Fleet Europe °74

NEXUS COMMUNICATION - FLEET EUROPE #74 - PERIODIC MAGAZINE - JANUARY 2015 - DEPOSIT OFFICE LIÈGE X

JANUARY 2015 - # 74

Michael Dana (FedEx)

Meet the International Fleet Manager of the Year

NEW SECTION

SMART MOBILITY The way ahead for efficient fleet management

DOSSIER

Green fleet management & new powertrains

8 pages

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2015 is going to be another exciting year in the evolution of Fleet Europe. Let’s start with our new content! We’re going to be delving into mobility in greater depth with the launch of a new Smart Mobility section in every issue of the magazine. The market has been talking about the merits of mobility for the past few years. There’s some way to go before mobility catches on and goes mainstream, but we’re convinced that it’s the way fleet management is heading. So, to help you get up to speed we’re opening up a dedicated mobility channel on our website too. If you want to know about mobility in 2015 then Fleet Europe is the place to look! The mere mention of mobility means minds turn to innovation, sustainability and green fleet. So it’s apt that green fleet management is the focus for the first Fleet Europe issue of the year. We’ve lined up stellar cast of Fleet Europe Award Winners - Michael Dana (FedEx International), Ronny van den Driesch (Carglass)

EDITORIAL

Think Smart, act Green

and Franz Fehlner (Allianz) - to share with you why green fleet management is at the heart of fleet best practice.

Ecological challenges and rapid urbanisation really matter to the fleet community. Just take the decision of Paris and Brussels late last year to join the growing list of urban areas with low emission policies. The issues surrounding air quality and carbon emissions are going to impact your car fleet strategy more and more. We are on the road to greener motoring, but there’s still a long way to go. The fleet community can choose to be in the vanguard of change with buyers and suppliers coming together to create a better world. Over the years our industry has shown how innovative and resourceful it can be when it matters, so it’s time to get together and take some steps towards a sustainable future.

The team at Fleet Europe wishes you a healthy, successful and sustainable 2015.

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

FLEET EUROPE # 74

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CONTENT

I DOSSIER I

Alternative powertrains in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.7

The future on the road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.12

Which alternative powertrains? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.14 Green fleet integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.16

Alternative powertrains: the pros and cons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.18

Sustainable innovations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.20 Safety first in sustainable fleets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.21

DOSSIER I Green fleet management

Alternative powertrains and green innovations: what’s in it for fleet managers?

7

A world of apps to save the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.24 Choosing the right tool

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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I MANAGEMENT I

Case study: Ronny Van den Driesch, Carglass . . . . . . . . . . . . P.29 What you didn’t know about Michael Dana, FedEx . . . . . . . P.33 Case study: FedEx’s fleet sustainability initiatives . . . . . . P.34 Case study: Csaba Csiszko, PMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.36 Big Data, big deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.38

MANAGEMENT I Fleet Europe Awards 2014 Michael Dana (FedEx): Meet the International Fleet Manager of the Year 2014

33

I BUSINESS I Athon Car Lease: International Fleet Industry Award . . . . P.42 TomTom and Dragintra: top quality runners up. . . . . . . . . . . . P.44 Interview: Pavel Hlavacek, ŠKODA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.45 Fleet Logistics’ international expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.46

I SMART MOBILITY I

BUSINESS

Athon Car Lease, winner of the International Fleet Industry Award 2014

42

COLOPHON

SMART MOBILITY

Franz Fehlner (AMOS): Total mobility means total flexibility

SCOPE

Energy sources for the car of the future

48

Steven Schoefs - Chief Editor - Fleet Europe sschoefs@nexuscommunication.be Laetitia Fernandez - Content & Community Editor - Fleet Europe lfernandez@nexuscommunication.

Frédéric Van Vlodorp - Managing Editor fvandvlodorp@nexuscommunication.be Caroline Thonnon - CEO & Business Development cthonnon@nexuscommunication.be David Baudeweyns - International Sales & Business Development dbaudeweyns@nexuscommunication.be Romina De Gregorio - Internal Sales & Operations rdegregorio@nexuscommunication.be Jonathan Green - Chief Editor Smart Mobility Management jgreen@nexuscommunication.be Johan Verbois - Director of Knowledge Development jverbois@nexuscommunication.be Céline Gilson - Assistant cgilson@nexuscommunication.be Aline Verpoorten - Assistant averpoorten@nexuscommunication.be

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Case study: Franz Fehlner, AMOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.48 Case study: Caroline Ceustermans, SWIFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.50 From fleet 1.0 to mobility 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.52 Car-sharing: back to basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.54 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.55

I SCOPE I News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.56 Green car taxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.57 Energy sources for the car of the future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.58

Contributors: Jean-François Christiaens, Eamonn Fitzgerald, Jonathan Green, Tim Harrup, Frank Jacobs, Ally Millar, Jos Sterk Special thanks to: Michaël Gergen (DataForce), Erwin Boumans (BDO), Dean Bowkett (EurotaxGlass’s) Layout: Hungry minds - info@hungryminds.com

EDITOR

Thierry Degives, CEO & 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.

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DOSSIER

I Alternative powertrains

Alternative powertrains in Europe Compared with Jan.-Oct. 2013 the share of alternative powertrains grew slightly in Europe in 2014, both for private and fleet customers, albeit it still remains on very low levels with 4.8% (private) and only 3.3% (true fleets) respectively. We present an overview of the alternative powertrain market in Europe, and delve into four markets where the most impressive increases were achieved: Norway, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands.

F

leet customers still opt for a diesel engine.

Looking at the Top-10 models within the true fleet market in Europe’s EU-16* in the first 10 months of last year the share of diesel engines was 80.3%. For some popular models like Volkswagen Passat, BMW 3-Series or Audi A4 the ratio was even higher with 93% and more.

In fleets Diesel rules For private buyers the situation is quite different: the majority of new registrations on private households (53.7%) is powered by a petrol engine. Of course there is a clear correlation between the fuel type of a company car and its average mileage. For employees spending a good portion of their working time on a motorway a diesel engine is almost a default choice.

