Connected Vehicles Will Make Our Roads Safer – But Only With Regulators’ Help
Connected vehicles - with vehicle-to-everything, or “V2X,” communication - have the potential to not only dramatically improve traffic safety, but also reduce congestion on our roads.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a plan that would allow harmful interference from adjacent Wi-Fi bands that would threaten to disable the benefits of deploying V2X’s lifesaving technology. It could impel some vehicle manufacturers that had previously committed to deploying V2X technology on the radio spectrum to pull back.
By combining smart government efforts with private innovation, connected vehicles will soon be making all of our lives safer and more convenient.
Read the article at Fortune.
EVolution: 11 Keys To GM’s Electrified Future
At EV Day, General Motors showed a dozen vehicles and vehicle concepts at various stages of development, as well as a detailed look into what will differentiate its Ultium propulsion technology - especially the battery part of it.
“The crown jewel of the Ultium system is the battery cell itself,” said Adam Kwiatkowski, GM's director of advanced vehicle design.
Working towards a cell cost of less than $100 per kwh is one of the many ways GM is planning to apply the expertise of the past plus an ambitious economies-of-scale approach to its new generation of electric vehicles.
Read the article at Green Car Reports.
Why Putting Safety First Makes Business Sense for Service Fleets
By Ed Dubens, CEO/ Founder of eDriving
Speed, efficiency and first-time fixes are high on the list of service fleet concerns, with customer service and satisfaction of critical importance.
A proactive approach to maintenance plays a crucial role in helping service fleets ensure profitability, and sophisticated technologies are an integral component of this operation. Effective safety and risk management strategies if put together with these objectives in mind can help everything else fall into place in one focused approach!
A culture of excellence improves performance
There’s a great deal of evidence relating to the correlation between ‘culture’ and employee performance. For example, Gallup research estimates that actively disengaged workers alone cost the U.S. between $450 billion and $550 billion per year and that a culture of engagement can lead to up to 18 percent higher revenue per employee. Added to that, research reveals that absenteeism is 37 percent higher among disengaged workers (Harvard Business Review).
Ford Confirms Plans for All-Electric Transit Van
Ford Motor Co. has confirmed that it will add an all-electric version of its big delivery van, the Transit, starting in the 2022 model-year.
It appears Ford will modify the existing Transit van, finding ways to bury the battery pack and motors below the load floor to minimize any loss of cargo space, it does have other options. The project will be done entirely “in-house.”
Along with its electrified drivetrain, the final version of the electric Ford Transit will feature an array of new technologies, including advance driver assistance systems such as forward collision warning and assist, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, and automatic lane-keeping. A 4G LTE hotspot will make it possible to integrate connectivity features appealing to fleet managers, including live vehicle tracking and remote diagnostics.
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
Ready For Delivery: Electric Package Trucks
Local delivery fleets are ideal for electrification given their predictable routes and significant dwell times at the depot - important factors when planning for recharging.
The explosive growth in e-commerce, with the volume of delivery expected to double by 2026 to over 100 million packages a day, electric vehicle options are arriving not a moment too soon. Companies need to start planning now to deploy EVs as they enter the market in larger numbers over the next year or two.
While much more work is needed to build the necessary charging systems to power large fleets quickly and with clean energy, the future direction of local delivery is now very clear: it’s zero-emission.
Read the article at Environmental Defense Fund.
