August 2026 Update: Merchants Fleet Releases 2025 Impact Report

Merchants Fleet released its 2025 Impact Report, highlighting measurable progress across fleet electrification, employee engagement, supplier diversity and community impact.

Organized around three pillars, Our Planet, Our People and Our Communities, the report highlights how Merchants Fleet continues to help organizations navigate an evolving fleet and business landscape while investing in responsible fleet solutions, workforce development and stronger communities.

“The 2025 Impact Report reflects our commitment to helping clients navigate change while investing in our people and strengthening the communities where we live and work,” said Alicia Hart, Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer at Merchants Fleet. “From supporting employee growth, giving back locally, and continuing to advance fleet electrification, we’re focused on creating measurable impact that delivers long-term value for our clients, employees and communities.”

It also reinforces the company’s commitment to providing clients with the expertise and solutions they need to navigate evolving electric vehicle policies and sustainability priorities.

As fleet operators navigated evolving electric vehicle policies, changing market conditions and shifting sustainability priorities throughout 2025, Merchants continued partnering with organizations to develop practical, data-driven fleet strategies that balance operational needs, sustainability goals and long-term business performance.

The report showcases how Merchants helped a residential service provider deploy its first electric vehicles and secure $380,000 in incentives, enabled a dental supply company to reduce fuel consumption while saving $3.5 million annually, and partnered with a national vegetation management company to launch a 40-vehicle EV pilot.

Together, these examples demonstrate Merchants’ consultative approach to developing fleet strategies that align with each client’s operational and business objectives.

When organizations look for ways to reduce fleet costs, they typically focus on vehicle acquisition, maintenance, fuel, or lifecycle strategy. Those are all important pieces of the equation, but they’re not the only opportunities to improve total cost of ownership (TCO).

Sometimes, meaningful savings come from places many fleet managers don’t think to look.

For clients with vehicles registered in Texas, Merchants Fleet identified an opportunity that has already resulted in more than $4 million in property tax savings since the program began in 2018. In this blog post, read how this example of a proactive, consultative approach can uncover value well beyond traditional fleet management.

Here are some of the top news stories from around the fleet industry.

Applause & TRUCE Software Partner to Improve Driver Safety Through AI-Powered Telematics & Employee Performance Management: Applause has partnered with TRUCE Software to integrate AI-powered, driver-level telematics into employee performance scorecards, giving technicians real-time visibility into their driving behavior while enabling managers to coach, recognize, and reward safer driving alongside other performance metrics.

Fleet Managers Take the Lead in Hands-On AI Workshop at FFC: Kooner Fleet Management Solutions has appointed Micah Einterz as its first Head of Strategy, tapping the former Amazon and Kenworth leader to drive strategic growth, partnerships, and long-term planning as the company expands its nationwide fleet services business.

Geotab Sees AI Giving Small Fleets Access to World-Class Fleet-Management Expertise: Geotab says AI is democratizing fleet management by giving even small fleets access to enterprise-level insights and decision support, turning complex telematics data into actionable recommendations for maintenance, safety, utilization, and cost optimization.

Fleet Optimization and Sustainability: The Case for One Unified Approach: Fleet optimization and sustainability should be treated as complementary goals, showing that strategies like route optimization, better asset utilization, and data-driven operations can simultaneously reduce costs, improve efficiency, and lower emissions.

Meet Atlas: Motive’s AI Assistant for Fleets: Atlas is an AI-powered fleet assistant that lets managers and drivers use natural language to analyze fleet data, automate routine tasks, and take real-time action across maintenance, safety, compliance, and operations from a single interface.

What Separates Great Fleet Managers From Everyone Else?: Great fleet managers distinguish themselves by taking a strategic, data-driven approach—setting long-term goals, collaborating across departments, leading with integrity, and continuously improving operations rather than simply reacting to day-to-day challenges.

