By Laura Jozwiak

Flying has become routine for me—a means to connect with clients, partners, and industry events scattered across the globe. Ideally, air travel should be seamless—a symphony of on-time departures, smooth flights, and courteous passengers and crew.

Yet, as in any industry, turbulence disrupts the tranquility. It’s a scenario with which we’re all too familiar. People get stressed, tempers flare, and small annoyances become big distractions.

Amidst the turbulence, the importance of exceptional customer service emerges as a beacon of hope. Enter flight attendant Morgan Hearns, an example of service excellence, whose recent encounter on a flight demonstrated the stark contrast between mediocrity and true customer-centricity.

READ MORE

By Tod Trousdell, Fleet Marketing Consultant and Partner, RobertsTrousdell Marketing and Communications

At Fleet Management Weekly, we’re huge fans of the professional fleet managers who are the core of our industry! Especially top fleet leaders like David Hayward of ABM.

A popular and well-known fleet manager, David drops in to tell us his thoughts on today’s fleet space and a little bit more about what makes him tick, his family, and even what he considers the perfect meal!

What about the fleet industry keeps you up at night?
CARB! I know many of my peers are chuckling as they read this. But never has an acronym garnered such reactions within fleet.

READ MORE

By Fred Fakkema, VP of Safety and Compliance, Zonar

America depends on its truck drivers to keep the economy moving, but in this high-pressure environment, meeting delivery deadlines can come at the cost of safety practices.

The rush to meet deadlines can lead to speeding, violating driving-hour regulations, and pencil-whipping one of the most crucial steps to safe driving: inspections.

Fortunately, modern telematics, which include electronically verified inspection reports and other vital data, can build efficiency and thoroughness into a fleet’s safety procedures.

Even beyond inspections, telematics can be useful in gathering vital data such as speed, acceleration, braking, and GPS location to streamline operations, manage costs and proactively address issues that could impact a carrier’s safety record.

READ MORE

In the 2026-to-2028 timeframe, research suggests that 79% of vehicle shoppers (both new and used) will be considering an electric vehicle. By 2033, 90% of all vehicle shoppers will have electric vehicles on their lists.

“While we’ve seen EV sales growth slow and consideration dip, we believe this is part of a normal growth curve and not the end of the story,” said Isabelle Helms, vice president of Research and Market Intelligence at Cox Automotive.

via Cox Automotive

Conventional gas-electric hybrid vehicles can be more eco-friendly than their gasoline-only counterparts, but they also can be more economical. Fuel savings can eventually outweigh any price premium for the hybrid powertrain, but since a hybrid is a more complex vehicle, will you give back some of that economy with higher costs for maintenance and repairs?

The answer on regular maintenance for a hybrid, including normal wear and tear, is generally no — at least for many years of use. The answer on repairs is more complicated and applies to common parallel hybrids, not to more expensive and complex plug-in hybrids that are designed to operate as full electric vehicles part of the time.

via Cars.com

Since news of Tesla’s abrupt EV charging layoffs surfaced, executives at charging companies say they have been receiving phone calls from landlords looking for a new partner for their private charging projects after Tesla pulled out.

“It’s going to delay NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) rollout. There’s no question about it,” said Aatish Patel, co-founder of XCharge North America, which makes EV chargers for fleets and charging station operators. If Tesla backs out, then the solicitation by states for NEVI-funded charging projects starts over, he told Reuters. “A lot of these sites aren’t going to get built this year, or within the time frames that were initially dictated.”

via Reuters

Power outages cost American businesses about $150 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, so having a solution when power goes out is critical.

Some electric vehicles allow bi-directional charging, meaning they can receive power to charge their batteries, but can also give power to a home or business when the grid fails.

GM Energy sells bundle dubbed Ultium Home V2H Bundle that includes a bi-directional charger, an inverter, a home hub, and a dark start battery. This kit can dispense 9.6kW of power and can safely disconnect your home from the grid. Separately, GM Energy also offers a PowerBank to store energy from solar or off-peak grid power in case you want to prepare for the worst.

via MotorTrend

Opus IVS announced results from its industry study to better understand how the strategic adoption of diagnostic solutions significantly enhances the efficiency and profitability of collision repair shops.

Key findings indicate that the right diagnostic solution can minimize issues related to insurance reimbursement processes, reduce technician shortages, and improve overall operational efficiency. 

Click here to see the full study results whitepaper and for more information on how Opus IVS’s diagnostic solutions are helping collision repair shops mitigate insurance reimbursement issues and technician shortages, please visit www.opusivs.com.

READ MORE

By Tod Trousdell, Fleet Marketing Consultant and Partner/RobertsTrousdell Communications

How do upfitters actually decide which products they’re going to develop each year? And, what goes into the design and manufacturing process that makes one upfitter different from another?

Looking for a little clarity on the subject, as I walked the floor at this year’s NAFA I & E, I decided to ask some of the industry’s top providers how they develop products for customer upfits.

At Ranger Design, product design is, perhaps, the most important function of the company, according to Peter Young, EVP of Business Development.

For the team at JP Poindexter-owned Masterack, determining which products to produce “revolves around the customer,” according to Wayne Steele, VP of Engineering.

READ MORE

By Tod Trousdell, Fleet Marketing Consultant and partner, RobertsTrousdell Marketing and Communications

After several challenging years caused by the pandemic and a perception that it was a largely a government fleet-focused event, the NAFA I & E came roaring back with a 2024 edition that had fleet professionals buzzing.

Held on April 22-24, this year’s I & E saw over 2,100 attendees pack the San Antonio Convention Center for three spirited days of networking, learning, and exploring new products with their fleet peers.

The event also featured packed sessions, keynote speakers, an immersive Ride & Drive, and an interactive innovation zone where exhibiting companies displayed new products and services.

READ MORE