Electric vehicles for businesses have remarkable “triple bottom line” (TBL) potential with benefits to profit, people, and the planet. I’m eager to spread the word in the hopes that more businesses will make the leap to fleet electric vehicles.
Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) continue to skyrocket. In 2019, they accounted for 2.6 percent of global car sales — a 40 percent increase over the prior year, according to data shared by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
But it’s not just individuals who stand to gain by switching to electric vehicles. So do businesses. In fact, McKinsey estimates that fleet EVs will have a total cost of ownership of up to 25 percent less than equivalent internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs) by the year 2030.
As all business owners know, theoretical benefits are one thing. Realizing these benefits in the real world is another. Because my company, Ciel Power LLC, recently concluded its first year with our first electric vehicle, I was asked to participate in a New Jersey Sustainable Business Council (NJSBC) webinar, “The Business Case for Electric Vehicles: How Electric Vehicles can Give Your Business a Competitive Advantage.”
As a home energy performance company, my business was a natural fit for early electric vehicle adoption. After all, our team members spend a lot of time on the roads helping people make their homes more healthy, comfortable, and efficient. Relying on emissions-spewing internal combustion engines for business travel runs counter to this effort. Not to mention that as a triple-bottom-line business, an ethos of sustainability informs everything we do at Ciel.
Still, the decision to invest in an electric vehicle wasn’t an easy or automatic one. In fact, I considered it for several years before finally adding a Tesla Model 3 to our fleet in June of 2019. A few of the things that tipped the scales in the direction of the electric car? The promise of less wear and tear, reduced maintenance, needs, and cheaper operating costs. I’m happy to say that while its $42,600 price tag may have seemed steep at the time, the Tesla Model 3 has proven to be a real asset.
Another selling point of EVs? Their software updates automatically — just like cellphones. In just over a year, we’ve seen ongoing improvements to the car’s performance, including a longer range. This added value is not something you see with internal combustion engines. High safety rankings, remote climate control, and access to a proprietary network of charging stations add to the list of ways our electric vehicle investment continues to pay off.
As a B2C business, we’ve seen unexpected ancillary benefits, too, including that the electric vehicle has created a brand-new talking point with our employees, vendors, and customers. It’s also become a central part of our marketing and social media strategies. In simplest terms, EVs communicate a message that resonates with our constituents.
This isn’t to say there weren’t challenges associated with the transition, such as charging availability, disparate charging networks, and limited model options. As with all emerging technologies, these challenges are to be expected. On the upside, so are improvements. This is absolutely the case with EVs as the infrastructure continues to grow and as new models come to market. There are also other ways to mitigate these challenges, such as installing your own electric vehicle chargers.
At Ciel, we’re constantly looking for affordable ways to streamline efficiency and reduce our impact. The addition of an electric vehicle for our business has more than contributed to this effort. In fact, we’re already looking ahead to adding additional electric vehicles to our fleet, including new models which we anticipate will be even more suited to our operational needs.
Elon Musk said, “We will not stop until every car on the road is electric.” Based on Ciel’s experience with our Tesla Model 3, I’m more optimistic than ever that mainstream EV adoption is not only viable but advantageous to all.
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