How Fleets are Optimizing Routes and Growing Delivery Volume Without Adding Drivers: Integrated fleet planning helps carriers overcome driver shortages by using real-time data and connected planning tools to optimize driver scheduling, improve asset utilization, reduce inefficiencies, and make better use of existing workforce capacity rather than relying solely on hiring more drivers.

Merchants has launched a new survey for our Short-Term clients!

This brand-new survey will ask Short-Term clients about our offboarding process, including how we performed regarding the time and ease of offboarding, the speed of vehicle pickup, our turn in communication, and the overall vehicle return experience.

Keep an eye out for an email coming from [email protected].  This survey will be open for seven days after you have received it. If you receive this survey, we kindly encourage you to take a few moments to complete it.

Your feedback is incredibly valuable and helps us continue improving our processes while ensuring we deliver the best possible experience for you and your team.

Here at Merchants, we are committed to providing a best-in-class client and driver experience. Our Driver Support team continues to demonstrate commitment through responsive, reliable service, including a 22 second speed of answer, 60% First Call Resolution, and +76 NPS satisfaction rating.

These results reflect our ongoing focus on providing the support, care, and solutions your drivers need to stay moving and your business needs to be successful.

We also want to take a moment to thank your drivers for their continued partnership and trust. We appreciate the opportunity to support them each day and look forward to continuing to deliver the excellent service you have come to expect from Merchants.

General Motors has made a decision regarding production of the Chevrolet Silverado that will have major impact for the medium-duty truck market. If your fleet will be affected by this news, it's important that you act quickly and contact Merchants Fleet. 

GM decided it will not renew its production agreement with International Trucks, stemming from ROI concerns and compliance with the 2022 EPA Rule regarding air pollution from new motor vehicles.  

As a result, the Chevrolet Silverado 4500HD, 5500HD and 6500HD will be discontinued as of September 30th, 2026. 

It's important to note that GM is not leaving the commercial truck market. The LCF, built in partnership with Isuzu, will continue to serve as GM's primary commercial offering and will carry into the 2027 model year. 

With these shifts in the market, it's important to stay ahead of your order planning. Please contact your Merchants representative as soon as possible, and our professionals will help you navigate this change and get you the vehicles you need to keep your fleet operational. 

Due to strong demand and limited availability, Ford F-150 Hybrid inventory continues to be extremely constrained in the out-of-stock market. 

As availability for these vehicles remain limited, fleets considering hybrid options will need to seek alternatives. 

Merchants has seen clients experience success with the Ford Maverick Hybrid as an alternative when operational requirements allow for smaller vehicle footprints. 

This approach has helped clients maintain fuel-efficiency objectives while reducing acquisition lead times and improving the likelihood of securing available inventory. 

If you are considering an F-150 Hybrid, or are experiencing sourcing challenges, please contact your Merchants representative and our team of professionals will help you find the vehicles to suit your needs. 

GM:  

Bluetooth and OnStar Integration will be returning for General Motor vehicles, including Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevrolets, GMCs starting with Model Year 2027. 

GM will also be discontinuing its 4.3L V6 engine after MY27. Merchants recommends early ordering if you need a vehicle with a V6 engine. 

The following vehicles have a final 26MY order cutoff date of August 28th: 

• Silverado – HD Crew 

• Silverado – LD Crew 

• Sierra – HD Crew 

• Sierra – LD Crew 

Please submit your orders for these vehicles as soon as possible. 

Subaru: 

Order banks for the 2026 Subaru Forester (Gas & Hybrid) will close on August 20th at 5:00PM. Please submit any orders for this vehicle as soon as possible. 

Toyota: 

As of July 30th, the 2027 Toyota Corolla GAS has officially sold out. We can no longer accept fleet factory orders for this vehicle. 

Nissan: 

Demand for MY27 Nissan fleet vehicles remain extremely strong. To ensure you get your vehicles in a timely manner, Merchants recommends placing your orders as early as possible. To give you an example of the current timeline, orders placed in early September would be ready for January production.