The majority of fleets are reporting that their acquisition strategies are being stimulated by solid organic business growth, with most forecasting an increase or continuation of the same order volume in model-year 2019.
The 2019 Ram 1500, which is entering its 15th generation, will include a combination of three engines and three powertrains, including a 5.7L V-8, V-8 mild hybrid, 3.6L V-6 mild hybrid, and 3.0L V-6 EcoDiesel.
Chevrolet has introduced its 2017 Bolt EV in California and Oregon, and will begin shipping it to dealers in other states starting in February. It will arrive in 50 states by September, according to General Motors.
Hyundai will begin selling its gasoline-electric hybrid and battery-electric 2017 Ioniq models by April 1, and offer its plug-in hybrid Ioniq by Sept. 1, the automaker has announced.
Chevrolet delivered the first three 2017 Bolt EVs to retail customers in the San Francisco Bay area today, the automaker announced.
One of the perennial reasons given for order-to-delivery (OTD) delays is rail constraints. This has been an ongoing issue in the U.S., but, now, with the dramatic expansion of automotive production south of the border, rail constraints in Mexico will begin to play a greater role in fleet OTD discussions.
Each year, we compile a listing of the nation's Top 300 commercial fleets. This gives us an opportunity to get a pulse on the state of the commercial fleet market. Every fleet in the Top 300 commercial fleet listing has its own fleet strategy and challenges; some unique, but most are common to a number of fleets. Here is my “lightning round” summary of the top trends and operational considerations influencing the management of the nation’s largest commercial fleets.
One challenge for both the 2015- and 2014-MY has been the increased volume of fleet vehicles going to upfitters, which has resulted in capacity constraints. With the increasing demand and growth of the commercial truck and van segments – particularly among utilities and service industries – the percentage of upfitted vehicles is growing. Upfitters are feeling the pressure of increased demand.
Railroad backlogs impacted ship-thru units requiring upfitted equipment in the 2015-MY. Not only is there a rail-car shortage, but there were also logistical delays in loading and unloading rail cars due to the higher volume of high-roof vehicles. The limited number of rail cars that can accommodate the larger, high-roof vans created a backlog at assembly plants and caused delays in shipping to and from upfitters.
Looking back on the problems that plague the OEM vehicle ordering and delivery process. And deciding what can be done to repair this broken system.
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