Fleet Europe 61

NEXUS COMMUNICATION - FLEET EUROPE #61 - PERIOdIC MAgAzINE - dECEMbER 2012 - dEPOSIT OFFICE LIègE X

DECEMBER 2012 - # 61

DoSSIeR

telematics & Connectivity Market development, products & services ManageMent

Cross-interview Jean-Noël Gouillou (Rexel) and Jean Zermati (Orange)

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Russia Today and tomorrow

fleet euRope awaRDS 2012

Joe Carreira & Robert patrick of MSD win International fleet Manager of the year award thank you to all paRtICIpantS, CanDIDateS, anD SponSoRS of the fleet euRope foRuM & fleet euRope awaRDS 2012 Discover the reporting and the dedicated picture galleries on www.fleeteurope.com

THE NEW SEAT IBIZA ST

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This translates versatility without renouncing to a superior driving experience because of the beauty of its new design lines and the technology of its latest TSI and TDI engines. With emissions from only 89 g CO2*, it even reduces the Total Cost of Ownership through lower fuel costs and tax, this makes it a great choice for your balance sheet.

The New SEAT Ibiza ST is a perfect chord between beauty, functionality, performance and economy. /Petrol engines from 1.2 to 1.4 TSI (from 60 HP to 150 HP) /Diesel engines from 1.2 TDI to 1.6 TDI (from 75 HP to 105 HP)

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FLEET EUROPE # 61

Average consumption: 3.4-5.9 l/100 km. Average CO2 mass emissions: 89-139 g/km. * Ibiza ST 1.2 TDI CR (55 kW) Ecomotive. Combined fuel consumption of 3.4 l/100 km

SE AT.COM

Embrace innovation

eDItoRIal

Fleet Europe celebrates its 15th birthday. Our team wants to thank you for the support during all those years, and is looking forward to the next 15 years.

On November 22, the 6th Fleet Europe Awards in Cannes celebrated the fleet managers of Bayer, Cisco Systems, Almirall and BNP Paribas Fortis for their efficient business practices. The main prize, International Fleet Manager of the Year, went to Joe Carreira and Robert Patrick of MSD - the first time a duo won the title. For more on the winners, see our special pictures section.

Organised simultaneously with the Fleet Europe Awards, the 10th Fleet Europe Forum in Cannes asked the question: How does the global context impact fleet management business in Europe? A high-octane mix of keynote speakers and industry experts gave their views on the trends driving fleet management in Europe today. One of the Forum’s key lessons: to stay successful in the future, the industry and the corporates will need to positively embrace innovation.

And not just in terms of products and services, also innovation in terms of management. Telematics will undoubtedly be a particularly interesting area of innovation. As the pressure to optimise fleet-related costs increases, and with it the need to focus on driver management and mobility efficiency, successful fleet management will come to depend more and more on the integration of telematic devices on a company-wide level. That’s why we’ve chosen in this magazine to focus on the world of telematics. Read our extensive overview of the ways in which new connectivity solutions can be of benefit to international fleet managers, and enrich their fleet management.

And last but not least, you have probably discovered the new Fleet Europe logo and baseline on the cover. As our magazine celebrates its 15th birthday we thought it was time to combine the recently adapted lay-out with a fresh logo that on one hand translates the seriousness, the directness and the openness of our communication and on the other hand comprises the spirit of our editorial team.

Enjoy!

Steven Schoefs, Chief Editor sschoefs@nexuscommunication.be Twitter : @StevenSchoefs

Join Fleet Europe’s community fleet europe is a cross-medium platform where analyzes, interviews and factual information go hand in hand with sharing best practices and with the possibility to learn from each other through dedicated training sessions. to optimize this cross-medium sharing expertise we propose different applications and tools to interact with the international fleet community

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CONTENT

DOSSIER I Telematics & Connectivity When data technology supports your fleet and driver management. New developments, products & services, and best practices.

EVENT

The Fleet Europe Awards 2012 in pictures

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management

management I Best practices

Fleet Management according to Jean-Noël Gouillou (Rexel) and Jean Zermati (Orange)

The successful 10th edition of the Fleet Europe Forum

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42

I DOSSIER I

I BUSINESS I

Let’s get connected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.9 The little world of Telematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.10 The influence of Telematics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.14 Telematics in fleet: best practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.16 From Telematics to Connectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.18 The controversy about e-call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.24 Telematics are everywhere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.26

News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 46 Bernhard Kuhnt & Simon Dransfield, Jaguar Land Rover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 48 Rainer Laber, Fleet Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 49 Christel Reynaerts, BMW Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 50 Carlos Montenegro, Infiniti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 51 Harm Nijlunsing, Business Lease Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 52 Knut Krösche, Volkswagen Financial Services. . . . . . . . . . P. 53 Tomorrow in your fleet: new models, new technology. . . P. 54

I MANAGEMENT I News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 27 Cross-interview: J-N. Gouillou (Rexel) and J. Zermati (Orange) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 32 Event: The winners of the Fleet Europe Awards 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 38 Picture report of the Fleet Europe Forum 2012 . . . . . . . . P. 42

COLOPHON

Caroline Thonnon - Content & Business Development (cthonnon@nexuscommunication.be) Steven Schoefs - Chief Editor (sschoefs@nexuscommunication.be) David Baudeweyns - Sales & Development (dbaudeweyns@nexuscommunication.be) Romina De Gregorio - Internal Sales (rdegregorio@nexuscommunication.be) Thao Van de Poel - Internal Sales Assistant tvandepoel@nexuscommunication.be Kathleen Hubert - Operations & Communication (khubert@nexuscommunication.be) Filip Van Mullem - Marketing & Development (fvanmullem@nexuscommunication.be) Pierre-Yves Simon - IT & Web Manager (pysimon@nexuscommunication.be)

I SCOPE I

News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 57 Taxation and Telematics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 60 Market: From Russia with love for fleet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 62 Mobility: The launch of ALDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 66

Contributors: Tim Harrup, Frank Jacobs, Yves de Partz and Jonathan Green (Partner 3SIXTY) Special thanks to: Bart Vanham (Representative PwC) , Accenture, Martyn Briggs (Frost & Sullivan) Layout: Un pas plus loin - info@unpasplusloin.com

EDITOR

Thierry Degives, Managing Partner at Nexus Communication SA, Parc Artisanal 11-13, 4671 Barchon (Belgium) T. : +32 4 387 87 94 - Fax : +32 4 387 90 63 - www.nexuscommunication.be

FLEET EUROPE

www.fleeteurope.com - www.fleeteurope.com/shop Reproduction rights (texts, advertisements, pictures) reserved for all countries. Received documents will not be returned. By submitting them, the author implicitly authorizes their publication.

Circulation: 15,000 copies (The cleansing and qualification process has been realized by Dun & Bradstreet Belgium, 2012)

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CO²OL*

*The new A-Class with CO₂ emissions as low as 98 g/km.

A Daimler Brand

The pulse of a new generation. Thanks to state-of-the-art technical features such as the ECO start/stop function fitted as standard, the new A 180 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY is one of the most efficient diesel vehicles in the compact car segment – with CO₂ emissions from just 98 g per kilometre. And because road safety is not a matter of price at Mercedes-Benz, the radarsupported COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST system also comes as standard. Find out more at www.mercedes-benz.com/fleet

Fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined: 8.4–4.5/5.1–3.3/6.4–3.8 l/100 km; combined CO₂ emissions: 148–98 g/km.

Figures do not relate to the specific emissions or# fuel61 consumption of any individual vehicle, do not form part of any offer and are intended solely to aid comparison between different types of vehicle.

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• Jung von Matt • 13443/27/12001/16 • DTP: Niels (-1185)

• 420 mm × 297 mm • 2/1-Seite, geheftet • 4C, linke Seite

• Kunde: Mercedes-Benz (Daimler AG) • Produkt: A-Klasse (W176) • Titel/Objekt: Fleet Europe

You get mobile, we stay tuned.

Always being close to the client – Alphabet maintains a personal partnership that is highly flexible. One example of this is AlphaGuide, the service app for all drivers featuring comprehensive accident reporting, search function and GPS navigation to service partners, 24-hour service hotline and a checklist for vehicle return.

We call this business mobility: we never stop offering the most personalised mobility solutions based on direct driver contact.

For a direct link: www.alphabet.com

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DOssiER

i Telematics & Connectivity

Let’s get connected I

nternational fleet managers are more and more looking at the optimization of driver behaviour, and this for a variety of reasons. One is that the driver’s attitude behind the steering wheel has a not inconsiderable impact on the total cost of ownership of a fleet car. The driving style influences maintenance costs, fuel consumption, safety and sustainability. One of the tools that can enhance the control and guidance of driver behaviour is telematics.

Connectivity and telematics are set to revolutionise the car fleet sector in the coming years, as specialists predict that cars in Europe will be connected by 2020 and so become true mobile offices.

Telematics will gain in importance as we move to multi-modal transportation.

According to global consultancy specialists as Ernst & Young or Frost & Sullivan, telematics and M2M (machine to machine connectivity) will gain in importance in the years to come as technology and the need for control in more mobilized and multi-modal transportation world is needed. Looking at the technological developments from the car manufacturers at the International Motor Shows, we see that more attention is paid to car connectivity, connected services and driver behaviour. In the following dossier you will find a deeper insight in the world of telematics and connectivity. â– Steven Schoefs

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DOssiER i Telematics & Connectivity

new cost control system from Boschs

Bosch has developed a new technological tool that helps to control the technical condition of the car.

Bosch is offering a new tool designed to help companies better manage the costs associated with their fleets.

The ‘Connectivity & Control Unit’ (CCU) is connected to the car’s on-board information systems and enables fleet operators to keep a check on the technical condition of the vehicle and its usage profile. The Bosch unit is connected to the OBD II on-board diagnostic system (generally hidden behind the dashboard and compulsory on all modern cars) by a cable which is quick and easy to install.

The system keeps a permanent check on the vehicle and signals any faults, sending the information to a diagnosis centre, from where fleet managers can decide on action to be taken. The system is also designed for leasing companies, which need to know that their vehicles are being maintained and serviced in line with its actual condition, mileage etc.

Smartphone fleet Driver performance Management Service GreenRoad has announced the world’s first smartphone-based driver performance solution for fleets. Encompassing several key technological and engineering breakthroughs, GreenRoad Smartphone Edition, code named “Asimov”, is available now in beta for Android devices. GreenRoad Smartphone Edition uses smartphone native functionality, including GPS and built-in accelerometers, to eliminate the need for a professionally installed telematics device in the vehicle.

Drivers use the service by downloading the Asimov app, dropping the smartphone into the cradle and beginning their trip. Whenever a risky or fuel-inefficient manoeuvre occurs, GreenRoad Smartphone Edition gives the driver immediate audio and visual feedback directly from the smartphone. GreenRoad Smartphone Edition also includes a distracted driving prevention feature that can be configured to automatically disable physical use of the smartphone while the vehicle is moving. Potential integration with other fleet applications that are also smartphone-based, such as inventory management, navigation and fleet management, is another benefit.

nissan adds automated driving to leaf

tomtom releases android map and navi app The TomTom Navigation app for Android now is available to download from Google Play for the first time. The new app is an addition to TomTom’s existing navigation app for iPhone and brings TomTom’s navigation to millions more smartphone users. The TomTom Navigation app for Android has been designed especially for The new TomTom Navigation app for Android drivers. The latest Tomhas been designed and Tom maps are included developed for drivers. and stored offline, which means that users don’t have to worry about losing signal in the middle of their journey or roaming charges when travelling abroad. The app includes, free quarterly map updates which ensures that drivers always have the latest map on their smartphone.

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The NSC-2015, the new intelligent Nissan car.

Nissan has demonstrated automated driving using the NSC-2015 vehicle. This car adopts a remote monitoring system that recognizes the surrounding environment through use of an all-around view camera and 4th generation (4G) mobile communications. Different from a system using GPS to determine the car’s location, this system provides a precise recognition of the surrounding environment (even in underground parking lots) and makes use of various smartphone applications.

For example, after the driver exits the NSC-2015, it starts to park itself automatically, following the instructions given by smartphone. The vehicle looks for a vacant parking space while identifying its surroundings; once it detects an open parking space automated parking begins. The driver can also use smartphone commands to make the NSC-2015 vehicle leave the parking space and return to the place where he or she is.

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dossier I Telematics & Connectivity

Germany UR:BAN project to develop driver assistance systems

UR:BAN is an acronym that stands for “Urban space: useroriented assistance systems and network management.

A total of 30 partners, comprising automotive manufacturers and suppliers, electronics, communication technology and software companies, universities, research institutes and cities, have joined forces in the UR:BAN project (the German acronym stands for “Urban space: useroriented assistance systems and network management”), a research initiative aimed at developing new driver assistance and traffic management systems for the cities of tomorrow. The UR:BAN partners’ total budget over the four-year lifetime of the project will be 80 million euros.

UR:BAN comprises three projects: “Cognitive Assistance”, “Networked Traffic System” and “The Human Element in Traffic”: to help ensure that vehicles of the future can serve as an “active helper” in hazardous situations, technical solutions must be combined with appropriate interaction concepts to achieve an optimal synthesis between safety, efficiency and comfort.

Renault launches Twizy Way - Car pooling using telematics After a trial phase, Twizy Way by Renault is now opening up its carsharing solution to the general public. One of the concept’s main benefits is the fact that users don’t have to worry about charging the vehicle or about parking. Users enjoy complete freedom as they can leave the vehicle in any car park within the service zone.

With Twizy Way, the new car pooling initiative by Renault, users can pick a Twizy up immediately by flashing the QR code on the vehicle.

They can pick up the vehicle where they find it and leave it where they like, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

With Twizy Way by Renault, the user pays only for actual use. Users can instantly find out where the nearest available Renault Twizy is parked in real-time using a smartphone application or the web. Users can pick one up immediately by flashing the QR code on the vehicle, or they can book the Twizy of their choice on the web or using their smartphone.

Peugeot Connect Apps to use Sierra Wireless

PSA Peugeot Citroen selected Sierra Wireless to provide the 3G USB key that powers the new Peugeot Connect Apps system.

PSA Peugeot Citroën, in collaboration with Bouygues Telecom, selected Sierra Wireless to provide the innovative 3G USB key that powers the new Peugeot Connect Apps system. Designed specifically for automotive use, this key incorporates 3G wirelessconnectivity, GPS positioning and advanced processing capabilities in a compact, plug-andplay form factor. When the 3G key is plugged into the vehicle, it enables touch-screen access to the Peugeot Connect Apps service, operated by Bouygues Telecom.

This service provides drivers with valuable real-time information on traffic conditions, weather, and navigation, as well as information about parking, fuel stations, hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, and other services nearby. Peugeot Connect Apps will be available in new Peugeot vehicles in 17 countries, starting this fall with the Peugeot 208.

Zurich Germany selects TomTom Zurich Germany has chosen TomTom fleet management to provide the telematics capability behind Zurich Fleet Intelligence (ZFI). Launched in Germany, the integrated service is aimed at corporate fleets and combines vehicle telematics, reporting, driver development tools and risk engineering support. TomTom technology will be integral to the proposition, helping businesses to actively improve driver safety, reduce operational costs and minimise environmental impact. ZFI customers will have on-line access to the Zurich proprietary risk management web portal where both drivers and fleet managers can track and analyse performance based on detailed fleet management data.

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dossier I Telematics & Connectivity

Connected today, tomorrow and even more in the future As the pressure on fleet managers increases to achieve reductions in costs, to minimise the impact of fuel price rises, to improve driver safety, and to enable drivers to be more productive, the business case for telematics will evolve.

T

oday a telematics system can; monitor driving habits and remotely update the vehicles operating systems to optimise performance; take control of the vehicle if it suspects a collision is imminent; and select the best route in real time. It can even drive there itself. It is not just on road performance that can be optimised. The connected car will be able to undertake repairs remotely. According to Vincent Kobesen, CEO of the PTV Group, “Telematics has a future and it’s the basis for optimised vehicle fleets – regardless of their size.”

