Highlights | Finished Vehicle Logistics North America

Red Sofa interview | GM’s Amy Paulsen shares how lessons from EV start-ups are accelerating agility, innovation and infrastructure across GM’s FVL

Amy Paulsen, director of finished vehicle logistics at GM, joins the Red Sofa at FVL North America to discuss how the company is modernising its logistics systems, digitalising its networks and strengthening EV infrastructure to support its growing electric vehicle portfolio. Drawing on her experience in EV start-ups, she highlights how GM is applying new thinking and technologies to build a more agile and resilient supply chain.

Anu Goel on how Volkswagen Group of America’s regional strategy is mitigating tariff disruption and transforming vehicle logistics

Simplified metrics, regional teamwork and agile tools: VW’s Anu Goel shares how logistics is powering resilience across borders, at this years’ FVL North America 2025 conference.

Reimagining Finished Vehicle Logistics: Highlights from FVL North America 2025

Watch all the highlights from #FVLNA 2025.

EV logistics, charging infrastructure and strategic decision-making take centre stage on the final day of FVL North America 2025

Christopher Ludwig, chief content officer at Automotive Logistics, wraps up the final day of Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2025 with key insights into electric vehicle logistics, charging constraints, quality control and strategic resilience amid uncertainty.

Reimagining Finished Vehicle Logistics: Key Themes from Day 1 at FVL North America 2025

Christopher Ludwig, chief content officer at Automotive Logistics, wraps up the first full day of sessions at Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2025. From regional strategies to VIN-level visibility, he reflects on how the sector is reimagining itself in the face of continuous disruption, evolving partnerships and rising quality expectations.

FVL North America 2025 opens with optimism, strategy and connection amid trade uncertainty

Christopher Ludwig shares insights from the welcome drinks reception of FVL North America 2025, as the vehicle logistics sector tackles tariffs, technology and transformation.

Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2025 Golf day

FVL NA 2025 - “Get ready to re-imagine logistics: Creating a faster, agile, more competitive vehicle supply chain”

Welcome to the recap blog from Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2025, which took place at Waterfront Beach Resort, Huntington Beach, California, on 8-10 April. The conference brought over 400 delegates and leaders, and featured discussion on real-world issues and offering innovative and implementable solutions in the inbound logistics, transportation, supply chain strategy and much more. While the conference has ended, our coverage has not - keep following this recap blog for more insights and interviews from the event, and register now for next year here!

Red Sofa Interview: VW’s Anu Goel on thinking regionally in FVL

Anu Goel, executive vice-president, Group After Sales & Service, Volkswagen Group speaks to Christopher Ludwig, chief content officer, Automotive Logistics about bringing together North America’s US, Canada and Mexico vehicle logistics divisions under a Virtual Task Force to explore more opportunities that are beneficial for the region as a whole.

Volkswagen Group’s North America vehicle logistics approach saves cost and delivery time

In the last year, Volkswagen Group of America’s finished vehicle logistics teams have united their US, Mexico and Canada divisions, under the umbrella of Anu Goel’s leadership and ’Virtual Task Force’. Now, Goel and the team are seeing results, not only in efficiency and capacity, but in millions of dollars’ worth of working capital and transport savings.

BEV adoption in North America will take ‘longer than thought’

The full-scale adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the North American market will take longer than predicted, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).

BMW and Nissan make Mexican networks flexible for changing market demands

Both BMW and Nissan are preparing their Mexican networks for changes in market demand, with BMW set to begin producing EVs using its battery manufacturing facility next to its San Luis Potosi assembly plant, and Nissan upping its skills in the supply chain to cater to fluctuations in demand from consumers.

Ford is increasing telematic data sharing in vehicle logistics

In one of the four Ideas Labs held at this year’s Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conference in California, Ford’s Alex McMall joined FreightVerify’s Nathan Lawson to discuss the benefits of telematics for transparent vehicle logistics

Disruption is fertile ground for innovation in vehicle logistics

After a succession of disruptions over the last few years, finished vehicle logistics providers have taken stock of their network performance and are taking further measures to be more flexible and resilient. At this year’s Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conference in California some of the region’s top performers explained what they were doing to improve services.

