Ford’s Fleet Customers Send Mixed Signals on Electric Vehicles – Exec
Ford Motor Co sees a robust market for electric trucks and vans by 2030, but it is facing some early pushback from commercial customers that are a key audience for the automaker's new F-150 Lightning and E-Transit, a top executive said on Thursday.
The Lightning pickup and E-Transit van "are targeted at real people doing real work," said Ted Cannis, chief executive of Ford Pro, at the Reuters Events Automotive Summit.
But some of those potential fleet buyers are taking a "wait and see" attitude, partly from a lack of experience with electric vehicles and partly from a lack of clarity on government policy and regulations around EVs.
Read the article at Reuters
eDriving Wins Risk Management Award and Safety Award at 2021 Business Car Awards
eDriving, a Solera company, and a leading global provider of digital driver risk management solutions, has been named the winner of the Risk Management Award and Safety Award at the 2021 Business Car Awards.
The Business Car Awards have recognized excellence in the automotive fleet sector for more than a decade. They have identified the best cars that fleets should be running, highlighted innovation and fleet expertise among suppliers, as well as rewarding excellence among fleet operators.
“We are thrilled to have been recognized again at the Business Car Awards,” said Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder of eDriving. “In the last 12 months our smartphone-based driver safety program, Mentor, has evolved to include some game-changing new features including emergency response services for drivers, and it’s fantastic to see that such innovations are garnering continued industry recognition for the program.”
Read the press release.
Merchants Fleet and EVgo Announce Partnership to Expand EV Charging Accessibility for Fleets
Merchants Fleet announced today a partnership with EVgo, a first mover in fleet electrification and owner and operator of the country’s largest public fast-charging network for electric vehicles (EVs) and first powered by 100% renewable electricity.
EVgo will provide a full range of solutions including infrastructure planning, hardware, software, O&M and infrastructure deployment services to Merchants Fleet clients to support the electrification of fleets nationwide.
“Charging and infrastructure is the foundation of every EV transition plan and bringing EVgo into the Merchants ecosystem allows our clients to take real, tangible steps toward making their EV plans a reality,” says Brendan P. Keegan, CEO of Merchants Fleet. “This partnership gives Merchants Fleet clients access to an expanded network of best-in-class charging solutions and allows us to help push the needle forward on sustainability through fleet electrification.”
The new partnership is the first of its kind for EVgo, and gives Merchants Fleet clients the ability to leverage a combination of depot charging solutions, dedicated charging networks and EVgo’s public network comprised of over 800 fast charging and 1,200+ Level 2 locations. EVgo’s locations bring the reliability of more than 98% uptime and deep coverage in urban core areas, with its solutions backed by superior 24/7 customer support that further reinforces convenience, safety and interoperability for EV fleets.
6 Ways to Get the Best Range From Your Electric Car in Winter
Operating range is one of the most important performance metrics of your electric car, and it can be impacted by cold weather. It’s harder for ions in Lithium-ion batteries to move around in the cold, and that can affect your car’s range.
Cold weather also affects charging, and your car’s battery likes to be within a certain temperature range. If it’s really cold outside, it’s better for the battery to warm up first before it can charge at faster speeds. That means charging can take longer in winter.
Not everyone has a garage, but if you’ve got one, put your EV in it. (And if it’s full of stuff, then clean it out – your car needs it.) Keeping your vehicle inside during winter can make a difference in its battery performance. The warmth of the garage will help your car hold battery charge for longer and charge more quickly.
Read the article at The Car Gossip.
Why do a Fleet Utilization Study?
Ed Smith, President, Agile Fleet
Understanding your fleet's utilization is at the core of fleet right-sizing.
Many fleets undergo fleet utilization studies as a first step towards getting their fleets right-sized and under control.
But how is a fleet study conducted? How often should it be done? How do you articulate the goals of your study? What changes should be made as a result of your study?
We hear these questions and many more on this topic, so here is some guidance you may want to consider.
