Procurement decisions for public sector fleets operated by cities, counties, utilities, and public agencies are increasingly evaluated based on the total cost of ownership (TCO) rather than the upfront purchase price alone. TCO includes acquisition costs, energy costs, maintenance, and operational expenses over a vehicle’s life. Electric vehicles (EVs) continue to outpace internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles under the TCO framework, in part because electricity is a more price–stable, low-cost fuel than gas or diesel. EV drivetrains also require less maintenance, as they contain fewer moving parts—eliminating oil changes, exhaust systems, and many expensive service needs. Over time, these savings often offset EVs’ higher sticker prices.
Average Lifetime Ownership Costs of Common Vehicles by Class
Results of EC Dashboard for Rapid Vehicle Electrification (DRVE) tool analysis. Each bar represents averaged lifetime costs of common vehicles per weight class and vehicle type. “Other Costs” includes insurance costs, taxes and fees, and depreciation.
Fleets are well–suited for electrification because they operate within predictable service areas where charging access can be guaranteed, accumulate consistent mileage, and typically return to centralized facilities where charging can be managed efficiently. Previous federal policies, such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, accelerated EV deployment by supporting charging infrastructure and vehicle incentives. But as those programs have begun to sunset, many public agencies engaged in TCO analysis and fleet procurement planning have found that fleet electrification can still benefit the bottom line, even without federal grant funding.
Iowa City, IA – Incremental Steps to Electrification
The experience of Iowa City, Iowa, illustrates how a smaller Midwestern municipality can gradually transition its fleet to generate long-term financial savings without incurring prohibitive short-term costs. Iowa City began integrating EVs into its fleet in 2018. In 2021, the city adopted a formal EV preference procurement policy, requiring departments to consider electric models whenever a vehicle is replaced; if a viable and cost-equivalent EV model is not available, the fleet simply purchases an ICE vehicle. An EV-first procurement policy flips the typical script by removing the assumption that ICE vehicles are the default, offering a replicable tool to advance electrification without mandates that ignore vehicle availability or duty-cycle constraints.
Using this procurement model, Iowa City has so far deployed 16 fully electric vehicles across its municipal fleet, including Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt passenger vehicles, Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks, and a 2025 Chevy Blazer EV patrol vehicle—the first fully electric patrol vehicle used for regular policing in the state of Iowa.
Photo credit: Iowa City staff
Early in the process, however, Iowa City encountered practical challenges common to first-time fleet electrification efforts. Fleet managers were initially concerned about how Iowa’s cold winters might affect battery range and reliability. Municipal facilities were also not originally designed for EV charging, meaning electrical capacity and charger placement had to be evaluated before vehicles could be deployed at scale. Drivers and maintenance staff also needed time to become familiar with the technology and charging routines.
Over time, these challenges proved manageable. The city assigned its first EVs to routes with predictable daily distances, installed chargers at municipal parking ramps and facilities, and trained maintenance staff to work with electric drivetrains, allowing EVs to be integrated into regular operations. One challenge Iowa City continues to face is the limited availability of electric models for certain specialized municipal vehicles and equipment. The city’s Fleet Transition Plan, completed in 2024, identifies electric replacements for many light-duty vehicles but acknowledges that some heavy-duty applications will need to wait for new vehicle models entering the market.
Madison, WI—Navigating the Complexities of Fleet Charging Planning
A similar pattern can be seen in Madison, Wisconsin, where city leaders have pursued one of the more comprehensive electrification strategies among mid-sized municipalities. Madison’s fleet electrification planning accelerated in the early 2020s to meet its goal of replacing a large portion of its roughly 900 light- and medium-duty municipal vehicles with electric models by 2030. The city began the transition by introducing EVs in departments with predictable driving patterns, such as inspections, administration, and parking enforcement. To support the growing fleet, Madison installed dozens of Level 2 charging stations at municipal facilities and expanded electrical capacity at city garages in phases as more vehicles were deployed. By the mid-2020s, the city had already placed over 100 EVs into service, including passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks.
