The whitepaper provides a comprehensive analysis of the benefits and challenges of electric vehicle deployment and the policies necessary to accelerate conversion of the 16 million commercial, corporate, and government fleet vehicles on the road in the United States. The study, available at www.electrificationcoalition.org, also assesses the potential impact of fleet electrification on transportation, energy security, and sustainability.
Debora Frodl, Chief Strategy Officer for GE Capital Fleet Services, said: “We are committed to leading the way in helping our industry understand the impact that electric vehicles will have on business, on the environment, and on energy independence. Our partnership with the Electrification Coalition on this important whitepaper will help move the discussion about electric vehicles from anticipation to action.”
Last week, as part of GE’s ecomagination business strategy to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technology through innovation and R&D investment, the company announced the largest single electric vehicle purchase commitment of 25,000 vehicles by 2015. GE also launched an electric vehicle readiness toolkit on www.ecomagination.com to help municipalities, customers, and individuals prepare for wide-scale electric vehicle deployment.
The Fleet Electrification Roadmap provides rigorous analysis and insights on electric vehicle deployment from experts in the electric vehicle and fleet management industries. The study identifies opportunities for electric vehicle deployment based on commercial fleet requirements and includes findings on total cost of ownership, lifecycle costs, infrastructure logistics, charging behavior, maintenance and repairs, electricity costs, emerging business models, case studies, and policy recommendations. Fleet management experts from GE Capital Fleet Services collaborated with the Electrification Coalition throughout the development of the study.
“This report and its findings come at the right time for the electric vehicle industry,” Robbie Diamond, President and CEO of the Electrification Coalition, said. “Fleet purchases like the one GE announced just last week can help drive critical scale in manufacturing that will ultimately help drive down costs for the entire electric vehicle market. Fleet adoption is a major step toward overcoming challenges to widespread consumer acceptance of electric vehicles, which is the critical measure of electrification’s success in ending our nation’s dangerous dependence on petroleum.”
The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group of business leaders committed to promoting policies and actions that facilitate the development of electric vehicles. The objective of the Coalition is to combat the economic, environmental, and national security dangers caused by the United States’ dependence on petroleum. Through the use of public policy and research, the Coalition seeks to educate key stakeholders, opinion leaders and the public about vehicle electrification.
GE is driving a global energy transformation with a focus on innovation and R&D investment to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technology. Since its inception in 2005, more than 90 ecomagination-approved products have been brought to market with revenues reaching $18 billion in 2009. With $5 billion invested in R&D its first five years, GE committed to doubling its ecomagination investment and collaborate with partners to accelerate a new era of energy innovation.
The company will invest $10 billion in R&D over five years and double operational energy efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. As part of the initiative, GE launched the “GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid”, a $200 million financial commitment challenging innovators to join in building the next-generation power grid.
