Amid the headlines of California banning gas-fueled cars, another movement is shaping the vehicle landscape of the west coast and beyond.

By Sarah Fischer, EV Specialist, Electrification Coalition

Amid the headlines of California banning gas-fueled cars, another movement is shaping the vehicle landscape of the west coast and beyond. Cities, counties, and other public fleets across the U.S. are joining forces to convert their fleets to electric.

In January 2017, the City of Los Angeles and 30 other U.S. cities issued an Electric Vehicle Request for Information (RFI), which helped aggregate and better understand municipal demand for electric vehicles (EVs). Feedback and suggestions received through that process led to the development of the Climate Mayors EV Purchasing Collaborative (the Collaborative). Launched in September 2018, the Collaborative is a partnership between Climate Mayors, the Electrification Coalition, and Sourcewell. With 225 fleets currently committing to more than 3,800 electric vehicle transitions by the end of 2021, the Collaborative represents a total investment of $123.5 million in EVs. These commitments will help avoid 1.7 million gallons of gas usage and almost 28 million tons of CO2 emissions annually.

The Collaborative leverages the buying power of public fleets across the country to reduce the costs of EVs and charging infrastructure, thereby accelerating fleet transitions to electric. Collaborative fleets also receive guidance, best practices, educational resources, and analysis support. Public fleets, being highly visible and frequently utilized, have the added benefit of spreading greater public awareness by normalizing EVs and saving taxpayers money. Especially restricted by COVID-19-slashed budgets, municipalities are benefiting from the reduced fueling and maintenance costs of electric vehicles and can dedicate those extra funds to pandemic response. The Electrification Coalition can help fleets understand the total cost of ownership reduction that EVs provide.

In Chula Vista, CA for example, the EVs purchased through the Collaborative are estimated to reduce fueling costs by 60% and lessen greenhouse gas (GHG) emission by 80%.1 Using the cooperative purchasing contracts available through the Collaborative can also help fleets realize significant reductions in administrative resources. Kansas City Regional Purchasing Cooperative developed a metric on the administrative cost savings when public agencies participate in a cooperative procurement process. Large jurisdictions were found to save $5,000 per solicitation; mid-size jurisdictions saved $2,500; and smaller jurisdictions saved $1,250. These values were verified by participating fleets, who estimated that the bid process, including evaluation of the responses, could take a couple of days, even for those who are familiar with the process.2

The Collaborative serves as a one-stop shop to support EV transitions and has increasingly expanding electric offerings including sedans, SUVs, street sweepers, school buses, and medium- and heavy-duty chassis. The cohort not only sends a powerful signal to the global auto market that there is demand for an increasing variety of models, but also helps the US maintain its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement at the local level.

In a recent op-ed, Mayor Christopher Taylor of Ann Arbor, MI wrote that, “Vehicle operations account for a substantial portion of our community’s carbon footprint, which is why we participate in the Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative, working closely with the Electrification Coalition to add EVs to our municipal fleet and make Ann Arbor EV-ready.” Through the Collaborative’s resources, Ann Arbor city staff have been able to shift the current and future operations of their city. They identified suitable fleet vehicles for replacement, adopted 20 EVs, connected with other municipalities for development of an EV-Ready ordinance, and gathered transit electrification research that contributed to the unanimous adoption of their A2Zero Carbon Neutrality Plan. This is just one of many fleets that have benefited from the project.

The Collaborative has also recently announced a new group of allies: 11 colleges and universities have committed their fleets to becoming electric. “Universities and colleges help develop the future leaders of tomorrow. They are always at the forefront of creating ambitious climate and sustainability goals; it only makes sense that they become a part of the Collaborative and the transportation electrification future,” said Ben Prochazka, National Director of the Electrification Coalition. This new outreach also resulted in a partnership with Second Nature to accelerate electric vehicle deployment at higher education institutions around the country. Second Nature, a Boston-based non-governmental organization, has more than 450 colleges and universities in their network, greatly expanding the Collaborative’s reach.

With more fleets realizing the financial savings EVs can provide, this cohort of public fleets leading the way in electrification grows every week. The increased demand for different EV models and expanding publicly funded infrastructure will have significant impacts on the industry for years to come.

If you’re interested in learning more, please visit www.DriveEVFleets.org or contact the Collaborative at EVfleets@electrificationcoalition.org.