When calculating ROI of telematics three inter-linked areas can be considered; • Performance on the road – ROI calculation to consider fuel efficiency, collision reduction and lower insurance costs.

• Back office administration: Telematics that enable remote servicing and maintenance, streamlining back office management and costs.

• Productivity Gains: Productivity gains via solutions like route optimisation and the cars ‘mobile office’ systems.

The value of telematics should be considered holistically.

Giles Margerison, Sales Director at TomTom UK, advises, “Include stakeholders from across the company, in HR, finance and procurement. The benefits that telematics can create extend beyond fleet management KPIs.”

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Telematics Today The telematics systems in use today could be grouped as “Identifiers of improvement” - they explain how performance can be optimised. Solutions like navigation devices with traffic avoidance capabilities, vehicle tracking systems that appraise driving styles, through to route optimisation and scheduling systems are available to aid this. Frank Pauli, Vice President Map Division EMEA at Navteq, said, “Our Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, with their in detail mapping of geography like height and slope analysis of roads, leads to very accurate fuel savings.”

It would appear that not all fleets are taking advantage of the benefits available today. Nick Mitchell, VP Worldwide Sales, Field Service Management at Trimble, said that “Telematics technology has proven to streamline business processes, yet our latest Road Ahead report found that fewer than one in five organisations surveyed currently operate fully-automated workforce management and fleet telematics systems.

This suggests that the majority of organisations with a fieldbased workforce are unaware of the full potential technology can offer.”

With convenience benefits for the driver, like remote climate control, vehicle lock and unlock and find my car functionality the car is becoming a mobile device connected by the smart phone. The ability to control the car from distance could lead to vehicles being allocated to multiple users. With back office administration managed by the car, the fleet manager can concentrate on how vehicles can be deployed to enhance corporate mobility.

Telematics of Tomorrow The telematics of tomorrow could be summarised as “Solution takers and user enablers”. With increased levels of intel-

The car, in conversation with the city and its infrastructure, is the traffic management system of the future.

ligence they will take the decision away from the user. E-call, the automated contacting of emergency services if a vehicle is involved in a collision, is the best known example.

Drivers will benefit from voice activated email, phones and diary management to improve their productivity.

It may seem far-fetched but through the installation of bio sensors the car becomes a wellbeing centre. Bio sensors will be able to check the driver’s health status, send the information to e-health centres and despatch advice and prescriptions. In fleet, bio sensors will be able to assess risks and prevent sleep, drunk, excited or fatigue driving by remotely shutting down the car.

Tetsuya Lijima, a Nissan Engineer, said about research and development, “We are thinking about the essentials – what kind of tool should the car be for humans? By controlling its hands and feet, eyes and brain, cars are on their way to becoming robots.”

Telematics of the Future The telematics of the future will be “The controllers”. They will be able to do such things as over-ride users and drive themselves. Linda Wahlström, at Volvo Car Corporation commented, “People think that autonomous driving

is science fiction, but the fact is that the technology is already here.” Volvo, with its EU partners, oversaw the first road train in Spain where one vehicle, with a driver, took over the controls of 3 other vehicles.

In Michigan, US, 3000 vehicles have been fitted with machines that allow them to talk to each other and the city’s infrastructure. The aim of this research according to the US Transport Department is to ascertain “what is possible”. Google’s driverless car is now licenced for testing in 3 states.

The car of the future may no longer need to be linked to a specific driver or task. A vehicle, assigned to multiple users through smart phones, will be able to identify its driver, optimise itself, and send an invoice directly to the internal business area or customer using the vehicle. This transparency will ensure accurate billing, supporting a corporation price a product or service with vehicle and driver costs accurately accounted for.

Overcoming the barriers As a city’s infrastructure becomes connected public administrators will be presented with new ways of managing transport. The car, in conversation with the city, is the traffic

management system of the future.

Erik Israelsson, Project Leader Cooperative ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) at Volvo Car Corporation believes, “There is considerable potential in this area as well as opportunities for many benefits in many spheres over and above road safety, such as a more uniform flow of traffic and additional comfort for road users” Telematics is a ‘what if’ technology.

By the application of telematics more and more uses are found. The depth of the connection required is the challenge. The Car 2 Car Consortium, a non-profit association, believes that success lies in “the deep cooperation between public authorities, standards agencies, road and infrastructure operators and the component and vehicle industries.”

What is clear is there is a growing appetite for connection in all quarters.

Perhaps fleet professionals should be thinking more like Tetsuya Lijima, from Nissan, and asking how fleets, as robots, can be used in the future. ■

Jonathan Green - Partner 3SIXTY

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DOssiER i Telematics & Connectivity

Do something with the data Bruce MacLaren, Sr Category Manager at Microsoft and International Fleet Manager of the Year 2010

Ivor Johnson, Regional Director EMEA at Pfizer and International Fleet Manager of the Year 2011

Hans den Hollander, EMEA Car Fleet Program Manager at Cisco Systems

Peter Van Hoeck, Travel & Fleet Manager EMEA at Carestream

haS IMpleMentatIon of CaR fleet teleMatICS alReaDy taken plaCe In youR CoMpany?

Bruce MacLaren

Peter Van Hoeck

Ivor Johnson

We are right at the beginning and it is exciting because we are able to start seeing some of the solutions to the traditional problems that a fleet manager has. The traditional problems that we are seeing and dealing with are that we have more than one brand in our fleet, and we need to see some commonality of information.”

We are rolling out telematics at the moment. We have started with the service engineers in the UK and are now doing the same in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. Later, we will introduce this to the sales force.”

We are really at the start of the technology, as we’ve launched a pilot in the Polish market with just over 400 vehicles all equipped with little black boxes.”

Hans den Hollander We are not actively using telematics at the moment but of course Cisco is much involved in this technology so we are working with the car manufacturers and when it is complete we will certainly introduce telematics in our fleet.”

the CoSt ISSue the issue of cost when talking about and dealing with telematics is vital. we asked Bruce Maclaren to shed some light on this, and his view is fairly optimistic: For the first time we are starting to see devices which can fit into almost any car, and these devices are not as expensive as they used to be, so the price is coming down towards affordable levels so that a fleet manager can implement the devices. Also the service that you are going to be able to purchase is coming down in price so that the entire system is affordable at the front end. This means that as you progress and begin to change driver behaviour the ROI is achieved much more rapidly. This is the big deal because if you see devices that are very expensive – or the telematics element is expensive – fleet operators just can’t do it. But if it is very inexpensive they will do it and get margin out of lower insurance rates, lower accident costs. So by reducing the cost of the device and scaling the cost of the services on-line, the suppliers can make a profit and we can implement the systems.”

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The domain of telematics is becoming more widely understood. But is it as widely used as some of the communication surrounding it would suggest? In order to find out, we asked leading international fleet managers – including the 2010 and 2011 International Fleet Managers of the Year – for their thoughts and experiences in this field. why aRe CoRpoRateS InteReSteD In CaR fleet teleMatICS anD what aRe the aDVantageS? Ivor Johnson

Bruce MacLaren

The initial forecasts that we had when the return on investment business case was put forward indicated that these forecasts would be achieved. Being completely candid we are finding it difficult to establish whether there is a clear benefit or not. This is because the business changes, it is dynamic and a moving environment, which means we are not measuring from one static point to another static point. But we believe there will be a benefit, although we don’t yet know how substantial this will be. Initial signs indicate that we’re getting some benefits from a reduction in mileage where we obviously get a lot of data, as we do on driver behaviour. But at the moment we are not really focused on that, we launched the project initially to make the drivers more effective in terms of carrying out their role as field force operatives within Pfizer.”

Part of the equation of managing a fleet is the behaviour of the driver in the vehicle because that influences not only the safety aspect but a lot of the cost aspects, so it really is the next step for us to be able to manage the behaviour of the employee, but in a responsible way. It has to be in a way that helps the employee and also helps us save costs. We need a system that is common to all vehicles and that can pull all the information out, and then we need the telematics solution to make sense of that data once it is pulled out. And then once we’ve made sense of it we need to have an intelligent information system which tells us what we can do in order to affect the behaviour of the driver.

It’s not just about getting the data, it’s about doing something with that data.”

Hans den Hollander We are finding that it leads to more efficient despatching capabilities for the field engineers in particular, and reduces idle time. It is also expected to lead to savings on fuel costs and other car-related costs because of lower mileage.

And we will also have a better overview of the amount of business and private mileage.”

IS the pRIVaCy ISSue Really a pRoBleM when CoRpoRateS thInk aBout IMpleMentIng teleMatICS? Bruce MacLaren

Hans den Hollander

What I’m expecting is that as fleet operators we need to address the privacy concerns. Pulling data out of a car scares people. Through the connections we have – and Microsoft is a company which is all about protecting people’s private data – we will address these concerns so that we act in a responsible way and we are not interfering with people’s private lives, but helping them to improve their lives, to stay alive and to prevent accidents – and we can reduce cost at the same time. It really is a win-win for our corporation and for the employees as long as we answer these concerns in a thorough and responsible manner.”

This is not really an issue although data privacy laws are more stringent in some countries than others. But the project and advantages well explained and the system we have chosen allows the driver to switch the tool off when driving privately.”

Tim Harrup ■

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dossier I Telematics & Connectivity

Building the car connection Telematics is the blending of computers and wireless telecommunications technologies, ostensibly with the goal of conveying information to improve efficiency. With connectivity available in home and the office the same level of connectivity is now expected on the move.

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ricsson, the world’s largest manufacturer of wireless network equipment, estimates that by 2020 there may be as many as 50bn machines connected, up for 1bn today. 80% of these machines will not be talking to us, but each other. In the case of cars Gartner, the research company, predicts that the majority of users will experience connectivity in their vehicles by 2016. For premium vehicles, the tipping point will occur earlier, around 2013.

Connection has the potential to transform how fleets are managed and used. Telematics is a “what if” technology. When people start to consider the potential, the possibilities are endless.

Why are telematics solutions of value to fleet managers?

Today’s telematics solutions can advise drivers about their journey and driving styles, tomorrows will make decisions for the driver and in the future the car could drive itself. The car is at the start of its journey along the connection superhighway.

The KMPG Global Automotive Executive Survey 2012 yet again found fuel efficiency was the single biggest factor influencing vehicle purchasing decisions (76 per cent of respondents). In fleets, telematics are deployed to improve vehicle performance, optimise vehicle utilisation and improve driver performance.

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The results can be reduced fuel costs and increased fuel efficiency.

For this reason alone exploring the potential of telematics makes sense. When combined with driver safety benefits, reduced maintenance costs and down time, and the potential to slash back office costs it becomes clear why telematics are being heralded as the fleet management tool of the future.

Ericsson estimates that by 2020 there may be as many as 50 billion machines connected, up for 1 billion today.

Achieving Connection There are three ways that connectivity in the car can be achieved. Firstly though; embedded solutions where the connectivity and intelligence is built into the vehicle; secondly, tethered solutions where the driver uses their smartphone as a modem; or thirdly, integrated solutions where smartphone applications are integrated into the car.

The three are not mutually exclusive.

The majority of vehicle manufacturers are relying on multiple solutions

aligning these to market segments and the application of the solution.

What’s driving the desire for connection?

In a world of connectivity it would seem very odd if the car was not connected. Connectivity is being driven by three headline factors.

• Public Administration and the need to optimise transport infrastructure and improve the efficiency of transport systems. Connectivity is championed as the management tool of the modern age for urban transport, has the potential to open up the mobility market and facilitates government’s long held desire for integrated transport systems.

• Natural Capital – We live in a resource constrained world. Fuel prices and environmental concerns are increasing. The solutions that connectivity enables will improve fuel efficiency, and corporations will benefit from reduced costs.

• Technology – Technology is the enabler. As consumers our appetite for connectivity is insatiable.

Investment by OEMs, and mergers and acquisitions, marketing agreements and partnerships between OEMs, technology companies and telecommunications firms evidence the potential for revenue opportunities that connection presents.

Car connectivity is being driven by three headline factors: Technology, Natural capital, Public Administration.

getting the right connection in place The challenge for policy makers is creating the conditions required for the mass market take off. This will enable the full potential of connection to be explored in the open market. Regulators in the EU, Brazil and Russia’s are facilitating this with the mandated fitment of embedded telematics in all new vehicles over the next few years. telematics and the Insurance Industry Everyone seems to be talking about 2012 as the year that telematics-based insurance eventually takes off. The high cost of insurance, EU law outlawing gender-based risk assessment from December 2012 and after year upon year of losses in the underwriting market, insurers are eager to revise out dated risk assessment models.

Telematics creates detailed vehicle and driver data upon which risk can be profiled.

Environmental data such as night time driving, driving in congested periods, road type are matched to driver behaviours such as excessive speeding, harsh braking and acceleration.

The result, safe drivers and fleets are rewarded with lower premiums. Telematics will also enable insurers to offer added value, aligned services like remote unlocking. If consumers accept telematics in the insurance market, as seems the case, the fears around data privacy will subside and wider applications of telematics solutions will not such stiff opposition.

Challenges to connectivity We are bound by economics. The connection solutions presented have to be more affordable than what is on offer today if they are to be successful. Fleets, operating in the context of rising fuel costs and insurance will be seeking increasingly sophisticated ways to manage costs.

Connection itself poses a challenge. There is currently a situation where data plans are tied to devices, and the connection of vehicles could lead to huge data costs.

This is set to change with innovation, how data is transmitted and new data plans. Telecoms operators in the USA and Europe have announced plans to introduce flexible, shared data plans which will enable customers to pay a single bill for multiple devices.

Telematics presents an opportunity for OEMs to build and maintain future relationships with consumers.

new business model?

Telematics presents an opportunity for OEMs to build and maintain relationships with consumers, and opens up a new revenue stream. Manufacturing automobiles is a risky business with slim profit margins. Research has shown that from all activities involving car manufacturer OEMs take a meagre 1% of the total.

the future The car is at the start of its journey along the connection superhighway. The adoption of telematics in the next few years will shape where connection goes.

What is clear though is that the connected car is already here, the numbers will increase and there is an appetite for connection from regulators, across the value chain and amongst customers. These factors, combined with technological advancement, means that M2M communication will shape the way our cars, transport networks and fleet operations are managed in the future. â–

Jonathan Green - Partner 3SIXTY

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DOssiER i Telematics & Connectivity

Operating in a value centred world

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Telematics is the source of the big data and analysis that is needed to understand how value can be created through value driven fleet management programme.

a car that is connected to the world around it is an increasingly powerful tool. By utilising the intelligence created by telematics systems fleet professionals are being presented with new sources of information that have the potential to change the way fleets are used and managed, and drivers are supported.

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here are a wide range of telematics solutions available and the market is growing. If the purpose of a telematics systems is to be summarised it could be described as a process that achieves behavioural change. The target of behavioural change could be the driver, the business area that uses the vehicle or the team responsible for managing the fleet.

To understand the potential value that a telematics offer the first step that fleet professional needs to take is clarifying the types of behaviour that are desired. When making an investment decision a fleet manager needs to understand; how behaviours will be changed through the introduction of a telematics solutions; what investment is required to achieve the desired change and what the return on investment will be? Providers of telematics solutions are eager to collaborate with fleet users to better understand the behaviours that are desirable.

Frank Pauli, Vice President Map Division EMEA at NOKIA, said, “We want to work with fleet operators to better understand the components that have the highest impacts.”

Creating value through connection By reviewing how a corporation interacts with customers in the connected age a fleet professional is able to build an understanding of how connection in fleet can add value. Fleets are a corporate asset. Like any other asset they provide the corporation with the capability to perform a task with the aim of creating value.

The concept how value is created is changing in a connected world. Corporations are now mobilising their assets and capabilities with the aim of aligning these to the value creating processes of their customers.

