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FleetManagementWeekly
November 16, 2022

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Editor’s Analysis & Top Industry News

Let Your Voice Be Heard

We are making a change to our bi-weekly fleet poll we host with FLD Remarketing.

Instead of asking the poll questions ourselves, going forward we will be turning to fleet professionals from all segments of the industry to ask a question of their choosing focused on topics like inflation and fuel prices, vehicle availability, supply chain issues, and electrification.

The question for our next poll comes from Peter Young, SVP of Ranger Design, one of the industry’s leading upfitters. To see his question and to take the two-question poll, (which takes less than a minute and requires no signup or info) click on http://www.fldinc.com/poll and let your voice be heard.

We were in the room when Jonathan Kamanns of Boehringer Ingelheim was honored with the Edward J. Bobit Fleet Manager of the Year Award at the recent AFLA Conference. This week, we are delighted to feature the first video clip from our post-conference interview with him.

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief


VIDEO: Advice for Newbies from the Fleet Manager of the Year

Some great advice for new fleet managers on what they should do – both internally and externally – from the Fleet Manager of the Year.

VIDEO: Today’s Fleet Challenges


  When Facing Today’s Fleet Challenges: Get Creative
 

There are a lot of challenges facing fleet managers today, and it’s time to get creative.


VIDEO: Electric Vehicles

  How Does the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Impact You?
 

How does the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 impact you and your electric vehicle program? For fleets, Section 30C and Section 45 provide potential rebates and credits. View this video for the basics on the clean vehicle provisions in HR 5376!


Spotlight

Automatic Emergency Braking Reduces Rear-end Crashes for Pickups - Few Are Equipped Automatic Emergency Braking Reduces Rear-end Crashes for Pickups but Few Are Equipped

Automatic emergency braking (AEB) reduces rear-end crash rates for pickups dramatically, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows.

But despite the heightened danger they pose to other road users, pickups are less likely to be equipped with the crash avoidance feature than cars or SUVs.

“Pickups account for 1 out of 5 passenger vehicles on U.S. roads, and their large size can make them dangerous to people in smaller vehicles or on foot,” said study author Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research at IIHS.

READ MORE

New Study by Solera Shows 67% of Americans Say Video-based Safety Systems Would Improve Fleet Driver Safety New Study by Solera Shows 67% of Americans Say Video-based Safety Systems Would Improve Fleet Driver Safety

Solera Holdings, LLC, released new research underscoring the importance of safety-based technologies in commercial fleets.

The findings show that despite safety efforts deployed by many fleets, Americans feel greatly impacted by unsafe fleet driving behaviors – and there’s a clear opportunity for technology to play a role in making drivers safer.

“The industry has come a long way in improving driver safety standards, and it’s important that we continue on this journey collectively – especially as there are public perceptions to overcome,” said Michal Yariv VP and GM of Strategic Initiatives at Solera.

READ MORE

Fleet Success Summit 2023: Why It’s a Must for Fleet Professionals

By Steve Saltzgiver

Wow! It’s hard to believe we’re coming up on another year since the inaugural Fleet Success Summit was held in Mesa, AZ!

However, I’m really looking forward to our second event March 21-22, 2023, at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas! This year the slogan of ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ will be violated as attendees will take back some priceless fleet management gems and best practices to significantly improve their operations.

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FMW Brand Acceleration FMW: New Branding and Marketing Support for Fleet Product and Service Providers

Customized Approach Ensures a Perfect Fit from Tactical Projects to Integrated Strategic Efforts

Whether your business has an internal marketing team, relies on an agency, or calls on multiple specialists, FMW has a new, customized, fleet-specific branding program — FMW Fleet Brand Acceleration – that can meet any marketing and sales generation need or budget.

It’s Easy to Get Started

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A Better Future


by Steve Bender, AFLA President

As your new AFLA President, I feel compelled to share a small peek at the source of some of my wisdom.

As I write this, I’m staring into a secret crystal ball given to me a long time ago by an extremely powerful wizard.

Suddenly, I realize the real power of having a crystal ball is not using it to predict the future (that would be ludicrous), but rather to remind myself that – like the folks in my crystal ball -when good people work together, it can make our future a far better place.

So in the spirit of the upcoming season, and with a wee nudge to help move fleet FORWARD TOGETHER – I’d like to share a few important thoughts on what I see ahead for our own special little world – the amazing fleet industry we all know and love.

READ MORE

 

Continuous License Monitoring


by Adam Danielson, Director of Business Development, Solera | SuperVision

Drivers are the largest source of liability risk for fleets.

On average, commercial fleets report a 20% crash rate per year. Accident and out-of-service costs continue to represent one of the largest fleet expenses, with motor vehicle accidents costing employers more than $56 billion and out-of-service costs for fleets going as high as $760 per vehicle per day.

It gets worse. The size of legal awards for on-the-job motor vehicle accidents is also soaring.

In 2019, the average liability verdict award was $17.5 million, and the highest jury verdict for that year was a record-setting $280 million. And while some of these cases involved a wrongful death charge, more of them were due to negligence.

READ MORE

 

Transitioning to EVs


Fleet operators should not delay in putting robust plans in place to transition to electric vehicles or consider new mobility solutions, despite a series of unprecedented external factors, such as increasing energy costs and uncertain new vehicle supply due to the global semiconductor shortage.

