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Penske Associates Deliver Holiday Joy in Ford Pro’s New E-Transit
For more than 10 years, Penske associates have generously delivered holiday joy and donated gifts to The Children’s Home of Reading.
The delivery was organized by the employee association Social Activities for Associates of the Reading Area (SAARA) and led by Michele Hansen, Senior Executive Assistant – PTL, at Penske’s global headquarters in Reading. Associates were assigned a child’s name and holiday tags and could drop off gifts at designated locations within the office. Scott Norman, Manager of Office Services – PTL, delivered the packages to the Children’s Home on December 8. Penske sponsored delivered 283 packages.
“I feel it’s important for Penske to give back to the community by helping those less fortunate and may otherwise not enjoy the holidays,” Hansen shared.
This year’s holiday gift delivery was extra special - and sustainable - as the gifts were dropped off using Ford Pro’s new E-Transit van.
The E-Transit is the electric version of the Ford Transit, and the first all-electric cargo van from a full-line automaker in North America. Penske is the first truck rental and leasing company to use and test Ford’s new electric vehicle.
By using the E-Transit, Penske was able to drop off its delivery with a reduced carbon footprint. Using and providing electric vehicle options is a major step Penske has taken to achieve both company and customer sustainability goals.
Penske began piloting the Ford E-Transit in November, as an effort to expand its industry-leading electric truck fleet. The truck is rented to small- and medium-sized commercial businesses in Penske’s home market of Reading. Penske's long-term electric vehicle plans include adding units throughout its wider network, including Southern California.
By: Hope Reginella
Penske Truck Leasing to Acquire DeCarolis Truck Rental Inc.
Penske Truck Leasing today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of Rochester, N.Y.-based DeCarolis Truck Rental Inc. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“DeCarolis Truck Rental is a well-respected name in the region and we are excited about the opportunity to join our businesses,” said Art Vallely, president, Penske Truck Leasing. “We look forward to working closely with DeCarolis customers and associates to integrate the business into the Penske brand.”
This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals. The parties involved anticipate closing the transaction on December 17, 2021.
“We’re very excited about joining the Penske organization,” said Michael Margarone, president and CEO, DeCarolis Truck Rental. “The combination of both companies will elevate our technology and service capabilities and ultimately benefit our customers. We look forward to this new journey together.”
Founded over 80 years ago, DeCarolis Truck Rental is a family-owned and operated company headquartered in Rochester, N.Y. They provide truck leasing, rental, maintenance and repair services to the food processing and distribution, consumer distribution and freight hauling industries. They employ approximately 175 people, maintain a fleet of approximately 2,350 units, and service customers from 10 locations.
By Kim Harmsen
US Infrastructure Bill’s EV Charger Funding
Infrastructure Bill's EV Charger Funding a Good Start, but More Funding Likely to be Needed to Meet Growing Demand
IHS Markit expects US infrastructure bill to supplement only 66 percent of required US EV charger growth through 2026
Today President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. The bill is expected to support the automotive industry in many ways, from improved road conditions, cleaner commercial vehicles, electric vehicle battery factories, battery recycling, and lithium mining and refining. However, one of the largest EV appropriations will be toward vehicle charging. Some $7.5 billion has been allocated to alternative fuel charging, primarily for electric vehicle chargers and supporting infrastructure across the country.
IHS Markit estimates that the US federal investment will directly contribute to the construction, maintenance, and operation of approximately 400,000 newly installed Level 2 AC and Level 3 DC Fast chargers in the US between 2022 and 2026. Under the details outlined in the bill, chargers must be open-sourced, meaning funding cannot go to Tesla's proprietary Supercharger network, unless it opens it up to non-Tesla vehicles.
However, IHS Markit believes this investment is unlikely to meet the growing demand of the US plug-in EV fleet. Along with the nation's current electric vehicle charging infrastructure of 100,000+ chargers at 50,000 publicly available locations, IHS Markit estimates there will need to be about 600,000 additional chargers installed at another 100,000 public locations by 2026.
The figure does not include the 3.2 million domestic, private Level 2 chargers expected to be installed in residential homes - mostly in garages - over the investment period.
This bill represents the first large-scale national investment
in EV charging infrastructure. "The Biden administration's
investment isn't hyperbole and will have a significant impact on US
electric vehicle charging supply," said Mark Boyadjis, IHS Markit
global automotive technology lead. "However, even an investment at
this scale will come up short against the rapid growth of electric
cars hitting the road soon, pointing to a need for additional
support from municipal, utility, and private investments to fill
the gap."
IHS Markit expects that the EV Vehicles in Operation (VIO) on the
road in the United States will increase from 1.5 million in 2020 to
about 9.3 million units in 2026. IHS Markit estimates that the
nation needs approximately 700,000 cumulative chargers by 2026 to
meet that demand, and the 400,000 that the US bill will support is
not enough to get us there entirely. During the 5-year investment
period, Federal subsidies are only expected to fulfill two-thirds
of what is required to energize the future EV fleet in the US.
Additionally, IHS Markit forecasts EV battery capacity to steadily increase over the coming years. "This will allow the average EV to travel further on a single charge, in principle lessening the need for such abundant infrastructure, said Graham Evans, director, automotive supply chain & technology, IHS Markit. "However, from a consumer perception perspective, abundant EV charging is needed to encourage skeptical consumers that a BEV is workable for them."
75 percent of US EV owners prefer to charge at home, but a successful transition to a national electric vehicle fleet requires a way for those without that capability to charge in a convenient manner at public facilities. Overall, only 63 percent of US households have access to a garage and that figure is less in urban areas where more than 50 percent of EV sales occur. "If EVs remain impractical for apartment, condo, and historic home dwellers, we cannot adequately reach the administration's stated EV goals," said Colin Bird-Martinez, automotive consulting principal analyst, IHS Markit.
The bill sets aside $5 billion to be granted to states to deploy EV charging stations in US; and $2.5 billion in grants to public entities to deploy publicly-available EV charging, hydrogen fueling, propane fueling, and natural gas fueling infrastructure through 2022-26.
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