This changes the focus of fleet management from how can a fleet be managed and optimised to meet the needs of the corporation, to how can a fleet be deployed to augment the value creation process of its corporation’s customers. fleet appraisal in a value centred world The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is widely used as the key metric for assessing fleet investment decisions.

Today, with a focus on how fleets are mobilised to augment a corporation’s value creation proposition, the time may have come to revisit how the TCO model is used by fleet professionals.

A model to appraise fleet management in a value centred world should perhaps move away from a cost centred philosophy on ownership to one that is focused on value creation. A model like this, for convenience called the Total Value of Use (TVU) model, seeks to align value creation for the customer with the costs the corporation

incurs. It does this by having a value creation objective that sits alongside a fleet optimisation objective. fleet Value Creation objective: Measures are developed to ensure that the fleet is strategically deployed to augment a corporation’s value creation process. The primary focus of this value led model is ensuring that the fleet is configured, managed and used to create value for the customer, and that this value can be communicated to stakeholders. fleets optimisation objective: Operating within the context of how the fleet has been deployed around the customer’s value creation needs, the principles of the TCO model are applied to ensure a fleet’s performance is optimised for the benefit of the corporation.

Using this approach, marrying value and costs, a value proposition is created for the fleet category. With a focus on value the fleet professional is aware, and therefore responsive to, the customer’s needs.

The risk in a cost centred model, like the TCO, is its focus on fleet operations in isolation from the world around it. A value centred proposition therefore ensures that at a strategic level the fleet is designed and managed to align with the corporation’s strategy, and the day to day operations of the fleet are optimised utilising the strengths of the TCO model.

Business case for a value centred proposition Telematics is the source of the big data and analysis that is needed to understand how value can be created through value driven fleet management programme.

Giles Margerison, Sales Director at TomTom UK believes that “Telematics enables the fleet professional to evidence the value that pro-active fleet management delivers for the business.”

The temptation in a world of big data is to manage absolutely everything. Perhaps the starting point is to strip away all the data, clear our minds of telematics solutions and ask ourselves a simple set of questions: What behaviours do we wish to encourage in fleet management, why do we want to do this and what would the results of the change look like?

Nick Mitchell, VP Worldwide Sales, from Trimble added, “When asked which specific areas of technology were in most need of upgrading, fleet management and telematics were seen as the overwhelming priority by 65%, coming second only to general IT and hardware (85%).”

The future of telematics is a bright one. If fleet professionals use telematics to create the right corporate behaviours fleets will be seen as a creator of value rather than an asset that needs to be managed. ■ Jonathan Green - Partner 3SIXTY

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EVERY FLEET NEEDS A FLAGSHIP. P.22

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BMW i

Sheer Driving Pleasure

At BMW i, we know the corporate world is all about efficiency, so we’ll keep it short and simple. Why should fleet managers consider the all-electric, emission-free BMW i3 with eDrive technology, available in 2013? First, it’s a perfect fit for innovation-minded companies. Second, it’s a strong sustainability statement. Third, with its connectivity, it makes a functional workplace when required.

Fourth, it can bring down the cost of ownership. And finally, as a genuine BMW, it’s going to put a smile on the face of your employees – every time out. More: bmw-i.com/fleet BMW i. BORN ELECTRIC.

bmw-i.com

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DOssiER i Telematics & Connectivity

The European e-call stays controversial will the pan-european e-call, still known as the “e-call 112”, which intervenes in the case of a road accident, be obligatory on all new vehicles from 1st January 2015? this is the desire of the european Commission and the Members of the european parliament who are seeking a restrictive legislative framework before the end of this year. Some countries are dragging their feet, including france, and the majority of manufacturers are waiting to be obliged to act.

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-call 112 is the manual or automatic call to the emergency services that Europe wants to impose in 2015. The principle: in the case of an accident, a motorist contacts the no.

112 by simply pressing a button; this enables the operator to locate it by GPS and identify the vehicle type using a VIN code. In the absence of a driver reaction, sensors in the airbags will generate an automatic call.

The Commission’s objective: Saving 2,500 lives a year and reducing the number of serious injuries from road accidents by 10% to 15%. The principle is based on the “golden hour”, the time between that when an accident occurs and the arrival of the emergency teams.

The European Commission has been discussing the e-call since 2005 and, in September 2011, it launched a call to the automobile industry to install it at reasonable prices in all vehicles. In parallel, it suggested an updating of call centres and an initiative by mobile telephone operators to harmonise this new Community device. According to the Commission, the overall investment would be of the order of € 4.5 billion, an amount largely compensated by the reduction in the

cost of road accidents. awaiting european legislation Since that time, the situation has developed little – only 0.7% of cars were equipped by the end of 2011 – inciting the Members of the European Parliament to react during a session in the Parliament in Strasbourg at the beginning of July: “as the call for goodwill was not followed up, we should impose the system”. Faced with this European standardisation project, manufacturers are acting in a disparate manner. Several

is of the order of € 200 per month in Germany. “The module is ready”, commented several manufacturer’s representatives at the last Paris Motor Show, “But, to generalise it on our models, we are waiting for European legislation.”

The majority of the Member States of the European Union are in favour of this project, but not France, who considers that there are other priorities to improve safety, with a favourable impact on insurance premiums: The AEBS (Advanced Emergency Braking System) anti-collision system, forward-looking radar brake locking (Emergency braking system) or blind spot detection (Blind spot monitoring). And then, above all, France is defending the choice made by PSA through the “Peugeot Connect SOS” and “Citroën e-touch SOS” systems, which are widespread. At PSA, the calls are firstly sent to an assistance platform that sorts them: only some 2.5% are forwarded to the emergency services, with the others relating to technical problems or minor issues, even manipulation errors.

The risk of congestion for the SOS 112 line is, therefore, major, which should be equipped as a consequence.

The European Commission has been discussing the e-call since 2005

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brands already offer an e-call (Ford e-call, Volvo on call, BMW, Mercedes, etc.), particularly in Germany, but also in Asia and in the United States (Toyota). This equipment is sometimes limited to a few models (Volkswagen), or, conversely, was abandoned after tests considered as inconclusive (Renault).

In addition to the installation cost of the control module (€ 300 to € 500), the rental of the assistance services

The car equipped with e-call automatically calls the nearest emergency centre in case of a crash.

Even if the crash is serious and the passengers are injured heavily, a minimum set of necessary data is sent, so that the emergency services can start their work.

The installation cost of the control module must also be taken into account (the Commission is using a figure of € 100, while the manufacturers mostly indicate € 300), along with that of the services. In this way, for fleets, the price of long-term rental could increase by 3%. pSa-Citroën european leader in the e-call SoS Since 2003, PSA Peugeot Citroën has marketed more than 1 million e-calls, a market in which it is the European leader. Some 500 people have been helped by this system in the ten countries in which it is offered.

In 2010, the PSA e-call SOS became affordable thanks to the Autonomous Telematics Box (ATB). On-board and connected to the car, the ATB separates the telematics functions from the other applications such as the hands-free telephone. It has its own communications formula and does not require a subscription.

During an emergency call, an SMS including the vehicle identification, its geographic location and its telephone details are sent by GSM link to an assistance platform. In France, for example, Inter Mutuelles Assistance hosts the reception structure and deals with the calls. An operator then contacts the driver to examine the seriousness of the accident and transmits the information to the emergency services in the geographic area in question (fire brigade, police, etc.).

Due to the installation cost and the service follow-up, the price of long-term rental for fleets could increase by 3%.

France is the country most opposed to the idea of the European e-call and is defending the choice made by PSA. At PSA, calls are first sent to an assistance platform that sorts them.

If the driver does not answer, the call is automatically transferred to the emergency services. Today, the “Peugeot Connect SOS” or “Citroën etouch SOS” are offered as standard or as an option available from € 300. ■ Yves de Partz

what will it be? e-call pSa or european Any standardisation is complex.

France is going it alone in the “anti –e-call 112” battle, and will have difficulty in imposing its point of view, despite convincing arguments including the difficulty of collecting all the calls in one structure. Other countries, including Belgium, are questioning the ratio between the investments and the expected benefit in regions with highly dense traffic and population. And at the time when extending the European e-call to all vehicles, including heavy goods vehicles, is being discussed, we must ensure that personal privacy is effectively guaranteed, as provided by the European Commission. If the e-call enables the precise locating of a vehicle and its occupants in the case of an accident, the temptation would be strong to use it for control purposes, including in relation to users of company cars.

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dossier I Telematics & Connectivity

Safety, geo-location and insurance:

telematics are everywhere Originally, telematics were the symbol of originality and technology for some “premium” brands. Today, it has become more accessible, making driving safer, more comfortable and better integrated into the environment. But the process is going much further: geolocation and inter-connectivity are part of this, ahead of telematic insurance. Big Brother has entered the world of mobility.

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e have the impression of always having lived with GPS. In fact, it was the American President Bill Clinton who, in 2000, freed up the satellite signals previously used for military purposes. The First civilian GPS (Global Positioning System) appeared in the mid-2000s, relegating the good old route map to the glovebox. Today, the GPS in the automobile symbolises telematics that we could not have dared to imagine twelve years ago, with infinitesimal applications.

At the recent Paris Motor Show, Renault, already a precursor of the low-priced GPS (€ 490), launched “R-Link” on the new Clio. This is a tactile tablet integrated into the vehicle, connected to the Internet and using Android.

Like the Carminat TomTom LIVE, it has its own modems and 3G subscription to offer different services (radio, telephone, navigation, etc.), traffic information or radar alerts. In addition, 50 applications can be downloaded directly or using the R-Link Store. With an on-board 18 cm screen with voice recognition, this is genuine Renault multimedia: check e-mails, reading by synthetic voice, Twitter access, weather, hotel reservations, geo-location, analysis of driving and consumption advice, etc. Everything in a Clio, whose basic model is launched at € 11,000.

The price of the tablet and the R-Link installation is € 400, tax-inclusive, plus the possible transfer of applications.

Multi-applicable solution At the Paris Motor Show, of course, PSA also presented its latest generation of the Peugeot Connect APPS with a tac-

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tile screen. To access the services, simply connect to the 3G network with a Peugeot connection key in the USB port.

The Plug&Play key is automatically identified and the interface giving access to the applications is displayed on the tactile screen. Drivers can then launch guidance to a POI (Point Of Interest), or call it via Bluetooth from their telephone (service station, restaurant). Operational in 17 countries from its launch in the second half of 2013 on the 208, Peugeot Connect APPS offers 10 very varied applications: MyPeugeot (information about your car), Michelin traffic in real time, parking (location, price, availability), Michelin hotel and restaurant guide, weather or Via Michelin (itineraries). One application is original: “Dismoioù” (tell me where) gives information about local concerts or exhibitions but also give access to internet user comments about these activities. And if, in a petrol station, the fuel price is no longer that indicated by the application, the driver can change it to warn other users. A lot of information also useful on fleet vehicles, in addition to a “Peugeot Connect Fleet” application to allow managers to view the mileage, services, etc.

The launch price of Peugeot Connect APPS will be € 345 tax-inclusive, plus an annual subscription of € 109.

Of course, the Paris Motor Show was not limited to French brands. The new A3 Sportback, for example, offers Lane Assist (lane compliance), Adaptive Cruise Control, Side Assist (detection of vehicles in the blind spot) or Pre Sense (automatic braking and other measures to prevent the risk of an accident). And Audi Connect includes an on-line Bluetooth telephone, Google street view, Google earth or a Wi-Fi network accepting up to 8 devices, before forthcoming access to Twitter or Facebook.

Telematics is going further again. General Motors is developing a cyclist and pedestrian detection technology using the Wi-Fi signal from their smartphones. Other studies are examining a 30g resin sensor placed inside types to constantly test the pressure and tyre wear.

Born from the experience of heavy goods (vehicles), in the image of the Iveco “Blue&Me Fleet”, remote vehicle management and location systems are arriving in LUV (Light

Several intelligent and interesting telematics’ applications were presented at the Paris Motor Show 2012. GM, for example, is developing a cyclist and pedestrian detection technology using the Wi-Fi signal from their smartphones.

Utility Vehicles) and in cars. Tom Tom ECoPlus can therefore view consumption and make comparisons between two drivers.

Pay how you drive Telematic insurance, already on offer in the United Kingdom and Canada in particular, will arrive in the short or medium term. Based on the “pay how you drive” principle, it will transform the calculation of premiums, which will then be based on driver behaviour: Acceleration, braking, engine speeds and vehicle lateral movements will be recorded to assess the risk of an accident. And now, we will evolve towards the completely controlled motorist. As for geo-location, insurance companies must comply with national laws on personal privacy and measure the degree of acceptance of the user by reference

Peugeot Connect APPS

With 10 years experience in telematics, PSA Peugeot Citroen is going a step further in offering new services and applications, which are both practical and enjoyable, in 17 countries. This connection tool is also marketed at an accessible price.

to this cabin-penetrating technology. But the reduction in premium given to “good” drivers will have an influence, including on fleet managers who can then take action in relation to driver training. In the case of an accident, the information captured will make it easier to determine responsibility.

Definitively, the primary criterion of judgement in relation to telematics in fleet cars will be TCO. In addition to the traditional criteria (brand, model, look, residual value, fuel, servicing, insurance, etc.), the choice of equipment will be increasingly important, with a substantial gain in safety and in the efficiency of travel. ■

Renault R-Link Already a precursor of the GPS for all with the Carminat TomTom option, Renault is offering an App Store and an Internet connection on the affordable Clio. R-Link offers fifty applications.

Yves de Partz

Head Up Display

In cars that resemble mobile offices or… games rooms, there are multiple sources of distraction.

The head up display, projecting speed or itinerary limits instantly onto the windscreen, will avoid the driver becoming too distracted from concentrating on driving.

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Management I News LeasePlan supplies Toyota Yaris to HELP

Maintenance is key in TCO control The importance of correctly maintaining company vehicles as a way of reducing TCO, has been underlined by ARI Fleet UK. Along with this, effective driver and tyre management also have a significant role to play, the company states.

Executives from LeasePlan, Toyota and HELP in Luxemburg are celebrating their collaboration.

LeasePlan Luxembourg has an agreement with the care-assistance service HELP to supply 130 ecologically-friendly vehicles. In a first phase, the leasing company will deliver 24 Toyota Yaris hybrids, to be used by the association’s staff for their professional trips. The Yaris has been selected because it responds to HELP’s criteria in terms of personal safety, and because of its very low impact on the environment. The model only emits 79 grams of CO2 per km, and the addition of these cars will contribute to bringing average C02 emissions for the entire fleet of 660 vehicles down to 98 grams, a saving of 76 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Banco Santander orders 700 Hyundai ix20 Hyundai has been chosen as preferred partner of Banco Santander in Spain.

Hyundai Motor Spain has delivered the first units of a fleet of 700 vehicles ix20 models. The vehicles are financed by a lease with Bansacar Autorenting.

The delivery schedule of all 700 vehicles will be held during the next two years. The model chosen is the Hyundai ix20 1.6 CRDi Comfort 115 hp.

ARI points out that vehicles now require maintenance at longer intervals, which is contributing to the fact that service costs are actually reducing year on year. Some fleets are seeing a rise in these costs, however, because they allow their vehicles to become unnecessarily in need of work to poor management.

Using a popular fleet car of thirty years ago in the UK, the Vauxhall Cavalier (Opel Ascona), and its current equivalent the Insignia, ARI details that for the former, maintenance costs over a three year/60,000 km period represented 23% of the original purchase cost.

For today’s Insignia, the figure is 8%. Tyre costs, as a result, have risen sharply as a proportion of the whole, from 15% of the total maintenance cost to 40%.

