Cox Automotive announced the acquisition of Dickinson Fleet Services, mobile maintenance provider for medium and heavy duty trucks and trailers in North America. This investment significantly bolsters the capabilities and geographic reach of Cox Automotive Mobility's nationwide Pivet fleet services marketplace. Dickinson's breadth of preventative maintenance and mobile emergency repair service capabilities, including its fleet of more than 700 mobile repair units and 800 repair and maintenance technicians, will enhance Pivet's existing network of fleet service offerings.
"Cox Automotive is building a fleet optimization marketplace designed to manage every fleet asset's complete lifecycle, and the acquisition of Dickinson Fleet Services both strengthens and diversifies Pivet's growing portfolio," said Joe George, president of Cox Automotive Mobility. "The mobile repair segment will only become more significant over time, and the seamless integration of Dickinson's capabilities provides a considerable leap forward on our path to making Pivet the industry's most comprehensive fleet services resource."
Fleets and technology will play a more substantial role in an A.C.E.S. (autonomous/aerial, connected, electric, and shared) future, resulting in significant increases in miles traveled per vehicle and a more frequent need for service and maintenance. Several indicators also point to the growth of mobile fleet services, including the rise of ecommerce and an on-demand economy offering real-time fulfilment of goods and services.
Cox Automotive has a history of making smart investments in innovation and solutions that positively impact the future. With the acquisition of Dickinson Fleet Services, Cox Automotive Mobility, a division of Cox Automotive committed to driving the future of transportation by helping fleets be their best, is focused on powering a fleet future that is highly dependent on mobile maintenance and repair services, working to deliver the shortest amount of vehicle downtime for customers. Operating within the Pivet fleet optimization and services marketplace, Dickinson's expert mobile repair services will be the cornerstone of Pivet's future growth trajectory. The new operations will be highly complementary to Pivet's existing network of fixed and high-capacity service centers, including Pivet's innovation hubs in Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, Manheim operating locations nationwide and a collection of other fleet service partner providers.
"We are honored to be a part of the Cox family, and excited for what this partnership means for our team and our customers," said Mike Dickinson and Ted Coltrain, executive officers of Dickinson Fleet Services. "Cox Automotive Mobility has an incredible vision to develop our people and expand our service offering and footprint. Together, we will be able to rapidly respond to our customers' fleet needs today and into the future."
As a facilitator in the automotive ecosystem, Cox Automotive believes this move will also help the company better prepare its clients for the transition to a fleet future. Tomorrow's servicing of high-utilization fleets will look much different than today's consumer-centric fixed ops world. As a result, today's incumbent service providers, including most dealers, will need to adapt by finding new ways of servicing and repairing vehicles.
"A core foundation of our business, and key to Manheim's 75-year legacy, is about exploring and growing what's next in the transportation business, and then delivering those insights to our customers," said Steve Rowley, president of Cox Automotive. "Nearly half of the manufacturers and thousands of dealers have engaged us in varying levels of conversation around executing service in new ways, including mobile maintenance. The learnings we'll gain operating the Dickinson Fleet Services business will be beneficial to helping our customers learn, grow, and execute in this space."