How to democratise data and enable transparency in FVL

Sharing data and knowledge in finished vehicle logistics, and across the wider automotive logistics sector, will be beneficial for OEMs and tier suppliers alike – but despite this, there is still a reluctance to break the industry norms and trust other parties with data and information. At this year’s Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conference, leaders from Ford, Subaru, VW and more spoke about why it’s necessary to break the status quo and democratise data to see effective results.

Managing long-haul partnerships in FVL

Carmakers and logistics providers are redefining partnerships to improve collective competitiveness and foster long-term success. But how is a win-win ensured for both sides?

FVL NA in pictures: Day 2

Speakers from Ford, BMW, NIssan and Volkswagen took the stage to share important insights from the finished vehical sector in North America.

Red Sofa Interview: How California State is investing in finished vehicle logistics

Christine Casey, deputy secretary for Freight Policy, California State Transportation Agency takes to the Red Sofa to tell Christopher Ludwig, chief content officer, Automotive Logistics about the investments into California’s FVL sector.

FVL North America 2024 Day 2 wrap-up

The final day of Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2024 the event focused on regulations, governmental support and federal and private investment in infrastructure, and opportunities to become more sustainable.

Red Sofa Interview: BMW’s progress in US-Mexico network strategy

Raúl Gamboa, head of Logistics, Production Control and Production Systems at BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosí speaks to Richard Logan, senior content producer, Automotive Logistics about the progress and challenges facing the carmaker in the finished vehicle sector.

FVL North America 2024 Day 1 wrap-up

Join us inside the Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2024 Gala Dinner as we break down the discussions from the day, including innovation in supply chain management, disrupting the status quo in FVL, integrating across divisions to improve visibility and efficienct, and building partnerships for long-term growth.

FVL NA 2024 in pictures: Day 1

Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2024 kicked off with a day of golf hosted by KHS ahead of our Welcome Drinks Reception hosted by Jack Cooper. The day saw several leaders and experts coming together for a day of fun, as part of our three-day event focused around key issues and opportunities in the FVL sector, including combating the capacity crunch across rail, road and sea and harnessing data and analytics to make real-time improvements to network planning and operations.

FVL North America 2024 Cocktail Reception wrap-up

Join us inside the Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2024 Cocktail Reception as we get revved up for the hottest topics in automotive logistics. Centred on discussions of disrupting the status quo of FVL in the region, we will hear about the innovation in supply chain management and transportation solutions, flexibility and the importance of partnerships and sustainability.

Red Sofa interview: Nissan’s Steve Jernigan on network improvements in Mexico

At this week’s Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2024 conference in California, Steve Jernigan, senior director of supply chain management for Nissan North America, took to the Red Sofa to tell Richard Logan, senior content producer, Automotive Logistics about improvements to domestic haulaway performance in Mexico, which includes better equipment utilisation and availability.

Finished Vehicle Logistics North America: Recap blog

Follow our recap blog below for key highlights and knowledge shared at Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2024. We will be sharing news and videos straight from the main stage and the Red Sofa, including insight, data and quotes from the automotive experts who discussed how they are disrupting the status quo, and raising performance through innovation, flexibility and partnerships.

A picture paints a thousand words for Ford’s quality inspection

In an effort to improve the damage-free delivery of its vehicles, Ford has embarked on a journey to digitalise its quality inspection and repair process.

Data visibility provides a crystal ball for VW’s port quality operations

Volkswagen is now able to standardise and improve the vehicle inspection and repair process at its port locations in North America, with greater transparency on logistics flow and a more accurate ETA for vehicle deliveries, supported by software from Inform

Nissan is thinking outside the box to improve vehicle deliveries

As vehicle production recovers in North America carmakers with ambitious plans to recover lead time and rebuild inventory are struggling with capacity constraints across every transport mode.

Nissan’s zero emission journey to using electric trucks in North America

Steve Jernigan explains the new relationships and considerations Nissan has needed to make to bring several EV trucking initiatives to life, including for outbound haulaway in California.

That’s a wrap, but the conversation is just getting started for finished vehicle logistics

At the end of FVL North America 2023, Christopher Ludwig reflects on the top themes of the event, with one thing clear: things are changing faster in vehicle logistics than ever before.

The FVL party has started: capacity, ETA, standards and network changes

Halfway through this year’s conference on the sidelines of the evening reception, Christopher Ludwig sums up the highlights so far.