And certainly the preferred vehicle segment has an influence as well. The share of cars which are usually taken into account in the “mini” and “small” vehicle segments is almost twice as high in the private market as in true fleets while the percentage of middle class models is three times higher in companies than for private individuals. 88% of mini cars have petrol engines and, in the middle class segment, the share is lower than 18%.

Compared with Jan.-Oct. 2013 the share of alternative powertrains grew slightly, both for private and fleet customers, albeit it still remains on very low levels with 4.8% (private) and only 3.3% (true fleets) respectively. In 12 of the EU-16* markets the share of alternative powertrains within true fleets has been growing compared to the previous year. The remaining four countries (Finland, France, Italy, Spain) are an indication that there is no automatism for a growth of importance for non-petrol and non-diesel engines. The most impressive increases were achieved in Norway, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands. So, let’s take a closer look.

True Fleets EU-16YTD October 2014

3.3 %

Diesel Alternative Petrol

26.7 %

70 %

Private EU-16YTD October 2014

4.8 Diesel Alternative Petrol

%

41.5 %

53.7 %

Promising outlook, no grounds for euphoria There was a time when petrol powertrains dominated the market, and diesel was only preferred when fuel and cost efficiency were part of the fleet management decision process. All the more when it meant reducing one’s CO2 footprint. But over the years technological progress led to really enjoyable diesel combustion engines and often pure driving pleasure became a valid reason to opt for them. Driving an electric car might follow in these footsteps as more and more people have the chance to make this experience.

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DOSSIER I Alternative powertrains

True Fleets EU-16YTD October 2014 ranked by “Alternative” share

100% Diesel Alternative Petrol

90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20%

Poland

Denmark

Slovakia

Finland

Spain

Czech Rep.

Austria

Germany

UK

Belgium

France

Switzerl.

Italy

Sweden

Norway

0%

Netherl.

10%

THE NETHERLANDS Highest share of alternative powertrains in Europe

SWEDEN Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV is frontrunner Similar to Belgium the alternative segment in Sweden is led by hybrids, but in this case it’s Mitsubishi’s plug-in hybrid SUV Outlander that is dominating alternative powertrain fleet sales, with an impressive share of over 20%, followed by two Volkswagen and two Toyota models.

True Fleets Sweden Top 5 Alternative Powertrain Models 2014

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The Netherlands are a perfect example to illustrate how governments are influencing the market via car taxation. The tax charge for company cars was raised as of January 1, 2014 and is determined by the CO2 emission level of a car on the date of its registration. In order to avoid higher costs both private and commercial customers were keen to register their new cars before the end of the year 2013. This affected the whole market severely. Usually December is by far the weakest month in the Dutch passenger car market. In average less than 2.5% of the annual registrations are taking place in the last month of the year, but December 2013 accounted for nearly 10%! The taxation effect was noticeable all through 2014, and the share of alternative engines currently accounts for over 15% of all true fleet new registrations. This is even higher than in Norway and clearly stands above all other European markets included in this analysis. Again, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV shines with more than 5,000 new registrations of its plug-in version in fleets from January to October. The Toyota Auris Touring Sports is second, followed by the Volvo V60, Audi A3 CNG, Tesla S and Lexus CT. True Fleets Netherlands Top 5 Alternative Powertrain Models 2014

1

Mitsubishi Outlander

1

Mitsubishi Outlander

2

Volkswagen Golf

2

Toyota Auris Touring Sports

3

Toyota Auris Touring Sports

3

Volvo V60

4

Volkswagen Touran

4

Audi A3

5

Toyota Yaris

5

Tesla Model S

FLEET EUROPE # 74

NORWAY The electric success

BELGIUM Strong performance of the Hybrids

In the Norwegian Fleet market from January to October 2014 more than 10% of all new cars were alternative, three quarters of which were electric! The most successful electric model was the Nissan LEAF, followed by Tesla’s Model S and the i3 from BMW.

After a weak start in 2014 the Belgian fleet market finally managed to turn back to a positive year-todate growth in October. While new registrations on cars with a petrol powertrain grew by 18%, diesel engines dropped by 3%. Despite this decrease the diesel share of almost 84% is still one of the highest all over Europe. Only France and Spain are outperforming this level. Registrations on alternative powertrains, however, rose by an impressive 78% compared to January-October 2013.

That also holds true to the private market where the LEAF was number one in the first ten months of 2014, and the Tesla S was ranking third behind the Volkswagen Golf. This outstanding performance is a result of the underlying conditions. State incentives have been the key to success. Cars in Norway are extremely expensive due to taxation, but there is a VAT tax exception for electric cars which results in a price level comparable with combustion engine vehicles.

And there are additional popular incentives, like the usage of bus lanes, free parking and free passing through toll roads.

True Fleets Norway Top 5 Alternative Powertrain Models 2014

Within the alternative segment hybrids dominate the market, with Toyota/Lexus occupying 4 out of the top 5 positions, thereby sandwiching the full-electric Tesla S. Overall the percentage growth for the full battery electric vehicles was not only promising for Tesla, as there were considerable increases as well for the Nissan LEAF, Renault ZOE and the new-entry BMW i3.

True Fleets Belgium Top 5 Alternative Powertrain Models 2014

1

Nissan Leaf

1

Toyota Yaris

2

Tesla Model S

2

Toyota Auris Touring Sports

3

BMW I3

3

Tesla Model S

4

Mitsubishi Outlander

4

Lexus IS

5

Toyota Prius Plus

5

Toyota Auris

Beside passenger cars, the LCV market is a very interesting segment for the development of alternative powertrains. A significant percentage of vans has a daily mileage that can be covered by electric powertrains, while larger car parcs can provide the necessary infrastructure like an EV charging station or a natural gas fuelling station.

But there are still improvements in fuel efficiency to be expected for the classical petrol and diesel powertrains, and diesel will remain very popular – especially for commercial clients. ■

Finally, taxation and the intensification of the European emissions regulations will definitely have a massive impact on future trends. Certainly a larger range of hybrid and full-electric models will be available for customers and increase registrations.

