May 19, 2020

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Editor’s Analysis & Top Industry News

Celebrating Unsung Heroes

As if we don’t have enough worries right now, we do need to be aware of the calamitous threat hackers pose to our fleets. FMW’s interview with Dan Sahar, vice president of product at Upstream Security, about the vulnerability of connected fleet vehicles is an eye-opener.

Call it a hunch, but I bet most fleet managers have been charged with cutting some costs. Where is your biggest bang for saving some bucks? Read You Can Try to Pull a Rabbit Out of Hat for ARI’s “solid, short-term strategic maneuvers.”

Art Liggio reassures us that there is light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel and to that end, offers us “four ways we can encourage positivity and foster productivity to support drivers and the success of the business during these tough times.”

The FMW team applauds Merchant Fleet’s Celebrate Fleet week!

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief


VIDEO: PARS Offers Contactless Pickup for Vehicle Delivery

As a safety measure for the times, PARS is offering vehicle delivery with contactless pickup that’s enabled by their mobile app.

VIDEO: #CelebrateFleet


 Celebrate Fleet Launches to Celebrate Unsung Heroes
 

Fleet is a business that is helping keep essential services moving – and it is full of unsung heroes. Celebrate Fleet was created in order to give these folks some well-deserved recognition.


Video Interview with YOU Here?

 Request for Zoom Video Interviews
 

We’re ramping up FMW’s video interviews via Zoom given the times, and are looking to speak with a variety industry experts (and we know that many of you are reading!).

Please feel free to suggest yourself, or someone you know. Any and all timely industry topics will be considered, and we look forward to speaking with you!

Email Ted Roberts to learn more: [email protected].


The Fleet Spot

Motus Predicts National Fuel Prices to Be 35% Lower This Summer

Oversupplied Crude Oil Market and COVID-19 Pandemic Travel Restrictions Lead to Sharp Decline in Cost of Fuel

Motus today released its 2020 Summer Fuel Outlook Report. This report highlights key data related to fuel price fluctuations with a look towards how these changes will impact the summer driving season.

The report reveals an oversupplied crude oil market, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to an expected 6.5% decrease in global oil consumption in 2020. As a result, Motus anticipates national fuel prices to decrease by 35% on average compared to the past four years.

“The price of fuel this summer will be very different from what we’ve seen in recent years due to decreases in both oil prices and travel activity. While fuel consumption and demand will increase as the country reopens and people resume travel, it’s unlikely we’ll see the same mileage levels as past summers,” said Ken Robinson, market research analyst for Motus.

READ MORE

Nauto Launches AI-Powered Predictive Collision Alerts, Advances Fleet Safety Beyond Driver Coaching Programs

NautoⓇ announced Predictive Collision Alerts, a new module in its Driver Behavior Learning Platform. The new offering detects imminent collisions to reduce rear-end accidents by up to 400% more than traditional approaches.

Until now, fleet and driver safety products, called “video telematics” systems, have been focused on driver coaching and fleet management applications.

“We evaluated multiple AI-powered products to support our commitment to driver safety,” said Greg McLeod, Pepin. “Nauto’s distracted driver detection was vastly superior to others because it isn’t simply a learning tool–it actively enables drivers to avoid collisions before they happen. We expect Predictive Collision Alerts to further reduce our number of rear-end collisions.”

READ MORE

ARI and Holman Enterprises Announce Pair of Sales Leadership Appointments

ARI® and its parent company Holman Enterprises today announced a pair of key sales leadership promotions. Joe Foster has been named the company’s Vice President of Technical Sales and Ryan Peters will assume the role of Vice President of Sales for ARI’s eastern region.

“Joe and Ryan’s extensive automotive and fleet expertise combined with their natural leadership traits have proven to be invaluable to our organization and they’ll certainly continue to help our customers maximize the potential of their fleet as a strategic business asset,” said Anthony Foursha, executive vice president, sales and service excellence,

READ MORE

Is It Time for a Contact-Free Motor Pool System?

Are you interested in starting or automating your motor pool? Consider joining Agile Fleet’s growing list of clients who use a secure, self-service motor pool system which can be operated remotely, no attendant required.

Here’s what their client Iowa State University had to say recently:

The self-dispatching kiosk system has allowed our department to remain open while we work remotely and practice safe social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn More and Schedule a Demo Today.

