From the top of the organization to the bottom line: Understanding the fleet market for plug-in electric vehicles

Kevin Nesbitt, Jamie Davies
2013 2013 World Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition (EVS27)  
1 Government and commercial fleets are widely targeted as an ideal market for plug-in electric 2 vehicles (PEVs). However, the reasons are often based on misconceptions regarding past 3 purchases behavior and misunderstood operational considerations (1). PEVs do have attributes 4 that are valued by organizations, as we learned from drivers, fleet managers and company 5 decision makers who had the opportunity to drive a PHEV for more than a year. In this paper we 6 discuss how the perceived
more » ... of the PHEV varied depending on the employee's 7 responsibilities and role in the organization. We also report on the primary concerns expressed 8 by the project participants regarding the purchase and use of PEVs. These findings provide a 9 better understanding of fleet vehicle purchase priorities and operational considerations that could 10 affect development of the PEV fleet market. Given the varying importance assigned to different 11 PEV attributes by employees throughout the organizational structure, we propose that PEV 12 marketing campaigns look beyond the one individual tasked with purchasing vehicles. A more 13 effective, robust market strategy requires targeting several people within an organization. include company policies regarding vehicle purchase criteria, associated 1 infrastructure placement, and limited PEV model availability. 2 3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 4 5 As part of an advanced vehicle technology demonstration project sponsored in 6 part by the US Department of Energy, with funds from the American 7
doi:10.1109/evs.2013.6914995 fatcat:3yxknycxubghtbnymvh5adfefm