December 15, 2020

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Editor’s Analysis & Top Industry News

Celebrating Champions in a Chaotic Year!

I daresay that few of us will look back at 2020 without thinking of the heartbreaking tragedies this year has brought. Yet, we consider how our fleet industry has deftly adapted to a new way of working and it is remarkable!

In the beginning, our utmost goal was to keep our drivers safe, and we heap appreciation on the ingenuity of our fleet managers and suppliers to insure their safety in the midst of chaos. We commend our industry associations who kept us connected to one another and, by the way, amazingly pulled off successful and fun virtual conferences. We celebrate their leadership.

My heart swells when I spot a Ronald McDonald House near a hospital; helping families of sick children is what they do. Our friends Erin Gilchrist and Ryan Wilkins invite fleets with an idled vehicle to donate to this wonderful charity.

This is our final newsletter of the year. Our next issue will arrive in your inbox on January 5, 2021. In the meantime, please check in with FleetManagementWeekly.com for daily updates.

Our FMW family wishes you and your family a peaceful, healthy and happy holiday season. We look forward to seeing you in person in 2021!

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief


VIDEO: A Fitness App to Manage Driver Safety

Mentor by eDriving is essentially a fitness app to manage driver safety and risk, and it features in-app microtraining modules that are geared to improve specific driving behaviors.

VIDEO: The Right Mix of EVs


 What’s the Right Mix of EVs? eIQ’s Automated Algorithm Can Help (a Lot)
 

Trying hard to figure out which EVs you need in your fleet? eIQ Mobility’s powerful algorithmic tool automates a lot of the decisionmaking process, and that helps you find just the right mix of EVs.


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

David Hayward appointed Corporate Sales Manager at Jaguar Land Rover North America

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that David Hayward will serve as Corporate Sales Manager for North America, reporting directly to Jack Devine, Vice President, Sales Performance, Jaguar Land Rover North America.

As Corporate Sales Manager, Hayward will have responsibility for business-to-business sales channels including, but not limited to, commercial, rental, government and mobility fleets in the United States and Canada; ultimately positioning Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles at the forefront of corporate sales opportunities within the premium vehicle segment.

Read more

New Study: Over Half of All Crashes Involve Phone Use

Drawing insights from over 86K verified collisions, Zendrive’s Collision Report uncovers the underlying behaviors connected to crashes.

Key Question: What percentage of crashes on the road involve distracted phone use?

Answer: The report found that 57% of all crashes now involve phone use.

Get the Full Report HERE.

The Interface Between Humans and Machines

Arval Mobility Observatory

The relationship between humans and machines has been a rollercoaster-ride for centuries.

Between euphoria and outright spite, a healthy scepticism rears its head every time another evolutionary step is taken. With the impending rise of autonomous technologies in transportation, it’s time again to evaluate the relationship.

The implications are massive, so it makes sense to evaluate how the human-machine interface (HMI) has evolved, and more pertinently, what it means to our world of mobility – in particular, of the shared and autonomous kind.

Download the publication to discover more on this topic.

Why Pursuing the CAFM Has Been a Smart Career Move

By Holly Hill, Director of Sales, FLD Remarketing

Seated at a table with a group of seasoned fleet veterans at the 2018 NAFA Fleet Management Association convention, I was struck by how advanced the conversation was as my table pulled our chairs together for a spirited breakout discussion.

Despite striving to understand the “big picture” after 26-plus years in specialized fleet services, I suddenly felt oddly out of place among this small group of fleet pros from a variety of our industry’s different disciplines.

It wasn’t so much that they were discussing a topic – Total Cost of Ownership – that I knew nothing about. In truth, my entire career revolved around the biggest TCO factor – depreciation – so it was a familiar topic.

Leaning into the conversation to get a better handle on what our group was tossing back and forth, I began to realize I still had a lot to learn.

READ MORE

Negligent Entrustment


By Adam Danielson, Director of Sales

Perceived “deep pockets” and willingness to settle quickly make businesses a target for litigation when an on-the-job motor vehicle accident occurs.

Regardless of the severity of the crash, liability exposure and potential harmful publicity can impact a company’s bottom line and brand reputation. The size of legal rewards for on-the-job motor vehicle accidents is soaring; a 2019 verdict award was the highest in history against a fleet at $280 million.

Negligence, or negligent entrustment liability, occurs when a dangerous article – in this case a vehicle – is entrusted to somebody who is reckless, inexperienced, or incompetent. If the entrusted individual has an accident, the injured party has the right to bring a case against the individual’s employer.

READ MORE

 

Holidays During the Pandemic


By Donald Dunphy, Contributing Editor

The United States is currently facing a dramatic COVID-19 spike.

The intensity of the resurgence prompted the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to issue guidelines that included a request for Americans not to travel or have large gatherings for Thanksgiving celebrations. However, multiple reports indicated travelers largely ignored the guidelines, filling airports and roadways alike.

This presents concerns for employers, both with and without fleets. While it is too late to change outcomes from the Thanksgiving holiday, now is the time to consider how to plan for the equally busy Christmas/Hanukkah travel period.

Art Liggio, President/CEO at Driving Dynamics, Inc., has seen fleet operators responding to increased needs. “During the second half of 2020, (our company) has done more driver safety training during this period than we ever have in previous years.”

READ MORE

 

Donating Vehicles, Changing Lives


The pandemic has presented numerous challenges to organizations all over the world from loss of revenue, reductions in force, real estate, and assets to name a few.

The fleet industry has seen its share of changes as well, including the challenge of managing underutilized or completely idle leased and owned vehicle assets.

