| | NOVEMBER 20218By Prashant Radhakrishnan, Vice President & Head of India Business (Sales & Marketing), SemaConnectT he electric vehicle sector has been gaining prominence over the years. Be it for commercial or personal use, their preference has seen a surge. Increasing fuel costs, low maintenance cost of EVs, government subsidies and tax write-offs, environment friendliness are making electric vehicles an attractive option both in India as well as at global levels. However, commercial fleets specifically have also been embracing electric vehicles off lately. A study by Research and Markets highlights projects global electric commercial vehicles market to grow from $60.11 billion in 2020 to $63.71 billion by the end of 2021 at a CAGR of six percent. NITI Aayog further points out in its report that by 2030, out of the total EV sales penetration in India, 70 percent would be for commercial fleets. This is indicative that the commercial fleets market will adopt EVs in the times ahead due to their new-age features of energy efficiency and lower emissions levels and affordable pricing. By installing commercial charging stations for fleets, businesses will benefit majorly. Be it saving fuel, finances, or time, EVs can emerge to be a cost-efficient as well as an environment-friendly solution for the commercial fleet market in various ways - COST-SAVING ON FUELOne of the major reasons that give EVs an edge over traditional vehicles is that they don't require engine oil, gasoline, or any kind of fuel to function. The price of oil fluctuates on a daily basis at the global level and this severely impacts the drivers. With EVs, one can bid goodbye to the volatile global crude oil prices! By running on electricity, the average cost of an EV running on electricity is equivalent to $1 per gallon of gas. As per a joint study by The Climate Group and Climate Trends, the fuel cost of running an ICE vehicle turns out to be INR 3.6-5.6/km. Whereas for EVs, the cost of running comes down to INR 1/km drive. Hence, switching to the electric fleet and installing charging stations for your commercial fleets can help you save fuel costs significantly. COST-EFFICIENT ON MAINTENANCEEVs render another major advantage of low maintenance over Internal Combustion Engine vehicles. While repairing the latter can burn a hole in the pocket, EVs can be a major cost efficacious solution for commercial fleets. As per the same report by The Climate Group and Climate Trends, maintenance costs for traditional vehicles with at least one service usually recommended at every 5k-10k km sums up to be INR 90,000 for approximately 1.60 lakh km. Electric vehicles whereas do not require oil changes, oil filters, or spark plug replacements. They require much fewer liquids and moving parts. HOW CAN COMMERCIAL FLEETS REAP THE BENEFITS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES?VANTAGE POINTPrashant Radhakrishnan
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