DCS introduces new fleet management solution

The solution essentially links the charging accounts of fleet vehicles to a central company account. “Charging is billed automatically for drivers and payment is bundled for the company. Fleet drivers benefit from the same features, rates and brand experiences as private customers,” says BMW, which offers a charging service based on the DCS solution with BMW Charging. “This solution optimises the management of charging costs for electric fleets, reduces administrative effort and improves cost transparency.”

To use the new feature, fleet managers must create a company account with Charge Now. Fleet drivers create a business customer account, including a charging contract, and activate invoice transfer by the company. The fleet manager links the driver accounts to the company account for centralised and automated billing. Charging is then automatically paid for by the company, eliminating the need for private prepayments and manual refunds.

The latter advantage makes it clear that this is not about large corporations, which usually use completely different charging and billing solutions for their company vehicles from the outset. DCS specifically targets small and medium-sized enterprises with up to 50 electric vehicles – the monitoring system is designed for this maximum number of vehicles.

“In many SMEs, fleet management is an additional task performed by management or accounting. Monthly billing was carried out by the respective drivers, who then had to submit their invoices to the fleet managers. Different vehicle brands and charging services made fleet management even more difficult,” writes DCS.

In addition to BMW Charging and Mini Charging, the fleet solution is also available for Charge.myHyundai, Subaru Charging Network and smart.chage@street. For other electric car brands, use is possible via Charge Now from DCS. “Different vehicle brands can be managed centrally in the manager account. Drivers retain their charging tariff, the familiar deep integration into apps and the vehicle, while managers can bundle billing. This is ideal for fleets with multiple car brands,” says DCS. The dashboard shows the fleet manager all charging processes of the linked accounts and allows filtering by driver and time period, as well as exporting as a CSV file.

“With the new fleet features, we are addressing a clear need: companies need simple tools that save time and are ready to use right away,” said Petr Füzék, Lead Commercial at DCS. “This makes fleet management easier for fleet managers and helps make the switch to electric fleets even more attractive for them. At the same time, we enable company drivers to enjoy the best possible charging experience by fully integrating their vehicles into the fleet.”

Source: Info via email, bmwgroup.com, chargenow.com

This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition.