Come 2022, New-Car Launches Will Nearly Double, Half Of Them EVs Or Hybrids
In its annual "Car Wars" report, Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicts a wave of new-car launches coming in 2022 at nearly double the rate of the past two decades and nearly half of those new-product introductions will be EVs or hybrids.
The analysis looks out four years into the future. Next year, 2021, is predicted to see a total of 40 new vehicles. That pace will jump to 77 in 2022, according to the report, and will remain elevated with 70 introductions in 2023 and 63 in 2024. EVs and hybrids are a big driver of that total and are expected to comprise 49 percent of the total new-model intros over the next four years (EVs being 26 percent and hybrids 23 percent).
The biggest increase by segment is crossovers, which account for nearly half the total (49 percent). Light trucks at 28 percent are the next-biggest segment. The three passenger-car segments — luxury/sport, mid/large, and small — each comprise less than 10 percent of the total.
Read the article at Autoblog.
Combating Climate Change — One Fleet At a Time
As reported in today’s Washington Post, a new Pew Research Center survey revealed that “Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the federal government should act more aggressively to combat climate change…” This includes significant majorities who would “require more fuel-efficient cars and tax corporations based on their emissions.”
Serendipitously, NAFA Fleet Management Association president Patty Earley today unveiled NAFA's newest educational program: Sustainable Fleet Certificate & Summer Series. Earley says, “Pulitzer Prize Winner Thomas Friedman has cautioned that the pandemic is a warm-up for climate crisis.” Indeed it is. Once again, we applaud NAFA for its strong leadership in fleet education.
There is still time to register for Wednesday's webinar: Fleet Business Strategies During the Pandemic and Recovery Afterward: What Practices Will Become Permanent? June 25, 2:00 to 3:30 PM EDT : Register here!
Stay Well & Drive Safety!
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
Looking To Buy A Used Car? Hertz Is Selling Thousands At Bankruptcy Bargain Prices
Hertz's current fleet consists of roughly 700,000 rental cars, which have greatly diminished in value due to a sharp drop in used car prices caused by a free fall in auto sales stemming from the pandemic.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. racked up more than $24 billion in debt by the end of March, according to its bankruptcy filing, with only $1 billion in available cash.
In a search on the Hertz website within 1,000 miles from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, there were more than 23,500 cars available Saturday with a 2017 Hyundai Elantra SE Sedan with nearly 71,000 miles selling for $7,597. According to website iseecars, the car was selling for $1,740 below market price.
Read the article at USA Today.
Katherine Vigneau Joins fleetcompetence Group as Partner for North America
The fleet expert will advise the Group’s clients in Canada and the United States
Due to the unchanged internationalization in the field of business mobility, there are more European companies that wish to receive highly qualified consulting services as customers of the fleetcompetence Group in North America as well. To meet this need, the international consulting company has joined forces with Katherine Vigneau to further grow its fleet and mobility consulting services in these markets.
“With her vast experience in fleet management in the North American markets and her exceptional international experience, Katherine offers an excellent combination of know-how for the fleetcompetence Group's customers”, explains Thilo von Ulmenstein, Managing Partner of the company. “We are also pleased that Katherine's activities in terms of training and certification for NAFA also mirror our own training programs in Europe. This is an excellent combination.”
Sofico and BattMobility Launch Electric Car Share App
A partnership between fleet and mobility software provider, Sofico, and electric vehicle sharing specialist, BattMobility, has produced its first deliverable product - a vehicle reservation app for BattMobility customers to select, book and drive one of BattMobility’s electric cars, bikes or scooters.
Chief Technical Officer Piet Maes said the car-sharing app was an important development for the business with many of its customers looking to capitalize on the growing mobility trend of putting more people in fewer vehicles. “With the shift away from ownership towards usership, it is no longer about the vehicle but increasingly about the driver experience,” he said. “Car manufacturers are reinventing themselves as mobility service providers by bundling subscription models with driver-oriented services and peer-to-peer sharing, as part of a move towards on-demand instant access to vehicles.
“Meanwhile, fleet and leasing operators want to manage the usage of their vehicles with greater and different granularity, ranging from minutes to years. In addition to long term products, they are also increasingly offering ultra-short term rental and car-sharing services to their fleet customers,” he said. “
