Nowadays, OEMs introduce new models throughout the calendar-year. For many fleet managers, the staggered release of new models complicates fleet planning and the ordering process. Some model lines may have variable final order and startup dates due to muttiple plant assignments and model configurations. Fleet-minded OEMs have been terrific partners to fleets and, together, there should be a way to mitigate the impact of staggered production schedules for their largest customers.
Within the context of fleet management, the concept of megatrends is used to identify economic and technological forces that can potentially alter our present-day industry in game-changing ways. Among the current megatrends that can potentially alter fleet as we know it are a higher interest rate environment, a higher taxation environment, leap-frogging technology, changing fleet demographics, and higher acquisition costs.
The cost to design and build vehicles to meet the higher 2017-2021 fuelefficiency standards will average an additional $2,000 to $6,000 per vehicle. Proponents of the higher CAFE standards argue the higher acquisition costs will be offset by much greater fuel savings. However, is there a diminishing return on cost savings as fuel efficiency increases? Kelley Blue Book thinks so.
WASHINGTON - The federal government is delaying the release of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards until mid-November, citing the need for additional time.
PRINCETON, NJ- On August 9, President Barack Obama announced a national program of standards for work trucks, buses, and other heavy-duty vehicles with the goal of raising fuel efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
When I think about a truck, the image that first comes to mind is four wheels, two doors, and a bed. However, times are changing, and while the government's CAFE standards still only have two categories, car and truck (based on the vehicle chassis), I believe it's time to broaden the current perception.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of California have announced that they will work on a single timeframe, with a deadline of Sept. 1, 2011, for proposing fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for model year 2017-2025 cars and light-duty trucks.
WASHINGTON - Instead of three standards, the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency worked with state agencies to propose clearer standards for all automakers, beginning with the 2012 model-year.
President Obama's proposed standards cover model years 2012-2016 and ultimately require an average fuel economy standard of 35.5 mpg in 2016.
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