Changing vehicle procurement will require a shift in perceptions about capability and mission needs. Image: photo-denver/Shutterstock.com
The GAO has identified a series of challenges ahead for federal agencies in meeting a late-2021 Biden administration executive order calling for purchasing only zero-emission vehicles for certain classes of vehicles in the federal fleet by 2035, including 100 percent zero-emission light-duty vehicle acquisitions beginning in 2027.
The order will some 380,000 vehicles as they become subject to replacement, an average of about 30,000 a year, GAO said. While electric vehicles make up only about 4 percent of the current market—and only 1 percent of the current federal fleet—that share is expected to grow, given the emphasis on them from manufactures and incentives such as the executive order, a report said.
“However, electrifying federal fleets represents a significant transformation in the federal government’s approach to vehicle procurement and will require a shift in perceptions about their capability to adequately meet mission needs in terms of performance and driving range,” it said.
“Our prior work has identified factors that could affect widespread electric vehicle adoption within federal fleets, including higher up-front costs and charging infrastructure uncertainties,” it said. For example, it said that increasing the purchase of those vehicles “will also likely lead to an increase in acquisition costs as zero-emission vehicles generally have higher purchase prices” although some of those costs would be recovered over time due to lower fuel and maintenance costs.
The report also cited a GSA estimate that agencies will need more than 100,000 charging locations; they currently have only some 1,050 charging locations, which are concentrated in certain areas and certain agencies, and most of which require charging a vehicle overnight. “Such infrastructure development will require a significant investment—the total price of charging stations is highly variable, from $1,000 to over $100,000 for the most complex situations, according to GSA officials,” it said.
Another issue to be resolved is that for some types of vehicles that fall under the order, law enforcement agencies may have “performance requirements that may not be met by currently available zero-emission vehicle models.”
The GAO did not make recommendations since it was tasked only with assessing issues potentially involved with the transition.
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