While electric passenger cars get most of the hype, electrified commercial vehicles will soon form the invisible backbone of our everyday life. Kia is preparing its own electric vans complete with highly customizable, swappable bodies and their own dedicated software and business ecosystem.
Announced at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show, Kia's "Platform Beyond Vehicle" scheme is built on an upcoming lineup of reconfigurable electric vans of varying sizes. Basically, they'll be chassis cabs that attach to a variety of upper bodies using a combination of mechanical and electromagnetic anchors. In theory, this lets users quick-swap between delivery vans, passenger shuttles, and even recreational vehicles.
By Sumit Chauhan, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, CerebrumX
The transition from traditional open telematics platforms to embedded data marks a pivotal step forward in the evolution of fleet management.
Traditionally, fleet operators have relied heavily on data derived from hardware dongles, a practice that was entirely justified when the number of vehicles on the road was fewer, and data volumes remained manageable.
Modern vehicles by design can now collect data indigenously, rendering external hardware devices obsolete. This evolution paves the way for a new and more efficient approach to data collection.
Following a downward trend that began in the second half of the year, 2023 ended with the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index down 0.5% in December from November.
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) dropped to 204.0, down 7.0% from the previous year, a larger decline than originally expected. Compared to the index peak in December 2021, used-vehicle values are down nearly 21%.
“We ended 2023 with about half of the used-vehicle value decline we saw in 2022, but still more than we’d see in a typical year,” said Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke.
Tennessee has started the process of hiking its EV registration fee from $100 to $274 per year and beyond, aiming to continue hiking the fees in perpetuity, further increasing the disproportionately high taxes paid by EVs in the state as compared to gas cars.
Tennessee’s $100 fee was lower than that of many other states, but it still taxed EVs at a much higher rate than a similarly-efficient gas vehicle.
This year, Tennessee’s EV fee has doubled to $200 – but it’s not stopping there, with the state claiming that it will continue increasing to $274 in 2026, and then continue increasing beyond that along with inflation.
Register now for the AFLA Canada Summit, February 14-15 in Toronto, to get comfortable with embracing innovation and transformative ideas. Colin Singh Dhillon, President of ImaginEQ, will discuss emerging technologies in Canadian fleet.
Formerly a Chief Technical Officer representing the Canadian automotive sector, he is the creative-force behind Canada's first zero-emission concept vehicle, Project Arrow.
To get more information and/or to register, click here.