Ford Pro and the city of Dallas have signed a 10-year agreement to help electrify the city’s vehicle fleet. [Photo: Business Wire]
The city of Dallas aims to electrify its vehicle fleet by 2040 as part of its Climate Action Plan. To drive toward that, the city has selected Ford Pro to grow and manage the EV charging infrastructure for its fleet operations.
Ford Pro is the Dearborn, Michigan-based commercial division of Ford Motor Company.
Per the agreement, the city of Dallas will install Ford Pro chargers at the city’s worksites and use Ford Pro smart charging software to customize and manage EV charging performance, Ford Pro said. Dallas will use the company’s software and hardware solution “to help ensure its fleet vehicles are charged optimally and ready for work when they need them.”
If Dallas does eventually go fully electric, it will have lots of vehicles to charge up—there are currently 5,400 vehicles in the city’s fleet.
In 2020, the city approved a climate action plan that aims to improve quality of life, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prepare for the impacts of climate change, and “create a healthier and more prosperous community.” A key part of the plan is installing EV chargers throughout the city and adding light-duty EVs to the city’s fleet.
‘A significant milestone’
“The city of Dallas is committed to a clean, safe, and healthy environment, and we’re making great strides in our efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement. “This agreement with Ford Pro marks a significant milestone and will help our city avoid energy waste and save money on energy costs. We look forward to building upon our work with Ford Pro to further scale EV charging infrastructure and electrify our fleet operations to continue to serve our great city now and in the future.”
Ford Pro CEO Ted Cannis noted that EV adoption is “on the rise” with state and local government fleets.
“We’re proud to provide smart charging software and hardware to help electrify one of the Lone Star State’s biggest cities in one of America’s biggest metro areas,” Cannis said in a statement. “The impact software can have on EV charging can be substantial, helping public agencies like the city of Dallas not only manage charging infrastructure today, but help determine where chargers may be needed in the future.”
Ford Pro noted that 4 million vehicles are currently operated by state and local governments in the U.S., and that the federal government has called for most federal vehicle purchases to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, an even more aggressive target than than the one Dallas has set.
“Hundreds” of local governments are among Ford Pro Charging’s customers, the company said, adding that the trend toward fleet electrification “may be driven in part by rising fuel costs, potentially lower operational costs provided by EVs, and a match of good use cases for how municipal agencies use EVs.”
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