Ford Motor and Volkswagen Considering Far-Reaching Alliance
At a time when the global automotive industry is facing not only traditional competitive challenges but the risks posed by massive technological transformation, Ford Motor and Volkswagen plan to announce an alliance shortly after the new year.
Among the key elements expected to be part of the deal will be a cooperative effort to bring to market electrified and autonomous vehicles, something each of the companies already has spent billions of dollars developing. Talks included the possibility of taking over one of the American company's existing, underutilized assembly plants and that VW could wind up sharing more than one plant with Ford.
Read the article at CNBC.
New Study Suggests That We Still Love Sedans
Results from a new consumer study conducted by CarGurus suggests the market for passenger cars may actually be growing.
“This survey showed that consumer interest in buying sedans is not waning as much as recent automotive industry changes have indicated,” said Madison Gross, Senior Manager of Customer Insights at CarGurus, in a statement. “The positive response from younger drivers expressing their intent to buy sedans is a sign of confidence that this traditional body style could remain relevant for years to come.”
Read the article at Forbes.
Mistakes Made in Fuel Economy Calculations Nullify Trump-Proposed Gains
The Trump administration has emphasized that rolling back the fuel economy and emissions standards would save money and help insure that new vehicles are affordable, which would increase sales of cleaner and safer vehicles. Environmentalist claim that the administration was mis-representing the work of outside analysts that it cited in support of the rollback.
“These independent researchers are demonstrating what we’ve long suspected: the Trump administration used every trick it could to try and justify its plan to halt progress on tailpipe pollution,” said Luke Tonachel, director for clean vehicles and clean fuels at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The fact is that the rollback makes no sense. We get more confirmation of that fact every day.”
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
From Fleet Manager to Service Provider
This fleet professional went from strategic sourcing to fleet management to service provider - and she knows all about the importance of being best in class.
Fuel Expense Insights – Straight to Your Inbox
WEX recently rolled out ClearView Snap, which provides a quick snapshot of your company’s fueling activity in easy-to-interpret charts and graphs.