One way to offset the impact to your organization and change lives today is to donate vehicles from your fleet to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). Charities have been hit hard during this pandemic and need our help now more than ever. As a RMHC board member, Erin Gilchrist Rugg (TSOA) has seen first-hand how fleet vehicles can change the lives of families with sick children.

The reality of having a child in the hospital is a challenge that no parent wants to face.

READ MORE


Fleet Trends & Issues

GM puts its Self-Driving Technology on the Sierra Pickup, Including Towing

Detroit Free Press

The GMC Sierra 1500 Denali full-size light-duty pickup will be the first pickup to get the latest version of GM’s Super Cruise that introduces the ability to tow while using hands-free driver assist technology.

“The technology just continues to get better with Super Cruise,” said Phil Brook, vice president of Buick GMC marketing. “It’ll be capable of towing as well, which is pretty remarkable … towing with different lengths and different loads.”

Super Cruise works by combining the driver’s attention with LiDAR map data, real-time cameras, sensors and GPS. A driver attention system uses a small camera that sits on the top of the steering column. It works with infrared lights to determine where the driver is looking whenever Super Cruise is in operation.

Read the article at Detroit Free Press.

Toyota Unveils New Fuel Cell Car in Fresh Push on Hydrogen Technology

Reuters

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp put its revamped Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car, with 30% greater range, on sale on Wednesday in a fresh push to promote the zero-emission technology amid rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles, including its own.

The new Mirai launch comes after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced a goal in October to cut Japan’s carbon emissions to zero by 2050, in line with a European Union target and ahead of a pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping to make his country “carbon neutral” by 2060.

Rather than produce a cheaper car, Toyota said it wants to lure drivers with longer range – enough to drive around 800 kilometres (497 miles) without refueling – added features such as autonomous parking and a lower, sleeker design achieved by moving the hydrogen power unit to the front of the vehicle from under the car.

Read the article at Reuters.

New UK Police Speed Gun Can Read License Plates From Nearly Half a Mile Away—at Night

The Drive

British motorists with a habit of driving faster than the posted limit might want to exercise a bit more caution, because the police there now have a shiny new tool in its speed-enforcement arsenal: the Laser Tech TruCAM II Speed Enforcement Laser.

The TruCam II costs the equivalent of approximately $13,200 and is currently being trialed by U.K. police to automatically focus in on and read the license plates of speeding cars almost half a mile (750 m) away.

Essentially acting as a handheld speed camera, the TruCam II uploads speed and license plate data to a database and the appropriate fine is then mailed to the car’s registered owner, no sirens or traffic stops required.

Read the article at The Drive.

Scotland Names its Snow Plows and Their Titles are Amazing

Roadshow

“Snowbegone Kenobi, reporting for duty.” Imagine hearing that over a dispatch radio. Guess what? It’s a real name, for a real snow plow, called a “gritter” in Scotland. That makes “Gritney Spears” make much more sense.

Who else do we have here? Ah, yes, “Gangsta Granny Gritter” was out for deployment, as was “Gritty Gritty Bang Bang.” Let’s not forget about “License to Chill” or “For Your Ice Only.” The James Bond references are strong with the Scots. “Snowkemon Go” is another name worthy of our round of applause.

The BBC reports the practice of naming the plows goes back to 2006 when the Scottish Transport Ministry encouraged wee school children to come up with funny monikers for them. It launched its online tracker in 2016.

Read the article at Roadshow.

Autonomous Vehicles


McKinsey & Company

Autonomous driving is becoming a key buying factor for customers: a recent McKinsey survey of 1,000 people in China, Europe, and the United States, showed that roughly 60 percent of respondents in each region would switch automotive brands to get a vehicle with better AD features.

Excluding robo-taxis, the share of new private vehicles with Level 2 entry systems will reach 47 percent by 2025. Typically, customers considering a high-price premium sedan or SUV show less price sensitivity for optional features than customers buying value products or smaller cars.

Customer adoption overwhelmingly depends on difficult-to-predict factors such as safety benefits and convenience. Consumers, for example, will be more willing to pay for AD systems that free up time otherwise spent driving. But the exact value of this time will depend on the side activ­ities that drivers undertake while their vehicles are under auton­omous control.

Read the article at McKinsey & Company.

 

Customer Driven


By John Round, AVP of Sales at Wheels, Inc.

Recently, we changed the clocks to standard time, and with the change came shorter days, colder temps and fewer hours outside.

I’m an early riser, so some of my winter dread was reduced by the sunny skies that came before 6 a.m. The early sunrise gave me time for my early workouts and kept me on schedule for my new routine of daily Team meetings and conference calls. However, eight months into the shutdown, combined with a looming Chicago winter, my outlook was turning gloomy.

Knowing that I was going to have some additional time to fill this winter, I started to look for projects that would fill my weekends. I found some great books, investigated new podcasts, and even attended a few free online classes. As they say, you can never get enough Excel training! My list of self-improvement projects felt good and gave me a sense that I was going to invest my time wisely over the next five to six months.

READ MORE

 

EV Sales Growth


MarketWatch

Global electric-vehicle sales will grow 50% or more next year, while sales of internal combustion engine vehicles are expected to grow 2% to 5%. That’s the view of analysts at Morgan Stanley, who in a note to clients on Friday also predicted that global EV penetration would top 4%, rising to 31% by 2030.

The year 2021 “is shaping up to be a critical year for EV adoption and (internal combustion engine) de-adoption that will dictate the pace of multiple expansion, contraction, consolidation and proliferation” among the stocks, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in the note.

Despite the momentary dips amid stock offerings, EV stocks are enjoying a 2020 stock surge that is more widespread than Nio’s jaw-dropping 2020 gains. Tesla is up 625% this year, while XPeng is up more than 111% and Li Auto around 100%.

Read the article at MarketWatch.





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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