The winds of change: welcome to Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2023

Editor-in-Chief Christopher Ludwig welcomes delegates to this year’s event during the opening cocktail reception.

Logistics in the virtual world: how Toyota is using AR/VR in training and logistics centres

Dave Kleiner, from Toyota’s Applied Technology Research Lab, explains the technology and benefits of immersive training and digital twins for the carmaker’s logistics operations.

State of freight in the golden state: how California aims to stay a global leader in sustainable logistics

State Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin explains the policies, funding and technology supporting the state’s ambitious zero emission freight and transport targets.

VW Group of America: what data points in the delivery chain help us act?

Anu Goel says it’s important for Volkswagen to determine what visibility logistics teams need versus what the customer needs – as they are not always the same.

Mercedes Benz: People are our most critical asset in vehicle logistics

Rory Hepner points to the partnerships and human capital that will help the Mercedes-Benz USA meet its ambitions for service and electrification.

Stellantis: Opportunities everywhere in North America to invest in outbound capacity

Nick Thompson explains how Stellantis is looking for more vehicle logistics capacity across the region, especially for Mexico.

Bridging the gap for vehicle distribution in North America

The automotive industry in North America is dealing with a number of capacity and service lead time disruptions, many of which are shockwaves from the impact of the Covid pandemic. One of the most recent to be felt is the shift in volume imports from the east to the west coast of the US, a topic of discussion for carmakers and their logistics service providers at this year’s Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conference in California.

Out of sight is not out of mind in today’s vehicle logistics

Giving the end customer an accurate date for the delivery of their vehicle has taken on greater importance since the Covid pandemic.

Shared standards for an electric future

The transformation the automotive industry is undergoing this decade to phase out the combustion engine and manufacture battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is having a significant impact on the way those vehicles are distributed the world over. As a result, carmakers need to transform the way they work with their outbound vehicle logistics providers.

Watch: Better visibility drives continuous improving in Toyota’s vehicle logistics

Manny Bansi, vice-president of Toyota Logistics Services, responsible for vehicle logistics in North America, explains why the carmaker is putting so much focus on ETA and how it is impacting operations in transport and vehicle processing.

Watch: Thank you for joining us at Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2022!

Christopher Ludwig closes out the 2022 Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conference, which was the most important gathering of vehicle logistics executives in more than a decade.

Watch FVL highlights: ETA, capacity, driver shortages and collaboration

Editor-in-Chief Christopher Ludwig summarises key takeaways from Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2022, where vehicle ETA, capacity and costs were major concerns, but so were finding practical ways to work together.

Watch: Vehicle logistics is driving production decisions at Nissan North America

Chris Styles, vice-president of supply chain for Nissan North America, reveals how pipeline ordering has changed outbound processes at Nissan, and why improving time-to-market and vehicle delivery will determine manufacturing and product decisions at the carmaker.

Watch: Volkswagen dealers want better vehicle logistics visibility

Ray Mikiciuk, senior vice-president of sales at Volkswagen Group of America, says vehicle ETA is a top priority for the OEM’s dealer body in the US – and that is changing how sales work with supply chain teams.

Watch: Vehicle logistics now a top priority at Kia America

Steve Center, COO of Kia America explains how vehicle logistics and visibility have become more important across the carmaker’s sales and marketing in the face of long vehicle waiting times and business model changes.

Watch: Welcome to a new world of finished vehicle logistics

Editor-in-Chief Christopher Ludwig kicks off Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2022, where the industry came together to address improving ETA accuracy, managing built-to-order vehicles, ensuring capacity and managing cost rises across the supply chain.

Watch: The Great Finished Vehicle Logistics North America Quiz

The FVL gameshow is back and better than ever, featuring transport trivia, insights on vehicle logistics innovation and some royal knowledge to boot. Watch contestants battle it out from Nissan North America, Glovis America and Acertus.

Watch: How to up the processing power at vehicle distribution centres

Changing supply chain dynamics are putting more pressure on VDCs to improve processing scheduling and visibility. Glovis America’s Darren Acker discuss innovations with Cognosos’s Adrian Jennings.

Watch: Equipping vehicle logistics networks for EVs

Glovis America and EV charging provider Chargie discuss how vehicle logistics facilities and providers should prepare for EV growth.