That’s the view of Samuel Kellner-Steinmetz, the Chief Sales Officer of Fleet Logistics Group, who says that, while it may be tempting to delay plans to go electric or introduce mobility options in such a volatile environment, legislative change means that the clock is steadily ticking.

For example, EU legislation will continue to promote electrification, while air quality standards will get tougher over the next few years, meaning that delay is not an option. The European Commission has just announced a requirement for a 60% Europe-wide cut in particulate matter from light commercial vehicles by 2030 under revisions to its ambient Air Quality Directives.

READ MORE


Trending

Consumer Reports: EVs Less Reliable Because of Newer Technologies

When compared with hybrid and gas-powered cars and trucks, electric vehicles powered entirely by batteries were the worst-performing segment, aside from traditional full-size pickup trucks, according to Consumer Reports.

“The automakers are using EVs as a technological testbed for whatever new technology they want to try out,” Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports told CNBC. “By having all this new technology, there’s a lot of potential problems with them.”

Unlike all-electric vehicles, hybrid cars and trucks were among the most reliable in the study. That’s largely because many hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, have been on the market for years, so automakers have been able to work out problems they’ve encountered.

-via CNBC

GM’s exploring V2H, V2G, and Virtual Power Plant capabilities for EVs

General Motors is looking to accelerate the adoption of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities in EVs. A new partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric will investigate integrating bidirectional charging into the grid to improve energy distribution.

In October, GM introduced a new business unit called GM Energy, which aims to “reimagine” our energy system with a host of new products, dedicated backup home power, and a network of charging stations.

GM and SDG&E will take a holistic approach, studying solutions needed to accelerate vehicle-to-grid adoption, which includes creating systems to help utility providers and automakers tap into cloud-based energy management platforms and distributed energy resources (EVs with V2G) to create Virtual Power Plants.

via Electrek

After Criticism, Winston-Salem Looks to Add Hybrid Vehicles to Fleet

Winston-Salem is set to take the first step toward a cleaner-burning fleet with the proposed purchase of eight hybrids and is scaling back a plan to buy dozens of all-gasoline pickup trucks while it explores alternatives.

City council’s finance committee on Nov. 7 unanimously endorsed a nearly $335,000 request for five Ford Interceptor hybrid police pursuit vehicles at $40,441 each, and three Ford F-150 hybrid pickups costing $44,226 apiece.

The hybrid shift comes two weeks after climate-conscious residents, including a citizens panel that advises the city on its sustainability efforts, criticized the city for its purchase of the police vehicles.

via Winston-Selem Journal

Ford vs. GM: Same Industry, Two Increasingly Different Companies

The investment cases for America’s largest automakers are increasingly diverging as the companies — separated by just $1 billion in market value — have taken different tacks around electric and autonomous vehicles.

GM has been diversifying as much as possible around its emerging battery and self-driving vehicle businesses alongside a plan to exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035. Ford is moving into EVs, too, but keeping up investments in its traditional businesses at the same time.

Last month Ford announced it would disband its Argo AI autonomous vehicle unit saying it didn’t have faith in the business or its potential for monetization in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, GM’s Cruise said it was expanding its robotaxi service to cover most of San Francisco.

via CNBC

Fleet Technologies


The best dash cam for safety, security or just recording curiosities that happen on the road will depend on a few key features.

It’s hard to choose since there are so many dash cams on the market, most from brands you don’t know.

All dash cams have the same core purpose that makes them unique among digital cameras: They record live (not time lapse) video as you drive, running in a continuous loop, the “length” of which varies by the amount of storage in the cam. Every feature beyond that is optional and, often, superfluous.

First, think about your budget: You can spend tens to hundreds of dollars on a dash cam, but start with a rough idea of what your reason for having one is worth. If you want to record evidence of a crash you’re involved in, that’s easily worth hundreds of dollars; If you just want to capture the occasional YouTube moment, that might warrant spending less than $100.

via CNET

 

Lane Keeping Technology


By Art Liggio, Chairman, Driving Dynamics

As fleet operators modernize their inventory, most vehicles are ordered with the latest Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) features.

While automation is predominantly touted in all of the advertising related to ADAS, critical functions of many these systems still heavily rely on the successful and correct use by the driver.

A common feature now installed in new vehicles is Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), which is designed to detect if a vehicle is wandering out of its lane. LKA will automatically make steering corrections to return the vehicle back to its proper position within the lane.

There is a very useful feature, however, in everyday driving situations that fundamentally relies on the driver to use a safety system that’s been installed in vehicles for more than 80 years…

READ MORE

 

Smart Fleet Maintenance


By FMW Editorial Staff

No area of fleet management is immune to the advancement of technology. From updated EVs to evolving charging technology, fleets are able to take advantage of technology to streamline every part of the management process.

One of these areas is maintenance, a major factor in the health and safety of vehicles and drivers alike. Using their Mobile IoT-driven suite, Connixt is seeking to digitize and automate maintenance, giving mechanics and technicians the ability to modernize the process and save time and money.

We sat down with Connixt CEO and Co-founder G. Satish to hear more about how Connixt is revolutionizing the maintenance industry with a user-friendly new application

READ MORE





Fleet Management Resources

 

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

FLD
The fast, easy way to remarket without risk. Get an offer in hours, paid in a few days. Improve TCO. Save time, money and resources.

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

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

Fleet Street
Fleet Street has 30+ years of experience and knowledge using a spectrum of wholesale and retail channels to simplify your involvement in the remarketing process.

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

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.

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

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




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