LOG-UNITE - LOG-Holistic evaluation model for fleet conversions to alternative drive concepts in internal transport

The issue of ‘sustainable mobility’ has gained considerable importance in both passenger and freight transport due to the problem of climate change and the associated climate crisis and has led to political measures at national and EU level, which are forcing fleet operators in passenger and freight transport to deal with fleet conversions to sustainable drive concepts. Key political measures at EU level include the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 action package, as well as the CO2 pricing of fuels at national level. In addition, the increasing customer demand for sustainable solutions in freight and passenger transport requires a corresponding range of low-emission or emission-free vehicles. The European industry should play a leading role in the transition to climate neutrality and digitalisation and is being called upon to define its own roadmaps for the desired change as part of the industrial strategy for Europe.
Against this backdrop, fleet operators in internal transport are under increasing pressure to convert their fleets to environmentally friendly drive technologies in order to fulfil the aforementioned legal and economic requirements. Although the constantly growing range of alternative drive technologies offers fleet operators more and more options for fleet conversion, it also creates uncertainty as to which technology is best suited for which operational environment and associated operating profiles in order to replace existing vehicle fleets with conventional combustion engines in internal transport. This uncertainty leads many companies to be hesitant about a fleet changeover, as the risks of an investment are difficult to assess due to a lack of information. To solve this problem, a consideration of all potential influencing factors for the evaluation of fleet conversions in internal transport as well as their interactions and feedback effects is of central importance, as these define which solution concept makes the most sense from a holistic perspective. However, these factors are not systematically considered in the current literature and should therefore be the subject of research in this dissertation project.
The aim of this dissertation project is to systematically record and categorise the factors for the evaluation of a fleet conversion to alternative drive concepts in internal transport and to consider their interactions and feedback effects as part of an impact assessment. The resulting catalogue of relevant influencing factors in the fleet conversion and a causality model for visualising synergies and points of conflict between factors will serve as a knowledge base for both fleet operators of internal transport and the scientific community in the mobility sector. In addition, fleet operators will be provided with a holistic evaluation model for fleet conversions in internal transport, which contains the operationalised factors and their interactions and is intended to support decision-making with regard to the acquisition of fleet vehicles.