Merchants Fleet Slated to be BrightDrop’s First Fleet Management Customer, Second Major Customer Overall
BrightDrop’s new EV600 electric cargo van, arriving in 2023.
Merchants Fleet announced its plans to further electrify its portfolio with BrightDrop, the new business backed by General Motors, offering electric first-to-last-mile products and software services.
Merchants is working with BrightDrop to procure 12,600 BrightDrop EV600s, an all-new, electric light commercial vehicle purpose-built for the delivery of goods and services over long ranges. The EV600 is powered by the Ultium battery system and combines zero-emissions driving with segment-leading safety features. Merchants Fleet expects BrightDrop EV600s to enter its clients’ fleets starting in early 2023.
Research Shows the Best Resumes and Cover Letters Use These Words and Phrases (in Moderation)
Researchers at the University of Michigan undertook a study "systematically examining the impression management (IM) content of actual résumés and cover letters and empirically testing the effect on applicant evaluation." Or, in non-researcher-speak, they tried to figure out what works and what doesn't.
They broke impression management -- trying to influence the opinions of others -- down into eight basic categories:
- Four involved self-promotion ("I'm so darned awesome")
- Three involved ingratiation ("Your organization is so darned awesome and I would love to work there")
- One was a hybrid category, an expression of personal values that also reflects on the company ("I'm so darned passionate about taking on challenges and would love to embark on your incredible mission with you")
Read the article at Pocket.
Carolyn Edwards Brings Vast Fleet Industry Experience to Masterack as Head of Sales and Marketing
By Ed Pierce, Contributing Editor
Prominent fleet professional Carolyn Edwards just joined Masterack, a leader in offering innovative steel, aluminum, and composite cargo management solutions.
After 29 years at LeasePlan USA, where she began as a maintenance administrator and rose to the position of senior vice president of client relations, Edwards looks forward to applying her knowledge of fleet in support of Masterack’s goals and continuing her involvement in the fleet industry.
“Throughout my fleet career, I have found tremendous value in being an active member of all of the fleet trade associations,” says Edwards. “Personally, and professionally, I have grown as a result of my active participation and the relationships I’ve developed.”
GM Just Sped up the Depreciation of Everything it Owns
General Motors, Detroit’s biggest automaker, says it plans to exclusively offer electric light-duty cars and trucks by 2035, five years ahead of a previously announced goal and part of a broader mission to make its production and operations carbon neutral by 2040.
That timeline puts GM well ahead of market forecasts: Less than half of the US vehicle market is expected to be electric by 2035. GM could see its big risk pay off. The company will just have to bet everything it has to find out.
By moving up its EV goalposts, the company is speeding up the depreciation of its factories and supplier relationships, but also its decades of intangible know-how. The world’s automakers have learned better than anyone how to squeeze every last drop out of their mastery of the internal combustion engine, a technology first installed in commercial cars in 1886. Turning away from this is more than just junking materiel; it’s abandoning a competitive advantage formed over more than a century.
Read the article at Quartz.
Allianz Insurance Outsources UK Fleet to Fleet Logistics UK
Fleet Logistics UK
Allianz Insurance, one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz Group, has outsourced the management of its UK company car fleet to Fleet Logistics UK to help develop its carbon reduction program and improve efficiency.
Allianz Insurance operates a fleet of 1,000 company cars in the UK, both work and management grade vehicles, which have traditionally been outright purchased for the last 14 years.
However, following the implementation of Fleet Logistics UK and a competitive tender, the entire fleet has been the subject of a sale and leaseback with ALD Automotive appointed as the sole leasing supplier for the legacy fleet.