Bruce MacLaren returning to USA The European fleet world has to say ‘au revoir’ to one of its most illustrious and popular figures. Bruce MacLaren, Global Lead for software giant Microsoft, is to return to Seattle in the USA to exercise his function from there. He points out that he will still be responsible for the worldwide fleet, but that by being based in the USA he will be closer to his global stakeholders. Bruce MacLaren has become a much sought-after speaker at European fleet events. in 2010 he was crowned ‘International Fleet Manager of the Year’ at the Fleet Europe, and last week he was elected as new inductee in the Fleet Europe Hall of Fame (see also pages 38-40). Bruce, thanks for everything, we wish you all the best!

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Management

I News

DHL selects Kangoo electric

4 questions to

Renault has announced a further success for its all electric small van, the Kangoo Z.E. By 2015, the manufacturer is to supply an initial quantity of 50 of these models to DHL France, with the final size of the order depending on needs. The first four vehicles will be supplied between now and the end of the year. Renault and DHL already work together, DHL supplying the logistics for battery shipments to Z.E. (Zero Emissions) centres throughout France. The latest order forms part of the DHL GoGreen programme, which is designed to cut the company’s CO2 emissions by 30% by the year 2020. The Kangoo Z.E. was launched a year ago and over 5,000 units have now been sold.

Andrzej Sacha

Global Fleet Solutions Manager at Nestlé 1. Nestlé has a global car fleet. Is your fleet management centralised or decentralised, and why?

“Fleet management at Nestlé follows the same principles as the overall Nestlé business model, with central strategic direction which is executed locally, taking advantage of the knowledge and experience of the local fleet management communities. This allows Nestlé to achieve the Strategic objectives of Creating Shared Value, Sustainability and Compliance. The local teams have the accountability and take responsibility for ensuring that their fleet is well managed.”

From left to right: Michel Akavi, CEO of DHL Express France and François Guionnet, Managing Director of Renault Renault Parc Entreprises in France.

Christy Coyte appointed Global Fleet Director at Johnson Controls Johnson Controls, industrial and technology leader, has announced that Christy Coyte Meyer has been appointed to the position of corporate global fleet director. She has over 15 years experience of fleet, and first Christy Coyte Meyer has joined Johnson Controls over 15 years experience of in 1978. She has an imfleet business. pressive car fleet management expertise and was elected Professional Fleet Manager of the Year in 2009 in the US. Mrs Coyte Meyer is now responsible for the 20,000 company drivers around the world, and for reducing the company’s environmental footprint.

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2. Your predecessor was Werner Berger, a living legend in the fleet managers’ community. What have you learned from him?

“Werner has left his legacy and mark on Fleet Management in Nestlé, but I am not sure he would want to be known as a “Living legend”. I would say that there are two practices that have been understood, that of perseverance in your beliefs and that you can never communicate enough with the markets.”

3. How has the difficult financial and economic period impacted your fleet management strategy?

“We have a roadmap that has been put in place and we are following it. We are achieving continued OEM and Leasing Company volume concentration and are well on the way to achieving our environmental goal of an average of 130 g CO2/km by the end of 2012 in Europe. The economic environment has meant that in some markets, vehicle replacements have been delayed and reviews of car policies have taken place. However, the developments in powertrain technology have meant that the consequences of some of these changes are less pronounced than would have been in the past. Ironically, in some cases this has meant environmental improvements through lower emissions from smaller engines with greater power in similar segment vehicles.”

4. I f you have one tip for fleet managers, what would that be?

“Don’t accept the “Status Quo”. Have faith in your convictions and pursue them, continuously thinking of the driver and the next generation, whilst meeting your businesses needs.”

Steven Schoefs ■

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Jean-noĂŤl gouillou (Rexel)

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Jean Zermati (orange)

Sector of activity: Electrical supplies

Sector of activity: Mobile communications

Job title: General Purchasing Director

Job title: Vehicle Management Director

Countries under responsibility: Global

Countries under responsibility: Europe

European fleet size: 5,000 vehicles

European fleet size: +/- 29,0000 vehicles

Financing method: operational leasing

Financing method: operational leasing

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MANAGEMENT I Cross-interview

Fleet visions from the City of Light The cross-interview for this edition of Fleet Europe involves two Paris-based international fleet managers from different sectors of activity. Jean Zermati is Vehicle Management Director at mobile telecommunications specialist Orange, while Jean-Noël Gouillou is General Purchasing Director for electrical supplies company Rexel. Once again, they answered our questions and were keen to answer the fleet questions from their counterpart too.

What are the main obstacles in the path towards the creation and the roll out of a more centralized international fleet management?

Jean Zermati: ‘‘I think that the difficulty for us lies today in the fact that this doesn’t yet exist. We have centralized purchasing but just began the operational aspects. The second difficulty is that cultures are different along with HR and fiscal rules. There is also the fact that in the countries where Orange works there are differences. There are our “historic” countries of France and Poland where we have a very specific vehicle typology with a high proportion of utility vehicles. In other markets – Belgium for example – there are only passenger cars. So these differences complicate things, although we are trying now to persuade, but not force, people to harmonise things within an objective policy. There are obviously common objectives such as CO2 reduction, ecodriving and training.”

Jean-Noël Gouillou: “There is a similar situation with us. There are three principal challenges, the first of which is to encourage the adoption of more efficient habits in line with the Group strategy and have a more global vision of the fleet, while still accommodating local specificities. The second is that we have a number of different fleet managers responsible across the world, reporting to their local countries. We have to ensure consis-

tency across all countries and that means that all these individuals have an equal and comprehensive understanding of the Group’s objectives in terms of our TCO approach, meeting CO2 targets and managing fuel consumption etc. The third and final point, is the complexity of taxation rules, which vary from one country to another – this includes taxation of the company but also the various taxes on employees. We have to take into account all of these factors.”

What improvements and changes are you planning to develop regarding your fleet management strategy?

J.Z.: “Orange’s specific situation is that France represents 80% of our European fleet. We have around 23,500 vehicles here, and Poland has 4,000.

So our main concern is to develop a policy for France and see if this policy is suitable in other countries. In France, since last year our policy has been based on two axes – two major points which for us represent methods of containing costs in the short and medium terms. The first element is the installation of electronic box units in all our vehicles in order to see the real mileage every day. In this way we can benefit from what appears to us to be a vital piece of information, not just relying on the mileage recorded by the driver each time he fills up with petrol. We can then compare fuel consumption with what the manu-

facturers’ figures say, because there is always a difference between these figures obtained on the test-bed and the real figures on the road. Another benefit of this is respect for the manufacturers’ recommendations in terms of servicing etc. The second element is training and eco-driving, which will enable us to control ‘driver TCO’. Part of the cost of a vehicle is obviously the way a driver uses his car, which may lead to higher accident rates, higher consumption etc. These two elements may also allow us to look at the size of the fleet, again downwards. Orange has already cut its fleet size in half between 2000 and 2010, from 47,000 to 23,000 vehicles. Today we want to carry on in this direction, because there is no better way of decreasing fleet costs by 10% than by reducing the fleet by 10%. The data I have mentioned will enable us to fine-tune and we will be able to better position the size of the fleet and possibly even by opening up to new usage of the vehicles. This could be professional usage by members of staff who don’t have a company vehicle, or even private usage, in the evening or during the weekend.”

J. G.: “We have around 7,400 vehicles of which 5,000 are in Europe. Of these 7,400, around 5,000 are typical ‘company cars’ for both professional and private use. In geographical terms, the UK and France each represent around 1,500 vehicles , with a number of other countries representing smaller fleets.

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What would Jean-noël gouillou like to know about Jean Zermati’s fleet management?

“Orange’s specific situation is that France represents 80% of the European fleet”

We have a similar approach to centralisation in many ways, but how do you manage coordination across subsidiaries?

Today this is done through researching the information and then by videoconferences with all the countries, or face to face meetings, to try and understand the policies of each of them. Then we share experiences. For example, Poland has launched before France an eco-driving programme. So we share objectives, and then tools, to see together whether we can define a purchasing policy, an operational question.”

What would you like to see manufacturers and leasing companies offer that they don’t offer now?

Where manufacturers are concerned, a decrease in CO2 emissions, and a halt in the race to bigger sizes, higher prices. Weight has started to come down, but the models continue to get bigger. In France, where CO2 is concerned, we no longer grade this by job level; there is a maximum level of 120 grams for all employees and 140 grams for TOP managers. No status car ordered by Orange in France goes above 140 grams, so I would like to see more help from manufacturers in this direction. We also want ever safer vehicles. Where utility vehicles are concerned, I would like to see a real reduction in CO2 to help in our group targets. Leasing companies: I want them to assist us or even lead us where vehicle use or sharing are concerned, right up to, for example, mobility credits. To enable the use of different types of vehicles at different times – a small one in the week and a big one during weekends for example, will probably need more cooperation between manufacturers, long term rental companies, short term rental companies…maybe others too. The leasing companies should push this.”

You have spoken about eco-driving courses: how do you persuade the businesses to allow the sales force to stop selling and go to an eco-driving course?

Well, with difficulty! We try to succeed though, by pointing out that although a day when a sales person is not in front of clients is a lot, an accident means a car off the road for a week or two, or an injured driver, or a third party who is injured. And as we aim for a 10% decrease in accidents, there is a real human advantage, not to mention the fact that we have a legal obligation to ensure our drivers’ safety.”

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What would Jean Zermati like to know about Jean-Noël Gouillou’s fleet management? ‘‘Rexel strongly believes that drivers should be involved directly through initiatives such as eco-driving” You have spoken of Europe, America, Asia.

Are vehicle typologies and use the same in these three continents?

No, the approach is based on the profile of the vehicle used – whether it is a management, sales or delivery vehicle for example. We have defined five manufacturer groups and the fact that each of them is present across all of these continents, enables us to extend our strategy more easily to new countries and subsidiaries.

Of course, we have to adapt the way we operate in each country, but we still find the same usage characteristics. In addition, although the vehicle models can vary from country to country, the performance indicators we use are the same, which enables us to have a coherent approach across all our subsidiaries globally.”

Do you work through budgets or via a predefined vehicle catalogue and how much freedom do your drivers have?

This is very simple: we identify the best models by segment size and CO2 emission levels with our preferred manufacturers, then each country and subsidiary is free to define its own policy with regards to TCO and the allocation of vehicles.

We don’t interfere at Group level in who is entitled to what. This flexibility allows us to remain competitive and to attract and retain staff. We are able to introduce new vehicle models on a regular basis, which maintains a healthy level of competition between the five preferred manufacturers we use.

If you had a magic wand and could change one thing in what you do today, what would it be?

I have talked about industrialising some of our processes, we now need to accelerate this strategy in order to communicate and share our experiences more effectively across the Group to drive performance.”

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understanding of the needs of each subsidiary and their satisfaction with, for example, the services provided by the car leasing companies. We are rolling out an e-sourcing tool to streamline this evaluation process.”

We are rolling out a programme across a number of countries, which will centralize the quotation process in terms of TCO. Jean-Noël Gouillou

Our approach is strategic, with a first wave focusing on creating an international approach across Europe, which we started four years ago, before extending this approach to the rest of the world. In Europe, we rationalized our fleet to five manufacturer groups and two principal leasing companies, and we are looking to extend these agreements to our operations in AsiaPacific and North America.

Across the globe, we are also developing and improving local policies, not just with suppliers, but also in terms of thinking about alternative modes of travel or changing the driving habits of our fleet users. We are also increasingly using, fuel efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles. In terms of improving our process, we are trying to ‘industrialise’ vehicle quotations, while still taking into account country specific needs and characteristics.

We are rolling out a programme across a number of countries, which will centralize the quotation process in terms of TCO. This will mean that in the future, each subsidiary of Rexel will be able to define its own policy but with a global vision on TCO. We are also improving the way we formalize the process for feedback, to raise our

how are you looking at new fleet management and mobility solutions, especially telematics and track & tracing?

J. Z.: “I think that we are more or less at the start of a new phase in the development of these type of electronic aids. This involves not only the electronic boxes I mentioned before, but also car-sharing programmes and personal smart mobility assistants.

Orange Business Services is in the process of developing a multi-modal mobility assistant for ALD Automotive (see article on ALDO, page 66) which will enable the best mode of transport – foot, bike, car, public transport – through integrating the journey to be taken into your diary. This assistant will also advise of incidents or poor weather and recalculate the time taken or the mode of transport to be used.

Eventually this will lead to a different type of mobility, more responsible and which takes into account the fact that a car is no longer at the heart of urban mobility. We have started to no longer construct our lives around cars, but to see cars occupying less space in our lives. All these evolutions, including electric vehicles and the situation surrounding them – for example maybe there could be a battery used in the house which is then used for the vehicle and vice versa– will lead to a completely different way of using cars, both privately and within companies.

Society will no longer be able to accept in ten, or twenty, or fifty years, that vehicles spend 90% of their time just parked. Our solutions do not involve either tracking or geo-location. There is always a feeling with geo-location that the company is spying on its employees. This area doesn’t interest me – what interests me is to see whether there is a vehicle, for example, which

only covers a few kilometers a day and which is therefore only in use a few minutes a day – maybe we can find an extra use for it too.”

J. g.: “With Rexel we have a global programme called ‘Energy in Motion’ in which energy efficiency is identified as a key driver of organic growth. It is clear that the quality of energy efficiency data is a key element for setting up action plans in fleet management. But, understanding how to drive responsibility and raising awareness of energy efficiency are equally important. We are also counting on our manufacturers and leasing companies for innovation in energy efficiency measures.

I strongly believe we need to involve drivers directly through initiatives such as training in eco-driving and we also want to be able to give them information about their driving performance, which can be used to improve driving habits and optimise fuel consumption, even outside of work. The second point relates to tracking and tracing which is more tied to our product deliveries. We have outsourced some of our deliveries in a large number of countries, so it is also important that we analyse what the transporters we use are proposing in terms of journey optimization for deliveries to our clients. This element is a key consideration in our selection criteria for transportation suppliers.”

In the future, society will no longer be able to accept that vehicles spend 90% of their time just parked.

Jean Zermati Tim Harrup ■ Photographer: Arnaud Siquet

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it’s not the c a r it’s our c a re

All leasing companies supply the same cars.

Therefore it’s all about care and the quality of service. Please visit our website at www.businesslease.com.

FEU Awards thanks 185x125_Mise en page 1 30/11/12 18:39 Page1

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EVENT I Fleet Europe Awards 2012

Fleet Europe Awards 2012 On November 22nd, in the prestigious Palais des Festivals in Cannes – where the annual Film Festival is organized - , an audience of some 500 international car fleet professionals, saw Joe Carreira, Fleet Manager EMEA, and Robert Patrick, Regional Sourcing Manager EMEA Fleet, elected as International Fleet Manager of the Year 2012.

It was the sixth successive year that Fleet Europe organised these awards, which recognise outstanding achievements in various categories of international fleet management.

3 The Fleet Europe Awards 2012 comprise the following categories: International Fleet Manager of the Year Award 2012 1. Joe Carreira & Robert Patrick, MSD 2. Lutz Hansen, Bayer 3. Hans den Hollander, Cisco Systems International Fleet Green Award 2012 1. Bayer 2. BNP Paribas Fortis 3. MSD International Fleet Safety Award 2012 1. Almirall International Fleet Mobility Award 2012 1. BNP Paribas Fortis

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International Fleet Innovation Award 2012 1. BNP Paribas Fortis

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Fleet Europe Hall of Fame 2012 Bruce MacLaren, Microsoft Fleet Europe Industry Award 2012 1. TCO Plus with Fleetcube/Greencube 2. Fleet Logistics with Fleet.Global 3. ARI with ARI analytics

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1. I n the prestigious Palais des Festivals in Cannes, in the building

that was expressly constructed for the film festival, the Fleet Europe Awards 2012 took place.

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the start of the official Award Ceremony guests, candidates, and sponsors gathered together for bubbles and cocktails.

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this theater were illustrious movie directors as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Quintin Tarantino, and Roman Polanski have received Golden Palms, the names of the winners of the Fleet Europe Awards 2012 were announced.