* EU-16 = Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Michael Gergen Account Manager International

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DOSSIER I Green technologies

The future on the road The automotive sector is constantly undergoing changes and never stops evolving to adapt to ecological, safety and mobility constraints. We see different trends, but for sure hybrid vehicles still have the best chance to become a true force in the automotive market. But their efficiency still depends heavily on the will of the driver and the power of the fleet manager.

H

aving indulged in delusions of grandeur for some years, the automotive sector has now switched to “frugal” mode. This means it is entering a virtuous circle: transporting lighter bodywork requires a smaller engine, which is itself lighter… The non-negotiable part of a modern car, the technical base (the platform onto which all the mechanical elements are grafted), is becoming smaller and smaller.

This immediately cuts the weight by up to 100 kg from the genesis of a vehicle. Offering a lower weight gives a car a clear competitive advantage over its rivals: less wear on the tyres and brakes, lower actual consumption, better response, increased driving comfort, etc.

Multiple offerings In terms of engines, even though the quest to eradicate pollutant emissions is intensifying as the Euro 6 standard on the reduction of emissions comes into force, combustion engines are not about to disappear from the automotive scene. On the other hand, the range of engines is set to progressively increase, to better meet the needs of drivers in line with their profile.

Fuel engines at the front, batteries in the back: there lies the future of automobiles.

AdBlue Demonised largely for their output of fine particles, but at the same time preferred in a number of markets for their lower emissions of CO2/km, diesel engines will remain major players among European fleets. But even so, the strengthening of antipollution standards will weaken its hold on the compact vehicle sectors.

Following the general use of particle filters driven by the Euro 5 standard, the Euro 6 standard will popularise the use of another type of post-treatment of exhaust gases in diesel engines - SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) filters. These make it possible to convert (harmful) nitrogen oxides into nitrogen (a harmless gas that is the principal constituent of air) and water, usually by using a urea-based liquid called AdBlue.

In an ideal world it would be possible to choose a car in terms of the driver’s profile.

One obvious example of this multiple offering is the “standard” car on the European market, the Volkswagen Golf, which will be available in 2015 in petrol (TSI) and diesel (TDI) engine versions as well as in a plug-in hybrid (GTE) version and variants operating on natural gas (TGI) and pure electricity (e)! The range looks set to evolve even further to go by the Golf HyMotion model operating on hydrogen that was on display at a show in Los Angeles recently. If the choice is available, in an ideal world it would be possible to choose a car in terms of the driver’s profile.

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Turbo boosted Petrol engines have not stood still. By offering modern technologies such as direct fuel injection and overfeed,

they too are playing the downsizing card (reducing the cylinder capacity) while retaining driving comfort (flexibility of use, acceleration, soundproofing, etc.). Increasingly compact and light, these modern engines offer amazing specific power outputs (i.e. power per litre of cylinder capacity). Currently there are already small three cylinder 1.0 L or 0.8 L models on the market that can produce over 120 bhp.

Rechargeable hybrid However, the category of vehicles expected to become a force to be reckoned with in 2015 continues to be hybrid vehicles. In order to reduce pollutant emissions as drastically as possible, they are progressively seeing their electrical component increasing in importance. The battery capacity in hybrid vehicles has increased from a few kWh to more than 10 kWh. With this, these modules can be directly charged from the mains, either using a standard plug or via a charging station. Consequently they are capable of a greater range in fully electric mode, generally up to 30 km. In practice, the efficiency of these rechargeable hybrid vehicles still depends heavily on the will of the driver. In the absence of checks or incentives, drivers will not always take the time to recharge their vehicle via the mains at home or at work. Ultimately, average consumption for this sector tends to be higher, because people are carrying both a useless empty battery and an electric engine. Sometimes less is more…

Nissan has developed a revolutionary engine: weighing just 40 kg, this 1.5 L three-cylinder engine can produce a whopping 400 bhp!

Gears galore At the same time, these modern engines are being coupled with gearboxes offering more and more gears. The ZF unit now offers a 9-speed automatic module for transverse engines, while Volkswagen has confirmed the arrival of a 10-speed double-clutch DSG gearbox. Mercedes, a rare example of a manufacturer that still produces its own gearboxes, is following the same trend. Why this fashion for more and more gears? It is principally to enable engines to evolve while staying in the range of speeds that offers the best output. This trick secures greater control over pollutant emissions.

Natural gas Natural gas, the “clean” fuel, is progressively on the increase in Europe. Consisting of a mixture of various hydrocarbons produced from the breakdown of former living organisms, its exact composition varies but always remains broadly composed of (around 95%) methane (unlike LPG, which is a mixture of butane and propane). The main advantage of CNG is that it can reduce the emission of fine particles by 95% compared to diesel. Even better – it also enables a reduction of around 25% in CO2 emissions compared to petrol. On the other hand, using natural gas in a standard petrol engine requires slight mechanical modifications. But, faced with the growing demand in certain major markets, the larger brands are starting to expand their offering with models adapted to this technology.

Drivers will have to get used to recharging their hybrid vehicle in the future.

Mirai mirage Then there is the matter of hydrogen. It is true that this technology is taking its time to make inroads into mature markets such as Europe, but the impetus might come from emerging markets that are prepared to invest in a distribution network. Having taken the lead in hybridisation with the Prius, the Japanese giant is starting to go through the same motions with hydrogen propulsion, with the Mirai. This “car of the future” is already expected to be available in Japan, California and certain European markets from September 2015. The technological future of the car is on the move. It remains to be seen how the various countries will welcome its arrival. ■ Jean-François Christiaens

Alternative powertrain future Want to learn more about what manufacturers have in store? Read the full article at www.fleeteurope.com

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DOSSIER I Green technologies

Which alternative powertrains?

Rob Custers, Corporate Supply Chain & Procurement Fleet South West Europe, Siemens.

Every fleet manager and every driver knows that the choice of power source is no longer limited to petrol or diesel. But with so many options on the table, which are the most appropriate solutions for fleets, and why?

