Fleet Managers React to Driving EVs

[Music] hi i'm chris brown fleet group editor at bobbitt we recently convened a fleet forward tour stop outside of chicago fleet forward the tour is an offshoot of fleet forward conference tour stops are regional one-day events in different parts of the country where fleet managers can drive electric vehicles network and take in educational sessions at the chicago stop we rode along with fleet managers as they test drove electric sedans some for the first time in these video clips the fleet managers strobe the ford mustang machi the volvo c40 recharge the volkswagen id4 and kia ev6 okay let's get to the video to get their reactions learn how they felt about driving evs and whether they'd work in their fleets [Music] wow look at that big screen you guys yes that is a big screen if when you let go of the gas i don't even have to touch the brake and i just came to a stop here we got a smooth ride yeah all right unbridled exhilarating drive machine and road align as one thank you ford i love it all right well we'll see we'll see if that's the case there we go i won't hit the test now right now my footer is off both the gas and the brake and it's slowing down on its own and we're catching regenerative braking so that energy is going back into the car when you are on one pedal drive you press the gas and you take your foot off the gas pedal and it breaks on its own okay now this is one pedal off this is one pedal off and it does not break it actually coasts you actually have to use the brake to stop that's a big difference that is a big difference yes you guys think you could get used to one pedal driving oh yeah i think i would actually like it yeah okay yes i do cool okay so you didn't turn that car on it did it by itself it just started up right now okay now take your foot off the acceleration feel that yeah it goes up full stop it comes to a full stop yeah very nice interior too i do like the uh that they don't really push the boundaries on it still being a kind of normal looking vehicle and not like super futuristic right which i do like because uh i feel like if you go too far it kind of scares people you know yeah how about the power on this one holy whoa whoa whoa okay so for fleet drivers i mean how would you counsel them in terms of uh you know electric vehicles and the power that they can give them and not to not to use all that power yeah i mean it's really good to have it like you know to be able to have that kind of power especially like law enforcement and stuff like that um i mean it's it's definitely a surprise but i'm certain that you'll get used to it in time and it's one of those things that i mean i don't think you'll be matching the throttle every go around because i feel like you'll get a little beat up and tired from just the holes because they really pull pretty hard [Music] are you ready welcome to the id4 first thing uh push the start button put your foot on the brake and just start ready to roll here's your shifter right here backwards for reverse forward for drive okay uh double forward for the one pedal break and that's the difference between the d and the b so if you get your head on the break i'll show you it'll go to d and then b and then park is on the side so reverse is just one flip back [Music] advantage of being in these is air conditioning have you selected uh what vehicle types of your fleet that you're gonna electrify first we have uh we're looking at uh the smaller suvs and sedans for our building inspectors they go out short time during the day or every day for short distances that's a great use case to start with how's the operation overall very smooth very quiet it's just a nice smooth easy acceleration deceleration is not real jerky the braking is very easy so sure i mean yeah there's no more going to the gas station no more oil changes you know unless you stop the gas station if you need a snack but that's about it [Music] ready to drive didn't even hear it start so what do you think about evs in general or this cv or just how you feel about even making the switch if you're gonna make a switch this is my first experience uh driving or having any kind of hands-on with an ev um it's they're far more impressive than i really would have thought ahead of time and i've heard about all the progress that they've made with them but i i i'm really pretty impressed with what they've done do you think you could make a switch to an ev um it's hard to say you know i they're not a good fit for my fleet right now so that you know i i can't do it just to do it um but where as i would be completely an ice kind of girl i i wouldn't i wouldn't rule out evs now um certainly with the power that they have let's try that power yeah that's that's nice it um the thing that's kind of nice about this one compared to some of the others it has more of the normal you know turn signal and everything it has more of a normal feel okay than the others i see um not so spaceship like i guess got it yeah but yeah it definitely some good acceleration it's just it's weird to go fast and not hear it