NAFA Webinar: EV Fleet — Postcard from the Future: Lessons from Down Under and Across the Pond on Building Out EV
Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 -- Time: 12:00 - 1:00 PM EDT
EV fleet adoption has occurred at different rates across the globe due to varying levels of legislative pressure, financial considerations, and corporate focus. Europe and Australia/New Zealand are currently ahead of North America and can offer some lessons and insights into what makes a successful EV program and how to best prepare for an EV future.
This supplier webinar is presented by Element Fleet Management.
Polestar Signs 3-Year Deal with Ebbon-Dacs
Independent Swedish electric performance car manufacturer, Polestar, has signed a three-year deal with automotive technology provider, Ebbon-Dacs, to directly deploy its market-leading Leaselink e-procurement platform to process new car orders in two markets.
The arrangement will see a launch in the UK with a major international leasing company, which has now gone live, with a similar pilot scheme running in the Netherlands. The solution will then be rolled out to lease companies in both countries who are users of the Leaselink platform. Under the arrangement, lease companies will use a new innovative, order in/order out module within Leaselink to send orders directly to Polestar for fulfillment.
Polestar, which was founded by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding in 2017 and is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, has a current model range of two cars, the electric performance hybrid, Polestar 1, and the high performance all-electric fastback, Polestar 2.
Safety Groups, Unions Urge US to Fix Recalled Gov’t Vehicles
More than a dozen consumer groups and three federal employee unions are asking the U.S. government to stop using vehicles in its fleet with unrepaired safety recalls. Vehicles are being sold to the public without repairs being made including those with potentially dangerous Takata air bags and faulty General Motors ignition switches.
The U.S. government has more than 600,000 vehicles in its fleet across multiple agencies. The government’s own National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges people to have the repairs done when they get recall notices. Auto companies have to make the fixes at no cost to owners.
Takata air bags have caused at least 27 deaths worldwide, including 18 in the U.S. About 400 people have been injured. General Motors recalled millions of cars with ignition switches and paid claims for 124 deaths and 275 injuries stemming from the problem.
Read the article at The Detroit News.
Walmart Invests in GM Cruise for Autonomous Deliveries
Self-drive automaker Cruise, backed by General Motors Co, raised $2.75 billion in its latest funding round with additional investment from Walmart Inc and others, taking the startup's valuation over $30 billion.
Cruise's relationship with Walmart includes a trial delivery service in Scottsdale, Arizona. Cruise said it planned to begin deploying a limited number of its Origin vehicles for ride-hail services in Dubai from 2023, its first overseas commercial service.
"We are focused on our path to commercialization right now but the IPOs happening in the space right now are a great indication of the strength of the industry and the opportunity self-driving presents," a Cruise spokeswoman said
Read the article at MSN.
Fleet Street Combines ‘Lateral Thinking’ with Human Connection for Innovative Remarketing Solutions
By Ed Pierce, Contributing Editor
Listening to Fleet Street President Steve Bender speak about his company’s passion for remarketing innovation in an industry with tried-and-true solutions seems to be unorthodox at first.
But his abiding respect for the industry and the lessons he learned from his predecessor, industry stalwart Kevin McGrath, balance his passion for lateral thinking with traditional remarketing tradition.
“Fleet Street has been doing corporate fleet vehicle remarketing for 30 plus years, and I had the opportunity to help design many of our original systems,” says Steve. “Having an IT background, I am hands-on and believe in taking a creative approach to problem-solving that emphasizes ideas that are not immediately obvious.”
His emphasis on lateral thinking allows Fleet Street to generate ideas that may not be obtainable using just traditional logic. In other words, the company looks to avoid familiar patterns and seek new, unexpected ones.