We ask four leading fleet managers for their thoughts on this subject.

I

t seems to be a given reality that fleet managers should look at how alternative powertrains can help meet their overall objectives and those of their companies. As Rob Custers, Corporate Supply Chain & Procurement Fleet South West Europe for Siemens, says: “Using alternative powertrains can help show that a company is environmentally-friendly.”

It is also clear that brand image and a company’s CSR responsibilities are enhanced by the use of environmentally-friendly vehicles.

Using these also helps to take account of the changing professional and private needs of the company drivers as his or her life and career progress.

these ‘new’ technologies have become in a relatively short space of time.

Objectives Fleet managers should avoid being mesmerised by the various technologies on offer, and concentrate on the objectives. As Patrik Havranek Fleet Management Lead at ISS states: “After all it has to make sense and must be adapted to the type of usage (electrical mobility for shorter distances, hybrid cars for all usage types…).”

Alternative powertrains should not be seen in isolation, but as part of a total package.

This is in the same way as office use is changing from ‘one office one person’ to a more use-suited set-up. Alternative powertrains, therefore, should not be seen in isolation, but as part of a total package.

Looking at the most common choices, electric cars represent an obvious powertrain to consider. However, Ghislain Vanfraechem, Facility Manager at Ernst & Young Belgium, confirms that his company also has hybrids and plug-in hybrids in its fleet.

Of alternative powertrains as a whole, he explains: “If fleets are not already looking at or implementing these powertrains, they are not doing their job properly. These options are a must.” This illustrates just how fundamental

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And this ‘realism’ is confirmed by Antal Pálmai, Head of Global Category Management HR, Travel and Fleet at E.ON: “The reality of the situation is that the choice is actually determined by the usage the company is expecting to get from its vehicles.”

“This, in practical terms, means that alternative powertrain choices are limited to hybrids and CNG. Recharging issues, along with the price, make other choices impractical.”

And finally, the decision on powertrains depends strongly on tax prerequisites and government support as well as type of usage. Encouraging alternative mobility within a company is a good thing for various reasons, including internal and external marketing, meeting CO2 standards and being technically advanced. ■ Tim Harrup

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DOSSIER I Green fleet integration

Technology + environmental regulation = alternative powertrains Companies want to be seen and heard cutting emissions – but is fleet, and are powertrains, ready for the takeover?

Yes, but the success of the alternative powertrain type will hugely depend on the attractiveness of its business model and cost of use.

A

lternative powertrains, defined by the ACEA, are ‘propulsion systems that are not based exclusively on the popular internal combustion engine: hybrids, full battery electrics, hydrogen fuel cells, compressed air, and many other types.’ The ‘many other types’ includes alternative fuels like sugarcane, butane, propane and ethanol. While fleet managers vying to meet EU targets have options to reduce their emissions, some are more ready than others. We look at the fleet suitability of the more mature powertrain options: hydrogen, electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids.

Hydrogenous power The October delivery of six Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles to London, for clients Johnson Matthey and Transport for London, seemed to announce hydrogen’s arrival.

Journalists squealed that the ix35’s 350 mile range is further than most EVs and refuelling with pressurised hydrogen is a process familiar to use already, eliminating a mental barrier for drivers. As hydrogen can be generated from water, solar and wind power, and even sewage sludge, it sounds a bountiful and cost-effective avenue for fleet. But is it ready for scale?

Drawbacks No. Given the financials, fuel cell tech isn’t competitive. If Toyota’s Mirai – and its USD 58,000 price tag – is anything to go by, customers are footing the bill for fuel cell R&D, and hydrogen procurement, storage and production; all very costly. Fleet managers may rather hold back until governments and manufacturers can ease the cost burden. Onto infrastructure: a recent UK H2 Mobility report outlined that a country like the UK will need a minimum of 65 filling stations to “start the market”, yet two in Wales, none in central Scotland, and nothing in Ireland doesn’t bode well. Further afield, there’s barely half a dozen in France, three in Sweden, one in the Czech Republic, and nothing further east than Vienna. Logistics and deliveries companies are forgiven for thinking twice.

Electric Vehicles EV networks look more solid. Governments continue to invest to stimulate market growth - and it looks a decent fleet option. Many a Euro market offer incentives for emissions-friendly vehicles: from price subsidies to VAT reduction, registration and general tax breaks, and even free parking. Germany is reportedly ironing out new

Hydrogen can be generated from water, solar and wind power; it sounds a bountiful and cost-effective avenue for fleet, but fleet managers may rather hold back until governments and manufacturers can ease the cost burden.

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legislation to wipe 90% off the value of EVs to encourage corporate uptake. In the Netherlands there’s a EUR 5,000 subsidy on the purchase of all-electric taxis or delivery vans. Free charging and public parking makes Dutch EVs five times cheaper than internal combustion engine (ICE) in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO).

all are savings for the fleet. In SMR, Prius suggests an oil change every 5,000 miles, double that of a standard sedan. Brakes too suffer less wear and tear given the nature of hybrid driving. Replacement hybrid parts normally include extended warranties – even up to ten years.

Operational costs Savings are more anatomic than just state concessions too. In the paper Sustainable fleet operations: The collaborative adoption of electric vehicles in 2011, Vanessa Chocteau, Managing Director of Greenovia, and her team, wrote: “EVs provide fleet managers an estimated 50% reduction in maintenance costs due to their simpler drive train and reduced operating costs – due to lower estimated per mile electricity costs versus per mile gasoline costs.” The figures hold today – even more so.

In 2011, the average cost per mile was 13.7 eurocents vs 15.2 eurocents for ICE. That figure’s roughly 3.5 – 4.5 eurocents per mile today. Moving from ICE to EV, however, is still a nervy proposition. Worries about range and lack of choice remain, and it demands big upfront investments in time, processes and training.

Plus, we’re still amateurs in the fleet EV lifecycle, so forecasting TCO, residual values and the second-hand market at scale still looks like guesswork. Charging is very uneven urban vs. rural, and charting times are often too slow for a busy modern fleet. Yes, home chargers and quick-chargers are getting more advanced and ubiquitous – but cheap and ideal, they are not.

