FinSimple Electrification Dashboard

Overview: Ford is expanding its electric vehicle (EV) offerings by providing commercial customers with home charging solutions. To address this new user segment, the FinSimple Electrification digital dashboard enables customers to finance EV charging equipment and installation. This approach aims to streamline the adoption of EVs by addressing the upfront costs associated with charging infrastructure.

Challenge

Customers lacked a streamlined, digital financing solution, making it difficult to manage the high upfront costs associated with EV charger installations. This gap hindered the adoption of electric vehicles within commercial fleets. Through an integrated platform, the dashboard simplifies the financing process, supporting Ford's projection to facilitate approximately 1,600 depot installations annually by 2025.

Results

The improved onboarding process resulted in a 35% increase in new user adoption rates.

35%

Improved onboarding process

Process

Empathize & Discovery

Key research questions: What are the biggest pain points Ford Commercial customers face when financing depot charging installations?
What factors influence their financing decisions? (interest rates, loan terms, installer partnerships)?
How do they currently navigate the lending experience, and where are the gaps?
Overall, determine unknowns related to electric vehicle financing associated within this area.

Research Outline

How might We … Support commercial customers with financing charging needs as they electrify their fleets?
Objectives: First, how do electric vehicles play a part in the customers business. Second, if they have electric vehicles (EV) and if they do, what issues do they have? If they don't, what are they expecting?
Research Plan: Identify 5-8 businesses who already have charging stations in place.
Criterias: Does not have to be Ford. Small/Mid/Large sized businesses.

Key Findings:

Electrification
Performance

Finding: Commercial customers are most interested in understanding electric vehicle capabilities and performance. They want to know EV’s will help them run their business

Recommend: To best engage with customers, identify opportunities to share information on how electric vehicles will perform in a commercial setting.

Range Anxiety

Finding: Commercial customers interested in EV’s are not worried about range limitations. They have already analyzed their routes and determined EV’s will help their business.

Recommend: There are opportunities to educate commercial customers on cost savings of electrification for fleets.

Financing:

Finding: Commercial customers view charging costs as a fixed asset. In face, most assume they will pay cash for charging infrastructure.

Recommend: Provide customized, flexible electrification packages which differentiates Ford Credit finance from other finance source. Conceptually, they believe electric vehicles will be of great benefit. Practically, they want to see it before they buy it. Electric service vehicles have not yet hit the market, and commercial customers want to experience the technology first hand before

Recommend: To best engage with customers, identify opportunities to share information on how electric vehicles will perform in a commercial setting.

User Persona

Information Architecture: Based on the research findings, I drafted out the app's navigation and content, prioritizing features and information according to user needs, utilizing FigJam

Wireframing & Prototyping: I designed low-fidelity wireframes to visualize the new layout and navigation, iteratively refining them based on user feedback.

Key Features | Commercial customers will have the ability to manage their loans by: