Luann Dunkerley Elected to the National Private Truck Council’s Board of Directors
The CEI Group, Inc. (CEI) announced today that Luann Dunkerley, its Northeast regional manager and a veteran of the trucking industry, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Private Truck Council (NPTC). She assumes the position after serving on the Board of Governors of the NPTC Institute, the organization’s continuing education and research arm, since 2012.
“This appointment is recognition of Luann’s deep knowledge of the trucking industry’s needs and priorities, and her contributions to the NPTC over the years,” said John Wysseier, CEI’s chief executive officer. “She is a valued asset to both CEI’s trucking customers and to the industry at large, and we are proud of her record of service.”
Toyota and General Motors More Likely to Rule the Road, not Waymo, Uber or Tesla.
There's no shortage of investment, from both tech and automobile companies in developing self-driving cars, but even the best ideas can get only so far without a business model.
Unlike Alphabet's Waymo, ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft, and Tesla, incumbent automakers may be slower to innovate and change but have decades of experience, and know how to play nice with regulators.
Read the article at Bloomberg.
Do Auto Imports Pose a National Security Threat?
At the request of the President, the U.S. Department of Commerce began an investigation into whether auto imports “are weakening our internal economy and may impair the national security.”
The U.S. imported over $190bn in autos in 2017; if the Trump administration hits a large fraction of those imports with tariffs there is the potential for a very sizeable retaliatory backlash.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), said, “There’s no rational person that could think that we have a national security issue with auto manufacturing.”
Read the article at Forbes.
Study Suggests Dealers Do Not Want to Sell Electric Vehicles
As more and more consumers seem to be interested in buying electric vehicles, a new study by Nature Energy suggests that dealers are not including electric vehicles into their sales conversations and are steering buyers towards combustion engine vehicles.
Consumer Reports conducted a study in 2014 that showed 50 out of 85 dealerships across the U.S. discouraged secret shoppers from purchasing EVs, and answered questions incorrectly about topics ranging from incentives to warranties to charging times.
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
European Lawmakers Want Eleven Safety Features Mandatory by 2021
The European Commission wants it to be mandatry that all new cars to be fitted with eleven safety features by 2021 in bold new plans. Included in the proposal is autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assistance and fatigue monitoring systems.
It is believed that the new measures could save around 7,300 lives over the next decade and 38,900 serious injuries.
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) executive direction, David Davies, has said that the new rules would be a “free lunch” for the Government as they would “not require Government spending.”
Read the article at Daily Express.