In hybrid we trust Hybrids then – every major manufacturer has them and batteries, speed, the available range and their efficiencies are constantly evolving. As we write, Audi is preparing a next-gen hybrid diesel, simultaneously challenging petrol’s domination and generating better emissions and performance. Surveys regularly put hybrids at the top of companies green wish-lists over other powertrains – it seems we’re comfortable retaining an ICE element as we transition to green.

Hybrid for business Coca-Cola, Microsoft, FedEx and London City – big ticket clients have hybrids in their fleets and all major rentals and leasers offer them out. Business-owned hybrids are still (usually) entitled to discounts in price, corporation tax, and local rebates, as in the UK with the Ultra Low Emissions Discount Scheme.

Just as Jeep wants to be off-road, and Ferrari wants to speed, hybrid wants to be driven efficiently – so saving fuel, cutting CO2 and maximising range are in its DNA –

At motorway speed, hybrids are less efficient than some diesels or compacts – so a fleet’s day-to-day should determine its hybrid suitability.

The bulletproof option?

Hybrids do sync nicely into a fleet, but let’s not forget they still emit, pollute and hang on oil prices. Although hybrid’s stop-start motion is good for city driving, they’re not great distance travellers. At motorway speed, hybrids are less efficient than some diesels or compacts – so a fleet’s day-to-day should determine its hybrid suitability.

Fleet’s green light For years we’ve been awaiting a new EV or hydrogen fuel cell dawn, but the green light has yet to shine, and the business case for each option is, to a differing extent, incomplete. Many alternative powertrain articles finish with a waffley let’s wait and see what happens. For now, perhaps hybrid’s the better option – but it’s not the long term solution for gassy reasons. More sustainable, the other two have work left to do to sharpen their infrastructures and costing models – so let’s wait and see what happens. ■ Ally Millar

Hydrogen fuel cell Wish to learn more about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles? Find out more in our web features at www.fleeteurope.com/features

FLEET EUROPE # 74

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DOSSIER I Green fleet integration

Alternative powertrains: the pros and cons

Antal Pálmai, Head of Global Category Management HR, Travel and Fleet, E.ON.

With so much talk about alternative powertrains, it is not always easy to remember that there are two sides to every story. Fleet managers are looking for ways to improve their operations, save money, reduce emissions… but while the latest technology can help with these aims, it is important to analyse the pros and the cons.

E

rnst & Young has had electric cars in its fleet in Belgium for quite some time. It is therefore quite clear that the accountancy firm identified the advantages, but has it observed any disadvantages?

Ghislain Vanfraechem, Facility Manager in Belgium, confirms that the main disadvantages of using electric vehicles are the range and the cost price. “The price is very important, and still too high.” For some time the use of electric cars has almost been synonymous with fiscal advantages. But fleet managers warn that in some countries the taxation regimes may not encourage such ecological strategies. In certain markets the lack of infrastructure is a disadvantage too, especially for EV’s and hydrogen.

Analyse needs The issue of alternative powertrains and their use tends to revolve around the fleet manager and company’s objectives, generally in terms of cost and emission reductions. There is another vital – indeed crucial – link in the chain, however. And this is summed up by Rob Custers, Corporate Supply Chain & Procurement Fleet South West Europe at Siemens: “To avoid any disadvantages, make sure you look at the individual needs of the drivers first.” This is because some types of alternative powertrain may be entirely suitable for someone who has low mileage and for whom the car is a benefit, but it may not be appropriate for a service engineer covering 60,000 km a year. These solutions may not be the best solutions for these types of drivers in either economical or ecological terms.

The disadvantages may not be in terms of the technology, but of the applications for which they are used. And this may in particular affect companies which operate LCVs. E.ON Head of Global Category Management HR, Travel and Fleet, Antal Pálmai, explains that there is no real disadvantage to using CNG and hybrids, except that the powertrains are not available for every type of car or van. Not all the sizes of van are available.

Returning to drivers, and with a balanced view, Patrik Havranek, Fleet Management Lead at ISS confirms that his company has integrated electric cars into its portfolio and that drivers are very fond of driving them. It is relaxing and drivers enjoy the driving experience – lack of noise, instant acceleration… “These cars also make a lot of sense for pool cars and for customer visits, where there is a lot of city driving involved and the cars can be recharged every night.” The biggest disadvantage, he finds, is their range, which limits usability.

There is no real disadvantage to using CNG and hybrids.

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To conclude, while the pros are self-explanatory – more environmental-friendliness, lower fuel consumption, etc.

– the message is to look at all the options which may suit the different profiles.

“Don’t just replace the diesels by something else,” as one of our panel puts it. In other words, changing one type of powertrain for another requires more investigation than, for example, changing one car brand for another. ■ Tim Harrup

DOSSIER I Sustainable innovations

New horizons Besides perfecting the engine versions, the car of tomorrow is evolving in every other area. Let’s have a look at some of the trends in the sector.

T

he physical limitations of traditional materials such as steel or aluminium place major constraints on designers and engineers alike. Nevertheless, composite materials are starting to gain a foothold on the market. Carbon fibre reinforced plastic is the most popular example to date. Light, sturdy and a joy to shape and process, the material looks to be the ideal finish for future city cars built around a monocoque cell. Other innovative materials such as resins derived from rubber might soon be playing a role in the automotive world, and composite materials are expected to spread into every area.

Even the wheel rims, traditionally made of steel or aluminium, might end up being made of plastic to reduce the weight of the wheels (and thus the non-suspended mass).

On another level, self-cleaning and even self-healing paintwork might become generally available in the coming years thanks to nanotechnology. Thanks to this special paint, cleaning the car might become a thing of the past.

This would be useful for keeping cars in the fleet sparkling all the time. And it would save money and water…

Clean fuel Another area in which a revolution is on the cards is fuel.

