NAFA I&E 2026: Largest Attendance in Nearly a Decade and First-Ever Sold-Out Expo Hall

Education, technology, and networking topped the priority list for 2,200 fleet professionals who converged on Cleveland, Ohio, last week (April 13–15) for NAFA’s annual I&E. Widely known as the fleet event of the year, I&E 2026 posted its largest attendance in nearly a decade and featured a sold-out Expo Hall.

Attendees came from 47 U.S. states, 13 countries, 7 Canadian provinces, and represented every sector of the industry, including large and small organizations. A reflection of the NAFA membership, attendance was a 50-50 spilt among corporate and government fleets in addition to wide participation from the supplier community.

Fleet professionals at every stage of their career were extraordinarily engaged in the record-breaking 60+ conference sessions, expanded Technician Training program, the new NAFA Garage, numerous networking events, and connecting with the 250 exhibitors showcasing fleet vehicles, technologies, and services. With rapidly rising fuel and new vehicle prices, hot topics included cost-cutting strategies, right-sizing, impact of tariffs and other policy changes, and how to lean on OEMs and suppliers for support.

I&E is fleet’s premier professional development and networking event and is recognized as the place where the entire fleet industry comes together. This year’s theme, “Amplify Your Drive,” was infused throughout the educational sessions, which targeted key topic areas such as emerging technologies, leadership, legislative advocacy, law enforcement, operations management, safety, strategy, sustainability, technicians, and sessions specifically for those new to fleet.

“Fleet is an entire ecosystem — different industries, different missions, different challenges — and it was clear at I&E this year that the NAFA community is every fleet,” says Bill Schankel, CAE, NAFA’s CEO. “Everything about I&E drove home the message that whether you are managing vehicles or services for a city, a business, a utility, or a service operation, you are not operating alone. You are part of something larger, an interconnected industry where ideas, innovation, and progress don’t stay in one place but move from one fleet to another and from one sector to the next.”

“The challenges our fleet community faces — which include managing assets and operations with fewer resources, responding to shifting procurement and supply chain pressures, and navigating ongoing uncertainty — don’t belong to just one type of fleet,” says NAFA President Maria Neve, who serves as vice president, eFMC strategy, for Inspiration Fleet. “Whether you’re on the corporate side or the government side of fleet, those challenges belong to all of us. That is what makes this community so powerful, and that is exactly what NAFA represents. NAFA is every fleet — every sector, every perspective, every stage of the journey.”

Neve said that NAFA “had a very solid year financially,” and that the final audit report is available by request. Her highlights from the year included NAFA’s growing membership roster of 3500 individual fleet professionals, over 100 local networking group and regional events in 2025, the graduation of over 75 new Certified Automotive Fleet Managers (CAFMs), significant strides forward in advocacy and legislative impact, and the introduction of NAFA’s Fleet Safety Awards.

Here are some highlights from this year’s event. Stay tuned for NAFA’s full I&E coverage in the next issue of FLEETSolutions magazine.

Tom Johnson Award. Robert Martinez, principal of RSM Consulting Services, received the 2026 Tom Johnson Award. This award was created to honor the legacy of Tom Johnson, founder of the 100 Best Fleets in the Americas competition, the Green Fleet Awards, and the Green Garage Contest. The Tom Johnson Award recognizes fleet professionals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, mentorship, and long-term dedication to improving fleet operations and advancing the fleet industry.

100 Best Fleets in the Americas — Commercial and Public Awards. One of the most anticipated events at I&E is the unveiling of the 100 Best Fleets. The 100 Best Fleets recognizes the top-performing fleets in the Americas. A selection of the award-winning fleets was unveiled each day, building up to the excitement on day three when the top winners were announced. The #1 fleet in the public category is the City of Salem (Oregon), and the #1 fleet in the commercial category is Florida Power and Light (See the complete rankings here.)

100 Best Fleets — Individual Awards. The 100 Best Fleets also bestows individual awards: Tim Coxwell, CAFM, CPFP, CEM, from Leon County (Florida) Sheriff’s Officer Fleet Management was named the 2026 Fleet Professional of the Year, and the City of Buckeye’s (Arizona) Jerry Dake was named the 2026 Fleet Technician of the Year.

