By Ed Pierce, Contributing Editor

The new partnership of Holman and Electrada presents a major step forward for fleets transitioning towards electrification.

Holman, which provides fleet management services to corporate, government, and utility fleets, recently announced a partnership with Electrada, who designs, builds, owns, operates, and maintains EV charging infrastructure. Their partnership will help companies that operate fleets make a seamless transition to electric vehicles in a way that provides reliable service and simplified fueling costs.

The successful transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs involves much more than selecting vehicles. Of equal importance is a focus on infrastructure, namely the power needs, charging locations, and reliable operation of charging stations. This adds quite a few new factors beyond the ICE costs that most fleet managers are familiar with. By partnering with Electrada, Holman will be able to ease the transition for their customers and help them meet their corporate sustainability goals.

In order to get more information about the new partnership between Electrada and Holman, we sat down with two of the top leaders from both organizations. Emily Graham is the Director of Sustainability at Holman while Kevin Kushman is the CEO of Electrada. They answered a variety of questions about their new partnership and what their thoughts were of the general shift towards electrification among fleets.

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Diesel fuel may be exiting a sustained period of low pricing. Higher adoption rates of fuel efficient lubricants, including API FA-4 oils, may be a good way to offset fuel price hikes—and may be an indicator of the future.

By Barrie Masters, Director at Lubrizol

Reducing overall cost of operations is always a top priority for fleet owners and operators. And as a variety of factors continue to challenge fleet owners to maintain efficient operations, it’s worth investigating any means by which to boost the bottom line.

The 2022 year has already displayed the increasing cost of diesel fuel. Recent data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that diesel fuel costs have risen almost one dollar per gallon in comparison to this time just last year.

Simultaneously, other challenges exist.

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More than three-quarters of business travelers who stayed off the road during the pandemic say they are ready to get back to business travel.

A new survey fielded by Morning Consult for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) reveals that almost two-thirds of this group believes that working remotely adversely affected their productivity and workplace culture.

“The last two years of virtual work arrangements and travel restrictions have underscored the importance of travel and face-to-face meetings for businesses, employees, and customers alike. These results are proof of that,” said AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers. “Most Americans recognize the unmatched value business travel and face-to-face meetings provide. And after the last two years, the return of business travel is more important than ever.”

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March 21, 2022 – The Ford F-150 Lightning will be offered with a choice of two battery packs. Those models equipped with the short-range pack, including the base Lightning Pro SR and Lightning Lariat SR, will still get the originally promised 230 miles per charge, according to the newly released EPA final estimates.

The long-range pack will get about 7% better than forecast initially – about 20 miles more. That includes the fleet-focused Lightning Pro ER and two retail models, the Lightning XLT ER and Lariat ER. The official EPA rating jumps to 320 miles. The top-line Lightning Platinum sees its EPA rating climb from 280 to 300 miles per charge.

via The Detroit Bureau

March 18, 2022 – Nickel is a crucial component in many electric vehicles because it’s used to construct battery cathodes. Russia accounts for 10 percent of the world’s nickel supply and 20 percent of the world’s “class 1” nickel supply, which is the purity level usually required for EV applications.

Tesla uses a nickel-cobalt-manganese blend of metal in its batteries, which have cathodes that are 90 percent composed of nickel. Ford had negotiated longer-term contracts for its nickel supplies, leaving it locked in at pre-conflict pricing and supply.

Nickel is a crucial metal that Ford can relax about while other manufacturers scramble to reestablish their own supplies, and with the F-150 Lightning hitting the market in short order, it may position Ford well for the coming few years of EV sales.

via The Drive

March 19, 2022 – The Paris-based International Energy Agency says that “practical actions by governments and citizens” could quickly reduce global oil demand by 2.7 million barrels a day by cutting down on car and plane travel, helping to ease the supply crunch caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The IEA said its 10-point plan could, if fully implemented in advanced economies, cut oil demand by the same amount as all the cars in China within four months.

The plan includes encouraging the adoption of electric and more efficient vehicles; reducing speed limits on highways; opting for high-speed and night trains instead of planes where possible.

via Autoblog

March 17, 2022 – Tires are precisely engineered to perform multiple, often conflicting, functions: They must grip the road securely, cut a safe path through puddles and snow, turn with precision, contribute to good fuel economy, help smooth the ride, and be strong enough to resist damage from potholes and road debris.

In order to function properly, tires must be filled with a specific amount of pressurized air.  Too much pressure can be problematic, but far more problematic and, unfortunately, more common is having too little tire pressure.

Having a good tire-pressure gauge in one hand and the air hose in the other means you can set the pressures precisely.

via Car and Driver

March 18, 2022 – When it comes to pickup trucks, American manufacturers provide the best combination of fuel efficiency, capability and performance. It’s no surprise that hybrids and diesel powertrains make their good fuel economy possible.

You might not think so, but you can a get a more fuel-efficient pickup truck, and you don’t have to give up size to do it.

According to the EPA, the most fuel-efficient 2022 model-year pickup trucks is a mixed bag, with the turbodiesel-powered Chevrolet and GMC providing some of the best numbers for towing and payload among midsize pickups. But the Ford and Ram gas-electric hybrids offer more capability, albeit at higher prices.

Note that GMC will not reveal pricing on its diesel-powered Canyon, noting that consumers should “see dealer for pricing.” Now there’s something to look forward to.

via The Detroit Bureau

By Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder of eDriving

In driver risk management, efforts are typically focused on preventing collisions from occurring, and on reducing the seriousness of collisions that do occur.

At a company level, this often involves efforts to reduce dangerous behaviors such as speeding, distracted driving and tired driving, as well as reinforcing safer behaviors, such as the use of seat belts, not handling phones while driving, and leaving a safe following distance.

However, an aspect of driver risk management that receives little attention is emergency response, and companies don’t always consider the role they can play in looking after their drivers in their most critical time of need.

The unfortunate reality is that crashes continue to occur.

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Focus on Electric Vehicles Takes Front and Center

By Tod Trousdell

While this year’s Work Truck Show seemed to forgo any specific theme, the week’s proceedings left little doubt in anyone’s mind about the real focus of this year’s convention.

Electrification and electric vehicles.

From manufacturers eager to showcase new models, to allied service providers anxious to prove their EV readiness, it was impossible to wander more than a few feet around the Indianapolis Convention Center without swallowing a heaping helping of all things electric.

Perhaps most encouraging, attendance was robust. And attendees were excited and engaged. All good signs that hopefully the challenges of the last two years are receding, and that the trucking, fleet, and vehicle spaces have their best days ahead.

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