Manufacturers are expected to start producing their own fuels from renewable energies. Audi has already built a factory enabling it to produce e-gas, which is synthetic natural gas produced from organic residues and renewable energies. To bring this revolution to more vehicles, Audi has also just announced that it is working on the production of e-diesel and e-ethanol, “clean” products capable of replacing traditional diesel and petrol.

Nissan is working on a type of hydrophobic, oleophobic paint that repels all organic liquids such as water or mud.

Lights 3.0 Forget xenon headlights and even the currently widespread LED technology. The future for car lights lies in laser technology. This is a technology used in motor sports that is gradually spreading into road car production. In addition to reducing electricity consumption even further compared to the already cost-effective LED technology, laser lighting enables the range of the headlights to be significantly increased. From 300 m for LED Lights, the range for laser lights is expected to reach 600 m! What better way of anticipating a dangerous situation at night than seeing it as soon as possible? ■ Jean-François Christiaens

Euro 6 standard explained Since 1 September 2014, newly homologated cars must meet the Euro 6 anti-pollution standard. This new standard enforces lower thresholds for numerous pollutants, but it principally targets the nitrogen oxides emitted by diesel vehicles. Its emissions are capped at 80 mg/km, which is an additional reduction of over 50% compared to the Euro 5 standard.

Audi has built a factory enabling it to produce e-gas from organic residues and renewable energies.

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On 1 September 2015, every car sold in Europe (whether new or not) will have to meet this new standard. In practical terms, SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) filters will come into general use in diesel vehicles, in addition to particle filters.

DOSSIER I Setting the KPIs

Safety first in sustainable fleets

Patrik Havranek, Fleet Management Lead, ISS.

Two of the hottest topics in fleet management over the past few years can be summed up as ‘green fleet and driver behaviour’. Striving to make improvements in these two areas, which affect both the economic and the ecological performance of a company, is on every fleet manager’s agenda. But how do they go about measuring results?

H

arsh driving is neither good behaviour nor green, and increases cost and emissions. Patrik Havranek, Fleet Management Lead for ISS confirms that it is not enough to simply take the manufacturers’ figures. ISS therefore measures factory-given fuel consumption figures (to calculate the average fleet consumption) along with real-life fuel consumption to see the reality of the situation.

Another check that can be made is whether unnecessarily high octane or other inappropriate fuels are being used.

On top of this, it is possible to see whether a driver is claiming more refuelling stops than is realistic, or putting 60 litres of petrol into a tank which only holds 50…

Fuel economy and safety At E.ON, Head of Global Category Management HR, Travel and Fleet, Antal Pálmai, insists that there are fundamental requirements in measuring these issues: “The major KPIs should be based around fuel economy and safety – the number of accidents the drivers have. These are basic KPIs.” And this is an important point: while the focus may often be on cost and emissions, behaviour also affects the safety of the driver and others.

around driver safety.” Many driver aids and other technical equipment are of course now fitted to cars, but could they be counterproductive?

When it comes to the technical gadgets now fitted to cars, these can be dangerous and accident rates could soon rise, Rob Custers believes. But the solution is not necessarily to prevent these devices from being used when driving. It is more relevant to train drivers not to undertake distracting tasks. They should concentrate on driving.

Driver behaviour, Ghislain Vanfraechem, Facility Manager at Ernst & Young Belgium, tells us, can be measured through specific in-car boxes. This should be used to measure the behaviour of new starters and of people whose accident record is not good.

It is possible to see whether a driver is claiming more refuelling stops than is realistic.

Human safety, returning home uninjured, may be felt to be the most important KPI of all. Rob Custers, Corporate Supply Chain & Procurement Fleet South West Europe at Siemens, takes a similar view. “KPIs should firstly revolve

One of the conclusions of the fleet experts is to make best use of technology.

First of all, fleet managers should make sure the appropriate safety features are fitted to the car.

And, very importantly, make sure the driver is aware that he or she is responsible for behaviour. On top of this, the driver’s behaviour is a key element in achieving the environmental objectives the company and the fleet manager are looking for. ■

Tim Harrup

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DOSSIER I Eco-driving applications

A world of apps to save the world As if drivers on the road need more going on with their phones, there’s a world of apps dedicated to teaching and training in the art of eco-driving. So what’s out there?

L

et’s dive straight in to our pockets to namecheck the smartphone apps vying to help us clock up more environmentally friendly miles. Starting with manufacturers – are they leading by example?

Manufacturers “Improve your driving style with eco:Drive” says Fiat, whose app monitors drivers’ acceleration, deceleration, gear shifts and speed changes to gauge fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. With eco:Drive, journeys are assigned a score destined for the eco:Index, which ranks drivers in a league table. It sounds engaging, but a 2.6 rating in Google’s Play isn’t a ringing endorsement.

Enter Kia, whose app of a similar name feels more like a winner.

finishes on an educative note: links to e-learning pages to swat up.

BMW too has its ECO PRO mode for cars made after 2013. It’s a component of the manufacturer’s Connected Drive system and rates driver style with the addition of feedback and advice on driving more efficiently. Renault has also married app and on-board with Eco² Driving, a tool found on R-Link. Confident in their tech, Renault claim drivers can save up to 25% on fuel, but that’s depending on “the driving conditions, the driving style, and the driver”.

The Pros When it comes to more general tools, we’re reliably informed that Prodrive Learning is a popular eco-driving solution in Benelux.

Majk Strika, European Sales Director at ARI: “Standing on a scale every morning doesn’t affect the root cause or change the behaviour. This also applies to drivers.”

e-learning environment qualifies it as a driving app – just.

It’s a good start but, to really get results, we have to go one step deeper.

Eco-drive Tumble they call it – a sharp 4.3/5 on the Play Store – uses GPS and sensors to measure 10 driving criteria. A driver’s actions culminate in a “professional driving diagnosis” – and the user journey

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Offline, the company offers in-depth analysis and benchmarking of a fleet’s current eco-friendliness, and builds custom roadmaps to make things better. Prodrive does much of its business offline, but their

One leasing company that speaks up for Prodrive is Athlon, which also has an eco-driving buddy in e-Driver – an integrated analytics and data intelligence service designed to encourage better, and more sustainable, on-road behaviour. But that’s for client drivers. Of course leasers all have their apps, but driver feedback and reporting systems is a huge and exclusive slice of their client service, apps aren’t bound for any old app store. Some of these tools are at the cutting edge of Big Data, which you can read in more depth later on.

