AFLA Panel Tackles Supply Chain Issues at this Year’s Conference
By Tod Trousdell, Fleet Marketing Consultant and Partner/RobertsTrousdell Communications
The last few years have been hard on fleets, most of whom have been dealing with industry disruption since the start of the pandemic.
But of all of the problems affecting fleets, perhaps none has been worse than supply chain disruption.
The team at AFLA assembled some of fleet’s top supply chain leaders to participate in a one-time panel discussion at this year’s annual conference in October.
“We do everything we can to keep our finger on the pulse of our supply chain,” said Luca Iannuzzi, Head of Supply Chain at upfitter Ranger Design. “For us, it’s about avoiding surprises. We don’t just take for granted that everything is OK because a supplier says so."
The Used Car Market Is Still White, Black and Gray In 2023
The achromatic exterior paint hues – white, black, gray, and silver – still prevail as the most frequently purchased in the U.S. used car market, with their popularity increasing as time goes on.
According to iSeeCars study’s findings, the quartet of paint colors, referred to as grayscale colors, account for a whopping 78.9 percent of used cars in 2023.
While white, black, gray, and silver also accounted for the great majority of used cars five years ago as well, the number is actually up slightly from 77.2 percent in 2018. Among the non-grayscale colors, blue is rapidly overtaking silver.
Teslas, Chevrolets Among Most Popular Electric Vehicles for Fleet Use
US automakers are looking to boost electric vehicle sales by broadening their horizons. Alongside individual consumers, daily rental, corporate, and government fleets also form a large customer base for carmakers.
With 28,252 units sold in the US from July 2022 to July 2023, the Model 3 accounted for 23 percent of all fleet EV sales, ahead of the Chevrolet Bolt, which accounted for 16 percent of the sales with 19,502 deliveries.
The Model Y ranked third with over 11,000 units sold, followed by the F-150 Lightning, America’s best-selling electric truck among fleet owners. The Bolt EV alone accounted for 39 percent of government EV registrations, equal to the combined government fleet registrations of Ford.
How Fleet Companies Can Benefit From Manufacturers Leveraging ‘Cobots’ Powered By Virtual Technologies
Cobots, which enable human-robot collaboration, are made to work safely next to human workers. Similar to traditional industrial robots, cobots are mechanical arms powered by sensors and AR/VR.
The secret to success is to carefully examine operations to determine the best places to integrate cobots alongside human workers.
Integrating cobots with AR and VR technologies can lead to increased productivity, reduced errors, improved safety, and a more immersive and interactive work environment.
NAFA Welcomes DOE Clean Cities Coalition to Its Membership
NAFA Fleet Management Association is proud to announce a collaboration with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Clean Cities Coalition Network.
“The collaboration between NAFA and the Clean Cities Coalition is a significant milestone in our shared mission to promote sustainability in fleet management,” said Bill Schankel, CAE, CEO of NAFA.
NAFA will host a kickoff webinar in early November to initiate discussions on collaboration opportunities between the Clean Cities Coalitions and NAFA’s regions.
