While mobility as a service – known in the fleet world as “MaaS” – is gaining traction among fleets in Europe, it’s widely believed that in the U.S. many are talking about it but only a few are doing much about it. FMW recently caught up with John Korte, vice president of Donlen’s mobility business development team, to ask him what his company is doing about it, both in the U.S. and overseas. Here’s a transcript of our interview with him, edited for clarity and economy.

– Mark Boada, Executive Editor.

What kinds of products and services is Donlen offering to providers of mobility as a service that could also be used by traditional fleets?

At Donlen, over the last 12 to 18 months we’ve come up with several new products and services that are being utilized by ride-hailing and ride-sharing companies, three of which we could ultimately offer to our traditional corporate fleet clients.

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By John Wolford, Vice President, Business Process, Quality, and Sourcing, The CEI Group, Inc.

Supplements are additions to original estimates that can knock you for a loop.

Ideally, you want your first estimates to be reliable before you authorize repairs. But how can you accomplish that? There’s a cure that sharp accident management service providers take advantage of, but before revealing it, let’s define terms.

Supplements occur when there is damage inside the vehicle that wasn’t seen or anticipated when an estimate is written. They are revisions to initial estimates, and require additional customer approval for repairs to proceed. According to industry experts, supplements are issued for some 30 percent of all collision repair jobs nationwide, and the average dollar amount is around 25 percent over and above the original estimate. If that’s your fleet’s record, take heart: you can cut the number of supplements you receive by half or more.

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By John Challen, Editor, International Fleet World

As automakers continue to innovate and incorporate new technologies into cars for the ultimate driving experience, new safety and cybersecurity challenges are emerging.

Connected and autonomous vehicles will be dictated by software, so it is critical that this software is safe and secure over the lifetime of the car. Consumer safety, costly recalls and brand reputation are at stake when a vehicle is compromised. For fleets, security is essential to ensuring that uptime and efficiency levels are as high as possible, and drivers must be confident that they are safe – in every sense – behind the wheel.

In response to this, BlackBerry has set out a seven-pillar recommendation for OEMs and the fleet industry to follow to try to ensure that cars can be made as safe and secure as possible.

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The Detroit Bureau

US. Automakers have launched some of the most lavish incentives on full-size truck models seen since the end of the Great Recession, with discounts of as much as $16,000.

Both General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles need to clear inventories ahead of their new vehicles launch, as well as the potential weakness of segment leader Ford which lost thousands of units of production due to a supplier problem last month.

“The truck wars could prove costly considering manufacturers are offering discounts that are larger than the cost of some economy cars. But their pickups are some of the most profitable products on the market, analysts note, with average transaction prices pushing into the mid-$40,000 range. That provides plenty of room for price-cutting, especially if the manufacturers trim back as they enter the 2019 model-year.”

Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.

Chicago Tribune

While cost may be one of the main factors when choosing a vehicle, safety has to be a primary concern.

Newer systems such as forward collision braking and other advanced driver assistance features can minimize or even prevent collisions altogether. Vehicles equipped with such technology qualify for the institute’s Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick Plus award for each model year.

Read the article at Chicago Tribune.

The Verge

Uber has submitted a plan for artificial intelligence that detects a user’s drunken behavior.

The system tracks how someone typically uses Uber’s app: how quickly they type (and with how many typos), how precisely they click on buttons, their walking speed, and the way their phone is typically held or dropped on any given day.

Factors like these are plugged into Uber’s planned algorithm, along with details about when and where the ride was requested. A late-night Uber call or one that’s from an area loaded with bars, would tip the system off about a rider’s sobriety differently than a daytime call from the suburbs.

Read the article at The Verge.

Ford Media Center

The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season is underway and Ford Motor Company Fund wants to provide disaster relief teams with the best equipped and most capable vehicles when people need help.

Beginning June 5, Ford Motor Company Fund is accepting applications for the second Ford Disaster Relief Mobility Challenge, an opportunity for nonprofit partners to tap into their expertise and creativity to customize a Ford Transit to fit a particular need in their community.

“When natural disaster strikes, it is critical to move the right people, the right materials and the right vehicles to impacted areas to help people as quickly as possible,” said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund. “Nowhere is our mission to strengthen communities more urgent than in recovery efforts during the hours, days and weeks following a natural disaster.”

Read the article at Ford Media Center.

The Daily Beast

Trump is more than happy to help Detroit carmakers and Big Oil try to extend the life of the internal combustion engine for as long as possible, while Britain and France have both declared that they want all diesel and gasoline-powered cars off the road by 2040.

Most industry leaders know the reality – every day there is a constantly shifting balance between old technology and new, and if they get on the wrong side of that their businesses, no matter how big, will die.

“The role of the automobile is being re-thought in fundamental ways. Clean electric power will eventually bring the most radical change in personal mobility since the locomotive supplanted the horse.”

Read the article at The Daily Beast.

Bloomberg

Subaru is among a small group of automakers setting a casual pace in the global race for electric vehicles, and seem to be satisfied to let other R&D departments perfect the technology while consumer demand slowly merges with accelerating emissions mandates.

Later this year, the company plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid version of its Crosstrek SUV, combining gas engines with electric motors. Currently, Subarus all run exclusively on internal combustion engines, and a fully electric car is still years away.

“If we put one out now, we’re goig to be competing in the teeth of the market with everybody else,” Subaru Corp. U.S. Chief Executive Officer Tom Doll explained in an interview. “This way, we can let them kind of sort it out, then we can come in. I’d rather be last in and get it right,than be first in and destroy my brand image and reputation.”

Read the article at Bloomberg.

Forbes

When Level 4 autonomous vehicles – those with the ability to drive without human control – get into a jam because road conditions have suddenly changed due to construction, accidents or other complexities, that’s when Phantom Auto’s remote control “teleoperation” system helps out.

A remote technician seated at a multiscreen Phantom console, with a steering wheel, brake and accelerator pedals, assesses the situation via the car’s cameras over a cellular network connection and drives it out of the situation.

“The biggest barrier to deployment of AVs right now is public acceptance,” cofounder and chief strategy officer Elliot Katz said. “For a century we’ve only thought that humans drive cars. Now we’re doing a complete 180, but most people aren’t ready to completely accept the fact that their lives are in the hands of a machine.”

Read the article at Forbes.