You Can’t Just Turn Fleet into a Procurement Category
Fleet departments and Procurement departments are working more closely than ever these days, and it’s important to realize that they generally require different measurements for success.
A ‘Bumpy Road’ Ahead
J.D. Power recently surveyed 8,500 people to get their views on self-driving and battery-electric vehicles and it does not presage well for the automakers. That survey was conducted in March, before most stay-at-home orders.
Further dispiriting news, The Drive predicts a bumpy road ahead for the autonomous car industry in the wake of the shrinking capital market caused by the virus.
The pandemic has also upended the way fleets do business, reports Maria Neve, a manager at Mercury Associates, and none more so than in in the public sector. In her impressive article: Pandemic Underscores the Need for an Optimal Government Fleet Vehicle Replacement Policy, Neve advises fleets to plan now for near-term opportunities.
Stay safe & Be well,
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
Merchants Fleet Secures $50 Million in Growth Financing from Bain Capital Credit
Infusion of Capital to Accelerate Merchants Goal of Bringing Disruptive Change to Commercial Vehicle Management
April 21, 2020 — Merchants Fleet today announced the company has secured $50 million in growth financing from Bain Capital Credit. The financing will enable Merchants Fleet to further accelerate its growth trajectory and mission of bringing disruptive change to the fleet management industry, which impacts over 3.2 million commercial cars and trucks.
“The fourth industrial revolution is pushing forward, being driven by societal and consumer shifts, and the fleet industry will see both evolutionary and revolutionary change,” said Brendan P. Keegan, CEO of Merchants Fleet.
Some New Car Driver Assist Features Are Shown To Prevent Crashes, Others Not So Much
The Highway Loss Data Institute analysts compared claims data regarding four BMW driver-assist system packages that included two or more of the following: forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, front cross-traffic alert, and lane centering.
The Institute determined that a combination of frontal crash prevention and adaptive cruise control proved to reduce the frequency of property damage liability and bodily injury liability claims considerably.
However, adding lane centering, included with BMW’s semi-autonomous Driving Assistance Plus package, had little effect on claims. Having forward collision and lane departure warning systems without an automatic emergency braking function, actually increased claims slightly.
Read the article at Forbes.
In-Car Touchscreens Much Worse For Driver Distraction
A test carried out by UK automotive publication What Car? of 20 infotainment and air-con systems found that it took twice as long to adjust heating controls on some cars with touchscreen controls rather than physical dials.
With figures indicating that distracted driving is a contributing factor in 15% of all road accidents, the tests – covering six tasks frequently carried out by drivers on the move – also found a sophisticated voice control system is the least distracting way of doing many tasks.
The research also highlighted the benefits of having a range of different ways of doing a task, so the driver can choose the most convenient for each situation. The best systems let you use physical buttons, the touchscreen or voice control to do a wide range of commands.
Read the article in International Fleet World.
