Energy
Tuesday, September 27th, 2022 10:30 am EDT
As the auto industry shifts everything to electric, everywhere, a knowledge gap between those who understand EVs and those who don’t is quickly beginning to show itself as a major obstacle towards widespread adoption — and Cox Automotive thinks it’s got the tools and talent to not just bridge that gap, but help advance the cause itself by pledging to slash carbon emissions by converting at least 50% of its fleet to zero emission vehicles by 2030.
Who Needs Cox?
Image from Cox Automotive slide deck.
If you’ve ever spent time working at a car dealership, you probably already know that Cox are a huge deal, with their Manheim auctions, VinSolutions software, and AutoTrader platforms (to name just a few Cox-controlled brands) virtually establishing what your trade-in is worth, its XTime and DealerTrack solutions determining what and how your vehicle is serviced, and its Dealer.com online shopping platform determining how you find and buy your next new car. Cox has literally thousands of car dealerships as clients, and it provides tools and training to all of them — so, if someone knows what it’s gonna take to get them to go “all-in on EVs,” it’s Cox.
“In addition to modernizing our own fleet, we are prioritizing electric vehicle technician training and developing groundbreaking solutions to help our partners modernize their fleets,” Ted Coltrain, vice president of operations for Cox Automotive Mobility Fleet Services, said in a press release which continues, “The industry needs elite technicians trained to be proficient in the EV and AV world, including the tools, techniques and safety procedures.”
Earlier this week, Cox announced plans open what it’s calling, “an advanced electric vehicle training center” for vehicle technicians, along with plans to expand its existing mobile charging services nationwide.
Graduates of Cox’ training center will learn about the ins and outs of modern electric fleet management, as well as refurbishment services like converting internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles to hybrid or pure electric offerings — think of the converted electric school bus from Unique Electric Solutions that we covered back in January, or US Hybrid’s PHEV conversions and you’ll start to understand how Cox plans to slash “its” contribution to carbon emissions.
These training services are the first of several that Cox says will help, “propel a range of new commitments from Cox Automotive Mobility Fleet Services with the larger goal of sustainability.”
More than 500 Cox Automotive Mobility roadside assistance and service trucks are currently equipped with mobile EV charging (or, “V2V charging”) capability, with an additional 350 trucks to be outfitted with the portable chargers within the next year. The company will officially launch its Advanced EV Training Center at the existing FleeTec Academy campus in Indianapolis in Q4 of this year.
Source | Images: Cox Automotive.
Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality and cleantech news coverage? Consider becoming a CleanTechnica Member, Supporter, Technician, or Ambassador — or a patron on Patreon.
Don’t want to miss a cleantech story? Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Advertisement
This post has been syndicated from a third-party source. View the original article here.
