By Kevin Dennehy, Editor, Location Business News

Germany-based PTV Group has entered the U.S. fleet tracking market with a new truck navigation app. CEO Christian Haas says the new PTV Truck Navigator G2 optimally complements the existing tracking systems.

PTV Group will use TomTom [TOM2] to power its maps, truck routing and other functions. PTV Truck Navigator G2 will consider a truck’s size, weight, cargo, road hazard restrictions and tunnels to calculate a route, the company said. Much of the route information comes from TomTom’s database of traffic data, historical traffic patterns and predictions, the company said.

TomTom, which has worked with PTV Group in Europe for 10 years, says the expansion will allow businesses to have more accessible location data. “By making fresh and accurate location easily assessable to businesses, we can create safer and more comfortable experiences for drivers and end-customers,” said Mike Schoofs, TomTom Enterprise managing director, in a statement.

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How high will gas prices go in 2023? When will the supply chain return to some semblance of normalcy? And what will it take for vehicle availability to finally pick back up?

By Ted Roberts, President, FMW

These days, there are a lot of important questions circling around fleet. Which is exactly why Fleet Management Weekly has teamed up with FLD Remarketing to introduce The Fleet Poll, a bi-weekly poll that will present questions on topics where fleet professionals want deeper insights.

The poll takes less than 30 seconds to answer two multiple choice questions. If you have a topic or question you’d like to know more about – we’d love to have you as a “guest asker” for a future fleet poll.

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Vehicle-to-everything turns an EV charging system into a revenue center

By Scott Brierley, Director of Automotive and Strategic Partnerships, Fermata Energy

The conversation around EVs is evolving rapidly, giving fleet managers a new way to measure their fleet’s positive impact on their company’s bottom line. What’s the change? EVs are batteries on wheels that enable fleet owners and operators to earn revenue from their local utility while their EVs are parked.

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) bidirectional charging systems is the technology that makes this possible. This means that EV charging stations for fleet owners and operators are shifting from a cost center to a revenue generator, reducing the cost of acquiring, owning, and operating EVs.

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As F-150 Lightning customers begin their first winter with their new electric pickup, Ford wants to help make them aware that in low temperatures they could see a significant reduction in range, which is normal.

All-electric vehicles experience energy decreases in cold temperatures due to battery cell chemistry. Temperatures below 40°F cause the electrolyte fluid to become sluggish, limiting how much power is available to discharge and how quickly the vehicle’s battery can charge.

To help maximize your F-150 Lightning range in winter, here are some tips:

More tips at Ford

The average price of a gallon of gas is now sitting at $3.55, according to AAA. That’s just about the lowest price we have seen since February of this year.

Average prices are down 11 cents in just one week. The price for a barrel of oil is hovering right around $74. That’s down 35 percent since June alone. Protests in China over Covid-19 lockdowns and global economic slowdowns are being fingered as the reasons for the downturn in prices.

To help matters even more, the Energy Information Administration says gas demand actually fell last week from 8.74 million to 8.33 million barrels. At the same time, total domestic gasoline stock rose more than 3 million barrels to 211 million.

via Jalopnik

On November 25, VinFast held a ceremony to mark its first batch of exports of all-electric cars to international markets. The Vietnamese brand sent a total of 999 units of the VF 8 model to the US.

Previously, the VinFast VF 8 was available only in Vietnam. The next step, following the US market launch, will be the export of the VF 8 to Canada and Europe, as well as other international markets in the Q1

VinFast reports that so far it collected roughly 65,000 global orders for the VF 8 and VF 9 electric SUVs (the VF 9 will be launched in Vietnam and international markets in Q1 2023).

via InsideEVs

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

The ongoing war in the Ukraine has negatively impacted energy markets in a significant way for the unforeseeable future.

Such a scenario coupled with all-time high inflation rates will continue to contribute to volatile prices and make evaluations around trends such as fuel, acquisition, and supply chain even more critical to keep fleets running profitably.

Keeping up with evolving market developments and being agile will position your business to manage fleet costs amidst uncertainty.

Download the 2022 Q4 Trends Report brought to you by Element.

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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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It seems like every region has its own idea of what constitutes dangerous roads. AAA recently released its list of the United States’ most dangerous roads, and some of the top picks may surprise you.

Officially known as U.S. Route 550, local legend says Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway got its moniker after an early traveler proclaimed she’d have to be paid $1 million to drive it again.

Florida doesn’t have Colorado’s mountains, but it does have another lurking danger: It’s one of roughly half the country’s states without a full ban on using a handheld cellphone while driving. That might help explain why a recent study found that 17 of the 100 deadliest roads in America were in the Sunshine State, the most in the country.

via Autoblog