Simultaneous vehicle routing and charging station siting for commercial electric vehicles

As organizations electrify their vehicle fleets in order to lower costs, reduce emissions, and improve their public image, they face the problem of providing charging access to their vehicles on the road. Electric vehicles (EVs) have a much shorter driving range than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles, and without charging capabilities away from the depot, an EV's route length is constrained by its battery capacity. This is especially problematic if customers are located far from the depot, since it may not be possible to visit a customer and return to the depot on a single charge. Because public charging access is not usually available for EVs, the fleet owner may need to install or rent charging stations away from the depot for the EVs to use.