by Mark Thomas, VP of Marketing and Alliances, Ridecell

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and the holiday shipping season is upon us. But while your customers are hoping that their special holiday deliveries arrive on time, more thieves are on the lookout for unattended vehicles and cargo.

Holiday theft can be incredibly costly. Between December 23, 2021, and January 2, 2022, the average cost of a single stolen shipment was $151,199. The primary targets? Electronics, televisions, and major appliances.

With digital key technology, you can enhance your fleet protection by improving theft deterrence and detection and speeding up recovery if it does occur—and enjoy a more peaceful holiday season knowing your fleet will never get away from you.

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By Ted Roberts

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to attend my first Fleet Forward Conference in Santa Clara, CA.

Excellent conferences include a balanced mix of educational and networking opportunities, and this one did not disappoint. Fleet Forward offered a convergence of established fleet managers and fleet vendors with newcomers who are entering the fleet space. Established just five years ago, Fleet Forward continues to grow, welcoming over six hundred attendees this year.

Electrification, of course, was a key topic at the conference — but it shared the stage with connected vehicles, preventive maintenance, ESG, fleet data, and other timely topics.

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Lexus (Premium) and Honda (Mass Market) Receive Brand Awards; Kia Receives Most Model Awards

The resale value a vehicle carries is consistently cited as one of the most important elements vehicle shoppers consider when purchasing a new vehicle. The J.D. Power 2023 ALG Residual Value Awards have increased importance in today’s market for both automakers and consumers, given the recent increases in the cost of new and used vehicles.

For a third consecutive year, Lexus receives the brand award for best premium brand. For a second consecutive year, Honda receives the brand award for best mass market brand. Kia receives the most model awards overall and is the most improved mass market brand year over year.

“This year’s achievement by Kia speaks volumes about how far the brand has come,” said Eric Lyman, vice president of ALG, the division of J.D. Power recognized as the industry benchmark of automotive residual value projections. “The marketplace is acknowledging that Kia has a very strong product lineup in terms of design, quality and residual values. Kia has become a force to be reckoned with.”

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In 2010, almost half of smartphone subscribers in the U.S. used BlackBerrys. After its phones fell out of favor with users, BlackBerry altered its course, taking some of the cornerstones of the business with it.

“After a few years, we realized that we would never get the volume up — and it’s a volume game,” said John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry. “And so we made that pivotal shift to a software-only company and focus on security and cyber and things of that sort.”

Its cybersecurity unit focuses on securing things such as smartphone applications and mobile banking websites.

via CNBC

Despite the benefits, only a fraction of U.S. drivers use winter tires. They account for only about 2.1% of replacement tire sales. That’s partly because of the cost, partly because most people have no idea how much better they perform.

The difference in steering, accelerating and braking is enough that drivers in many parts of the world wouldn’t consider trusting the same tires on a sunny, 90-degree Fahrenheit day and a damp, 40-degree one, much less in an actual winter storm.

Winter tires, sometimes called snow tires, have different tread patterns. Like an iceberg, though, 90% of the substance is hidden under the surface. Winter tires are made of rubber compounds created to improve traction at low temperatures.

via Detroit Free Press

As the weather gets colder across the U.S., more people are likely letting their car “warm up” for a few minutes before they get in and drive. It doesn’t make sense from a technological standpoint, and it may be illegal where you live.

The average American thought a car should idle for at least five minutes when it’s below freezing out. A modern car heats up in about 30 seconds once you start moving, making a five-minute warmup really just an exercise in wasting emissions.

Most laws about idling refer to commercial, diesel-powered vehicles. In general, though, the places where it’s illegal to idle a vehicle only come into effect after around five minutes. One exception is New York City, where the limit is three minutes.

via Car & Driver

Domino’s Pizza is electrifying pizza delivery by adding more than 800 custom-branded 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EVs to its US fleet.

Arriving at select Domino’s stores throughout the country in the coming months, the Bolt EVs will form the largest electric pizza delivery fleet in the United States. The company says EVs provide several advantages for its stores, including ample battery life with the potential to have days of deliveries, zero tailpipe emissions, advanced safety features and lower average maintenance costs than non-electric vehicles – including avoiding the financial impact of high gas prices.

In addition, electric fleet vehicles also provide more opportunity to attract delivery drivers who don’t have a car of their own.

via InsideEVs

Even as interest rates rise, strong demand for new vehicles could serve as the difference between a mild and a more serve recession in 2023, according to economists at the University of Michigan.

A potential beacon of hope comes in the form of the auto sector, where sales of new light vehicles might be ready to boost growth. Both sales and the pace of production have improved recently.

Rising inventory-to-sales ratios should help meet pent-up demand and could curb price inflation.

The researchers say the backlog of demand caused by supply chain shortages during the pandemic recovery could “prove to be a silver lining as the economy cools.” Couple that with the industry’s shift to electrification, which should support near-term labor demand with investments in assembly and battery production plants, the U-M forecast notes.

via The Detroit Bureau

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.

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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.

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