NAFA Outlines Its Future at St. Louis Gateway October Chapter Meeting

NAFA's St. Louis Gateway Chapter meeting in October featured Phillip E. Russo, CAE, NAFA Chief Executive Officer; Bill Schankel, CAE, NAFA Chief of Staff and Operations; and Tina Mercardo, CMP, NAFA's Director of Meetings and Events. The meeting was held at the Marriott at the St. Louis Airport.

The Future of Mobility - NAFA CEO Russo spoke to the audience about developments that are occurring within the industry concerning the future of transportation and fleet management. He said, “The future of transportation is ACES.”

ACES stands for:

• Autonomous
• Connected
• Electric
• Shared

Russo quoted industry sources saying, “Autonomous vehicles will comprise 20 percent of all cars by 2025, 50 percent by 2040, and 100 percent by 2060. Electric powertrains will cost the same as internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2025. Furthermore, electric vehicles will account for 54 percent of new car sales by 2040.”

Russo explained that the range issues long-associated with electric vehicles are being solved. Because electric vehicles will utilize infrastructure that must be maintained, mileage-based user fees are expected to replace motor fuel taxes. Some of this revenue will likely be used to build infrastructure that supports electric vehicles.

“Ridesharing could reduce the number of vehicles on the road, congestion, and fuel waste,” Russo said.

“Mobility is made of many components. It includes vehicles, Hyperloop-type systems, bikes, and drones. Drone delivery systems are already achieving 100 percent success rates. New York City is investing $30 million in a drone testing corridor. Daimler is investing $600 million in drone development.

“Mobility is a major part of NAFA’s strategic plan. There is a shift taking place from fleet management to mobility. Another mindset change that we will see is the shift from Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to Total Cost of Mobility (TCM),” Russo concluded.

NAFA's 2019 Institute & Expo (I&E) - Mercardo gave the audience an overview of the upcoming NAFA I&E event. I&E will be held April 15-17, 2019, in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Based on attendee feedback, we shortened I&E from four days to three, making it easier to sell upper management on your time away from work,” explained Mercardo.

Communities - Schankel outlined NAFA’s Communities initiative, set to launch in April, which will provide specialized, valuable, and memorable content, programs, services, and experiences to the many unique segments in NAFA’s membership.

Communities are:

• Government Fleets
• Public Safety Fleets
• Corporate Fleets
• Educational and University Fleets
• Multi-National Fleets
• Utility and Telecom Fleets
• Associate Members

“Communities are designed to provide a forum for discussion among individuals facing similar challenges and to provide relevant content to community members,” explained Schankel. Further, the communities will feature discussion boards and provide interactive functionality, and will be governed by four to seven members on an advisory board.

“The governing members of the communities will monitor forum questions and review whitepapers, along with help from NAFA staff,” said Schankel.