Should Europe’s Fleet Ditch Diesel?
By Mark Boada, Senior Editor
In the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal and a new-found focus on nitrous oxide emissions, Western Europe is falling out of love with diesel. Witness the following:
- Several countries – including Norway, France and the U.K. -- have announced they will ban the sale of diesel vehicles over the next 10 to 23 years, and a growing number of cities have announced they will ban diesel cars from their streets by the next decade.
- Demand for diesel cars is falling: in the first half 2017, sales of gasoline-powered vehicles surpassed diesel vehicles for the first time since 2009.
- Prices of used diesel cars in several markets have declined, reportedly, in some cases, by up to 25%.
- A number of countries are raising annual taxes on diesel cars or fuel, or both.
Record Attendance at Insightful NETS Annual Safety Benchmark Conference
If you’re in fleet -- whether fleet management, safety, risk or procurement, you should seriously consider becoming a member of NETS
By Mark Boada, Senior Editor
As the newest member of the Fleet Management Weekly editorial team, it was a great privilege and pleasure to attend one of the finest fleet conferences I’ve been to -- the 2017 Network of Employers for Traffic Safety Strength In Numbers Annual Fleet Safety Benchmark Conference last month in Charlottesville, Virginia. And while that complete title is a mouthful for a two-day conference, it fully lived up to, if not exceeded, my expectations.
For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the organization – “NETS” for short – is in its own words “an employer-led public/private partnership dedicated to improving the safety and health of employees, their families and members of the communities in which they live and work by preventing traffic crashes that occur both on and off the job.”
AFLA Highlights New Board Members
The Automotive Fleet and Leasing Association (AFLA) recently welcomed the newly elected Secretary and Directors for the 2017-2019 term to its Board.
These individuals will provide strategic vision, insight and direction through their elected positions and lend varied expertise and a depth of industry knowledge to the association. The first meeting of the new Board of Directors is slated to begin on November 30, 2017 in Orlando, Florida which will also be the host city for the AFLA 2018 Corporate Fleet Conference.
Detroit’s Big Three Tighten Their Belts as They Look to the Self-Driving Future.
In order to compete with the future of the auto industry, General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler are showing their dedication by reducing costs, adjusting production with demand and making cuts to unprofitable vehicles to rental car companies and corporate fleets.
Profits from conventional products are vital to finance the new technology necessary for electric and self-driving models.
“We have a clear path to leverage what we’ve done historically,” said Jim Hackett, who became Ford’s chief executive five months ago. “Our first priority is to restore revenue and attack costs.”
Read more of the original article at The New York Times.
Is the Chaotic World Ready for Self-Driving Cars?
Autonomous driving is hitting the streets in big U.S. cities like San Francisco, New York and Pittsburgh, where sets of rules make it possible. Europe, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan are also getting ready.
But what about Middle Eastern and African countries with little structure - it's common to see cars driving the wrong way, running red lights, and zigzagging across wide roads without the slightest regard to lane markings.
"There are no rules here. Everything is possible," said Daniel Asmar, a computer-vision expert and engineering professor at the American University of Beirut. "Humans can deal quite well with that, even if they get frustrated and honk at each other." For computers, the chaos would be an enormous challenge.
Read more of the original article at Wired.
