Lightning eMotors has released its new virtual “Fleet Planner,” a free fleet configuration tool that allows fleet managers to input their individual fleet characteristics and receive a customized operating cost analysis and carbon-reduction metrics based on the recommended Lightning eMotors electric vehicle (EV) that best fits their specific needs.

Within the Fleet Planner, users first select the type of fleet they manage (passenger, cargo, school bus, or ambulance). Next, they input a variety of information that is important to effective fleet management, including route distance, payload or number of passengers, terrain type (e.g., flat or hilly), average temperature, drive cycle and driver behavior, shift duration, charging opportunity time and dwell time.

Using the information provided and more than five years of real-world data collected by Lightning’s telematics system, Lightning Insights, the Fleet Planner displays recommended Lightning eMotors vehicles and the associated charge rates needed to fit the specific application. Fleet managers can then select their desired vehicle to see how a Lightning eMotors EV compares to an equivalent ICE vehicle in efficiency, total cost of ownership, as well as how much CO2 could be mitigated from the atmosphere with an electrified fleet, the company says.