Sofico, a global leader in software solutions for enhanced automotive and mobility services, announced its expansion in the North American market with its U.S. office in Dallas, TX.

Mike Reinlein, General Manager of Sofico North America, stated, “We look forward to introducing Miles Enterprise for businesses providing automotive finance, leasing, fleet, and mobility management services. The platform represents a paradigm shift in asset and contract lifecycle management with unparalleled user flexibility, security, and efficiency.”

Miles Enterprise is designed to grow and evolve with a company. Its Miles Microservices system leverages the power of the cloud to enable multi-modal IT in conjunction with Miles.

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By Brian Antonellis, CTP, Senior Vice President of Fleet Operations, Fleet Advantage

One of the hottest buzz phrases of 2024 is turning out to be “hidden fees.” For many businesses, including transportation fleet, the prices we see in plain sight are rarely the prices we end up paying.

The pandemic and rapidly changing economy made it important to scrutinize every detail of a fleet’s vehicle lease structure, especially as this meant the difference of millions gained or lost toward the bottom line.

Today, the industry’s penchant for hidden fees has only exacerbated this problem further, underscoring the importance of transparency in lease structures. Companies utilizing Full-Service Leases are paying the price for this lack of transparency.

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Stellantis created Mobilisights to harness the data collected from over 14 million connected vehicles worldwide, a number that they’re looking to increase to 34 million by 2030.

Mobilisights represents the exclusive licensing partner for Stellantis’ 14 vehicle brands, including Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and others in Europe and North America.

“Upon user consent, we extract connected vehicle data from those vehicles,” says Eddie Nath, Head of North America Sales, and Vice President for Mobilisights. “We bring them into a single platform… and make the data as a subscription feature available to our customers, which include large fleets, fleet management companies, telematics service providers, rental car companies…”

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Software fixes are now responsible for more than 1 in 5 automotive recalls. That’s the key finding from a decade’s worth of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall data.

While that’s a sign of growing inconvenience for drivers, the silver lining is that a software patch is usually a much quicker fix than something requiring hardware replacement.

“Our analysis suggests we’re witnessing a shift in how automotive recalls are handled. The growing number of software-related recalls, coupled with the ability to address issues remotely, could revolutionize the recall process for both manufacturers and vehicle owners,” said a spokesperson for DeMayo Law.

via Ars TECHNICA

Engineers can more easily achieve high horsepower and torque numbers with EV designs than with gas-powered cars. To add power to gasoline cars, engineers must give them powerful engines, turbochargers or superchargers, and more robust driveline components to handle the power. But they can add power to many electric cars with a few lines of code.

But putting all that power in more driveways may also lead to more accidents. LexisNexis data shows that EVs have 17% more claims than gas-powered cars, and 34% higher claim severity. Insurers are starting to treat higher-powered trim levels of some EVs as riskier.

via Kelley Blue Book

image: IIHS

Drivers are more likely to multitask when using partial automation, and some manage to do so even while playing by the rules of the systems’ attention requirements, new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows.

“These results are a good reminder of the way people learn,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “If you train them to think that paying attention means nudging the steering wheel every few seconds, then that’s exactly what they’ll do.”

Drivers were much more likely to check their phones, eat a sandwich or do other visual-manual activities while using partial automation system than when driving unassisted, a monthlong study of driver behavior that IIHS conducted with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab showed.

via IIHS

GM EV drivers can breathe a sigh of relief when their vehicle needs a charge as the automaker announced that their cars are now compatible with Tesla’s expansive Supercharging network. Chevy, Cadillac, and GMC will all be able to take advantage of the change.

It’s not quite an early Christmas gift though, as owners will need to buy a “GM Approved” SAE J3400 adapter through the app of each respective GM brand for $225 for the vehicles to be able to “talk” to the Tesla Superchargers. The adapters will arrive in the US first, with a Canadian release following later this year.

via Autoblog

By Fleet Management Weekly Staff

With a fleet composed of thousands of vehicles, tractors, and trailers, Bimbo Bakeries is leading the way in electrification and phasing out harmful fossil fuels. 

We spoke with Eric McCann, the Senior Director for Fleet Operations in the US, to better understand Bimbo Bakeries’ fleets.

Tell me about the Bimbo fleet.
“Bimbo Bakeries USA currently has about 4,700 routes. We’re maintaining around 5,500 vehicles, 350 tractors, and 2,500 trailers. Sustainability-wise, we’re heavily invested in propane and EVs.”

“My advice for new fleet managers just getting into the EV world is… start way earlier than you think you need to. I’m talking two or three years out. Start to understand your chassis vendor, what you’ll need, the charge rates, the technology in the truck…”

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By FMW – FleetWiki

Editor’s Note:  Fleet Management Weekly and FleetWiki, the fleet industry’s foremost knowledge base of fleet-related technologies, prepared this — the second — in a series of ‘Fleetology’ articles based on FleetWiki content.

By Dan Belknap, Vice President of Product Management, Wheels

“Think different” is a slogan for a very famous company that I often use as a mantra in my professional and personal life. I see the spirit of this philosophy woven into the thoughtful and creative experiences that Wheels strives to bring to our clients.

As fleet professionals, we are constantly being challenged to come up with new ways to simplify complex processes, control costs, boost employee satisfaction and productivity, keep our drivers and roads safe and reduce our environmental footprints.

Thanks to the advent of digital fleet technologies transforming traditional fleet management services and transport systems, companies are adopting innovative transportation solutions, often described as ‘multi-modality.’

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