Ford E-Transit Costs $698 vs $7,515 for Gas Van: Fleet Data
SkimNews Take
Operational data transparency, rather than just the switch itself, could be the real accelerant for broader EV fleet adoption, as it directly addresses perceived financial risks for other businesses.
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- Wonderful_Ear_6541 posted on the /electricvehicles subreddit a year-long cost breakdown for a small fleet that included a 2018 Ford F-350 PowerStroke diesel, two newer gas F-250s, a 2022 Ford Transit, and a 2024 Ram ProMaster van
- Ford E-Transit costs came to just $698 over more than 27,000 all-electric miles, while the 2024 Ram ProMaster racked up a $7,515 fuel bill across 29,976 miles
- The math works out to roughly 38 miles per dollar in the electric van versus 3.9 miles per dollar in the ICE ProMaster
- Wonderful_Ear_6541 acknowledged real-world hassles, including running out of charge once and using a generator for about 1.5 hours to reach a fast charger, but characterized problems as "learning curve related, not deal-breakers"
- Top commenter Stephen Fields argued fleet owners won't switch until they see the bottom-line difference: "the less efficient the vehicles, the more the savings"
- The original poster concluded that "EVs are dramatically cheaper to operate" even when factoring in public charging costs
Why it matters: A small business owner publicly posting verified operating-cost data—$698 vs. $7,515 over comparable mileage—gives fleet managers concrete bottom-line evidence rather than industry projections. The 38-miles-per-dollar figure offers a direct rebuttal to skepticism about EV total cost of ownership in commercial use.
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