Car-sharing services promise “green” transportation systems. Two vehicle technologies offer marketable, sustainable sharing: Autonomous vehicles eliminate customer requirements for car pick-up and return, and battery electric vehicles entail zero-emissions. Designing an Autonomous Electric Vehicle (AEV) fleet must account for the relationships among fleet operations, charging station operations, electric powertrain performance, and consumer demand. This paper presents a system design optimization framework integrating four sub-system problems: Fleet size and assignment schedule; number and locations of charging stations; vehicle powertrain requirements; and service fees. A case study for an autonomous fleet operating in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is used to examine AEV sharing system profitability and feasibility for a variety of market scenarios.

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