Though many commercial fleet customers have already discovered that all-electric vehicles can have a big impact in terms of reducing operating costs, there are still some out there that aren’t quite convinced. That’s precisely why Ford Pro continues to work to make the transition to EVs as seamless as possible, offering an array of free equipment, as well as trying to clear up any misconceptions about those types of vehicles in general. The automaker’s dedicated commercial entity is well aware that the needs of fleets are much different from retail customers, which is why it’s now launching yet another useful tool for that segment.
The latest fruit of this effort is what Ford calls E-Switch Assist, which is designed to help business and government customers determine if they’re ready to add EV vans and trucks to their fleet, and also help identify which portions of those fleets are ideal for such a change. The tool accomplishes this by using advanced algorithms developed by the Ford Pro data science team to analyze connected vehicle data and compare the energy consumption of ICE vehicles with the estimated energy needs of comparable EVs, after which it recommends which ICE models are best suited for such a switch.
E-Switch Assist takes into account a variety of factors to do this, such as the types of cargo businesses haul, the distance they cover, the type of terrain they’re driving on, the climate, cabin heating load, and driver-specific behavior, all while estimating the number of charges those vehicles would need as a result. Ford says that the tool has already evaluated over 38,000 existing commercial vehicles and found that 53 percent are potential candidates for moving to all-electric alternatives. E-Switch Assist is a complimentary web-based tool that’s already available in the U.S., UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Norway, and the Netherlands, and customers interested in checking it out can do so by heading over here.
“Smart tools informed by data like E-Switch Assist are opening up many new conversations with our commercial customers large and small about EV readiness; we’re already using E-Switch Assist regularly in consultations to help organizations determine if electric trucks and vans are right for them,” said Nathan McDonald, EV Strategy and Brand Manager at Ford Pro. “The importance of these tools and technologies goes beyond selling a customer a new vehicle—it changes mindsets about whether electric vehicles will work for their business while potentially saving them time and money.”
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