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Chris Brown

Associate Publisher

As associate publisher of Automotive Fleet, Auto Rental News, and Fleet Forward, Chris Brown covers all aspects of fleets, transportation, and mobility. Chris produces and emcees the annual International Car Rental Show, the largest event serving the auto rental industry worldwide. Chris also created and produces the Fleet Forward Conference along with regional Tour stops, the Fleet Safety Conference, and DeliveryCon, for the last-mile delivery fleet market. 

Chris has won publishing awards for editorial excellence including a Jesse H. Neal Award, three Folio: Eddie Awards, and three Maggie Awards. As an internationally recognized expert on fleets, auto rental and mobility, Chris has spoken at industry events in the U.S., Brazil, Ireland, and China. He has appeared on Good Morning America and has been sourced and quoted in national media such as Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and National Public Radio.

Articlesby Chris BrownDecember 24, 2019

How a Fleet Operator Builds an Electric Truck

XOS cofounders Dakota Semler and Gio Sordoni share their fleet origin story, the company’s purpose-built battery tech, and the right applications for truck electrification today.

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Articlesby Chris BrownNovember 22, 2019

Tesla's Electric Pickup: Is It a Work Truck?

An up-close dose of Tesla’s Cybertruck from last night’s reveal in Hawthorne, Calif. answers some initial questions on whether it can function in a traditional fleet capacity.

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Articlesby Chris BrownOctober 29, 2019

Keep Fleets in Mind When Considering the Country’s First Proposed Electric Truck Standard

Remember compliance cars? California Air Resources Board (CARB) proposed Advanced Clean Truck rule feels like its 2012 rule dictating zero-emission passenger cars. Only this time, fleets are involved.

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Articlesby Chris BrownOctober 14, 2019

How to Structure a Fleet Lease on a Tesla — and Not Get Burned

With rapid advances in battery tech, over-the-air software updates, and lack of market history, setting a residual value on a commercial fleet lease for an electric vehicle is not for the faint of heart. Doering Fleet Management has written hundreds of them.

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Articlesby Chris BrownAugust 5, 2019

XL Adds Fully Electric Platform to 'Product Roadmap'

Eric Foellmer says XL's plan is to continue supplementing the electrification strategy of the OEMs, which includes its present hybrid and plug-in hybrid systems and eventually an all-electric system.

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Articlesby Chris BrownAugust 1, 2019

Which EVs Have the Lowest Total Cost of Ownership for Fleets?

Included in this groundbreaking total cost of ownership study for fleets are battery-electric models including BMW i3, Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla 3, as well as plug-in hybrid electric models such as Chevrolet Volt and Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid.

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Articlesby Chris BrownMay 28, 2019

Penske Defines Path for Electric Truck Early Adopters

With recent investments in Fuso eCanters and charging infrastructure, Penske’s Paul Rosa puts the emerging electric truck market in context for fleets.

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Newsby Chris BrownMay 1, 2019

eCUVs: A New Choice for Urban Deliveries

With a payload of up to 2,000 lbs., the all-electric Able XR has the capabilities of a small pickup or van but for non-freeway urban environments.

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Articlesby Chris BrownJanuary 22, 2019

Hauling Cannabis and Cash: New Fleets Serve Exploding Industry

With recent cannabis legalization, new commercial fleets are springing up to transport pounds of marijuana and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. Navigating wildfire growth, ever-changing regulations, and federal illegality, it’s a fast learning curve for these new cannabis entrepreneurs — the legal ones, anyway.

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Articlesby Chris BrownSeptember 12, 2018

LeasePlan’s Smolka Shares Challenges to EV Fleet Implementation

To understand those challenges firsthand, LeasePlan’s global employee fleet intends to go fully electric by 2021.

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