Photo credit: City of Madison, Wisconsin
Madison’s transition was also not without early challenges. Many municipal garages were built decades before EV charging was considered, and installing multiple chargers required electrical upgrades and careful planning to avoid disrupting operations. Vehicle procurement timelines also posed challenges during the early years of electrification, as cities across the country competed for a limited supply of electric fleet vehicles. In addition, some drivers initially had questions about range and charging logistics.
Madison addressed these challenges without breaking the bank by upgrading infrastructure in phases, and by making small operational adjustments: chargers were installed gradually at the city’s largest fleet facilities, and EVs were initially assigned to departments with predictable travel patterns. As drivers gained experience and charging infrastructure proliferated, confidence in the vehicles increased. One challenge that Madison continues to face is the electrification of heavy-duty vehicles such as snowplows and certain public works equipment, which are critical for winter operations in Wisconsin. The city continues to monitor the market as manufacturers introduce new heavy-duty models.
Portland, OR—Combining Solar and EV Deployment for Lowest-Cost Operation
Further west, Portland, Oregon’s experience demonstrates how a comprehensive approach to electrification can accelerate adoption. Portland operates a municipal fleet of more than 2,900 vehicles and pieces of equipment, supporting services ranging from inspections and administration to public works. Roughly 230 of those vehicles are electric.
Portland has received significant funding through the Portland Clean Energy and Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) and other sources which is allowing the City to systematically plan and adopt electric vehicles whenever possible. The systematic approach allows a rapid build-out of the first phase of charging infrastructure, the purchase of mobile bridge solutions for resiliency, and the funding to cover the cost premiums of electric vehicles.
Photo credit: City of Portland, Oregon
Portland’s charging strategy is being implemented in phases with the first phase focusing on law enforcement and highly used sites. Funding for the chargers is covered through PCEF, state grant dollars, utility rebates, and the Oregon Clean Fuels Program. As part of the charging roll out, the City is considering resiliency and is using generator connectors, mobile generators, and three solar units to support emergency operations.
The upfront investments in charging and electrification allow the City to capture long-term savings from vehicle operations. Initial data shows both significant fuel savings and maintenance costs which will reduce long term ownership costs for light-duty vehicles. The City expects to see similar fuel and maintenance savings in the medium-duty sector over the next year, but does not yet have the data to determine whether or not these savings will offset the upfront price premiums of the medium-duty EVs.
As the number of EVs in the fleet increases, the city’s fleet managers have developed procedures to coordinate charging schedules in order to maximize use of the charging investments. Using charging management software, staff are able to monitor in real time the usage of assets to make informed decisions regarding future investments. These automated systems ensure reliable fleet operations while lowering energy costs through time-of-use charging scheduling. This data also helps to overcome operator anxiety about converting to electric vehicles.
Portland continues to work toward electrifying specialized vehicles used for extended operations and heavy-duty work, a category where technology is still developing but improving rapidly. Initial purchases are allowing staff to learn and improve processes that will support full electrification by 2050.
Conclusion
Taken together, the experiences of Iowa City, Madison, and Portland demonstrate that once fleets install charging infrastructure—often leveraging a combination of phased deployment and grant funding—electrification provides significant long-term operational savings. This is because fleets are well-positioned to take advantage of the lower fuel costs, reduced maintenance requirements, and more predictable energy prices that make EVs more affordable than gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles over their operational lifetimes. Portland’s fleet managers, for example, even before the ongoing oil price shock, reported a nearly 90% reduction in fuel costs from $0.29/mi to $0.03/mi for some light-duty electrified models.
These trailblazing cities have encountered and developed solutions to overcome practical challenges related to infrastructure planning, staff training, and vehicle availability. Importantly, experience suggests that these challenges tend to become easier to manage as cities gain operational experience and expand charging infrastructure, and as manufacturers introduce additional electric vehicle models. Though federal programs such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act have provided a critical boost to EV adoption, the long-term growth of municipal fleet electrification will increasingly depend on sound procurement strategies and effective application of total cost of ownership analysis. As EV technology continues to mature, agencies are likely to find even greater opportunities to reduce operating costs while maintaining reliable municipal services.