CAFM Graduation. NAFA’s CAFM program is the fleet profession’s most prestigious certification. With 888 fleet professionals currently in the program, a total of 75 graduated this year and 30 walked the stage at I&E to receive their certificate in person. This year’s new CAFMs came from corporate fleets, government fleets, and industry suppliers.

Keynotes. Combat-tested Navy SEAL master chief (retired) Stephen Drum drew from his 27 years of experience leading and developing elite teams to show fleet professionals how to meet any challenge with courage, confidence, and readiness. High-performance coach and best-selling author Duncan Stevens provided I&E attendees with specific tools and techniques to lead teams through change. Toyota’s Kevin Curran gave an insightful — and refreshingly entertaining — automotive update, urging fleets to find confidence in the chaos by leaning on their OEMs and suppliers and recognizing the industry’s resiliency.

OEM Panel Discussion. The highly popular OEM Panel Discussion was moderated by Automotive Fleet’s Chris Brown and featured panelists Jeff Hines, senior vice president, North America fleet solutions, Stellantis; Jennifer Costabile, general director, marketing and sales enablement, GM Fleet; Eric Rice, general manager, U.S. fleet sales, Ford Pro; and Jerry Zielinski, senior manager of fleet and commercial sales, Nissan. Panelists discussed key industry developments including the evolving fleet landscape, market conditions, technology direction, and future product planning.

Media Day. The fourth annual I&E Media Day featured short press briefings from 10 leading companies debuting new technologies or services at I&E. The top fleet and automotive editors in the industry were the first to hear breaking news on a range of industry announcements in AI, data analytics, security, safety, and more. Review the debuts from I&E Media Day here.

Innovations Showcase People’s Choice Award. I&E’s Innovations Showcase spotlighted 10 new technology and service launches on a special stage in the Expo Hall. Over 1,000 votes were cast for the favorite new technology, and the People’s Choice Award went to Fleetio’s AI Service Advisor. The new technology draws on more than a decade of fleet service data — combined with each fleet’s operational context — to automatically triage issues and guide maintenance approvals so vehicles spend less time waiting in the shop.

FLEETSolutions Live Breakfast Panels. Each morning, I&E opened with a robustly attended breakfast panel featuring thought-leading discussions on how to build smarter fleets using AI and data; navigating through fleet’s top five challenges in 2026; and what fleets need to know about key automotive industry trends. The discussion questions were curated from the pages of NAFA’s popular FLEETSolutions magazine, allowing the panel to take the audience on a deeper dive into the publication’s hottest topics.

Ride & Drive Experience. I&E’s outdoor Ride & Drive gave attendees the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the latest ICE, electric, and alternative fuel vehicles. Participants engaged with 16 different models and cutting-edge technologies from Harbinger Motors, Honda, Nissan, Polestar, Rivian, Stellantis Pro One, Volvo, and VW.

NAFA Gives Back. NAFA partnered with Building Bikes, Spreading Love to give kids in foster care the gift of mobility. Following the last education sessions of I&E, attendees build bikes for children in need.

I&E First-Timer Program. The First-Timer Program helped new attendees make the most of their experience from day one with orientation that highlighted what to expect, how to navigate the meeting, and how to best take advantage of the many opportunities available to connect, learn, and engage at I&E.

Networking. Fleet professionals experienced unlimited networking opportunities throughout the event, with the NAFA Rev It Up Reception taking place at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and setting record attendance for this popular networking reception.

Check out the I&E photo gallery and highlight videos.

NAFA extends its gratitude for the generous support of the 2026 I&E sponsors: American Honda Motor Co., AssetWorks, BlackVue, Driverge Vehicle Innovations, Enterprise Fleet Management, Fleetio, Geotab, Holman, Hyundai Motor America, Inspiration Fleet, IntelliShift, JJ Kane Auctions, KeyTrak, Legend, Merchants Fleet, Motive, Motus, RTA: The Fleet Success Company, Samsara, Stellantis Pro One, Voyager Mastercard, Wheels and Whelen Engineering.

Look for more in-depth coverage of the keynotes, education sessions, debuting technologies, and more in the next issue of FLEETSolutions.