' latest blog post and give Grant a call: https://lnkd.in/gZw8aYVT

Electrifying cars alone won't get our transport fleet to zero-emissions, so we've been working with support from EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), Jump Charging and Kirsten Chaddock from Volvo NZ to add support for heavy vehicles, like trucks and buses, to Game Plan and Optimiser! This includes practical features like route optimisation for trips involving many different stops, and exciting new features like modelling the impact of regular weight changes, scheduling charging stops into optimised routes and comparing different, customisable heavy EV profiles to see which one will suit your performance needs. We'll be rolling these new features out soon, along with our new EV Roadmap Reports with the team at Jump Charging, where we'll do the fleet and charging analysis for you, create a strategy to get your fleet to 100% zero-emissions as quickly as possible, and give you 12 months of our new analysis tools free of charge! Reach out to Neville Taylor, Richard Heaps or Kirsten Chaddock if you're curious about how easily EV trucks could be integrated into your fleet!

A commonly cited reason for delaying adding EVs to a fleet is the concern that staff and drivers won't like them. However, concerns around climate breakdown and whether your organisation is doing its part are also rapidly growing factors that contribute to employee satisfaction. Matching the right vehicle and charging plan to the driver's needs removes the pain points and leaves your staff free to enjoy the drive and all the benefits an EV has to offer, while adding a greater sense of purpose and pride to their work travel.

Energy security is a complex topic. Petrol and diesel can feel more secure because we've relied on them for well over a hundred years and there's a petrol station on almost every street corner. However, when you look more closely, electricity can be made from a wide variety of sources, most of which are readily available onshore in New Zealand, making it a fuel source that is much more resistant to global supply chain breakdowns. In fact, New Zealand usually holds enough fuel at any one time to meet about 1 month's worth of use, and has enough oil in the ground to supply the country’s current fuel needs for only 1 year. The security of your fuel supply depends heavily on what you think will happen and how you're prepared to respond. With a well developed strategy, PHEVs and EVs can ensure your fleet keeps moving through the most challenging times. Take a look at our full dive into some of the common reasons fleets consider plug-in-hybrids here: https://lnkd.in/gz-Y5-65

It's well known that technology improves over time. Hybrid vehicles went on sale over 20 years ago offering fuel efficiencies that are around 60% more efficient than their non-hybrid counterparts. However, over that same time period fuel prices (adjusted for inflation) have also risen by a similar amount, meaning you're likely paying the same today with a hybrid as you used to pay with a regular petrol car. Plug-in-hybrids offer greater efficiency still, especially when they are regularly charged. But there's only so much oil in the ground. In the long run, higher fuel costs will eventually erode fuel efficiency savings, making your fleet more expensive to run and your business less competitive. On the other hand, plugging in your PHEVs regularly, or switching to fully electric vehicles locks in much lower transport costs, and opens up the possibility of free-fuel through initiatives like solar panels. Take a look at our guide to things to consider when procuring PHEVs here: https://lnkd.in/gz-Y5-65

In the right circumstances PHEVs, or plug-in-hybrids, can be an ideal solution for fleets looking to reduce emissions and fuel costs. They have all the range, familiarity and reliability of petrol on long trips, but with an EV drivetrain to reduce emissions on short trips. However, a recent study done in Europe showed that there's a big gap between the ideal, and what happens in the real world... It turns out that PHEVs may not be plugged in as often as you'd expect, and real-world fuel efficiency can therefore be 3 to 4 times higher than anticipated. We've talked to some Fleet managers who opted for PHEVs and have had similar experiences. So we took a look at this report, and a few others, to consider some of the reasons for choosing a PHEV, what they mean in the long-run for a fleet, and how we can help fleet managers maximise their fuel savings with these vehicles. Either stay tuned as we post some highlights, or take a look at the full summary here: https://lnkd.in/gz-Y5-65

We're down at EROAD's Fleet Day at Mystery Creek, Hamilton today, talking about efficiency and emissions reduction for both light and heavy (more on that soon!!) vehicles, come say hi if you're nearby!

Power Trip featured in the April 2024 edition of Radiator, the official magazine of the industry Motor Trade Association (MTA)! There are some brilliant stories in this edition, from coverage of the Government's RuC and transport plans to an interview with New Zealand's fastest woman, to a great review of the new electric MG4. If you'd rather skip ahead to the full page coverage of Power Trip, turn to page 9 on the digital version at https://lnkd.in/ghRFa7HJ

An EU study has published interesting data raising question marks about plug-in hybrids, if they don't actually get plugged in. The report says plug-in hybrids tested in the real world were 3.5 times less fuel efficient, and emitted 3.5 times more CO2, than claimed in their standardised tests used for regulatory purposes. How could reality be so much worse for plug-in hybrids than claimed? According to the European Commission, it is because drivers do not plug them in! Instead they just fill them up with petrol and diesel like 'normal' cars. So before you buy plug-in hybrids for your fleet, consider whether your drivers are going to charge them properly and get the fuel efficiencies and emissions reduction you expect. And if you intend to run plug-in hybrids properly, by plugging them in regularly, then why not consider battery EVs? Power Trip's work with our customers has shown the vast bulk of their driving can be handled by battery EVs. This means zero CO2 emissions and significant savings on fuel and maintenance costs. In the meantime, if you're going to buy plug ins, remember to plug in!