Energy vehicle routing problem for differently sized and powered vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) and combustion-powered vehicles (CVs) differ substantially with respect to several characteristic factors that have major impacts on vehicle routing. EVs are more energy efficient than CVs, but they have a shorter driving range, and compared to CVs with the same gross weight, they have a lower payload. In this paper, various vehicle fleets with differently sized EVs and CVs are considered for vehicle routing. First, EVs are opposed to CVs. Second, the effect of increasing the battery capacity of EVs is investigated. Third, the impact of introducing recharge stations for EVs is analyzed. Finally, the characteristics of mixed fleets are investigated. The computational results are generated by solving a MIP formulation of the introduced Energy Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows, Recharge Stations and Vehicle Classes (EVRPTW-R-VC) by means of a commercial solver.