FleetWeek

GM

The final order cutoff date for remaining 2012 Chevrolet Malibu models is next Thursday, August 2, 2012.  GM has recommended that any orders for the 2012 Malibu be placed as soon as possible, as remaining allocation is expected to be used up quickly.

Please note that ordering for certain 2013 Chevrolet Malibu models is now open.

Ford

The 2012 Ford F-250 through F-550 Super Duty Diesel models will reach final order cutoff on August 10.

A complete list of announced order startup/cutoff dates is available here. It is important to note that all cutoff dates are tentative and subject to change, sometimes with very little notice from the manufacturers.  In addition, some manufacturers do not allow will-try opportunities for orders they receive after the cutoff date. Therefore, it is extremely important that clients looking to acquire any models approaching cutoff submit orders as soon as possible.  We recommend you submit orders to Wheels at least two days prior to the cutoff date if possible, to account for processing time.

Please contact a member of your account team if you have any questions about order cutoffs, production startup dates or your vehicle selector.

The Alabama Department of Revenue has closed several of its offices in Jefferson County, resulting in long wait times for those looking to obtain vehicle titles and registration.

At this time, the impact of the office closures on Wheels vehicles is generally limited to initial registrations.  Automotive dealerships in Jefferson County have reported wait times exceeding five hours to process transactions. Many dealers have made staffing adjustments to help mitigate the situation and ensure that initial registration is completed in as timely a manner as possible. However, some dealers may attempt to turn over the paperwork to drivers and request that they go to a Department of Revenue office to obtain their license plates.

To ensure this situation has minimal impact on our clients’ drivers, the Wheels Title and Registration team will be contacting any drivers who are receiving new vehicles in Jefferson County to verify whether the dealer has obtained license plates on the drivers’ behalves.  In situations in which the dealer has not procured plates, Wheels will attempt to obtain them directly from the county so that the driver does not have to wait in line at the Department of Revenue office.

The registrations on all Wheels leased vehicles in Alabama expire November 30. We have already begun preparing for an expected spike in renewal volume to reduce the impact of any Department of Revenue delays.

The FleetView report schedule gives you tools to help monitor fleet activity and assist in making key strategic and tactical decisions. Based on the schedule, FleetView offers a number of reports we recommend reviewing in the month of August. These reports are listed below. For a copy of the complete report schedule, please contact a member of you account team.

Reports to run if you are on Wheels' support services

Claim Activity Detail: Use as required to monitor collision claim activity (e.g., weekly or monthly).

Fuel Purchases by Brand: Run quarterly to advise drivers on vendor costs.

Non Fuel Usage: Run twice yearly to identify non-fuel purchases.

Enterprise Open/Closed Rental: Run monthly to monitor open/closed rentals, costs and days.

In/Out of Network Repairs:  Run twice a year to ensure proper network utilization

Fleet management reports to run

Expense Variance: Use the Expense Variance tool regularly to monitor various fleet expenses and understand where, how and why these expenses changed over time.

Welcome Letter/Reminder:  Use the Welcome Letter/Reminder as part of the DriverView ordering process.

Violations Detail: Run regularly to review vehicle violation history and charges.

Fleet Expense Comparison: Use quarterly to view expense data on significant categories comparing this quarter, last year to this quarter, this year.  The report also shows year-to-date sums for each category.