The Dizzying Pace of Change
“The pace of change in fleet is as fast as it’s ever been… and as slow as it will ever be,” notes WEX Fleet senior VP and general manager Bernie Kavanagh as he takes us through some of the latest technological advances at WEX. “We’re just getting started,” he says!
Keeping up with technology was the biggest concern among the 120 fleet managers surveyed by TD Bank at this spring’s NAFA I&E. Their concerns are not unwarranted. “The transportation industry is on the brink of a major transformation,” says Anthony Sasso, head of TD Equipment Finance at TD Bank.
How do you cope when your responsibilities increase as your availability shrinks? Brendan Keegan, CEO at Merchant's Fleet, offers some splendid advice in his video clip: Improving Your Fleet: Break Out of Your Existing Mindset. “Don’t ask how am I going to make my existing model better, but how many other models are out there?”
Advancing our industry through research, education, partnerships and scholarships is the mission of the NAFA Foundation. Please consider sharing your love of fleet this summer by supporting their good works.
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
Only in Fleet: Interactive Storytelling at AFLA This Year
By Katie Keeton, AFLA Vice President
How often do you find yourself in a situation where all you can do is shake your head, shrug your shoulders, and think, “this could only happen in fleet”?
At this year’s AFLA conference we are excited to bring the interactive storytelling session “Only In Fleet,” which gives the audience a chance to participate, network and learn together from our collective experiences. This session will give you the opportunity to listen, laugh (and shudder) along with your colleagues - or you can throw your name in the hat to be a potential speaker!
Storytellers are not selected in advance… anything could happen! The theme of the stories for the event is “Only in Fleet.” Each storyteller will be strictly limited to 5 minutes. The session emcee(s) will pull a name out of the hat, and the show (and stories) will go on!
READ MORE
Register for AFLA online today at afla.org/AFLA2019.
Powerful New Partnership Will Advance EV and Self-Driving Vehicles
Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and self-driving software company Argo AI have created a new alliance.
The automakers plan to share electric-vehicle platforms and autonomous-vehicle software, potentially saving them hundreds of millions of dollars and laying the groundwork for more partnerships on vehicles of the future.
The moves "instantaneously" create one of the largest partnerships on electrification and self-driving technology, Ford CEO Jim Hackett said Friday in New York. In doing so, it shakes up the present-day electric and autonomous-vehicle landscape.
Read the article at The Detroit News.
More Republican and Democrat Governors Join California’s Push For More Efficient Vehicles
Governors from 22 states and Puerto Rico joined California in the latest effort to pressure the Trump administration into a “common sense” national approach to embracing more stringent gas mileage requirements.
Strong vehicle standards would provide the auto industry with regulatory certainty while also helping to combat climate change.
“We’ve doubled our support,” Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), said in an interview. “We’re seeing an awakening of interest on the part of other states that recognize the need for cleaner cars. This is not just about climate change, although that is certainly the major thrust of the regulations we’re fighting to maintain."
Read the article at The Washington Post.
Waymo Driverless Taxi Tests Free Wi-Fi
Waymo thinks a new test service of their driverless taxis will help riders make the most of their commute or other rides.
The aim is persuading passengers that the company's ride service, dubbed Waymo One, is less stressful than driving their own cars or riding with its rivals.
Passengers in a Phoenix test group can now use complementary in-car Wi-Fi. The test group will be part of a study to determine if employees riding in the driverless taxis are more productive than they would be if driving in their own vehicles.
Read the article at Fortune.