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nominees in the International Fleet Manager of the Year category were introduced by a short video in which they explained how they found both the candidate process and the experience of answering to the jury about their fleet management.

5. T he first Award of the evening went to BNP Paribas Fortis. Javier

Vazquez, Global Accounts Director of Volvo Car Corporation, handed the International Fleet Innovation Award to Wim Schellekens (Global Lead Buyer Corporate Services) and Wim De Wit (HR Director Retail & Private Banking). The jury was impressed by the mix of mobility solutions offered to all employees of BNP Paribas Fortis.

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Paribas Fortis also won the International Fleet Mobility Award 2012, for their successful launch of their Green Mobility Plan. Martin Jahn, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Fleet International presented the trophy to Wim Schellekens and Wim De Wit.

7. T he

International Fleet Safety Award went to Almirall, represented by Global Sourcing Manager Espiri Carrasco, who received her award from Sinisa Andjelic, European Fleet and Remarketing Manager for Hyundai Motor Europe.

8. L utz Hansen of Bayer was delighted to receive the International

Fleet Green Award 2012 from Olivier Bodet, B2B Director at PSA Peugeot Citroën. Lutz Hansen was able to convince the jury that his global fleet management policy has a clear link to Bayer’s corporate ecological strategy.

9. T he complete podium of the International Fleet Green Award:

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presenter Caroline Thonnon, Olivier Bodet (B2B Director of PSA Peugeot Citroën), Philippe Bottequin (Chief Regional Officer Europe West of Fleet Logistics), winner Lutz Hansen (Lead Buyer Fleet Management at Bayer), previous winner Holger Wiegand (Sourcing Operations Manager Europe at 3M Europe), winner of the third prize Joe Carreira, (Fleet Manager EMEA), and Robert Patrick (Regional Sourcing Manager EMEA Fleet) at MSD, and winner of the second prize Wim Schellekens (Global Lead Buyer Corporate Services) and Wim De Wit (HR Director Retail & Private Banking) of BNP Paribas Fortis.

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EVENT I Fleet Europe Awards 2012 10. Bart

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Vanham and Hans Damen of TCOPlus received first prize in the category Fleet Europe Industry Award from Juan Manuel Sagardoy Grawe, Pan European Corporate Sales Director at Opel. TCOPlus took first prize for the online management tools Fleetcube and Greencube.

Fleet Logistics was second with the reporting tool Fleet.Global, while ARI saw its data management tool ARI Analytics rewarded with third prize.

11. For the third time Fleet Europe organized the Fleet Europe Hall of Fame election. Martin Jahn of Volkswagen Group Fleet International had the honour of introducing Bruce MacLaren, Senior Category Manager at Microsoft, as the new entrant to the Hall of Fame.

12. Hans den Hollander, EMEAR Car Fleet Manager of Cisco Systems, picked up third prize in the International Fleet Manager of the Year Award because of his balanced sole supplier strategy on an international level. He is accompanied by Michael Schmid, International Key Account Manager of Bosch Service (left) and Ivor Johnson (Regional Director EMEA for Pfizer Global Fleet).

13. Lutz Hansen took second prize in the category International Fleet Manager of the Year Award. He received the prize from Sarah Lomas, Vice President at Athlon International Sales & Account Management Division, and Ivor Johnson (Regional Director EMEA for Pfizer Global Fleet).

14. And the winner of the International Fleet Manager of the Year Award 2012 is a‌duo. Joe Carreira, (Fleet Manager EMEA), and Robert Patrick (Regional Sourcing Manager EMEA Fleet) from MSD convinced the jury with their fully implemented policy, their clear preferred vendor strategy, and their differentiated approach according to market size. They received the Award from Hans-Georg Lutz, Senior Manager International Corporate Sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars and Ivor Johnson, Regional Director EMEA for Pfizer Global Fleet.

15. In a first reaction Robert Patrick of MSD said he was proud but also overwhelmed and surprised with the first prize as he is a Scot and, in his words, Scotland never wins anything...

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After the Awards’ ceremony the guests

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For

were invited to a gala dinner in a magnificently decorated salon in the Palais des Festivals.

the desert there was a giant birthday cake to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Fleet Europe.

The new

AmperA

pioneers are always first.

Driving electricity further. With the Car of the Year 2012.

www.opel.com Fuel consumption (combined and weighted) 1.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions (combined and weighted) 27 g/km (according to R (EC) No. 715/2007).

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Management

I Fleet Europe Forum 2012

513 fleet professionals from 25 countries meet and discuss international fleet management The tenth edition of the Fleet Europe Forum has just taken place. This year, Hotel Martinez in Cannes, France was the venue, welcoming once again over 500 participants, listening to a total of 20 fleet experts on the central theme of how ‘Globalization influences fleet management in Europe’.

First to address the audience was Peter Fuss, Senior Advisory Partner for Ernst & Young. As the new generation does not attach as much importance to owning a car as previous generations, and the prediction that by 2050 some 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities will bring its own mobility challenges.

Some of the sponsors, including Opel/ Vauxhall, took the opportunity to organize So there is a definite need to look for other business cases and to address a corporate product presentation in the the current and future employees in a broader mobility scenario than just the morning. company car. Ivor Johnson, Regional Director EMEA for Pfizer Global Fleet, and the International Fleet Manager of the Year 2011, that it is important to keep things simple in international fleet management, to establish governance rules, to ensure The sponsors of the Fleet that you have a clear fleet strategy, and to build strong Europe Forum had a dedicated supplier relationships. Mr Johnson also advocated not Fleet Europe Village where having dozens of KPI’s. they could meet with clients and prospects.

Going Global The presentation and the panel discussion about Globalization was a first focal point, with Martin Jahn - Managing Director at Volkswagen Group Fleet International, Johan Verbois - General Manager Fleet & Network at Toyota Motor Europe, Tony Elliot - Director Europe at ARI Strategic Services Group, Hans Damen - Managing Partner at Fleet Vision, and Keith Scolan - Global Fleet Manager at ITW, commenting on figures presented by Caroline Thonnon – Partner Business Development at Nexus Communication, following a Global Fleet Survey on the requirements and obstacles to go global. Tony Elliot stated it was important to define what you want before you go out and try to buy on a global level. Martin Jahn presumed it will always be difficult to have a single policy for the whole world as there are cultural, legal and economic differences, so thinking global but acting local makes sense. Keith Scolan said his company was relying on suppliers to capture key data, as the customer can’t possibly do this globally. Asked about how OEM’s could help clients with CO2 targets, Johan Verbois said it was important to start by looking not just at cars, but at solutions.

And Hans Damen commented on the finding that safety was one of the least global priorities in the survey. He believed this was because it is a complex item which varies from region to region. “It is important”, he said, “to overcome the myth that a global offer is not available”.

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One of the successes of the Fleet Europe Forum is the opportunity to meet and to network. Here Wim Schellekens of BNP Paribas Fortis, listens to Greet Merens of Volvo Car Corporation.

In total 513 fleet experts gathered together for the Fleet Europe Forum on November 22 in the Hotel Martinez in Cannes.

Kimmo Kunnas of Nokia Siemens Networks in Europe explains his fleet management to peers.

Brian Knight of Xerox Limited discusses global fleet topics in the Fleet Europe Village.

In the panel discussion on Global Fleet Management, Martin Jahn of Volkswagen Group Fleet International, explains to moderator Caroline Thonnon why it is difficult to rely on just a global fleet policy.

Hans Damen of Fleet Vision talks about safety while Keith Scolan of ITW and Johan Verbois of Toyota Motor Europe listen and prepare their reaction.

Key-note speaker Peter Fuβ of Ernst & Young opened and closed this year’s Fleet Europe Forum with some new and revealing ideas and insights in terms of successful fleet management.

Traditionally, the International Fleet Manager of the Year for the year about to finish presents the fleet management policy of his or her company. Here Ivor Johnson of Pfizer on assuring the balance between Global, Regional and Local decision taking.

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Management

I Fleet Europe Forum 2012

Steven Schoefs of Fleet Europe with a dedicated panel of six Leasing Executives : Philippe Bismut (Arval), Ed Frederiks (Alphabet International), Mike Masterson (ALD International), Hans Blink (Athlon Car Lease International), Rudolf Rizzolli (Sixt Leasing), Jose Luis Criado (LeasePlan International) .

As one of the key the results of the Global Fleet Survey by Fleet Europe was that more than 80% looks for global elements in their fleet management and that new markets are getting at the industrial and economic forefront, Caroline Thonnon of Nexus Communication ended this session by the launch of the new Global Fleet Network platform where international fleet managers can find information on new markets and exchange best practices with their peers.

The world of car leasing Another highlight was the unique gathering of leasing company heads all together on the same platform. Mike Masterson - CEO at ALD International, Ed Frederiks - CEO at Alphabet International, Philippe Bismut - CEO of Arval, Hans Blink - President of Athlon Car Lease International, Jose Luis Criado -Managing Director at LeasePlan International and Rudolf Rizzolli - Member of the Executive Board at Sixt Leasing, respond to different statements about the car leasing business. Mr Masterson received the topic: ‘Driver management is not a true part of fleet management’. His response indicated that he did not agree with this suggestion. “We are all service providers, and it is therefore a natural evolution that we provide driver services”, he said. Mr Rizzolli was handed the statement that ‘A bundled lease contract is the only way to easily manage a fleet’. He was in agreement with this, because of the difficulty of picking out bits and pieces of a contract, deconstructing it.

Ed Frederiks was asked to comment on ‘Funding will not be the core business of leasing companies any more’. His first comment was unambiguous: “It already isn’t, as our core business is delivering quality services related to company cars and corporate mobility.” Philippe Bismut’s statement involved the future of his and his panel co-members’ companies: ‘In 2020 there will only be four international leasing companies left’. He disagreed with this statement, and said that not only would the most robust companies survive, but that new entrants may also come into the market, especially from Asia. Hans Blink received ‘Predicting residual values is set to get ever more difficult’. He agreed with this, pointing out that the relentless appearance of new technologies in cars made the prediction of residual values more difficult. Jose Luis Criado said of ‘Future car leasing will not know any borders’ that while this would probably be geographically correct, cross-border leasing in terms of identical contracts is not likely to become commonplace, as different customs and different legislations would make this difficult.

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During the break Karin Meersman of Johnson Controls makes a clear fleet statement to Anya Kiss of Novo Nordisk.

In the closing panel discussion about the necessity to embrace innovation, Christel Reynaerts of BMW Group and Uwe Hochgeschurtz of Renault translated the vision of the car manufacturers.

Seize mobility To end this year’s Fleet Europe Forum, a final panel discussion with Poul Brødsgaard - Group Category Manager at ISS, Christel Reynaerts - Head of International Corporate Sales at BMW Group, Heike Weiss - Director Channel Marketing at Nokia L&C Sales and Business Development, and Uwe Hochgeschurtz - Director Corporate Sales Division at Renault, on the necessity to embrace innovation was started by Peter Fuss of Ernst & Young, who said it was now time to think differently: “Just look at Facebook or Apple”. Amongst a number of interesting contributions, Mrs Reynaerts confirmed that city dwellers do probably not think first about cars anymore, while Mr Hochgeschurtz believes that Europe will not remain central to automotive innovation, and Heike Weiss pointed out that connectivity becomes crucial in future mobility management, which allowed Peter Fuss to sum up by saying that there is a huge mobility market in front of us, ready to be seized by those who make the effort. ■ Tim Harrup & Steven Schoefs

Water covers 70% of the earth To navigate the rest, count on us ALD Automotive and Wheels Inc., its North American partner, have formed a strategic alliance with FleetPartners, a market leader of the fleet management industry in Australia and New Zealand.

The partnership provides ALD Automotive with crucial local support for international customers with operations in the emerging Asia-Pacific region.

Today, we offer you the broadest worldwide coverage, with integrated fleet and account management of over 1.3 million vehicles in 43 countries, including the fast-growing markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China. www.aldautomotive.com

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BUSINESS I News New EU tire label in place since 1 November On 1 November, a new EU tire label has come into force. It’s a quality label that takes account of rolling resistance, braking performance on a wet surface, and noise levels. By introducing the European tire label, the established manufacturers of tires hope to put in place an objective assessment of the quality of their products. The hope is also that the label will curb the import of cheap and mostly inferior tires, which proceeds unopposed. The EU tire label is mandatory both for private cars and fleet vehicles, and for summer tires and winter tires - but only for tires produced since 1 July 2012. *R olling resistance determines the extent to which a tire contributes to fuel and CO2 savings.

The new tire label indicates this via a classic letter scale. Tires with an A-rating are best, those with a G-rating may no longer be sold from 1 November 2014. * To determine stopping distance and tire grip on wet surfaces, another letter-based value scale ranks tires from A, the best rating, to F, the lowest rating. Tires scoring worse than F may no longer be sold from 1 November 2014. * The noise level, lastly, is indicated at the bottom of the label.

The values are measured in db and assessed according to tirewidth, which is indicated by one to three waves. The fewer waves indicated, the narrower - and quieter - the tire. A tire with two waves produces 3 decibels more noise than a tire with a single wave. These three decibels correspond to a doubling of the sound produced.

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François Piot (picture 1) has been appointed as Arval Sales Director, while Tero Tapala has been handed the reins of the BRICT region (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Turkey).

Volvo Car Group has just announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Håkan Samuelsson (picture 2) as new President & CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds to Stefan Jacoby, who has been in charge of Volvo Car Group since the acquisition by Zhejiang Geely Holding two years ago.

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tier to the position of Director of Used and Returned Vehicles for ALD France. Thibaut Carpentier (picture 3) joined ALD in 2001.

Athlon Car Lease International has announced that Hans Blink (picture 4) will step down from his function as President as per January 1, 2013.

Today, Athlon Car Lease is present in 10 European countries and manages over 230,000 vehicles. Richard Sikkel, currently Senior Vice President Commerce, has agreed to take the end-responsibility for the Athlon Car Lease International business.

ALD Automotive has announced the appointment of Thibaut Carpen-

FleetPartners in initiative with ALD and Wheels ALD Automotive and its North American partner Wheels have extended their geographical coverage even further by coming to a strategic agreement with Australian company FleetPartners. This agreement will in particular benefit ALD’s large international clients which already have a presence in the Asia Pacific region.

The 60,000 vehicles under management by FleetPartners bring the total managed fleet of the three partners to 1.3 million, spread across 43 countries.

ALD Automotive and Wheels concluded their original agreement in 2009, and this latest move can be seen as bearing witness to the rapidly globalising fleet management industry. The agreement with FleetPartners does not involve any form of financial participation between the partners.

FSG becomes ARI Fleet UK ARI Fleet UK is the new name for Fleet Support Group (FSG), the fleet management company with 55,000 vehicles in Great-Britain. The name change comes almost 10 months after FSG was acquired by ARI in December last year. ARI was established in 1948 and is the fastest growing fleet management company in North America, having seen the number of vehicles on its books increase to 930,000 this year from 290,000 in 2001. Geoffrey Bray, who founded FSG 25 years ago and is the

Chairman of ARI Fleet UK, said:“It remains business as usual, although existing and new customers operating cars, vans and trucks will benefit from an even more in-depth range of fleet management services. FSG has prided itself over 25 years on delivering financial savings to its customers and that will continue with ARI Fleet UK.” Mark Bryan, who has a 20-year career in the United States fleet industry behind him, has been appointed Managing Director.

Hyundai in talks with ALD and Arval Hyundai is aiming to further strengthen its growing presence in European fleets by optimising its partnerships with two of the major leasing companies in Europe. Hyundai Motor Europe president Tak Uk Im has met the CEO’s of ALD International (Mike Masterson) and of Arval (Philippe Bismut). In the case of ALD, the subjects under discussion included Hyundai’s improving residual values, lease rates and private label partnerships in key European markets.