© Fiat

Insurers Staying with data, insurers are keen to get their hands on as much of it as possible – so they’re using apps as a precursor to telematics to sell in personalised policies. UK insurer Direct Line asks drivers to record journeys to get insurance discounts via its DrivePlus app. “Depending on your overall score you could receive discounts,” it says.

Indies Forgive us for mentioning just three, but researching ‘Fuel Consumption’ or ‘Eco-Driving’ apps returns many answers, and it’s hard to differentiate the diamonds from the dross.

Nevertheless, first up is EcoDriving Lite by STR and CGI: a free application that measures the eco-efficiency of the driver’s style and offers feedback via a Green Index Score built on the use of speed, hard braking and acceleration. Drivers particularly proud of their eco-rating can post it on social media.

EcoDriving Lite also bridges the virtual-reality gap by guiding concerned drivers to nearby driving schools for training and practice. Geco - The eco driving guide is another. Its angle is that little changes can make a big difference, and even save drivers 10% to 20% in fuel. It works by calibrating an eco-driving ideal based on location and route – and it compares the ideal scenario with what plays out.

Last up, and rated 5/5 by UK broadsheet The Telegraph, Driving Curve is described as ‘ Nike+ for your car’.

The app is designed for those who are curious about their driving performance but aren’t yet ready to commit to an on-board dashboard.

It uses GPS to track location and concentrates on what it calls “quantified human behaviour rather than machine behaviour”.

Are they any use?

The mention of human behaviour in eco-driving means it is time to pause

Manufacturers develop applications, such as Fiat’s eco:Drive, which monitor drivers’ acceleration, deceleration, gear shifts and speed changes to gauge fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. and ask a question. Are these genuinely useful tools to scale and improve eco-driving? Last word goes to Majk Strika, European Sales Director at ARI, who describes these apps as “a good start” but, to really get results, “we have to go one step deeper.”

“All the lease companies and fleet management companies have their driving training modules and apps,” says Majk, “but the big question to me is: what is the benefit of these tools?”

“Many of the available ‘driver training’ tools are rather theoretical: they give you information or advice on things that most drivers are already aware of, such as not loading up your trunk with equipment to drive 700 miles if you don’t have to, not driving with an open window, or switching off the engine when you’re stopped.”

“To me, those tools are like having scales when you think you need to lose weight. You won’t lose weight by just standing on the scales; you’ll lose weight by actively changing your behaviour. You need to focus

on what you are eating and the lifestyle you lead. Standing on a scale every morning doesn’t affect the root cause or change the behaviour. This also applies to drivers.”

Majk believes the real solution lies in waiting – and it’s the wider adoption of a hyper-personal telematics approach that’ll forge a lasting environment of change.

“Why does Mr X use more fuel?

Why is Mr Y more productive? Why does Mr Z consume less fuel? To my mind, it’s about combining the tools available and using them to create an overall picture that helps identify and influence the source, not the outcome.”

Valuable services or killing time, maybe eco-driving apps are like the MiniDiscs of the automotive tech world: a quirky new format asking us to change our behaviour – before something revolutionary steps in and demands that we do. ■ Ally Millar

We’d love to hear what you think Is there mileage in eco-driving apps? Give us your recommendations at www.fleeteurope.com/discussions.

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DOSSIER I Applications and training

Choosing the right tool

Ghislain Vanfraechem, Facility Manager, Ernst & Young Belgium.

One of the greatest changes to have occurred in the fleet management domain over the past decade or so, is the range of technology now available in new cars to help in cost, safety and other areas. But which are the systems and applications actually being used by top fleet managers?

W

hen it comes to eco-driving apps, Ghislain Vanfraechem, Facility Manager at Ernst & Young (E&Y) Belgium, points out that while there are telematics systems in the cars, eco-driving courses have a large part to play. Everyone at E&Y in Belgium, for example, has taken part in mandatory eco-driving courses.

Who should use the tools – the fleet manager or the driver? It is important to ensure that the driver can see the results of his or her driving as measured by the ‘box’.

This often takes place within a company’s internal website – but an individual driver can only access his or her own results, not anyone else’s.

What is of great use, though, is that the driver can see his or her own results compared to the fleet average. The fleet manager, of course, has to see everyone’s results.

However, Antal Pálmai, Head of Global Category Management HR, Travel and Fleet for E.ON evokes a situation whereby telematics may be used to analyse driver behaviour, but where apps are not available to the drivers themselves.

Use what’s there Rob Custers, Corporate Supply Chain & Procurement Fleet South West Europe at Siemens, points out that there are many solutions on the market, many suppliers, on-line training… so use should be made of these.

Ecological driving is made easier by the tools available.

One of the new trends in working life (of which the company car is a part) is that tools are not just in the

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It is important that the driver can see his or her own results compared to the fleet average.

car – people can work from home, from somewhere else… So part of the answer in knowing which systems to use is to say: ‘not driving the car in the first place is an option’.

There is a considerable amount of data only provided by the leasing companies and fuel card providers. Patrik Havranek, Fleet Management Lead at ISS, confirms that his company uses these routes for information.

Another solution is to ensure cars are equipped with an eco driving assistant system, which tells the driver how eco-friendly he or she is when driving (changing gear at the right moment, low revs, general driving style,etc.).

The conclusion to all this would appear to be that there is a lot of information out there – in the car, on the fuel card, from the leasing company… – and that fleet managers should make use of it, while training drivers to be more ecological in their driving styles. ■ Tim Harrup

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MANAGEMENT I Greening the Carglass Fleet

“Saving the planet saves us money too” Speaking to Ronny Van den Driesch, it soon becomes apparent why he won the International Fleet Green Award 2014 at Fleet Europe’s Awards, last November in Hamburg. The Audit & Vehicle Manager at Carglass Belgium & Luxemburg is not only passionate and knowledgeable about ‘greening’ his company, but also extremely successful at saving both the planet and money. When he speaks, the entire Carglass Group listens. “Belgium may be small, but the international impact of our teamwork is great.”