Watch: How Toyota is delivering on demand and improving ETA

Predictable ETAs are a top priority at Toyota North America and other OEMs. The carmaker’s leaders in supply and demand, Kevin Austin, and vehicle logistics, Manny Bansi, detail Toyota’s ambitions, with insights from ETA experts at ICL and FreightVerify.

Watch: Outbound in torrid times

Eaton analyst Brandon Mason and RPM’s Sergio Gutierrez discuss how disruptions across the global supply chain are impacting vehicle logistics in North America.

Watch: Vehicle logistics for a new era of build-to-order

Dealers and customers, want visibility of vehicle orders – and OEMs and logistics partners must provide it. Volkswagen’s SVP for sales, and leaders from Cox Automotive, Inform and SFL Companies discuss how to make it happen.

Watch: Reducing time to market at the touch of a button

Technology startups Seoul Robotics, Sphere and Degould share new possibilities for improving quality, increasing efficiency and speed across vehicle logistics.

Watch: Getting the network back in gear

Struggling from driver shortages and inconsistent rail service, the North American vehicle logistics industry needs investment in drivers and collaboration across modes, say executives from Ford, United Road and Kansas City Southern

Watch: What the new inventory paradigm means for vehicle logistics

In the opening session of Finished Vehicle Logistics North America, Kia America’s COO Steve Center and Nissan North America’s top supply chain executive Chris Styles explain how a new supply chain operating model has transformed how top executives view finished vehicle logistics.

Watch: How to drive away vehicle logistics emissions

Executives from Nissan, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Accelerated reveal their progress and plans in lowering the carbon footprint of vehicle logistics.

Outsmarting the capacity crunch

There is no single solution to the challenges facing North American vehicle logistics, but watch what Mercedes-Benz USA’s Rory Hepner is doing to manage the crisis with vehicle logistics providers, along with insights from top vehicle logistics brokers Acertus and outbound specialists RPM

FVL Family Feud – a game that challenges new ideas and innovations

Tune in for this fun, interactive game involving industry innovators from Volkswagen, Nissan and Glovis, along with plenty of audience participation. ’Survey says…’ the industry is ready to change and try new things.

Why vehicle dealers and customers want real-time visibility of distribution pipelines

With vehicle inventories low, and more customers buying vehicles to order or with longer waiting times, the urgency for visibility in the pipeline is now critical for dealerships such as those for Chevrolet – and their end customers. And increasingly, the technology to achieve this tracking exists. This session features learnings from GM, FreightVerify, Glovis America and Black Widow

Partnering to prepare for the coming outbound crisis – in conversation with Nissan’s Steve Jernigan

Nissan North America’s Steve Jernigan thinks the focus of supply chain constraints will soon shift from inbound to finished vehicle logistics, and encourages stakeholders in industry to work together during the opening session of Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2021

A true North American railroad: what the Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern merger means for vehicle logistics

KCS president Patrick Ottensmeyer joins vehicle logistics veteran Dennis Manns in conversation on how the upcoming merger with CP will improve capacity and border flows for vehicle logistics, and how the rail company is mitigating the supply chain crisis, including through investments south of the border

Finished vehicle logistics Ideas Labs – rolling the dice on new solutions

Following workshops on key industry topics and challenges including driver shortages, in-vehicle telematics, vehicle processing and final mile visibility, industry experts at Finished Vehicle Logistics shared their group’s top solutions and next steps as part of a quick-fire pitch round

Automotive outlook: No going back to ‘normal’

Top Eaton analyst Brandon Mason discusses how inventory and supply chain issues are impacting North American sales and production, as well as how the industry might be seeing the start of permanent changes

Delivering on net carbon zero in vehicle logistics

Reducing emissions in finished vehicle logistics is increasingly an imperative, and stakeholders need to take ownership. Learn how technology and equipment providers are offering new solutions, and hear about innovations and targets at the Port of Los Angeles

Alternative propulsion, alternative thinking

In this session, leaders from the National Automobile Dealers Association and the American Trucking Associations share the key considerations, changes and innovations required for scaling up electric vehicle sales and logistics in the US

The end-to-end supply chain visibility is nigh

Repent, the spreadsheet apocalypse is here! Watch how Nissan, Jack Cooper and Draiver are aiming to digitalise more vehicle logistics processes and improve visibility for the supply chain and vehicle logistics