Key considerations around lightweighting for efficiency (sign up to access article)

New battery electric vehicles (BEVs), advanced fuel options and driver qualification requirements, including electronic hours of service logging requirements, are causing our customers to examine the gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR) and payload capabilities of their vehicles. Lightweighting may be a way to maintain payload while reducing GVWR and achieving efficiency goals.
Many companies are searching for ways to improve operational flexibility when updating their fleets. For example, they may need a large variety of vehicles that any of their employees can drive. Additionally, they might want to purchase vehicles that aren’t subject to driver regulations, such as electronic data logging and other driver qualification requirements that apply to vehicles over 10,000 pounds GVWR. These companies are also interested in adopting sustainable and efficient technologies, including BEVs and other fuel economy improvement solutions, with their new purchases. Many fleets are adopting lightweighting strategies to enable them to move down in vehicle class to a 10,000-pound or less GVWR while maintaining usable payload requirements.