These partnerships were also discussed with Arval for France, along with innovative customer care solutions. Tak Uk Im commented on these talks: “As the Hyundai brand grows throughout Europe, we are determined to make the most of the opportunity we see in the fleet market. That’s why we’re engaging with strong partners and providing bestin-class fleet solutions.

Our recent discussions with ALD and Arval have been very productive, and we look forward to mutual success in the future.” Hyundai has been making fleet progress by extending its offering to the D-segment with the i40 estate (photo) and saloon, and the brand this year also unveiled the new version of its key C-segment model, the i30.

Shell Extends Network Fuel Card in Belgium

Besides the 1,400 petrol stations in Belgium, the Network Fuel Card also provides access to 22,000 petrol stations across the whole of Europe Until September 2012, Shell’s Network Fuel Card was a privilege offered by Belgian leasing companies to its customers. From October onwards, the card, also known by its Belgian abbreviation NTC, is available to all Belgian companies that require a VAT invoice and want to use the extensive networks of Shell, Esso, Total and Q8 petrol stations.

The four high-quality petrol station networks together manage almost 1,400 well-positioned stations, among which 50 on the Belgian highways. On top of the 1,400 petrol stations in Belgium, the Network Fuel Card also provides access to 22,000 petrol stations across the whole of Europe, and allows users to pay for road levies and road taxes in other countries.

Arval’s MotorTrade passes 200,000 mark First launched in 2009, Arval’s on-line used car platform MotorTrade passed the 200,000 mark in terms of vehicles sold at the end of September.

Around half of these sales were achieved in the 12 months to September.

With operating units in 13 countries, it is shortly to be available in the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic. MotorTrade has already attracted buyers in 49 countries on 5 continents.

Cars on offer are from two to five years old and are available 7 days 24 hours.

Commenting on the milestone, Christophe Conegero, Head of Remarketing at Arval, said: “Exceeding the 200,000 mark in a so short time in this kind of market conditions is a real achievement. MotorTrade thereby proves that it is an efficient tool that is ideally suited to professionals in the used car sector.”

3 questions to

Emmanuel Longeard Corporate sales division renault

1. What are the main challenges for you as new Sales Director at Renault Corporate Sales Division?

“The challenges are mainly on volumes, market share and customer satisfaction.

For volume, we have New Clio that will reinforce our fleet sales performances in Europe. Our market share goals will of course be linked to the market evolution and economical situation, and the fleet customer satisfaction has to be increased by offering them attractive products and worldwide offers.”

2. How do you see the evolution of electric cars in fleet business?

“Renault is the European leader in the EV market with more than 28,5% market share. This year has been a decisive chapter in Renault history with the launch of two additional electric models, Twizy & ZOE completing Fluence Z.E. & Kangoo Z.E already available on the fleet market.

The first feedback from our customers is very positive regarding our EV range and business model (battery rented).

3. You have recently launched new Clio.

Why is this a ‘must have’ fleet car?

“New Clio, flagship of the new brand identity, offers fleet customers a very innovative design, engines with outstandingly low fuel consumption (3,2l) and CO² emissions (83g) & attractive TCO levels linked to new equipment. Renault extends the connectivity of New Clio with a service dedicated to fleet, Fleet Asset Management. This system daily provides data concerning the distance travelled by the vehicle, fuel consumption, and information regarding maintenance.”

Steven Schoefs ■

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BUsinEss i Jaguar Land Rover

Expanding business with SME’s Jaguar and land Rover, the two iconic British brands, are now together under tata ownership, and they are doing well. Bernard kuhnt, Regional Director JlR european, and Simon Dransfield, general Manager Corporate Sales europe, explain how Jaguar land Rover wants to grow fleet business with SMe’s.

The key objective of our organization is the development of our network, as we have to find the right amount and quality of network and to merge Jaguar and Land Rover dealers.’’ states Bernard Kuhnt. , “Another objective is what we call Customer First –customerrelated processes to enhance customer satisfaction.

Needless to say we want to launch a variety of new products and with those products we want to attract dedicated customers of different segments.” how important are fleet sales?

B. kuhnt: ‘‘ In our UK home market fleet business has always be a key part of the overall volume, while in mainland Europe fleet business was almost neglected. We didn’t have the people nor the systems, so two years ago Simon Dransfield set up a corporate sales division with a clear strategy. We multiplied that strategy in each country and also in our dealer network where we now have selected fleet dealers.” what type of companies do you want to attract?

S. Dransfield: ‘‘We are very aware of large companies and we do business with them, but the cost of entry is significant and it is not our core target group: the SME market is really where we can make business and volume.

We see that our work is leading to growth of over 50% on Land Rover and 17% on Jaguar year on year.” what is your strategy towards lease companies, as you focus on SMes? S. Dransfield: “There is a lack of understanding and a lack of awareness about who we are and what we do, but we have been working on that and speaking with the leasing sector. So clearly we want to reach the customer through the lease companies as they have a larger customer base than we have at the moment. But with the understanding that we are not interested in 100 or 250 car deals but in 5 or 10 cars because that is how we will grow.”

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Simon Dransfield and Bernhard kuhnt see growth potential for Jaguar Land Rover brands, although they admit it is not easy and no one will give you business just like that. how bad is 2012 compared to 2011?

B. kuhnt: “Well not bad at all. We will increase Land Rover sales by 40% and Jaguar will also see growth in terms of total sales. This has to do with the Evoque and the 2.2 l diesel engine for Jaguar, so 2012 will outperform 2011, despite Italy and Spain, but that is the same for all car manufacturers.”

Can the evoque not be too successful and take the attention away from the other models?

B. kuhnt: “No, Evoque created such a vibe across the brand, and so it has a positive impact for all models.

There are more people at our dealerships, we created more brand awareness, there is more interest from corporates in our brands, so the result is more sales and more success.” who is the current Jaguar fleet client? the former ones are perhaps too old and the younger ones were too young for Jaguar.

S.Dransfield: “This is a fair point. It is not easy to define our client as this depends not only on social class but also on culture and on the market. A Jaguar fleet client in Germany for example is definitely someone who wants to make a difference. The future line-up of both brands will allow us to introduce our cars with almost all type of businesses in almost all markets. We are on a journey and we are building a new client portfolio together with our new products like XF or F-Type. We don’t want to leave the old Jaguar client behind; we just want to expand our family.” ■ Steven Schoefs

BUSINESS I Fleet Logistics

TÜV Süd has growth ambitions with Fleet Logistics Since October 2012 fleet management specialist Fleet Logistics is fully-owned by TÜV Süd. This merger in the fleet business is undertaken with consideration. We asked Rainer Laber, new head of Fleet Logistics, to explain the logic behind the recent acquisition of Fleet Logistics.

Why has TÜV Süd acquired Fleet Logistics?

Rainer Laber: “The motivation to buy Fleet Logistics is related to the history of TÜV Süd which is a 150 year old engineering company with the technological safety of humans as its core business. TÜV Süd is one of the leaders on the technological inspection of cars. Our core business in the automotive segment remains to be the PTI (Periodical Technical Inspection). This segment offers us moderate growth rates in the future according to the vehicle populations in the relevant markets. In order to tighten up our automotive related services in additional segments we decided to expand our fleet management activities significantly. Via large international customers as we find them in the customer portfolio of Fleet Logistics we see also the opportunity to expand such new business fields like fleet management geographically.”

What is the added value of this acquisition?

R. Laber: “The acquisition gives us a mature and almost complete European fleet management platform that enables us to start business relations with huge international companies throughout the world. We can now develop activities in Brazil etc, where we couldn’t access if we didn’t have customers like Microsoft, Coca-Cola or Honeywell.

Furthermore there is the human capital. Fleet Logistics has well-trained experts who will contribute their expertise to the further development of the TÜV Süd activities.”

How do you see the further development of Fleet Logistics?

R. Laber: “TÜV Süd has clear growth ambitions, but in term of scope our philosophy is to grow along with the customers. For us internationalization doesn’t have to be with the BRICS only. Eastern Europe can be very interesting too, such as Poland, where they have a big market with a stable economy, or Turkey.”

What will be the balance between Fleet Logistics and FleetCompany?

R. Laber: “There is a clear distinction both in terms of core business and future strategy. FleetCompany is focusing on German fleet customers that are looking for in depth services like accident management. Fleet Logistics focuses

Rainer Laber, the successor of Peter Soliman as the CEO of Fleet Logistics. “In terms of scope our philosophy is to grow along with our customers”, on large fleets at an international level, that are looking for fleet services like transparency through reporting or that want to obtain the best lease rates.

What will be the balance between Fleet Logistics and FleetCompany?

R. Laber: “There is a clear distinction both in terms of core business and future strategy. FleetCompany is focusing on German fleet customers that are looking for in depth services like accident management. Fleet Logistics focuses on large fleets at an international level, that are looking for fleet services like transparency through reporting or that want to obtain the best lease rates.

With FleetCompany you already organize operational fleet management services, with Fleet Logistics you have entered strategic management, multi-bidding, and reporting. How long will it take before you become a proper car lease company?

R Laber: “What you assume is not correct. We will not go into the financing business at all. Our mother company is an engineering backed company and we will not use our equity for finding industrial business, we will support the services around that. Nevertheless Fleet Logistics has a highly experienced team in place understanding the leasing- and finance industry because of the professional background of the employees. So we see us very linked to the leasing industry. In the same line we are linked to manufacturers.

In this way we are automotive and finance experts in one.” ■ Steven Schoefs

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BUsinEss i BMW group

We have challenging fleet times ahead of us International fleet business still is too much a man’s world, so when I read that Christel Reynaerts was appointed head of International Corporate Sales at BMw group, I was pleased. not that Christel Reynaerts is new in fleet business.

She has built up a large car leasing experience at arval and alphabet.

Our International Corporate Sales team works closely with the respective Corporate Sales teams in the markets in line with our approach ‘Who can meet customers’ requirements best?’

BMW International Corporate Sales provides companies with a global point of contact and helps customers coordinate fleet operations. Our International Key Account Managers will visit our International Customers together with the national Key Account Manager, whenever possible.” how important is fleet sales for the BMw group at the moment?

C. Reynaerts: “Corporate Sales is a very important sales channel for the BMW Group not only in the mature European Markets but also globally.

Over recent years we have seen constant and steady growth in our fleet sales for both BMW and MINI. This development is thanks to our corporate customers who recognize and reward BMW Group´s efforts in terms of sustainability, not only with regard to our automobiles but also with regard to the whole supply chain.

In the fleet industry a clear commitment to sustainability combined with a focus on TCO has become increasingly important in customers’ fleet policies.” how does it help you to have built up fleet experience with alphabet, the multi-brand leasing company of BMw group?

C. Reynaerts: Having gained experience in the leasing sector is definitely an advantage for this job. I would say it is about gaining an understanding of different perspectives.

I started my career at a dealership in Brussels. This direct contact with the “end user” was a valuable experience. After that, I joined Arval Belgium where I was first responsible for winning new customers and

The strongest growth in fleet sales is expected to be from small and mid-sized segments.

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“BMW Group International Corporate Sales is responsible for the acquisition and care of International Corporate Customers and also acts as Centre of Competence to develop the Corporate Sales business across markets where BMW Group is present”, describes Christel Reynaerts her new fonction. then had the fortune to support the set up and development of Arval´s International Business Office. Those were exciting times. And taking on responsibility for International Sales at Alphabet was of course just as exciting. At Alphabet , I got to understand and appreciate the BMW Group, its values and its exceptional products.” what new model developments can we expect on the market in the near future?

C. Reynaerts: Starting in the autumn of 2012, the BMW 114d will be making its debut. In addition, BMW xDrive will be available for

BUsinEss i infiniti

the BMW 1 Series. And the BMW 320i EfficientDynamics Sedan will be available as the first petroldriven model with additionally enhanced technology for reducing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. At market launch of the new BMW 3 Series Touring, the new generation of the navigation system Professional will become available as an option. This comprehensively developed system, which now comprises among other things threedimensional graphic representation for all menu displays, further optimised operational comfort and speech recognition designed for use with all Office functions, is also being simultaneously introduced for the new BMW 3 Series Sedan in the autumn of 2012.” how do you see the automotive and fleet industry evolving in the next years to come?

C. Reynaerts: “The entire automotive industry is facing challenging megatrends, which will also impact the fleet industry. In terms of market development we will see above average growth rates in China, India, Russia, Latin America and selected Asian markets. And the strongest growth is expected to be from small and mid-sized segments.

This will be a key driver for automotive and fleet business development activities. As a result of the ongoing urbanization trend, 60% of the world population will live in urban areas by 2030, the strongest population growth is expected to happen in the big metropoles. This will lead to changing customer behaviour in terms of mobility requirements and will contribute to a growing popularity of flexible solutions tailored to individual mobility needs and car sharing models. On top of these factors, climate change will lead to an increased awareness of environmental protection and increased legislation.” ■ Steven Schoefs

Making the move into European fleets having built up a reputation as the ‘luxury’ brand of nissan in the united States, Infiniti has now decided to grow its brand in europe. fleet and used Car Sales Director Carlos Montenegro tells us how.

The first thing we are doing is building our brand Carlos Montenegro, credibility and raising its level of awareness across the Fleet and Used Car Sales Director at Infiniti Europe. world.’’, says Carlos Montenegro. “To help achieve this we have become one of the main sponsors of the Red Bull F1 racing team. The next activity is to attract more fleet buyers with the correct product. When we launched four years ago we only had large V6 or V8 petrol engines. Since then we have added V6 diesels and also a petrol/ electric hybrid which all help to achieve lower running costs with lower CO2 emissions, fuel economy and taxation. On top of this we have then positioned certain models linked with consumer offers intended to attract the company car fleet buyer. An example of this is the recent announcement of the business Edition M35h that has an attractive finance package along with high specification at a competitive price. Alongside these activities we also need to expand our network of Infiniti centres. At the end of March this year we had 56 Infiniti Centres across 19 countries in Western Europe, all stand-alone dealerships true to IREDI (Infiniti Retail Environment Design Initiative). The latest are in Marseille, Vienna and Jerusalem. More will be opening soon to keep us on target of obtaining more than 200 Centers in Western Europe by 2016.” will you cover all segments with the range, or just the upper levels?

C. Montenegro: “The current range of V6 and V8 engines clearly marks our intention of being a performance luxury brand but the market is changing in terms of the environment, differing customer demands and country taxation levels. Therefore, for us to remain competitive we need to offer products more suitable to the wider European market. In the near future we will see the introduction of smaller 4 cylinder petrol and diesel engines supplied from our latest partner Daimler. We have also announced that we are developing a compact premium car and that this vehicle will be produced in one of our own alliance factories in mainland Europe. Clearly this states our intention to expand across other segments and appeal to a wider audience in both fleet and retail.” what percentage of your sales in europe are you targeting to be in fleet?

C. Montenegro: “Our target would be to have about a 65% - 35% split between fleet and retail sales, which is slightly below the current market as a whole. ■ Steven Schoefs

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BUsinEss i Business Lease group

Small is beautiful

harm nijlunsing is skeptical about global fleet management : “Hasn’t the banking crisis shown us how risky ‘Global’ can be?” we all know who they are, the big players in the leasing industry.

But the market is more than just the sum of the big guys. there’s plenty of smaller players, some quite successful and growing with leaps and bounds. one of those is Business lease, which both its home market in the netherlands as well as in Central europe. at present, it manages around 43,000 vehicles.

Our strong growth is the result of three factors”, Harm Nijlunsing, CEO of Business Lease Group, stresses.

“Firstly, there is what I’d like to call organic growth, which we generate via business with multinationals and SMEs. Here, we want to outperform the market by offering clear added value. We do this by helping the driver and supporting the fleet manager whenever necessary, be it in relation to car policy, vehicle selection, determining TCO value, etc. We always aim for the best possible level of service. To achieve this, we need to be close to our clients. Hence our regional offices.”

