To Buy, Lease or Rent: What Fleet Managers Should Consider
By Tanner Lee, Kingbee Vans
Fleet professionals continue to ask themselves if they should buy or lease vehicles, but they shouldn’t view the question in terms of one versus the other.
Most fleets finance their vehicles through a combination of buying and leasing because leveraging debt is a huge part of the growth equation.
And when vehicles aren’t available through traditional avenues, or when cashflow is tight, Kingbee provides vans right away, with new vans that are wrapped with your company’s branding and upfitted with shelves and racks.
Ford CEO Says Tesla Cybertruck Isn’t a Pickup Truck ‘For Real People Who Do Real Work’
Ford may have committed to adopting Tesla's EV charging connector, but that doesn't mean the relationship is warming between the legacy automaker and the upstart.
Ford CEO Jim Farley indicated he doesn't see the Tesla Cybertruck coming for his bread and butter of F-series pickup trucks. That's because, as he puts it, the Cybertruck is "for Silicon Valley people." Farley likened the Cybertruck to a "cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel," adding, "I don't make trucks like that. [...] I make trucks for real people who do real work, and that's a different kind of truck."
Farley's comment is unusual for automotive CEOs, who rarely directly acknowledge their competitors, much less criticize their products.
Honda Recalling 1.3 million Vehicles Worldwide for Rear Camera Issue
Honda is recalling 1.3 million vehicles worldwide due to a potential issue with the rearview camera image, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday.
The recall covers some 2018-2023 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Pilot, and 2019-2023 Passport vehicles. Due to a faulty communication coaxial cable connector, the rearview camera image may not appear on the display.
The recall includes 1.2 million U.S. vehicles, 88,000 in Canada and 16,000 in Mexico, Honda said.
-via Reuters
Ford Announces New Round of Layoffs to Support EV Transition
In its latest effort to streamline operations and reduce costs, Ford is preparing to initiate another round of layoffs in the upcoming weeks.
CEO Jim Farley stated that because the company is spending billions of dollars on shifting to electrification, it has more work to do than its rivals to cut costs. Farley also emphasized the need to eliminate waste in Ford’s processes related to gas-engine vehicles, which account for most of the company’s profits.
Ford and other automakers have been navigating a difficult transition as they significantly boost their investment in EVs, which are still a small and unprofitable segment of their product lines compared to combustion-engine vehicles.
-via Jalopnik
Supply Chain Professor says Auto Industry Adapting after Chip Shortages
Over the past three years, manufacturers struggled to produce new vehicles because of disruptions caused by the global shortage of semiconductors.
“The auto companies were focusing on their more profitable vehicles and not building as many … less profitable vehicles because of the parts shortages, especially in chips,” said Susan Golicic, professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University.
To avoid another global chip shortage, Golicic said the auto industry has been working to develop additional chip suppliers and to build new plants and diversify their locations to be able to get those parts when needed. “The auto industry has a lot more inventory of finished cars and so the waits are not quite as long,” she said.
-via Yahoo Finance
