A Geotab Marketplace Add-In

January 2020

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment (EVSA)?

The Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment (EVSA) is a MyGeotab Marketplace Add-In intended to help fleet managers go electric by identifying fleet vehicles that are good candidates for EV.

The EVSA analyzes fleet vehicle driving data and recommends an EV replacement when two conditions are met:

1. There is an electric vehicle replacement that has enough range to perform the required drive cycle without needing to charge during the day.
2. The lifetime cost of the electric vehicle is less than that of an equivalent non-electric vehicle replacement.

Who is the EVSA for?

The EVSA is designed to help fleet managers figure out whether electric vehicles are a suitable option for their fleet. The EVSA is intended to be completed when a set of vehicles are near their end of life and are due for replacement. The fleet manager then completes the EVSA to learn what EV options are available in their markets, what the base prices are, and to get a recommendation on whether selected vehicles are good candidates for EV replacements.

What questions does the EVSA help answer?

The EVSA is designed to help fleet managers answer the following questions:

1. Which electric vehicle models are available in my local market? Are they able to perform the job?
2. Is switching to EVs viable from an operational and financial perspective?
3. Which of my current fleet vehicles are good candidates to be replaced by EVs?
4. What would the greenhouse gas reduction be if I switch?

How does the EVSA work?

The EVSA leverages two data sources to make a recommendation:

1. Driving telematics data collected by in-vehicle GO devices.
2. Geotab’s simulation data for various EV makes and models.

Telematics data is used to get an accurate view of each vehicle’s daily driving distance and fuel consumption. Each vehicle’s daily driving distance is calculated and compared to the real-world range of selected EVs. If there is an EV that satisfies the daily range requirements, then the EV goes through a lifetime cost analysis.

To determine whether an EV is cost effective, the lifetime cost of the candidate EV is compared to the lifetime cost of an equivalent brand new non-EV. If the EV’s lifetime cost is lower than that of the non-EV, then that EV is recommended as a replacement for the fleet vehicle.

How does the EVSA perform range analysis?

For an EV to be recommended as a replacement to an existing fleet vehicle, the EV must be able to meet daily driving distance requirements without needing to charge during the day.

For this analysis, the EVSA uses the EV’s worst range performance in the fleet region’s annual operating temperature when the battery efficiency is degraded and the driver is expected to use the heating or cooling system all day.

If the EV’s degraded range is lower than the maximum daily driven distance for a fleet vehicle, then the EV is not recommended as replacement.

How does the EVSA perform cost analysis?

The EVSA calculates the lifetime cost of replacing a vehicle with an EV and compares it with replacing it with a non-EV. The following cost components are usually considered:

1. Vehicle acquisition costs (whether it is a purchase or lease)
2. Maintenance
3. Fuel and electricity
4. EV procurement incentives
5. Low Emission Zone charges (where applicable)

If the EV lifetime cost is higher than the non-EV equivalent, then the EV is not recommended as a replacement.

What vehicle types does the EVSA support?

The EV Suitability Assessment add-in supports the following vehicle types:

1. Passenger Cars (Sedans)
2. Crossover/SUV
3. Light Duty Vans

What countries are supported by the EVSA?

The EV Suitability Assessment is available officially in the following countries:

1. United Kingdom
2. Germany
3. The Netherlands
4. Spain
5. France
6. Italy

Country support covers the following:

1. Electric vehicle models availability in the local market
2. Country-specific default costs
3. User interface language
4. Units of measurement
5. Currency

If I live in an unsupported country, can I still run the EVSA?

If you reside in an unsupported country, the EVSA will still work with the following caveats:

1. The EV model selection will not be restricted to the user’s local market.
2. The user will also need to review and update the default costs to better match their locale.
3. The currency used for the assessment will be the US Dollar.
4. The units of measurement for data elements will be in metric.

How much driving data do I need to collect before running the EVSA?

We recommend that each vehicle selected for the EVSA has at least four weeks of driving data to get meaningful results. Fleets with seasonal drive cycles are advised to include more driving data to account for seasonality.

What access level do I need to install the EVSA Marketplace add-in?

The EVSA Add-In requires a service account to communicate with MyGeotab. The service account retrieves trip data — required by the Add-In — to run the suitability analysis. The user installing the Add-In must have the authorization to create user accounts; otherwise, the installation fails. The Service Account has access to the same vehicles and groups as the user who creates the account. To ensure all users have access to the EVSA Add-In, an Administrator with access to all groups and vehicles in the database should install the Add-In (i.e. the “Data Access” property of the Service Account must be set to “Everything” in the Edit User screen).

What access level do I need to run the EVSA Marketplace Add-In?

The EVSA Add-In requires that the user completing the EVSA has access to all vehicles in the database. In other words, the user’s Data Access property must be set to Everything in the MyGeotab Edit User screen.

Who do I contact if I have a support issue?

Please reach out to your Geotab support prime. Contact information can be retrieved by navigating to Getting Started & Help > Support… > Contact from the main menu.

You may also reach out to Geotab Support on the following phone numbers:

1. USA/Canada: +1.800.245.0517
2. Germany: +49 (0) 800.000.4510
3. Spain: +34.900.535.371
4. UK: +44 (0) 800.368.9647