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“Product development is the second factor. We develop a range of activities that relate to our core business. For example, for the last few years we’ve organised the captive business for certain manufacturers. On top of this, we also manage the leasing business of big car dealers.” “The third factor in our success is, simply, acquisition. In 2009, we acquired Masterlease in the Netherlands, and earlier this year, we took over the vehicle leasing business of KBC Autolease in Poland.” where do you foresee Business lease going next? harm nijlunsing: Much depends on how the economy and the markets will evolve. If the economy develops along present lines, then we’ll stick to our strategy. We’re always keen to reflect how specific markets evolve.

If the market allows us to do better, then we’ll do so. But if the economy is not doing too well in a particular country, we’re not going to fight that trend by giving away our contracts at dumping prices. Quality always trumps price, come what may. Apart from that, we’ll just keep developing and implementing new products, while continuing to scan which markets have potential for us to expand into.”

Could you tell us a bit more about those expansion plans? h. nijlunsing: “On the one hand, we want to expand deeper into Central Europe, and on the other hand we want to use our Dutch base to expand into the Benelux. But we don’t have a deadline, and since our motto is ‘small is beautiful’, we won’t be venturing into big markets like France or Germany anytime soon.”

these days, multinationals increasingly seem to have reservations about full-term leasing, and are tending towards purchasing. what’s your take on that? h. nijlunsing: ‘‘Oh well, those stories resurface every few years. I always say: Focus on your core business, and leave fleet management and vehicle financing to the specialists. Especially in times of crisis. As a customer, you might be able to win an occasional sweet deal on your own, but at the end of the day, you’ll always end up losing more than you thought - or want to.” what’s your opinion on the globalisation of fleet management? h. nijlunsing: “Business Lease is the odd one out in the lease industry. We don’t think globally, rather locally.

Our organisation is structured in such a way that allows us to offer the same service and the same quality in each of our markets. That does not prevent us from being very different organisations on the national level, because we need to take care of business differently in each of those markets. Some lease companies have gone global - or have that global ambition. But hasn’t the banking crisis of recent years shown us how risky such global ambitions can be? Looking at it from the customer’s perspective, I understand it’s seductive to look for a single, onesize-fits-all solution. But so many factors differ locally that it’s practically impossible to go truly global. Because in the end, it’s about individual end users, whom you should never put in a ‘global’ category. That’s the big truth behind our business success.” ■ Steven Schoefs

BUsinEss i Volkswagen Financial services

Expanding and harmonising Volkswagen financial Services is expanding the geographical reach of its offering. knut krösche, head of International fleet, explains that this expansion is in line with the ‘Strategy 2018’ programme of Volkswagen financial Services, wherein is stipulated that the goal is to become the best financial services company in the world.

knut krösche, Head of International Fleet at Volkswagen Financial Services.

From 2009 to 2011 Volkswagen Financial Services has grown from 1.101.000 to 1.203.000 contracts worldwide. The company told in Fleet Europe’s Leasing Focus last June, that it is convinced to continue to exploit its further growth potential in mature European markets and that there will be an expansion in worldwide fleet management.

“Regarding full-service-leasing the focus is in Europe but in the long run we are also talking about the United States, Latin America and Asia”, says Knut Krösche. “We have our own subsidiaries or joint ventures but always with local offices and local people, which we think is crucial in order to be successful. We will be covering all Volkswagen Group brands, as is already the case today.”

what are the advantages for international fleet customers? k. krösche We as a captive leasing company will always accompany our cars. In times of bank crises it is often the case that banks start to look at the sales of their leasing divisions. In our case the client can be sure that we will always be there to accompany the cars. Another advantage is our knowledge in the domain of cars and financial services on the one hand, and our direct communication with our brands on the other. ” have you made any modifications to your processes? k. krösche: We have invested in people and increased our international fleet department, which means we have a dedicated implementation and consulting team which ensures a clear implementation phase for the customer involving local people.

This works with regard to products, processes, interfaces, contact partners and suppliers.

We have been able to hire experienced people who are well known in the market. Through this clear implementation the client knows what he can expect and we know what we have to deliver.

We have also harmonised our products and processes so that we will be able to offer our international fleet clients, from 2013 onwards, a harmonised product offer cross 19 countries in Europe together with our colleagues from the PorscheBank. On top of this, in the first half of 2013 we will launch an online cross-border reporting with our FleetCARS system. I believe we are the first and only leasing company to operate this international reporting on one platform. ” ■ Tim Harrup

The client can be sure that we will always be there to accompany the cars

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BUSINESS I Paris Motor Show 2012

Behind the dream, a more complex but appealing market Every Motor Show how has its dream part, and Paris was no different, between the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and the Peugeot Onyx hybrid. But beyond the glitter and the genuine innovations - Volkswagen Golf VII, Renault Clio 4, Opel Adam city car, Toyota Auris in multiple versions… - , the automobile reality is complex: flagging western market, downsizing, broader offer of “premium” brands, pressure from Asian manufacturers, greener and more connected cars. Making the right choice is not easy. Here are some fleet models to consider.

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1. Audi A3: Stretched (4.31 m), equipped with a 3rd lateral window and 5 doors, the diesel version of the A3 Sportback will initially be associated with a 150 bhp 2.0 TDI engine (4.1 l/100 km, 106 g of CO2/km). A 105 bhp 1.6 TDI version will follow (3.8 l/100 km, 99 g of CO2/km).

Fleet advantage: More functionalities and CO2 emissions less than 100 g/km.

2. BMW Series 3: Along with the 320d Touring Efficient Dynamics (2.0D, 163 bhp, 4.1 l/100 km, 109 g of CO2/km), the 318d is arriving with a cheaper standard configuration, with a slightly lower energy performance: 143 bhp, 4.5 l/100 km, 119 g of CO2.

Fleet advantage: BMW technology, enlarged rear seat area, choice between 320 d Efficient Dynamics and 318 d.

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3. Ford Focus: The Focus Econetic (1.6TDCI, 105 bhp) has reduced its consumption and CO2 emissions: 3.4 l/100 km (-0.1 l) and 88 g of CO2/km (-7 g).

It is close to the New Fiesta, with 10 bhp more.

Fleet advantage: Good CO2 level.

4. Kia cee’d: This is not the fleet model thought of as a priority, but the aesthetically rethought cee’d has recently come on offer in the Sport Wagon version (4.50 metres long) with a generous interior and an EcoDynamics 1.4 Diesel engine (90 bhp, 3.7 l/100 km, 97 g of CO2/km).

Fleet advantage: An alternative to look at in the C segment, 7-year warranty.

5. Mercedes Class A: About this new attractive arrival in a very competitive market: the 1.6 engine of the 180 CD BlueEfficiency (109 bhp) consumes 3.8 l/100 km and emits 98 g of C02/km.

Fleet advantage: Model with a rejuvenated image, limited CO2.

6. Nissan Juke: The Qashqai’s little sister is available with a more restrained 1.5dCi diesel engine (110 bhp, 4.9 l/100 km, 129 g of CO2/km), alongside a 1,600 cc petrol CVT (117 bhp, 7.7 l/100 km, 134 g of CO2/km).

Fleet advantage: Young and quirky look, for companies that want to stand out and a favourable commercial success with a good residual value.

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7. Opel Astra: The recent face-lift is complemented with extensive motorization, the choice of four bodies and extended safety equipment.

Fleet advantage: The CO2 emissions from the 1.7 CDTI engine (110 bhp) have been reduced to 99 g/km.

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8. Peugeot 508: This large sedan (4.79 metres long), after the 3008 and the RXH estate, inherits a Hybrid4 version with a 2.0l engine. A HDI hybrid diesel producing 200 bhp: 163 for the diesel engine operating the front wheels and 37 for the electric motor driving the rear wheels.

Fleet advantage: Despite the 200 bhp, standard consumption of 3.6l/100 km and CO2 emissions limited to 95 g/km.

9. Renault Clio: Re-thought look for the 4th generation Clio. Key point, the new 3-cylinder Energy 0.9 T turbo-compressed and direct injection petrol engine: 90 bhp, 135 Nm, 4.3 l/100 km, 90 g of CO2/km; this is added to the Diesel 1.5 dCi (90 bhp, 230 Nm, 3.2 l/100km, 83 g of CO2/km).

Fleet advantage: New model, Estate version coming soon, CO2 emissions less than 100 g/km in petrol and diesel.

10. Toyota Auris: The range with the new “Keen look” design is widening and offers the choice between conventional, hybrid petrol or diesel engines (unique in the C segment) and sedan or estate bodies.

Fleet advantage: New bodies, variety of engines and, in the 1.8 diesel hybrid version (136 bhp), CO2 emissions reduced to 89 g/km.

11. V olvo V40: This compact “5-door” arriving on the market is replacing the V50 estate and the V40 4-door and is at the heart of the C segment. In the Diesel D2 version (115 bhp, 3.6 l/100 km) it emits 94 g of CO2.

Fleet advantage: an alternative to the premium German compacts, the Golf, A3, Series 1 and Class A, with a good CO2 level.

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12. Volkswagen Golf: The energy performance of the Golf Golf BlueMotion 1.6 TDI (105 bhp) has improved by 15%: 3.2 l/100 km instead of 3.8 l and 85 g of CO2/km instead of 99 g. Launch: summer 2013 Fleet advantage: the Volkswagen Golf is not the cheapest to purchase but its image and technology favour a good residual value.

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BUSINESS I Paris Motor Show 2012

Technology & Options The Paris Motor Show presents not only the cars and new bodyworks of tomorrow, there is also huge interest in new car technologies and features.

Here is a little list of what we think can be interesting for the future.

“Intelligent” tyres equipped with sensors The device has already earned the “Tyre Technology 2012 Award” for Bridgestone: the CAIS (Contact Area Information Sensing) tyre detects changes in the road surface. It is based on two elements located inside the tyre: a microgenerator producing electricity when the car is moving and a sensor capable of determining seven different road-holding conditions (dry, wet, soft or compact snow, ice, etc.). The information, including the ground temperature, is sent, via a sound beep, to the driver, and can also be shared with other motorists. The device is being miniaturised and may be marketed 2 to 3 years from now as a first fit.

Free Quick Charger To develop the market for electric cars and the sales of the Leaf, infrastructures must be improved. Nissan will offer free installation of “quick chargers” to the authorities, hypermarkets, etc., in some countries.

Recharge in 30 minutes instead of 4-6 hours.

Hot forming for bodywork All manufacturers want to reduce vehicle weights.

To avoid using aluminium which is 30% dearer, Volkswagen has devised hot forming for some bodywork elements for the Golf: The sheet metal is formed at 950° and cooled in the matrix with crystallisation 180° at which gives more solidity to the metal, thus reducing its weight.

LED adaptive headlights This is a technology developed by Valeo for the new Ford Mondeo: full LED adaptive headlights. Quicker to light up, they are more economical in use than the traditional halogen headlights, or Xenon, according to the equipment manufacturer.

The headlights adapt to the speed (increased or reduced depth of lighting), follow the road and adjust their power based on climatic conditions.

They have cornering lights for sharp bends and for parking.

Fuel cell technology for high volumes It will be one of the first high volume cars using the fuel cell technology already widely tested by Mercedes. According to the announcement made in Paris by Hyundai, the ix-35 FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) SUV is ready to be mass-produced in Korea, although the launch had initially been forecast for 2015. Powered by a 100 kW (136 bhp) electric unit, the ix FCEV has two on-board bottles of hydrogen (H2) located under the floor of the boot. With this gas under pressure at 700 bars, the SUV has a range of up to 588 km (365 miles), before having to fill up again, which only takes a few minutes.

All that remains is the availability of a hydrogen distribution network and the unspecified launch price. A few months ago, € 40,000 was being discussed. ■ Yves de Partz

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SCOPE I News LeasePlan and Avis start car-sharing scheme with PwC Luxembourg LeasePlan and Avis have joined forces to launch an innovative car-sharing scheme which is initially to be used by PricewaterhouseCoopers in Luxembourg. In practical terms, the 2,000 PwC employees will have access to a fleet of low emissions vehicles, including electric vehicles (Nissan Leaf, Renault Twizy…) made available by LeasePlan. Avis will use its ‘Avis on Demand’ service to manage on-line bookings, access to the vehicles and maintenance etc. One of the objectives for PwC is to reduce its carbon footprint, with transport accounting for some 70% of this. Commenting on this agreement, Vahid Daemi, CEO of LeasePlan, said: “We are pleased to team up with Avis to be able to provide a different type of fleet service to clients such as PwC. With today’s challenging economic situation, this The executives from LeasePlan, PwC and Avis are car-sharing plan allows many businesses the opportunity happy with this new corporate car-sharing initiative in to meet their business transportation and mobility needs Luxembourg. in an efficient and environmentally-friendly way.”

Consultancy team New Mobility at ALD Benelux

Alphabet launches business mobility blog Alphabet has launched an open blog (blog.alphabet.com) on mobility management and business mobility initiatives. Alphabet will be uploading articles and other information on a weekly basis. The different entries include topical issues, tips and ideas on how to reduce The new mobility blog from costs, streamline opAlphabet brings reguerations or use one’s lar updates on corporate car more sustainably. In mobility initiatives and has addition, Alphabet will even a dedicated section for be exploring and anafleet managers and fleet lysing various mobility drivers. concepts and describing some of the solutions it has designed for its customers. The blog will also take a look at issues drivers and fleet operators face these days, such as the growing need for sustainable mobility solutions, and the introduction of electric vehicles. Readers can also find entertaining and informative entries related to mobility in general.

The New Mobility team of ALD Benelux: Pierre-Yves Meert and Arie Klut.

ALD Automotive is starting up a new Benelux consultancy team focusing on new smart mobility solutions. This specialist team enables ALD Automotive to support companies in the form of advice and joint testing and development of new services. The team also prepares mobility plans, developing new mobility services in collaboration with the customer. ALD Automotive appointed Pierre-Yves Meert as the Smart Mobility Consultant Benelux. Arie Klut was appointed as Smart Mobility Representative. The teams’ work is based on comprehensive mobility. If the customer needs a solution beyond traditional leasing, the mobility advisors will visit the customer together with the regular account manager. One of ALD Automotive’s strategic ambitions is to be a pioneer in the market, offering innovative mobility concepts.

Tom Callahan to head Donlen

Tom Callahan has been selected to become the new boss of Donlen as from January 1, 2013.

There is to be a change at the top of US fleet management company Donlen, a Hertz subsidiary. Current CEO Gary Rappeport is to retire at the end of this year, and will be succeeded by President and COO Tom Callahan. Gary Rappeport had indicated at the time of the merger last year that he would retire once the new organisation was integrated. In his new role, Mr. Callahan will report directly to Hertz Chairman and CEO Mark Frissora. Mr Callahan has seven years experience with Donlen and has been instrumental in ensuring customer satisfaction.

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SCOPE I News

Fuel economy breakthrough for plug-in hybrids

There could be some really good news for plug-in electric vehicles as the Toyota Prius Plug-in regarding fuel economy.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (such as the Toyota Prius Plug-in, pictured) are already noted for their environmental advantages and fuel savings – but now a new breakthrough technology could mean their fuel economy is boosted by a further 7%. The improvement has been discovered by the University of Stuttgart working in partnership with Ohio State University. They have created an organic rankine cycle waste heat recovery system that has the potential to recover up to 10% of engine waste heat and deliver a fuel consumption reduction of 7%.

According to the researchers, around 35% of the energy developed by fuel combustion is usually dissipated in exhaust gases: so its recovery and conversion into mechanical power could be hugely significant in boosting engine efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions. They believe that organic rankine cycles offer the highest potential for engine waste heat recovery among all of the methods they have tested. The authors highlighted that a number of additional studies show that there could be fuel efficiency improvements as high as 10% using a rankine cycle – but that there is a need to balance the heat rejection rate with packaging and costs.

Arval opens new office in China

Mathias de Toldi has successfully managed Arval Morocco and has now the challenge to put Arval China on the lease map.

