January/February 2016
www.bvrla.co.uk
BVRLA News The bimonthly newsletter of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association
2016: a big year for BVRLA members? It is wise to assess the previous 12 months before planning the year ahead, and that’s just what the BVRLA has been doing.
In January this year, we crunched the numbers, and can now reveal that membership grew in 2015. BVRLA members are now responsible for record numbers of cars, vans and trucks. This growth will put our industry in the spotlight in 2016. Meanwhile, the Volkswagen emissions crisis means that the automotive industry as a whole must get used to working under increased scrutiny from the government, the media and the public.
Looking ahead to the next 12 months, the BVRLA believes there will be a continued focus on ultra-low emission vehicles. The Department for Transport has already announced Bristol, London, Milton Keynes and Nottingham as the recipients of a £40m investment to boost the take-up of plug-in vehicles. In March, the Chancellor will have the opportunity to use the VW emissions
crisis as an excuse to raise Vehicle Excise Duty. He could also suggest further tweaks to the emissions-based taxation regime, which has been so successful in getting motorists out of high CO2 vehicles that the government has seen its revenues falling. Throughout the year, automotive lobbyists and legislators will try to thrash out a new agreement that will create a secure, standardised and fair technology framework for sharing vehicle data between manufacturers, vehicle owners, the independent aftermarket and other third-party service providers. Fleet owners will have to deal with the aggressive market strategies of certain original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who see their connected car platforms as a key opportunity to gain a direct relationship with the customers of rental and leasing companies. OEMs are also trying to gain a bigger share of the vehicle repair and servicing, breakdown and mobility services markets, competing directly with the offerings provided by rental and leasing companies. Fleets are also likely to grow increasingly more frustrated with government agencies such as the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) as budget cuts result in them inevitably delaying the introduction of some digital fleet services. On all these issues, the BVRLA will be working with policymakers, vehicle manufacturers and other stakeholders in the automotive industry to ensure members can conduct their business as usual. u
Lease accounting changes After ten years of deliberations, new accounting standards rules have finally been published. Find out what they mean for you. page 4 BVRLA Parliamentary reception highlights Fleet figures met ministers and members of the Transport Committee at a BVRLAorganised House of Commons event. page 5 2015 in numbers: our sector’s contribution Statistics for the past year show growth in the BVRLA’s membership and the total number of vehicles on UK roads. pages 6-7 BVRLA standards: what happens next? With five new sectorspecific Codes of Conduct introduced in January, BVRLA Compliance Officer Natasha Howard explains what members can expect next. page 8 Annual Dinner 2016: sponsors confirmed Which companies are helping make our biggest social event possible? page 9 How did we do? Statistics on the BVRLA Conciliation Service, RISC and forums. page 10
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