In 1969, Ed Bobit founded the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) along with a small group of fleet dealers to fulfill a specific need within the industry. The gathering, hosted in Toronto, Canada, established the founding of a new industry association focused on the relationship between fleet dealers and fleet buyers and how to improve their communication and service. 

Since AFLA was established 50 years ago, the association has hosted annual conferences that have afforded fleets with a resource to network with peers and learn from industry professionals. Ed, who always looked to support new industry ideas, set a precedent with AFLA that has paved the way for future innovations that the industry continues to witness.  

It’s fitting then on AFLA’s 50th anniversary, that the wheels are in motion for the creation of the inaugural AFLA Canada Fleet Summit, which will be hosted in Toronto, the city where AFLA was formed a half-century earlier. It will be held at the Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel in Mississauga, Ontario, Feb. 12 – 13, 2020. 

The summit will specifically support discourse for fleets with responsibilities in the great white north. As AFLA has grown, the association has seen more members with multinational fleet duties that often includes responsibilities in Canada.

Approximately one-fourth of AFLA fleet manager members have U.S. and Canadian fleet roles, and one-third of AFLA fleet suppliers have Canadian responsibilities in addition to the United States. It would befit those with these responsibilities to understand the subtle differences between the two countries.

The AFLA Canada Fleet Summit, which will discuss fleet best practices and benchmarking, was created through an association initiative into the Canadian fleet market with the establishment of strategic relationships with the country’s key fleet suppliers and their fleet customers.

The fleet conference will have a focus on the needs of local Canadian commercial fleets and a separate track that focuses on multinational fleets operating in Canada, particularly U.S. fleet managers. The conference will end a day before the 2020 Canadian International Autoshow opens in Toronto, in case you want to stick around.

Fleets know how valuable of a resource that AFLA conferences can be, and the upcoming summit will serve as another wealth of knowledge that the association has delivered for decades. Whether you operate out of Canada, or have operations based there, AFLA will deliver on providing content that will best serve you, ultimately continuing a tradition that Ed established 50 years ago. Visit www.AFLA.org.

I hope to see you in Toronto next February.