GM’s Upcoming EVs Will Now Have up to 450 Miles of Range, Next-Gen Ultium Batteries Already Being Tested
Since 40% of U.S. entries will be electric vehicles by the end of 2025, GM is investing heavily in them. As a result, they’re planning to spend $27 billion on autonomous and electric vehicles through the middle of the decade. That’s $7 billion more than originally planned, before the coronavirus pandemic.
These investments are already paying off as GM announced engineering advances have increased the estimated maximum range of Ultium-based vehicles from 400 miles to 450 miles. That’s a sizable jump in less than a year and the increase is nearly equal to the 55 mile range of the entry-level EV1 from 1999.
GM said Ultium packs cost nearly 40% less than those used in the Chevrolet Bolt. More importantly, the company announced the first details about the second-generation of Ultium batteries which are expected in the middle of the decade.
Read the article at Carscoops.
Another Study Shows Just How Careless Driver Assist Tech is Making Us
The closer cars get to driving themselves, the more distracted we’ll become behind the wheel. It’s hardly a surprising thought, but it’s been supported once again by a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab.
For this experiment, 20 Massachusetts drivers were given one of two cars with differing assisted-driving technologies to use for a month. Ten were provided with a Range Rover Evoque equipped with adaptive cruise control, while the other 10 were supplied with a Volvo S90 outfitted not only with adaptive cruise control but also Volvo’s Pilot Assist system.
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that after the month was over, all participants were more likely to exhibit habits of “disengagement” compared with their driving of a vehicle without assistance technology. Disengagement is what the IIHS calls behaviors like removing both hands from the wheel or diverting attention from the road to use cellphones and adjust vehicle controls
Read the article at Jalopnik.
The Solution to Your COVID-19 Budget Crisis is in the Parking Lot
By Ed Smith, President, Agile Fleet
A global pandemic is resulting in thousands of dollars per day worth of vehicles sitting idle in parking lots yet many financial officers, business analysts and fleet managers haven’t started making substantive adjustments to their operations.
The pandemic won’t end tomorrow. When will your organization make the changes to save, and even enhance, your fleet? The time is now. The good news is that it may not be as difficult as you may think.
Understanding the bottom-line costs of idle vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic is critical to saving, and perhaps even enhancing, your fleet and maybe even your enterprise.
Nearly every segment of the fleet market is experiencing low utilization rates. Idle vehicles are costing organizations hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per month. Yet, many fleets have not started making changes to the quantity, composition, or use of the fleet. Why?
California Offering $1,500 Point-of-Sale Rebate on Electric Cars and Plug-in Hybrids
California's new $1,500 electric rebate applies to all buyers and brands. You get it immediately - no waiting for a tax refund.
This "point-of-sale price reduction" is also applied on top of the state's own tax refund as well as the federal refund, if applicable. The reduction is taken off the price of the car at the point of sale by the dealer and the buyer doesn't need to do any paperwork after the fact.
The federal government offers a $7,500 tax refund for the purchase or lease of an electric car and many plug-in hybrids, but first, you have to pay enough tax to get that refund. Second, you have to buy something other than a Tesla or Chevrolet since those brands have long-since exceeded a sales quota the refund is applied too. And third, even if you've cleared hurdles one and two, you'll have to wait until the next tax season to see that money.
Read the article at Autoblog.
Sofico Sees Growing Success in UK
Sofico is seeing growing success in the UK with an increasing number of implementations for its Miles fleet and mobility management system, a doubling in size of its UK workforce and an expansion in office space.
The leading software provider to the global automotive finance, leasing and fleet and mobility management industry, Sofico set up a new regional office in the UK two years ago to better service the growing numbers of local customers.
Sofico Services UK Country Head, Roger Smith, said: “We have achieved self-sufficiency now in the UK, with growing staff numbers, increased resources and a number of exciting new projects ongoing with new and existing clients. And we have been able to expand the business during the pandemic through remote working which we transitioned to very early on during the lockdown with no loss of service to customers. However, we are now seeing a gradual return to the office, with up to 50% of the workforce in the office at any one time."
