Green Shoots

In the face of restricted supply coming to the channel, BVRLA members are in a strong position to keep drivers on the road with a variety of mobility solutions.

Flexible rental options – particularly on vans – have seen significant uplifts in demand, with salary sacrifice, Business Contract Hire and used car leasing also growing in popularity as driver perceptions on mobility evolve.

The exceptional agility and resilience demonstrated by members shows that the sector has the traits to recover as supply returns. This could particularly be the case for leasing brokers, as explained by Lee Jones of Fleet Procure:

“Leasing brokers will always weather these kinds of storms better. This is because we are monthly payment driven and brokers are more agile, quicker to react in the market, and able to deal with all brands and OEMs.”

Another by-product of the changing priorities of manufacturers has been the acceleration of the shift to electric vehicles, which are benefitting from growing awareness and improving infrastructure. With such strong demand for zero emission vehicles, the total picture for EVs continues to improve.

That said, the decision for manufacturers to prioritise the retail channel over fleet extends to electric vehicles, overlooking the fleet sector’s instrumental role in making the transition to Net Zero possible.

Gerry Keaney concludes: “The fleet sector is the reason the electric vehicle market is as advanced and buoyant as it is. Were it not for BVRLA members driving the move to decarbonise, taking on the early risks and leading from the front in creating real-world EV use cases, the technology would not be at the point it is today. Our members are resilient and adaptable, but the treatment of our channel throughout this supply crisis has been short sighted and needs to be rectified before long-term damage is incurred.

“Vehicles run by fleet operators cover the greatest mileage and provide mobility to more people when compared to private sales. These supply restrictions are creating a huge administrative and customer service burden and are leading to older, dirtier vehicles covering more miles on UK roads.” u

Changes in demand for mobility products and services

Salary sacrifice

42% of members said they had experienced ‘stronger’ demand whilst 18% said ‘much stronger’

Used Car Leasing

45% of members said they had experienced ‘stronger’ demand whilst 5% said ‘much stronger’

Business Contract Hire

44% of members said they had experienced ‘stronger’ demand whilst 11% said ‘much stronger’

Impact on BVRLA members

The BVRLA’s latest Business Impact Survey was conducted in March and highlighted the scale of the challenges being tackled by BVRLA members.