Mobility as a Service
FMW is delighted to introduce a new column this week: Mobility as a Service, authored by Motus. John Petrucelli leads off the series with Do Your Business a FAVR with Accurate Reimbursements. He neatly describes the IRS-compliant methodology and explains how the program could help fleets cut costs. A worthy goal!
Dr. Jan-Ferri Reed tells us in her column that, according to Gallup, as many as 70 percent of American workers are disengaged! “Imagine a ten-person bicycle: three people are pedaling, five are pretending to pedal, and two are jamming on the brakes. How far are they going to get?”
Don't miss the second part of Mark Boada's most recent interview with Steve Saltzgiver: Urgent Reasons for Government Fleets to Outsource Routine Maintenance.
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
Kroger and Nuro Partner to Delivery Groceries in Arizona
Self-driving car startup Nuro is ready to put autonomous vehicles on the road in partnership with Kroger to deliver groceries in Scottsdale, Arizona. Nuro will initially use Toyota Prius cars before introducing its custom self-driving vehicles. That’s because the main purpose of this pilot is to learn, and using the Prius self-driving fleet can help to accelerate those learnings.
Nuro’s intent is to use its self-driving technology in the last mile for the delivery of local goods and services. That could be things like groceries, dry cleaning, an item you left at a friend’s house or really anything within city limits that can fit inside one of Nuro’s vehicles. Nuro has two compartments that can fit up to six grocery bags each.
Read the article at TechCrunch.
Car Sales May Have Already Hit Their Historic Peak, Thanks to the Sharing Economy
Continued growth in ride-hailing and car-sharing means auto sales are destined to decline long-term, analysts predict, and the peak may already be behind us.
The need to replace lost revenue is the reason OEMs have been entering the car-sharing industry, even though related revenues have been minuscule so far, compared to their legacy business.
"Fast forward just five years and (mobility) services will eat into automobile sales, leaving automakers vulnerable if they don't find ways to augment their income, according to Munich-based consultancy Berylls Strategy Advisors.
By 2030 in the U.S., where data is most readily available, Berylls predicts that total sales of cars -- individually owned and shared -- will fall almost 12 percent to 15.1 million vehicles."
Read the article at Automotive News
Fiat Chrysler’s Cheapskate Strategy for the Future of Driving
The late Sergio Marchionne kept the automaker from pouring money into research, and that approach might just pay off.
When Waymo picks up its first paying customer in a driverless taxi later this year, the car doing the honors will be made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Not the sensors and software—the futuristic technology that allows a robot to drive a minivan will be made by Waymo. The relatively boring minivan itself? That’s pretty much Fiat Chrysler’s only significant contribution to the race to develop autonomous vehicles.
Read the article at Bloomberg
Joe Foster Joins ARI as Vice President of Sales
ARI® today announced that Joe Foster has joined the company as vice president of sales for the eastern region.
Foster will manage all new business development activities in the eastern United States and play a vital role in ARI’s on-going strategic growth in the fleet management marketplace.
“Joe’s impressive business acumen and proven leadership skills will be a tremendous addition to our entire organization and will help further our standing as the premier fleet management provider in the industry,” said ARI’s Senior Vice President of Sales Anthony Foursha.
