The NAFA Fleet Management Association recently held a ride-and-drive event in Toronto. Nearly 200 attendees were on hand to interact with exhibitors, OEM representatives, and their fleet management peers.
“This was the first ride and drive event for NAFA Ontario since 2019, and it was a huge success. Thank you to all attendees, OEMs, exhibitors, and sponsors that participated. We look forward to building on this event for next year,” says Imran Mohammed, vice-president, Business Development, BDS Fleet Service, and the event organizer.
In all, around 185 attendees, 13 OEMs, and 18 exhibitors, took part in the event at the Pearson Convention Centre. The event allowed attendees to take various vehicles on a road test drive or on a dynamics course, which allowed for the drivers to test out all capabilities of the vehicles.
Participating OEMs included work truck manufacturers Ford Pro with the F-150 and Super Duty; General Motors (Chevrolet, GMC) with the Sierra EV, BrightDrop; Mercedes-Benz with a Sprinter; and Stellantis (Ram). Vehicles from Hyundai, Toyota, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Kia, Volvo, Volkswagen, and Polestar were also on hand.
After the driving was complete, attendees visited a variety of exhibitors, which included upfitters (Drive Products, Legend, Transform Outfitters, MKW Outfitters, Woodfield, and Farmbro), fleet management companies (Element Fleet Management, EMKAY Leasing, Driving Force, and Foss National Leasing), and suppliers (KAL Tire, Action Car and Truck Accessories, Carfax, Ally SmartAuction, RunBuggy, Belron, Geotab, and PowerON).
Finally, during lunch, Cole Lemette with PowerON Energy Solutions, an OPG Company, delivered a presentation that looked at EV market trends globally, and key considerations for adopting EVs for your business, and the charging infrastructure.
about the author
Mario Cywinski is the editor of Modern Work Truck Solutions and has worked in the automotive industry for over 20 years, both as an automotive journalist and working for a local dealership. He is a member of the Automobile Journalist Association of Canada. He can be reached at mario@mwsmag.com.
