Billions of Miles is Just the Start!
According to a recent analysis, eDriving’s smartphone-based Mentor by eDriving can reduce unsafe behaviors by risky drivers by up to 89% over 18 months.
In Billions of Miles is Just the Start for Mentor by eDriving, Ed Dubens, founder and CEO of eDriving, cites some impressive client success stories and previews the next chapter in the company’s journey.
Dubens says, “As the Founder of eDriving, it is truly inspiring to reflect on the journey our company has taken over the past 25+ years from our origins in Huddersfield, UK to now over 130 eDriving employees (our “Wizards”) working hard to keep employees safe while driving for work purposes in over 100 countries across the world.”
FMW heartily congratulates Ed and his talented team of Wizards!
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
Tesla’s Massive Price Cuts Send Shockwaves Across Auto Industry
Not long after Tesla's 2022 end-of-year discounts and incentives, it upped the ante much higher. For example, the Model Y's starting price dropped from $65,990 to $52,990, and now it's eligible for a $7,500 US federal EV tax credit on top.
Many carmakers, especially those that don't offer many EVs, are having a tough time with profit margins, to the point that they're losing money. The lost revenue is actually coming from these OEMs' plug-in sales, since they're not able to produce EVs yet with huge margins like Tesla, and they may have to lower their prices notably to encourage continued sales.
If competitors lower their prices, it may encourage Tesla not to raise prices too high, but in the meantime, those rivals will likely lose even more money.
CarMax Partners with UVeye to Automate Inspections at Wholesale Auctions
CarMax is partnering with UVeye to provide AI-enhanced condition reports for buyers of vehicles sold at auction.
CarMax has been a strategic investor in UVeye since 2021. The companies have been working together on innovative solutions to improve used-car auction processes. CarMax’s wholesale business sold more than 700,000 vehicles during the past fiscal year.
CarMax is implementing UVeye’s industry-first inspection technology for its wholesale business operations under a licensing agreement with UVeye. UVeye systems use artificial intelligence, machine-learning, sensor-fusion and high-speed-camera systems and can spot issues ranging from worn tires and sheet metal-problems to underbody damage.
People Aren’t Leasing Cars, and It’s Killing the Used Market
More and more car shoppers in the U.S. seem to be foregoing leasing their next vehicle in favor of buying or financing them outright, according to a new report from Business Insider.
Leasing a new vehicle just keeps getting more expensive. The average monthly lease payment hit $661 in December 2022. That’s a 33 percent increase from March 2020. Inventory issues and dealer hassles mean shoppers don’t want to have to deal with getting back into the car market every two to three years. It just isn’t worth the hassle to many drivers.
All of these factors have come together to make the used car market pretty unbearable. Basically, there are fewer off-lease (read: newer and low-milage, but still used) vehicles headed to the used market. However, this hasn’t slowed down the market’s appetite for these types of vehicles.
Selecting Safe Vehicles For Your Employees
If you’re responsible for purchasing or leasing passenger vehicles for worker use, NIOSH says you need to consider two factors to help ensure safety: How well will the vehicle protect its occupants in the event of a crash? Which safety features are most effective in preventing a crash?
If you’re considering buying or leasing used vehicles, NHTSA provides up-to-date information on vehicle recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Another such resource is CheckToProtect.org, from the National Safety Council.
If you’re going the new vehicle route, your next step should be looking at available automated safety features, also called advanced driver assistance systems. Levels of automation range from zero (no automation) to five (full automation).
