USA – There were many companies at the latest ACT Expo presenting variations on the theme of what one might call “Electric-Fleet-as-a-service” – that is to say, a contractual relationship where the operator has the upfront costs and hassles of switching to an electric fleet taken out of its hands by a “turnkey” service provider. One such company I spoke with was Revolv, whose CEO, Scott Davidson, feels that terms such as “X-as-a-service” and “turnkey” have been diluted through overuse. “Our product is performance,” he said.

Explaining what that means, Davidson outlined the business model of Revolv. The operator is offered a “performance contract”, a full-service lease with a fixed price, paid monthly, over a limited term. (Davidson compared it to a “wet” lease in air transportation, or a short-term provision of vehicle, insurance, and maintenance paid by hours operated.) In addition to the fixed fee, Revolv takes a percentage based on the operator’s economic performance, measured against its total cost of ownership prior to switching to electric. “Uptime is the metric”: the better the operator performs, the more Revolv earns from the contract, thus incentivising higher uptime.