Melissa Belkin Named VP of Truck Sales at Element Fleet Management
Melissa Belkin was named Vice President of Truck Sales at Element Fleet Management. Belkin is responsible for developing and implementing new business sales strategies for Element’s heavy duty trucking business.
Belkin is based in Denver and has been in the transportation industry for more than 10 years. She has experience in rental and full-service leasing, customer relations and support, finance and more.
Previously, Belkin held roles with AmeriQuest Transportation Services, Citi and Junior Achievement USA.
The New Normal? U.S. Auto Sales Slipping, Stronger Incentives for Big Fleets
By Mark Boada, Senior Editor
When auto sales slip, car-makers roll out the incentives. And so it has been this year, and may well be for the foreseeable future, at least for some fleets and for some models.
Following the recovery from the recession that saw U.S. car and light truck sales bottom out in 2009 at 10.4 million, sales set a new all-time record in 2016 with 17.55 million units purchased or sold. But sales slumped badly through the first seven months of this year, with Detroit’s big three notching declines in July of 15% at GM, 7.4% at Ford and 10% at Fiat Chrysler. Boosted by post-hurricane replacement buys, Detroit had a great September, moving cars at an annualized rate of more than 18 million. But in October, sales edged downward again, are projected to fall further in November and are on pace to fall by around three percent to around a flat 17 million.
The trend has some industry analysts saying we may be witnessing a longer-term decline in auto sales. “There’s a pretty general consensus that [the] recent phase of elevated auto sales is coming to an end,” Tony Dutzik, a senior policy analyst at Frontier Group was quoted as saying. “Really, the question is whether it’s going to be a hiss or a pop.”
Runzheimer Trend Report: Vehicle Fuel – November 2017
Runzheimer's fuel trend report gathers information and data related to current fuel prices and industry changes that will effect prices over the next year.
Highlights
- Fuel prices have been in a period of relative stability over the past 18 months
- Fuel prices have flattened
- Over the next 12 months, Runzheimer estimates an average of $2.42-$2.61 per gallon
Study Reveals Electric Cars are Cheaper to Own and Operate
In a new study, the total cost of ownership of cars over four years, including the purchase price, depreciation, fuel, insurance, taxation and maintenance were analyzed with findings that pure electric cars came out less inexpensive in all the markets examined: UK, Japan, Texas and California.
Contributing factors included lower fuel costs – electricity is cheaper than petrol or diesel – and maintenance costs, as the engines are simpler and help brake the car, saving on brake pads.
“We were surprised and encouraged because, as we scale up production, [pure] electric vehicles are going to be becoming cheaper and we expect battery costs are going to fall,” said James Tate, who conducted the research published in the journal Applied Energy with Kate Palmer and colleagues at the University of Leeds, UK. “It is a really good news story.”
Read more of the original article at The Guardian.
$581 Million Helped Put GM in the Self-Driving Lead
Three years ago, General Motors Co. wouldn’t even let its self-driving cars out of the parking lot.
On Nov. 29, GM unveiled the latest version of its electric Chevy Bolt, a close second to Waymo’s self-driving minivans as the most advanced autonomous car the world has seen. GM intends the Bolts to form the backbone of a robo-taxi business it plans to start in 2019.
“Autonomous driving is one of the most difficult software challenges of the decade, if not the century,” says Kyle Vogt, the face of GM’s automation efforts.
Read more of the original article at Bloomberg.
