Our "fleet" consists of three cargo vans (white, no markings). If you've been in E-town for more than 30 minutes, you've probably passed Jack and didn't know it. Two of those vans, a 2005 GMC Savana and a 2011 Ford E-250, are rapidly losing the battle to rust (and the Ford needed a new transmission).
I do not enjoy vehicle shopping, especially for work vans. It isn't particularly exciting to get a new van. It does exactly the same thing as the old van but first requires new racks, new shelving, and moving all of your tools and materials. That's one of the reasons we still had a 2005 van on the road. But, we've got an image to keep up, so it was time to search for new vans.
We have always been partial to the Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana models and started our search there. After calling most of the dealerships in the area, it became apparent that unless you can place an order for multiple vans, getting a new van (with the window configuration we wanted) wasn't likely to happen. Our best option seemed to be a lightly used van on a dealer's lot. We got an out the door price for a 2021 GMC Savana w/ 14,500 miles of $37,000. (I'm rounding everything to nearest 100).
We also decided to consider an electric cargo van. The only model available at this time is the Ford E-transit. We found a very lightly used one, 2022 with 1,800 miles, at New Holland Auto Group for an out the door price of $37,900. We went and took it for a test drive and bought it...for pretty much one reason and one reason only... fuel savings.
FUEL SAVINGS
We ran some math before taking it for a spin. The Ford has a 68 kWh battery. Ford says it has a 126 mile range. That comes out to .54kWh/mile. We pay roughly $.16/kWh total for electricity, including all transmission and delivery charges. So, using the manufacturer ratings, the electric van will cost about $.09/mile in fuel costs.
If we are generous, our Express/Savana and E-250 were getting 15 miles per gallon (really more like 11-13, but I'm skewing everything towards gas). At $3.00/ gallon, that is $.20/mile. At $3.50/gallon, that is $.23/mile. So, in a best case scenario for the gas vans, they will cost an additional $.11/mile to operate. Jack puts somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 miles on his van each year. The other two vans each see between 10,000-15,000 miles each year.
20,000 miles x $.11 = $2,200 fuel savings per year from Jack's van. The van was an extra $900 and we had to buy and install a charger at his house. Total parts for that was under $1,000 and we did the work ourselves. So, in a worst case scenario, we'll make up the price difference in the first year of operation and pocket $2,200+ in savings every year after that.
In reality, we are getting significantly better mileage than what Ford claims. After about 5,000 miles of driving, he is getting better than .4kWh/mile...right around $.06/mile. That will decrease some in the winter when we need to use heat.
Anyway, even if we have issues with the battery in 10 years, we'll have saved more than enough to cover that expense... and without needing to do about 40 oil changes.
After about 2 months with the electric van, we went back to New Holland Auto Group and purchased the brand new van that they had on the lot (2023) for $42,100 out the door. A brand new Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana would have been more than that price.
Upfront Price
We seem to have bought these vans for a steep discount compared to msrp. I suspect dealerships are having trouble moving them as few contractors are willing to make the jump. If these prices were $10,000 or $15,000 more it would have made the decision much less clear. And a couple of years ago, when we first looked, these vans were selling for closer to 50-55k. We may have just found a dealership that wanted them gone asap.
Range
We use these vans for our business and that is it. We aren't taking them on weekend trips. We occasionally go as far as York, Lebanon or the West Shore, but predominantly in a 15 mile circle around E-town. It would be an aberration for us to go 100 miles in a day. So far, I don't think we've had the battery on either van below 50%. I think the next generation of these vans adds about 20kWh to the battery capacity for more range. We'll see if battery degradation over the years makes us change our story.
Charging
We had to install 2-charging systems. We were able to do that ourselves, but could be a large expense depending on the house. We re-imburse Jack for the electricity he uses to charge at his house (based on mileage) and the other van charges at our shop on the business's meter. I can imagine this being a barrier for entry for businesses with employees that send them home with vans. Are they going to pay to install chargers in their houses? Many employees won't have houses/parking situations where that is possible. How will they re-imburse employees for electric costs?
Maintenance
Ongoing maintenance should be lower until it is time to replace the battery. Presumably we'll need to replace batteries at a significant cost in the future... only time will tell and that is probably the largest risk we are taking. But, we've also replaced our fair share of transmissions, exhaust, and engine components in our gas vans over the years.
HVAC Controls
Car manufacturers should stop making controls for vehicle HVAC touchscreen. It is awful. Give us buttons and knobs. But the giant screen with backup camera is nice.
Anyway, keep an eye out for Jack in his new van and if you are looking for a company that will give you a similarly honest mathematical analysis of whether or not a higher efficiency air conditioner is worth it, give us a call.
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