Leading, Listening and Learning
It's always a good time to lead, to listen, and to learn -- and it's difficult to overstate how true that is right now. Speaking of leadership, we were pleased to see that Bill Schankel was officially named CEO of NAFA last week. In his video interview, Bill tells us he's excited about the position, and also that he is quite aware of NAFA’s additional responsibilities in times of the pandemic.
Problem-Solving and Relationships
In today's Fleet Marketing column, Ed Pierce notes that it's especially important right now for fleet vendors to show that they can provide excellent resources, and that sales and revenue currently need to take a back seat to problem-solving and relationships.
Request for Zoom Interviews
Speaking of listening, we would like to hear what you have to say. In fact, we would also like to see what you have to say! Please feel free to suggest yourself, or someone you know for one of our video interviews (to be conducted on Zoom) by emailing me at [email protected].
Ted Roberts
President
Used Car Prices Taking a Hit During Pandemic
Used car values typically decline when the country enters tough economic uncertainty like we are experiencing with the coronavirus outbreak.
During the Great Recession, 3-year-old vehicles lost nearly 10% in value, whereas the year before they declined less than 5% in value.
Multiple factors will impact used vehicle values differently, and lower demand, unusually timed off-lease inventory and reduced auction prices are adding up to a decline in used car values. New car incentives from automakers in response to the coronavirus crisis only add to the problem for used car sellers because new car prices are suddenly appealing. This only further cuts prices of off-lease, near-new used vehicles
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
How Fleets Can Rack Up Savings on Their Four Biggest Spending Categories
By Mark Boada, Executive Editor
It should come as no surprise that reducing expenses is the number one goal for fleets.
At least that is what Donlen, one of the biggest fleet management companies in North America, found when it surveyed several hundred of its customers last year. Saving money was a goal of nearly 50 percent of them, more than double the next-most popular goal, which was managing cash flow.
The trick, of course, is how to do it. For Donlen, fleets can realize the richest savings by focusing on their four largest expense categories.
Expert Leadership Advice for the Time of COVID-19
The Coronavirus will test collective leadership skills like never before, and fleet
industry expert Mike Pitcher has some great suggestions for leaders during this challenging time - starting with staying cool and calm.
J.D. Power: Consumer Enthusiasm Cooling for the Mobility Revolution
J.D. Power’s latest survey shows that U.S. and Canadian consumers are cooling toward both self-driving and battery-electric vehicles for the first time since the survey began. The survey of 8,500 people was conducted in March, before most people were advised to stay at home to protect against the Coronavirus 19 pandemic.
Key findings include that a large majority of respondents are worried that self-driving technology is unreliable; only around 30 percent are thinking about buying an electric vehicle; many who have purchased them are dissatisfied with their performance and wouldn’t buy them again; and widespread concern about the environmental effects of disposing of used batteries. It also found persistent consumer concerns about the lack of charging stations, limited range and high prices for fully-electric vehicles.
“’Frankly, we’re concerned for automakers,’ said Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction & human machine interface research at J.D. Power. ‘They’re pushing forward with technology that consumers seem to have little interest in. Nor are they making the strides needed to change people’s minds."
