Top Leaders at Element Fleet Management, ChargePoint, and WEX Discuss New Collaboration
By Ed Pierce, Contributing Editor
Fleet Management Weekly had the opportunity to conduct interviews with Avninder Buttar, Vice President, Strategy at Element Fleet Management; Hannah Young, Director, Global Fleet Strategy at WEX; and Rich Mohr, Vice President, Fleet Solutions at ChargePoint - to hear their thoughts on the companies’ recently announced collaboration intended to enhance the transition to electric vehicles for fleets.
Buttar estimates that while EVs are only 1% of the total number of commercial fleet vehicles in operation today, by 2026, EVs might account for as much as 50% of light vehicle sales. This dramatic change will, in turn, create a range of issues for fleet managers.
These include access to public charging stations, as well as liquid stations for mixed fleets; evaluating plans for charging at customers locations, and creating analytics to measure performance, cost, and other metrics.
New Year, New Distractions
By Paul Atchley, PhD, eDriving’s Brain Science Advisor
Firstly, in a bit of good news for the coming year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has indicated that it will examine why Tesla drivers can play video games on their cars’ center consoles while driving!!
As drivers (and the public) discovered after a recent car software update, they can now initiate playing an arcade-style shooter, solitaire or a strategy game on their car’s center display while driving their Tesla, provided they indicate they are the passenger. If that sounds distracting, it’s because IT IS – even if it is truly the passenger tap-tapping on a display that is intended to help the driver drive safely. I’m pleased that the federal safety folks are looking into it!!
From research conducted in my lab at the University of Florida we know that drivers are more willing to rate a technology as “safe”, and to use it while driving, if it is built into the car. Drivers appear to assume that car design is highly regulated and tested for safety.
ALD to Acquire LeasePlan for $5.5 Billion
NewALD will be led by ALD’s Tim Albertsen as CEO
The transaction is expected to close at the end of 2022 and will create a combined firm, dubbed ‘NewALD’, that will be a leading global player in mobility worldwide and will “embrace the mobility sector’s global growth megatrends”.
The combined business will be led by ALD CEO Tim Albertsen and will be key in moving the auto sector from ownership to usership models and zero-emission vehicles, according to the firms. It will also continue to accelerate towards data-driven digital transformation of the mobility industry.
BrightDrop Announces Walmart as New EV Customer and Expands Collaboration with FedEx
At CES today, BrightDrop announced it is adding Walmart to its growing roster of customers, and expanding its relationship with FedEx.
Walmart signed an agreement to reserve 5,000 of BrightDrop’s EV600 and smaller EV410 electric delivery vans to support the retail giant’s growing last mile delivery network and goal of operating a zero-emissions logistics fleet by 2040.
FedEx has signed an agreement with BrightDrop reserving priority production for 2,000 electric delivery vans over the next few years. This agreement adds to FedEx’s initial reservation of 500 BrightDrop EVs announced last year. In addition, FedEx is working on a plan to add up to 20,000 more in the years to follow, subject to further negotiations and execution of a definitive purchase agreement. FedEx also unveiled plans to expand its testing of BrightDrop’s EP1 electrified container to 10 markets beginning in 2022.
More information on this news can be found here.
ChargePoint Makes Electrification Easy
The transition to EVs is on, but the reality is that most fleets are going to be mixed fuel for some time. It’s good to know that ChargePoint makes EV charging easy.
