Business Fleet, November/December 2020

mercial Vehicle Centers North America says Ford understands that fleets have extended their replacement cycles longer than under normal circumstances However For those businesses that can afford to maintain their cycle times we recommend not putting off replacement vehicle purchases as supplies tighten he says Perkins of Motorlease agrees noting that some fleet clients are attempting to extend the leases on their fleet vehicles and they have asked Motorlease for advice on how to handle the situation What might work for one group might be different from another Perkins says For the most part I tell our clients to get their orders in as early as possible 5 FLEETS MUST MANAGE THE CONSEQUENCES OF EXTENDED CYCLES For fleet operators that need to delay replacement for budgetary reasons Longobart cautions that deferment could result in additional maintenance cost lack of technicians to maintain older vehicles increased downtime and lower resale values Boykin notes that Fords Commercial Vehicle Center dealer network is boosting its support for small businesses to improve vehicle uptime as their vehicles age This includes the expansion of Ford dealers mobile service offerings which brings the technician to the vehicle instead of requiring the fleet to drive the vehicle to a dealership Boykin says Boykin encourages small fleets to take advantage of telematics which can help reduce downtime and protect their drivers and vehicle assets It can show you in real time where every vehicle in your fleet is and provide insights into fuel consumption driver behavior and vehicle health he says The silver lining to extended replacement cycles While the supply chain has suffered over the past six months the downturn of replacing equipment will allow the supply chain and upfitters to keep up with demands Longobart says 6 COMMERCIAL VANS ARE SCARCE With unprecedented demand for home delivery of goods and services according to Boykin demand is strong for the trucks and vans used to make those deliveries As of late October GM was running three shifts a day to meet van demand according to Perkins Other manufacturers are pretty much at capacity he adds Manufacturers are doing everything they can to produce as many vans and trucks as they can Jeb Lopez founder and CEO for courier company Wheelz Up agrees Wheelz Up which operates more than 200 Ford Transit Ram ProMaster and Nissan NV models has contracts with both Amazon and FedEx Lopez says new Transits and ProMasters are hard to come by while the Nissan NV and NV200 are due to be discontinued after the next model year There are hardly any discounts now for fleets because the units are scarce he says And its harder to get the unit you want Coming into peak delivery season Lopez needs to rent vans to cover additional routes At the truck rental agencies its a scramble to get vehicles Hey man whoever comes here first in the morning gets it Lopez says of the attitude between the rental operation and other delivery fleet customers Peak season also means vans needing repairs are facing crowded service lanes at dealers which increases downtime Lopez references warranty work that is needed on a Ram ProMaster Theyre so backlogged that my wait time for service is nine days he says Prices for parts such as tires and brakes are rising too Lopez is looking to source some parts in cheaper bulk quantities from China to have on hand to do light maintenance on the fly 7 ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL VEHICLES ARE ALMOST HERE During this 100 year economic and business disruption our fleet prognosticators say the wave of electric vehicles specifically commercial electric vehicles has almost arrived with electric pickups vans and models in the Class 3 to 6 range coming to market in the next one to two years Boykin of Ford says all electric vehicles are absolutely an option for small fleets Electric vehicles including electric F 150 and E Transit require significantly less maintenance than a typical gas engine creating more than 40 savings for their lifetime total cost of operation he says Longobart says fleets should be aware of greatly fluctuating charging costs Fleets need to fully understand demand charges as some fleets have been surprised by peak demand charges that have washed out all savings making internal combustible engines seem cheaper he says To Longobarts point Public charging stations are typically not feasible for these larger vehicles sometimes costing more than the price of gasoline and require downtime while parked at a location which affects productivity says Davis of ARI Charging larger commercial vehicles will require a depot style charging network at a significant capital investment though smart charging infrastructure can help to control charging rates Davis adds that although electric vehicles will have higher initial costs grants and state rebates for alternative fuel vehicles can significantly offset their higher acquisition costs These credits are not always easy to obtain but are worth looking into he says BF WWW BUSINESSFLEET COM 10 BUSINESS FLEET November December 2020 OPERATIONS Manufacturer shutdowns in early 2020 severely limited product availability which had a significant impact at the dealership level as manufacturers focus on reestablishing an adequate supply of retail vehicles With delays to new vehicle orders small fleets need to plan their next cycle today PHOTO COURTESY OF JEB LOPEZ WHEELZ UP