Safety & Risk


Companies are facing adversity and unfortunately, it may seem like you have little control over challenges thrown your way when dealing with COVID-19

By Art Liggio, CEO and president of Driving Dynamics

There is no way around it, the coronavirus pandemic has completely altered the way fleet-based organizations operate. For some, work has halted, and others are challenged to keep up with new demand. The uncertainty has left companies scrambling to reduce health exposure, keep employees safe and working, and business viable.

While the many hardships faced cannot be dismissed, there is light at the end of this tunnel and perhaps even opportunity. Together, let’s explore four ways you can encourage positivity and foster productivity to support drivers and the success of the business during these tough times.

READ MORE

 

Cost Reduction Strategies


Or you can craft fleet cost reduction opportunities right from your vehicle life cycle

ARI

Call it what you may – sleight of hand, wizardry, magic… With the challenges and concerns your fleet is facing today as a result of the pandemic, you may feel like you’re going to need some impressive tricks to rebound.

Don’t worry, no illusions required. Just some solid, short-term strategic maneuvers to reduce your operating costs.

You can easily use the vehicle life cycle as a guide to organize your strategy. Think in terms of buying the vehicle, driving the vehicle, servicing the vehicle, and finally selling the vehicle at the end of its useful life. If you create a goal to materialize two or more opportunities in each phase, you’ll end up with more than a half-dozen new strategies – without any hocus pocus.
Here are some idea starters:

READ MORE

 

Fleet Spectator


By Mark Boada, Executive Editor

Most fleets are unaware that they might be defenseless against a cyber-attack that could disable all of their vehicles, according to a long-time veteran of the cybersecurity industry.

In an extensive interview with Fleet Management Weekly, Dan Sahar, vice president of product at Upstream Security, a cloud-based automotive cybersecurity company, said that the adoption of telematics and the proliferation of other digital connections has created a growing number of “connected” vehicles that are vulnerable to long- and short-range hacks from criminals that could disable every vehicle they operate.

“Fifteen years ago, vehicles weren’t connected, and maybe the worst case was somebody left the car unlocked and it was stolen,” he said. “Today, vehicles are connected, which helps to manage fleets more efficiently, but it comes at a price. The second you introduce that technology, you unknowingly create the ability for hackers to disrupt your fleet if they choose to do so. Nobody knows whether they’ll choose to do so, but they might.”

READ MORE


Fleet Trends & Issues

London Is Creating The World’s Largest Car-Free Zone

CleanTechnica

London has been actively pursuing strategies to reduce congestion and air pollution for nearly two decades by imposing fees – called a congestion charge – on vehicles coming into the downtown area and establishing ultra low emissions zones.

Some of the zone restrictions had been relaxed due to the Coronavirus but will be reinstated and expanded to allow Londoners more ways to get around the city on foot or by bicycle while observing social distancing requirements and avoiding the use of The Tube.

London Mayor Sadiq Kahn said We will need many more Londoners to walk and cycle to make this work. That’s why these plans will transform parts of central London to create one of the largest car-free areas in any capital city in the world.”

Read the article at CleanTechnica.

Uber Riders and Drivers Will Have to Wear Face Masks During Trips

Car and Driver

In order to make sure drivers are taking precautions and ensuring their cars are clean, Uber is spending $50 million to procure masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant sprays, gloves, among other things, to send to their drivers.

Beginning next Monday, May 18, both riders and drivers will have to wear masks or face coverings for the duration of Uber trips.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a blog post that an online checklist will ask whether drivers and riders have taken certain safety measures before using the service. A selfie taken by the driver and then processed by a new technology will verify that a driver is wearing a face mask; a driver not wearing a mask won’t be able to get online. Riders will have to sit in the back seat and agree to windows being open for increased ventilation.

Read the article at Car and Driver.

Volvo CEO: Pandemic Will Rapidly Accelerate Shift To Electric Cars

Electrek

Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson said that the coronavirus will accelerate the pace of change in the auto industry. He said the shift to EVs will be among the major changes that occur due to the pandemic.

He believes that any government efforts to subsidize the auto industry’s recovery should be based on supporting EVs and other new technology.

Volvo plans to launch an all-electric car every year for the next five years. By 2025, Volvo wants all-electric vehicles to represent 50% of its global sales. Online sales with remote delivery and service would replace traditional auto dealership showrooms.

