Fleet Forward Summary

With over 400 in-person attendees this year, San Jose's historic Hayes Mansion served as a fantastic backdrop for the 2021 Fleet Forward Conference. Topics ranged from telematics to the future of fleet mobility, with the primary discussion being EVs and the challenges and opportunities that come with it.

Day 1 began with a keynote from Ford Pro's Tim Baughman, following Fleet Group Editor Chris Brown's intro to the conference.

Baughman's keynote focused on the overarching theme of fleets on the road to EV and what Ford has to offer during the big switch. "Right now, we're at a major inflection point," he said. "Electrification will make a profound difference in the profitability of companies, and the ones at the forefront will have an advantage over their competition."

Ford expects 40% of its global volume to be fully electric by 2030, which represents 600,000 electric trucks and vans in its depots. Baughman spoke of the importance of planning early and understanding charging. "The time to plan for electrification is now," he exclaimed.

All About Data

The next session, EV Efficiency: Big Data vs. Commonly Held Assumptions, discussed targets, goals, and data considerations for fleets' sustainability journey. Don Belknap of Wheels reminded us that it's not a one-size-fits-all approach and must be prescriptive. Belknap said that viewing electric vehicle data sets provides a unique difference compared to ICE vehicles. He urged fleet managers to monitor more than the miles traveled and look at how many trips a vehicle took – where it was garaged at night and what its charging set up looks like.

Arun Rajagopalan of Motorq said that data can help solve pain points, noting that we're only beginning to scratch the surface of what's possible. "EVs are very small in fleets right now, but you're going to see the hockey stick adoption," he said.

A concern among fleets is battery performance, as they can vary based on speeds, and outside temperature, decreasing efficiency by about a third in extreme cold. Fleets will need to train their drivers to drive efficiently, urged Rajagopalan.

Some good news is that battery life is favorable (and degradation is low) as it's used more. "This gives us comfort," Rajagopalan said. "In three years, you won't have a lemon. And it's only going to get better over time."

Supply Unchained

After a break, the next seminar discussed the root causes of the supply chain disruption and new solutions.

Moderator Jim Press of Work Truck Solutions reminded us that COVID stopped everything, not just in our industry. Lessons were learned during the pandemic, though at the expense of about 8 million in lost units and $250 million.

Kathryn Schifferle of Work Truck Solutions and Kirk Mann of Mitsubishi HC Capital America agreed that COVID taught us how essential fleets are, as last-mile deliveries rose 28%.

"In a crisis, change can happen," said Schifferle. Mann urged the use of data to understand demand and help plan accordingly, to become more efficient. "The key to all of this is cooperatively building it out," he said. "Make use cases and understand the context of situations to predict things ahead of time."

MDs, OEMs, Large Fleets & Autonomous Trucking

Following the large group discussions, smaller sessions broke out, including Medium-Duty EV Deployments, OEM data, and large fleet electrification.

On the topic of OEM data, Kathleen Thomson from ARI reminded attendees that different platforms are not an apples-to-apples comparison. With safety in mind, OEM data can also harness and integrate with ADAS for greater insight and context into distracted driving and other situations drivers can find themselves in.

On the topic of large fleet electrification, Danita Park of NRG explained the importance of laying out a roadmap for how fleets will reach their goal. Park also cautioned against using the same criteria for an ICE vehicle and applying it to an EV, saying, "If you don't have the right mindset and think of fossil fuel problems, you need to find out where your assumptions are wrong early in order to build a new system around EV functions."

NRG data shows that around 86% of fleets are considering electrification, but only 12% have already taken steps to move the ball forward.

Source: Fleet Forward
Photos ©Ross Stewart / rms3digital