By Ed Pierce, FMW Brand Acceleration

With advances in customer relationship management tools that incorporate every milestone in the buying cycle, companies can obtain more information about buyers and buying habits than ever before.

Many sales budgets are prepared on the basis of either incremental percentages or a number agreed with the team.

Neither method is as effective as customer-centric budget planning.

For companies that never viewed their business health from a customer-flow perspective before, it is eye-opening compared to the traditional approach.

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By Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder, eDriving

A smartphone-based driver safety and risk management program – are you serious?

The last 4+ years that our digital driver risk management program, Mentor by eDrivingsm, has been live with our customers globally, have been some of the most exciting and terrifying of my entire career.

According to the most recent analysis of Mentor in the Spring of 2022, we can reduce unsafe behaviors by risky drivers by up to 89% over 18 months!

Not bad for a program designed around turning smartphones from the culprit to the cure for risky behaviors.

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By Pitstop

Achieving a high level of performance from your vehicles is critical for the fleet’s success. However, managing an enterprise fleet with upwards of a thousand vehicles can take time and effort to do so consistently. As fleet costs per driver rise and vehicles become more complex, it’s critical to implement strategies that boost productivity while minimizing the impact of environmental disruptions. The good news is that many new technologies and services can identify performance gaps and allow predictive measures to be taken, lowering a fleet’s maintenance costs without compromising productivity.

Here are a few of the challenges and benefits of enterprise fleet maintenance. To read the full guide filled with helpful tips, visit Pitstop’s site here.

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Hyundai halted fleet deliveries for nine months last year, resuming in October. Fleet sales to customers, such as rental-car companies and local governments, accounted for only 2% of Hyundai sales in 2022.

“We wanted to make sure our dealers were flush with vehicles” during an industrywide, ongoing inventory famine caused by a shortage of microchips, Randy Parker, the company’s CEO says. “It’s not that we don’t love our fleet customers. We felt we owed it to our dealership network to focus on retail.”

via WardsAuto

Many older Hyundai and Kia vehicles lack a critical anti-theft device known as an engine immobilizer, and thieves know they can break rear windows without triggering an alarm system.

Thefts have become so commonplace that there are reports some major insurance providers are refusing to open new policies on affected Kias and Hyundais, while some drivers with existing coverage are paying higher and higher premiums.

Denying coverage or upping the price is becoming the common solution for many insurance agencies. Progressive generates an automatic denial message when Hyundai and Kia owners apply for an online quote in St. Louis and other disproportionately affected areas.

via Car and Driver

Electric vehicles might save you on fuel costs, but they are very expensive to fix and insure. Insurance companies charge more for electric vehicles in general, but some are totaling barely driven Teslas over massive repair bills with less than 10,000 miles on the clock.

It can be difficult to find anyone who can repair a Tesla in an affordable manner. Even Tesla itself can’t always figure it out. In 2021 a Tesla Model 3 owner was quoted $16,000 for a repair a local shop was able to complete for $700.

via Jalopnik

Following Tesla Motors’ recent pricing adjustment, with the Model 3 and Model Y getting deep price cuts, Ford announced it’s reducing the price of the 2023 Mustang Mach-E by up to $5900.

“We are not going to cede ground to anyone,” said Ford Model E chief customer officer Marin Gjaja in a statement. “We are producing more EVs to reduce customer wait times, offering competitive pricing and working to create an ownership experience that is second to none. Our customers are at the center of everything we do—as we continue to build thrilling and exciting electric vehicles, we will continue to push the boundaries to make EVs more accessible for everybody.”

If you are an existing Mach-E customer waiting for your SUV to be delivered, Ford will retroactively apply the new pricing model to your purchase.

via Road & Track

By Juice Americas

After a difficult year dealing with electric vehicle (EV) availability and supply chain shortfalls, the U.S. EV market will rebound in 2023 and beyond, predicts Lars Thomsen, a world-recognized futurist speaking on behalf of Juice Americas Inc.

“The Inflation Reduction Act and high gas prices, along with a lot of new compelling products across the board, have created a new momentum for the EV adoption in the U.S.,” says Thomsen.

In parallel, Thomsen says, charging infrastructure will have to keep pace with EVs.

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By FMW Editorial Staff

Fleet Management Weekly recently had the opportunity to interview Adam Danielson, Director of Business Development, Supervision, a part of Solera Fleet Solutions.

The company is a leader in providing fleet-safety solutions that permit effective fleet oversight, keep drivers safe, and reduce corporate risk and liability.

There are continually growing challenges for today’s fleet, risk and safety managers. One is the dramatic increase in post-COVID vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Driving distraction remains a tenacious cause of accidents.

Finally, the costs for companies facing driver-related negligent entrustment or vicarious liability judgments grow every year.

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By FMW Editorial Staff

Fleet Management Weekly sat down several weeks ago with Alex Dimitrijevic, the National Fleet Director for Reviver, to discuss the company’s digital license plate, an innovative product changing the game for registration renewals and fleet management.

Dimitrijevic, said, “Reviver is the first company in the world that has developed a digital license plate to replace the current metal license plate.

For 120+ years cars have advanced technologically, so why not the plate?”

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