Read the article at Electrek.

VW, Ford Forge Ahead With Technology Sharing To Save Costs

The Detroit News

With the global pandemic bringing the automotive industry to its knees, Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co. are keener than ever to move beyond an initial agreement to join forces and are pushing ahead with plans to team up on electric and self-driving vehicles.

Both sides recognize a need to share the large investments needed to develop battery-powered and autonomous cars. The industry is going to be forced to consolidate the number of powertrain types they choose to develop going forward.

Ford intends to produce at least one mass-market car in Europe based on VW’s main electric-vehicle underpinnings, dubbed MEB, with more than 600,000 targeted deliveries over six years. VW’s first car based on the new technology, the ID.3 hatchback, will be rolled out this summer. The SUV sibling called ID.4 is set to follow later this year.

Read the article at The Detroit News.

Shared Mobility Now?


movmi.net

By Augustin Friedel, Volkswagen Intermodeal Strategy and Sandra Phillips, Founder and CEO, movmi

“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become” Dr. Seuss

During the past couple of months, people were encouraged or forced to shelter at home and other lockdown restrictions were put in place. This resulted in a steep decline in demand for all available mobility and transportation options across the globe. The total vehicle miles traveled for business or private reasons with personal cars, public transit or shared mobility plunged.

Stakeholders of the mobility ecosystem are facing a situation never experienced before: According to data published by Apple or Transit, public transit has seen the biggest drop, with ridership declines between 70% to 90% in many markets across the globe. Micro mobility services suspended operations, e.g. players like Lime paused the service in up to 90% of all markets.The demand for carsharing, ride hailing and pooling also plunged, pooling was suspended on many platforms. On the bright side, there was a steep uptake on active mobility like walking and biking.

Read the article at movmi.net

 

Customer Driven


Culture develops and grows within walls, but strong cultures live with or without walls

By Laura Jozwiak, Senior Vice President of Sales & Client Relations, Wheels, Inc.

Have you heard the pot roast recipe fable? The story goes something like this:

A young boy and his mom decide to make their family’s pot roast, using a recipe that has been in the family for years. They start by cutting off the ends of the pot roast, and the boy asks his mom: “Why do you have to cut the ends off the meat?” She said, “I don’t know, it’s what the recipe says to do.”

They decide to call her mom to find out why you have to cut the ends off the piece of meat. Grandma also says that she didn’t know why, but that it’s part of the recipe. This family was fortunate enough to have her mother still alive, so they called great-grandma to ask why. And she told them, she cut the ends off the pot roast because she had a small roasting pan at the time—and it didn’t fit.

This is a story of culture. During these remote work times, you can see how critical a strong culture really is!

READ MORE

 

Charting a More Adaptive Course


strategy+business

By recognizing the challenges confronting the world, internalizing the lessons of the pandemic, and deploying the tools and technologies at hand, we can chart a new, more adaptive course.

Both governments and businesses need to review how they responded to the pandemic, understand best practices, and prepare for the next inevitable crisis. It will be impossible for our systems to cope with the next challenge if they remain in the same fragile state in which they entered this one.

Although personal situations vary greatly, almost everyone can relate to the concerns of a rapidly developing problem. If this shared experience can engender greater solidarity and a sense of purpose, the prospect of adapting to a new world and thriving in it becomes more promising. Hope is not a strategy. But strategy can provide hope.

Read the article at strategy+business.





Fleet Management Resources

 

AFLA
The Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association. Advancing corporate fleet worldwide.

eDriving
eDriving partners with its clients to engage with drivers and their managers to create a culture that supports lasting behavioral change to reduce collisions, injuries, license violations as well as a fleet’s total cost of ownership.

SuperVision
SuperVision is a fleet driver management solution for MVR & license monitoring, fleet management, fleet safety oversight and driver performance and retention.

The CEI Group Inc.
CEI is North America’s largest provider of fully integrated fleet accident management, driver safety and risk management services.

NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location, or fleet composition.

WEX
WEX fuel cards and fleet management solutions give you powerful tools to reduce spending — for any business, any fleet, any size.

Driving Dynamics
Driving Dynamics was established to help corporate fleet drivers develop expert, safe driving skills using proven, advanced driving techniques.

PARS
PARS’ mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.

Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 80 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.




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