If one theme defined 2025, it was this: the commercial vehicle industry is becoming more advanced, more interconnected, and more human at the same time.
In the latest Commercial Vehicle Pro Podcast, Work Truck Solutions and Comvoy founder Kathryn Schifferle joined host Candy McCollum to reflect on the year’s biggest shifts. Their conversation moved from company culture to supply chain transparency, from EV decision tools to the growing role of AI, all through a lens that felt familiar to anyone in this industry. Relationships still matter, and trust still drives outcomes.
HUMAN CONNECTION IS STILL A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Even in a year dominated by talk of automation and artificial intelligence, Schifferle emphasized that the core need has not changed. “It doesn’t matter the style,” she said. “It’s, ‘Are you being a genuine person?’” That idea shaped the way she described a milestone for Work Truck Solutions in 2025: the company’s first all-staff in-person meeting.
For an organization that built strong cultures before 2020, going fully virtual introduced new challenges. As teams grew and spread out, maintaining connectedness took more intention. Schifferle shared that bringing employees together face-to-face created a deeper bond that carried back into daily collaboration. You do not have to do it constantly, she noted, but “it matters.” Those in-person moments can “infuse your entire relationship,” especially in an industry that is, in McCollum’s words, relationship-based from end to end.
SUPPLY CHAIN VOLATILITY MADE TRANSPARENCY MORE URGENT
The early part of 2025 still carried the hangover of recent years: erratic supply, followed by overcorrection. Schifferle described entering the year with signs that the market was trying to even out, but with lingering uncertainty about timing, availability, and decision-making.
In response, Work Truck Solutions leaned into a consistent need across dealers, upfitters, and buyers: visibility. Schifferle pointed to ongoing work aimed at making what is available more transparent, including a pilot with an OEM focused on bailment pool inventory. While the term ‘bailment pool’ might be obscure to those outside the industry’s inner workings, the concept is critical. OEMs dedicate a significant volume of units they still own and place them at upfitters to shorten the time it takes to deliver an upfitted vehicle. The challenge is that the status of those units is often opaque. Creating clearer, more accessible status information can reduce friction across the supply chain.
THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE BUSINESS SUMMIT CONTINUES TO ELEVATE THE ECOSYSTEM CONVERSATION
Schifferle also reflected on the continued growth of the Commercial Vehicle Business Summit, launched in 2021 to create a space that did not exist elsewhere. Plenty of conferences focus on narrow segments of the market, but she saw a gap: there was no place for engaged stakeholders to examine the ecosystem together, share viewpoints, and identify ways to work better.
By 2025, that ecosystem focus reached a new level. Both Spring and Fall sessions drew people who now look forward to exchanging information and perspectives. One of the major threads, she noted, has been EVs, not as a buzzword, but as a practical business discussion that intersects with infrastructure, ROI, and real-world applications.
EV ADOPTION SHIFTS TOWARD ROI
One of the year’s notable developments was the launch of the Commercial EV Hub on Comvoy in partnership with J.D. Power. What made these tools compelling was their ability to help buyers determine if EV adoption made sense. The key was adapting them for commercial needs. Consumers may weigh EV ownership one way, but businesses need to understand return on investment, operating realities, and the conditions required for success.
Schifferle acknowledged that changes in incentives and mandates have made adoption feel less urgent in some corners of the market. Still, she believes the shift now is toward decisions based on ROI, rather than policy pressure.
BUILDING FOR 2026: LEADERSHIP, PARTNERSHIPS, AND CREDIBILITY
As Work Truck Solutions and Comvoy prepare for what is next, Schifferle pointed to strategic leadership additions as part of building toward a bigger vision. For founders, she noted, it can feel like raising a child, but growth requires bringing in experienced leaders who can move initiatives forward faster.
She also highlighted progress with OEM programs, including Ford Pro. Recently, Work Truck Solutions joined the Commercial Vehicle Center program, collaborating on packaged options built for commercial vehicle dealers. Across OEM relationships, her focus remained consistent: mapping complex vehicle configurations to what end buyers actually need. The goal is not technology for its own sake. It is to help the dealer deliver the right solution, with less complexity in the process.
AI IS MOVING FROM NOVELTY TO PRODUCTIVITY
Throughout the conversation, AI was mentioned frequently, but not in a hype-driven way. Schifferle sees AI as a tool that can create productivity gains, especially for repetitive tasks, but only when applied thoughtfully within complex, human-driven processes. She also teased that Work Truck Solutions plans to announce a major technology offering in Q1 2026 that addresses persistent dealer challenges.
THE TAKEAWAY
Looking back on 2025, the most important lesson may be that progress is not only about new platforms and new products. It is about building trust, improving transparency, and supporting the people who make the ecosystem work. As the industry heads into 2026, the winners will likely be the organizations that invest in both technology and the relationships that help it deliver value.
