EV makers aren’t creating fleets diverse enough to meet industry needs, says Ceres-backed collaboration
Amazon.com, AT&T Inc., DHL Express USA Inc. and other select companies with major delivery fleets and their accompanying heavy carbon footprints are banding together for an electric-vehicle collaboration expected to keep up the pressure on the EV industry and the corporations that dominate American roads.
The group comes together under the guidance of nonprofit sustainable-investing advocate Ceres to help accelerate the transition to EVs, a key component of tackling the climate crisis, they said in a joint release Wednesday.
The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance is also expected to nudge the EV market to update and diversify its offerings by signaling the breadth and scale of corporate demand for these options.
“The climate crisis demands we decarbonize transportation — the highest-emitting sector in the U.S. — and electric vehicles are an essential component of this transition,” said Sue Reid, vice president of climate and energy at Ceres.
Recent data from Rhodium shows that transportation shares the biggest-emitter designation with broader industry.
“With companies controlling more than half the vehicles on the road in the U.S. today, they have a tremendous role to play in leading the transition to electric vehicles both in terms of electrifying their own fleets and in leveraging their buying power to send a strong market signal to automakers and policymakers alike,” Reid added.
Companies also have an economic incentive to electrify their fleets, the signatories argue, through cost savings on fuel and maintenance, reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, freedom from reliance on volatile oil CL00, -2.63% and gas prices, improved driver safety, enhanced company reputation and bolstered workforce recruitment and retention.
Ceres said automakers TSLA, +0.57% GM, -1.32% are not producing the necessary range of light-, medium- and heavy-duty EV models at the economies of scale many fleet operators need. There are also opportunities for an improved state and federal policy landscape to accelerate development and deployment of EVs and infrastructure at scale.
The pact’s flagship members, which operate some of the largest vehicle fleets in the U.S., are Amazon AMZN, -0.37% , AT&T T, -1.04% , Clif Bar, Consumers Energy, DHL, Direct Energy, Genentech, IKEA North America, LeasePlan, Lime and Siemens SIE, -0.38%
Amazon last year said it is working toward using 100% renewable energy by 2030 and had placed an order of 100,000 electric delivery vans from a Midwest company, Rivian, which the online retailer took a $440 million stake in.
For its part, “AT&T is committed to reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions and supporting broader climate action,” said Charles Herget, assistant vice president in global environmental sustainability for the telecom, in a release. “To help advance climate solutions, like vehicle electrification, it is critical to take part in collaborative efforts like The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance.”
Express package deliverer DHL, meanwhile, said the new pact fits with its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions from transport activities by 2050 globally and hit a target of performing 70% of first- and last-mile operations with green vehicles by 2025.
IKEA says it has a commitment to use EVs for all of its in-home furniture deliveries by 2025.