Full-service car leasing specialist Arval has just announced the opening of a new Arval entity in China. It is run by Mathias de Toldi (picture), formerly General Manager of Arval Morocco. The opening of this new Chinese entity signals Arval’s arrival in a market with strong growth potential.

Arval’s China headquarters is in Beijing, but the company also has offices in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. In a follow-up phase, other offices will open in Tianjin as well as in Nanjing.

BMW set to build factory in Brazil BMW has announced that it intends to build cars in Brazil. The South American country already has a substantial car production industry, with in particular Fiat, Volkswagen, Ford and GM present. Cars that are produced in Brazil benefit from a more attractive taxation scheme than imported cars. During a recent press conference BMW said that it intended to locate a production unit in Santa Catarina state in the south of the country. The first cars should roll off the production line at the end of 2014. The Brazilian government is said to be in accordance with the move.

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Winter is best season to sell used fleet cars

When do you sell your used fleet vehicles?

According to the German magazine Firmenauto, winter is the best season for a company to sell used fleet vehicle. This because winter it’s the time of year with the greatest liquidity of money. This should explain why used-vehicle prices are higher by almost 3.5% in January as in May, according to a survey of 45,000 drivers in 8 European countries by the online car trading portal Autoscoot 24. And yet, the survey shows, fully 45% of fleet managers interviewed thought that spring would be the best time to sell their vehicles, with 36% thinking that the time of year did not matter. Only 10% said they would sell their vehicles in the autumn or winter.

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SCOPE I Taxation

Telematics and taxes, back to the future Informatica and software is finding its way increasingly into cars. Information is gathered and exported out of the car, information that can provide insights in the condition of the cars, driving behaviour, distances covered, places driven and much more. But this information can also be used to tax vehicles.

L

ooking at the future, the only answer to the problems of traffic congestion, of loss of excise income for governments due to increased use of electrified vehicles, of the correct taxation of the mixed use of multiple mobility means, and other challenges, seems to point in the direction of a smart kilometer charge.

Kilometer charge The charge will only be possible with state of the art telematics systems providing the taxing authorities with correct and reliable information on kilometers driven, the time and place of driving. Ideally, drivers would be taxed highest when using roads during rush hour with a highly polluting vehicle, driving it alone. Lowest taxes would apply to environmental friendly vehicles used in non-urban areas.

This trend has been spotted by many companies trying to develop services such as information platforms distributing in-car information to the various parties interested.

To insurance companies for understanding the driving and hence risk pattern of their clients to provide tailored insurance premiums, to lease companies for understanding the driving profile of the lessees to better propose the right vehicles or engines (diesel, petrol, hybrid, EV) and to better follow-up on kilometers driven and timely maintenance of the vehicles, to governments to tax, companies to get insights in the mobility of their employees and the driving

behaviour in order to improve efficiencies and to offer correct mobility means, and to dealers for remote analysis and remote resetting and adjusting: these are just a few of potential interested parties.

Positive business case Information gathered via telematics already provides benefits for fleet users and related relevant taxes. In the UK, where usually fuel is not included with the company car, automated registration of professional versus private mileage facilitates the administration of business mileage reimbursements. When companies have opted for employee car ownership schemes this is also the case.

In the Netherlands, telematics can be used for a digitalized road book in order to prove only limited private use of the company car. In Belgium, the VAT deduction depends on the actual private use of the company car with a maximum of 50%. Telematics can be used to facilitate this. Systems blocking vehicles from being used in the weekend contribute to the proof of non-private use of the vehicle, important to avoid taxes. When vehicles are used in combination with other means of transport, scooter, train, etc‌, telematics can help to prove non double use of the mobility means. ■Bart Vanham, Representative of PwC

Increased importancy Telematics systems clearly have a positive business case if you take into account the benefits of multiple parties interested in the information gathered using telematics. Although taxes only marginally contribute to the benefit in some countries today, it will only be possible to introduce kilometer charging in the (far?) future if proper telematics systems gather the relevant information. Telematics systems and operators serving as information platforms will therefore only gain in importance. The current question most parties struggle with is who will take the cost when many parties benefit?

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www.kia.eu

LOTS OF SPACE, NICELY SHAPED.

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When you focus on potential tax savings, reducing CO2emissions of your car fleet pays off most in countries like Belgium, UK, the Netherlands, France and Spain.

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* The Kia 7-year/150,000 km new car warranty. Valid in all EU member states (plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Gibraltar), subject to local terms and conditions. ** Maximum trunk capacity achieved by fully folded rear seats.

Fuel consumption (l/100 km)/CO2 (g/km): urban from: 5.0/129 to 8.8/198, extra-urban from: 3.8/98 to 5.3/121, combined from: 4.2/109 to 6.5/146.

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sCOPE i Market

From Russia with love for fleet

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Russia is a booming economy and so also an increasing car and fleet market. According to the car and fleet specialists there are more than 2,2 million fleet vehicles in Russia, but only about 5% of that market is financed through full service leasing.

In the Russian automotive market, the private and business car registrations continue to significantly grow since 2010 but at different speeds while operational leasing is deploying slowly and expected to boom as from 2015.

According to the market research presented by Tatiana Arabadzhi during the last Moscow International Motor Show, the total car parc totalized 39.6 Million cars in Russia in 2011. The 37.3 Million private cars represented 94.2% of the total whereas the 2.3 Million business cars (labeled “legal entities”) represented only 5.8%.

From 2009 to 2010, the total registrations boosted from 1.164 Million to 1.513 Million (+30%) and 2.381 Million between 2010 and 2011 (+ 57.3%).

According to Aykan Basiplikci, Managing Director of Auto Partners LLC, the Russian automotive market is expanding very fast, pushed by international manufacturers investing in production facilities to increase their market shares. He agrees with Stepan Nikuli, Director of Operational lease department of Vector-Leasing who observes that Russia is already 2nd in terms of sales in Europe (after Germany), 7th in the world and expected to be number one in Europe in terms of volume of sales in 2014 or 2015.

Personal cars Personal car registrations grew by 28.5% in 2010 and 59,1% in 2011.

According to Sergey Dianin, General Manager from Arval at time of interview, three factors lead to this unrelenting growth: new models in B or C Class at affordable pricing, restrictions on used car import and development of financial products (consumer loans for vehicles and leasing, both financial and operating).

Business cars The business car registrations grew by 42.1% in 2010 and remained at 43.8% in 2011. The registrations of the first half of 2012 reveal a gradual slow down. Sergey Dianin has four explanations. Many small businesses still use private registered cars for professional reasons and thus are not identified as business cars. There are still VAT advantages linked to individual loans. Many sales representatives still use their own car. The real boost for the business car registration is expected only to happen as from 2015, milestone year of the “after-crisis period”.

Corporate market The corporate market currently represents 2,240,000 vehicles where the respective penetrations, according to Stepan Nikuli and confirmed by all players, is 71% for direct purchase, 25% for financial lease, 3% for auto credit and only 1% for operational lease. Sergey Zykov, representing Fifth Wheel Management, adds that “the ratio of corporate cars in fleet still is 30 times less than in Europe”.

Whilst most companies do not trust themselves to create a fleet, he hopes new transport legislation will support the expansion.

Top models and brands The latest new business car registrations for the 1st half of 2012 present VAZ, Renault, Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet as the top 5 brands in a highly disputed arena. Looking at the top 5 foreign models, the Ford Focus comes first with 6.2% of legal entities registrations (5,941 units), followed by Renault Logan (5.6%), Toyota Camry (3.1%), Chevrolet Niva (2.9%) and Toyota Land Cruiser (2.8%). As the Focus and Mondeo are included in the Top 10, Ford achieves the first place with a total share of 8%. Toyota, with the Camry and Land Cruiser is second with 5.9%. Third is PSA Peugeot Citroën with 4.44%, translating into a combined volume of 4,250 units.

Operational lease With 29,200 vehicles, operational lease has about 5% of total corporate market says Aykan Basiplikci, whereas financial leasing achieves 7%, both numbers far below western markets.

Rental costs are considerably higher in comparison to Europe, explains Stepan Nikuli, as all parameters are higher: interest rates (country risk), insurance, tires, maintenance, etc.

Maturity increases but room from improvement

Svetlana Petrova, International Auto Category Manager at Microsoft, in charge of Russia as Tier 1 country, and managing 328 vehicles, says that the Russian fleet market has matured during the past years. “Today I essentially look for delivery of excellent service levels, variety of new products, pro-activity, transparency and effective cost management.”

Svetlana expects investments into online tools and fleet management platforms which should include full fleet, vehicle and driver details, a notification system, sophisticated reporting, KPIs and access for the drivers.

One other challenge is the huge geography. Despite the long distances “we expect from our key suppliers a solid management of their third parties in Moscow, St.-Petersburg and other regions”. Recently, Microsoft Russia introduced the multibidding method, leading to a 1% reduction of contractual cost, introduced Diesel vehicles in the existing car list, considered as an almost impossible mission in Russia and set the average CO² target at 130 g/km, mandatory as of 2015.

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SCOPE I Taxation The network of of service partners and dealers is also still far from being mature. The reasons for low penetration of operational leasing, adds Sergey Dianin, are historical.

During soviet times, all vehicles were purchased, maintained and repaired in house as there were almost no dealers or external suppliers. In 1990’s first dealers of foreign manufacturers appeared allowing for first outsourced services but not yet linked to fleet funding or management. Automotive leasing appeared in late 1990’s, as a banking product and as an additional sales channel for car dealers, which contributed to the conceptual and structural development of leasing.

The first boost only took place in 2004, encouraged by people starting to understand financial and economical benefits combined with a “fashion” period were it was a hype to opt for a financial lease contract. In early 2000, operating leasing gave first signs as short term rental companies started extending duration of contracts back in 20012002 while finance leasing companies started to develop and provide with more services. ‘‘As legislation is complicated, changes are slow’’ says Victoria Solovenchu, Operations Director from ALD Automotive. “As long as no state owned companies propose the operational leasing product, the market will not see significant development acceleration” is her comment. Sergey Zykov is of the opinion that “captive lease companies of big Russian banks will start shortly”

and Stepan Nikuli even predicts an annual average annual growth of 2030% for the operational lease market and reaching 45,000 vehicles by the end of 2014.

Education Sergey Dianin explains that the discovery phase has now moved into an educational phase. Sergey Solomatin, Head of customer Account Management at ALD Automotive confirms this statement, explaining ALD makes tyre change mandatory twice a year and proposes clients several dozen replacement vehicles on ALD books. In terms of end of contract fleet inspection, ALD now invites the drivers several months prior to contract end, to join an information session on potential refurbishment costs linked to nonrespect of the wear and tear policy.

This education strategy is now also applied to safe drive tests and trainings in order to reduce the average rate of 1,3 accidents per car per year.

Main challenges For Sergey Dianin, there is still no standard agreed definition of operational leasing. Many fleet managers are still refusing to move to TCO as they believe they will lose control and potentially their job in an area which is not priority for top management. Car registration process and formalities need to be further optimized. Current statistics are wrong as there are no appropriate filters on the raw material

Company profile Owned by

Arval

Vector Leasing

Auto Partners

Société Générale

BNP Paribas

PPF Group

FIBA Group

2004

2006

2006

2007

Number of employees

Penetration foreign / international clients Number of regional offices Moscow as % of total managed fleet

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Filip VAN MULLEM

ALD

Established in

Number of vehicles managed

to differentiate real “legal entities” registration from other categories.

For Sergey Zykov it is mandatory to develop new products and services for corporate customers and work closer with them during the whole life cycle of the fleet. Victoria Solovenchuk and Sergey Solomatin see the main challenges around quality of service and price, where a gap of € 5 monthly fees can make the difference as result of tender and dumping effects. Concerning the service quality, Victoria summarizes the main challenge in three words: “universal quality supply”. Delivering standard universal service is difficult as in some cities (e.g. Siberia area) ALD faces the situation of no dealers present or dealers with a monopolistic position, not always motivated, cooperative or client oriented and in most cases not accepting the ALD Key Performance Indicators document (KPI). Stepan Nikuli agrees with Victoria and Sergey on the last point but not only for OEMs (also insurance, tires, remarketing), but would also like less government interference and less local manufacturer protection policy (decrease prices on imported vehicles). For Aykan Basiplikci, economical stability is the main challenger for corporate fleets as well as mentality as companies cash rich and preferring to purchase - are reluctant to change their modus operandi and classical employee benefits. ■

120

14,000 52%

80

6,500 70%

11 52%

120

2,995 60%

9 42%

43

3,050 99%

16 NA

11 50%

www.citroen.com

CitrOën DS4

CitrOën DS3

CitrOën DS5

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Exceptional objects, the Citroën DS3, DS4 and DS5 distinctive models are waiting for you for unforgettable trials CrÉAtiVE tECHnOLOGiE

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SCOPE I Mobility

ALD launches ALDO, the personal mobility manager ALD Automotive, a subsidiary of the Société Générale Group, operates a fleet of 930.000 vehicles in 37 countries.

In order to counter the effects of the economic crisis, the company has been multiplying its innovative mobility solutions. The latest innovation is ALDO, the world’s first intelligent personal mobility assistant.

•B udget mobility, under development in the Benelux countries. This allows the user to choose the means of transport best suited to their needs, be they public transport, taxis, cars, scooters, etc.

•A LD 2Wheels, an offer for leasing a two-wheel vehicle, aimed at solving the corporate need for urban mobility.

•A LD Switch. This is a flexible contract combining a longterm vehicle lease with a short-term rental for specific requirements (minivan, van, convertible).

•A LD Companybike allows the driver to include a bicycle, either a conventional one or an electrically assisted one, in his contract.

As the world’s first intelligent personal mobility assistant, ALDO is currently being tested by 1.000 employees of Orange and Société Générale. The app will be marketed in France early next year, after which it may be introduced to the Benelux countries and Northern Europe.

In May 2012, ALD Automotive created ALD newmobility, an umbrella for a number of alternative mobility solutions, tailored to the needs of businesses in different parts of the world. ALD Automotive has been using Europe as a sort of experimental lab for all those solutions: • ALD Sharing, on offer in France since 2010, allows businesses to offer their employees the use of a vehicle pool. It’s now also being deployed in Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

• 6 WheelLease and 7 WheelLease, the multimodal offers already in operation in the Benelux countries. These involve leasing a vehicle plus either an electric scooter, or a three-wheeled scooter. In the same vein, ALD Railease combines a rail pass with renting a vehicle so-called ‘co-modality’.

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Let’s go ALDO And then, on 17 September in Paris, ALD Automotive presented ALDO, the world’s first intelligent personal mobility assistant. This application, accessed via smartphone, tablet or computer, allows all employees of a company - and not just the drivers - to plan their trips, both the professional and the personal ones. ALDO not only helps each user to select the mode of transport best suited to their route (either a car, two-wheel motorised bike, personal bicycle, public transport, or even walking), but also to combine different modes of transport. ALDO has so far been tested by 1.000 French employees of Société Générale and Orange (the latter co-developing the scheme with ALD), and will be marketed in France by early next year. The next markets are the Benelux countries and northern Europe. ALDO allows each user to prepare and change their movements in a better way, by providing all necessary information to the user, from weather reports and traffic information to fuel prices and alternative modes of transport. ALDO also is a live instrument and a social medium, as the information can be shared with all other colleagues. ■ Philippe Martin

Who said all choices have to be difficult?

Hyundai i40. Think Again.

With its outstanding design, award winning body structure and an impressive list of features that includes lane keeping and smart parking assistance, heated and ventilated seats, cornering headlights and one of the lowest CO2 emissions in its class, the Hyundai i40 is the perfect car for those who won’t settle for less.

Fuel consumption in MPG (l/100km) for i40 range: Urban 26.9-53.3 (10.5-5.3), Extra Urban 46.8-76.3 (6.1-3.7), Combined 36.7-65.7 (7.7-4.3), CO2 Emissions 179-113g/km.

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