“

Fleet management is a genuine passion for me,” says Van den Driesch. The fascination with automotive runs deep in the family: “My dad ran a taxi company. I spent much of my youth in his workshop. After I graduated high school in 1984, everyone pushed me to go for civil engineer, but I chose car mechanics instead. And my son is now studying automotive business management.” With passion comes a clear conviction on what the ideal Carglass company car should be like: “Fit for purpose, high-quality, safe, and yes: as green as possible. Those four elements are all equally important.”

Congratulations on your Award! Success has many causes. One has to be an excellent car policy. What does yours look like?

Ronny Van den Driesch: The framework is important. In our case, it’s a mobility policy rather than a car policy.

Ours has six pillars. Firstly: empower your employees to do their job in comfort and safety. Take for example our Transit vans: they have a step to prevent backaches, are fitted with a partition so the load doesn’t slide into the driver cab, etcetera.

Ronny Van den Driesch has managed Carglass’s fleet since 1998; as he puts it: “Some things that are totally self-evident now would have sounded futuristic 15 years ago, like sat-nav and winter tyres.”

CARGLASS FLEET FACTS Company: Carglass Industry: Automotive Employees: 24,000 worldwide Fleet size: 10,595 worldwide Main financing method: Financial lease Simultaneously, we provide our crews with training in roadworthiness and eco-driving. All of which shows them we appreciate the work they do. Communication is crucial. Each new employee gets a company brochure containing a safety charter. Every accident that happens is discussed in our Safety Committee.

And we reach every employee via Break, our company newsletter. We use positive motivation to generate beneficial outcomes.

Choosing a greener model of car will give the employee EUR 750 in extra options. Which he or she can spend on a foldable bike, for example. We’re very meticulous in tracking maintenance and fuel usage. If an employee’s usage shoots up, we’ll notify him of it, and suggest a check-up. Usually, the notification itself is enough for the usage to drop again…

Anyone can have an accident, but when an employee is responsible for a second one, we send a letter home, motivating him to stay safe. We also send a piggybank shaped like the Formula One-champion Schumacher, suggesting that it’s better to save money than to spend it on fines. I can tell you that this leads to interesting conversations at home! Only in case of a third accident do we demand that the employee pay part of the franchise.

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MANAGEMENT I Greening the Carglass Fleet

To successfully launch a green car policy, Ronny Van den Driesch recommends one “starts by finding like-minded people in other departments. You can only move forward with people who believe in the project.”

You’ve had this job since 1998. What changes have you overseen since then?

R. Van den Driesch: All our solutions have been gradual, like the change from a car policy to a mobility policy. We now allow our employees to drive and refuel their cars abroad – but only if they take out roadside assistance insurance. Some things that are totally self-evident now would have sounded futuristic 15 years ago, like sat-nav and winter tyres.

Talking about perspective: What in your opinion makes Carglass unique, and your job different from that of fleet managers elsewhere?

R. Van den Driesch: Cars are our core business. Which means that all our drivers are as obsessed by cars as I am – or they wouldn’t work here. My colleagues are up to date on the latest developments in automotive. So I need to keep proving myself against all that insider knowledge.

But in the end, that’s beneficial. It keeps me on my toes!

As part of our switch to a mobility policy, we not only offer the option of a bicycle, but we also refund expenses for train, tram and bus. But only if the company car stays in the garage during those trips! We also prioritise train trips over flights, which is especially relevant as our HQ is near London, which can be reached from Belgium by Eurostar. Finally, we’ve established that certain makes and models are not done, like 4x4s – although we do allow SUVs and 2x4s.

As fleet manager for Belgium and Luxembourg, you’re quite autonomous within the Carglass/Belron Group.

How do you and your policies interact with HQ and the other markets?

R. Van den Driesch: We do write out tenders as a group – our global fleet of 10,500 vehicles gives us some clout to go to OEMs and ask for deal-sweeteners. But apart from that, as you said, each national unit within Carglass is quite autonomous. Which makes it interesting to learn from each other: successful tests in one market can and will be adopted swiftly in others.

Like everyone at the Fleet Europe events in Hamburg, you were able to compare notes with your colleagues in fleet management. From your perspective, which of your best practices would you recommend to them?

R. Van den Driesch: It’s clear that tracking projects is something not everyone does sufficiently. Also – keep innovating! Never think you have the perfect policies.

Technology evolves, and so should you. The car of the future will be radically different from our vehicles today.

I’m convinced we will see the arrival of the driverless car, if not in 5 years, then in 10. And although diesel and petrol engines will still have their place, the niches for electric, gas and other alternative motorisations will only keep getting bigger.

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Does this also apply to your projects and policies? Are they adopted throughout the group?

R. Van den Driesch: How much time do you have? (laughs). Belgium may be small, but the international impact of our teamwork is great. I could list dozens of our initiatives that have been taken up by other branches. We are a model market for best practices. One illustration: by the end of 2014, our CO2 emissions for Carglass Belux will be down 36% compared to 2010.

The group target is 30% by 2015. We’ve achieved that result not by buying trees to offset our emissions, but by executing as many relevant projects as we can.

Keep innovating!

Never think you have the perfect policies. Technology evolves, and so should you.

Give us some examples.

R. Van den Driesch: First of all, we have our mobility policy, with its option not only for bicycles but also for scooters. We’re testing alternative-energy vehicles, powered by electricity and compressed natural gas. We have installed charging stations for EVs in our branch offices. We’re promoting courses on eco-driving, and refining the use of our route planner to minimise trips.

We make sure our tyres are in optimal condition, which saves on fuel. We intensively track fuel usage. We prioritise conference calls, and when we arrange actual meetings, we schedule them close to train stations, facilitating those who come by train.

And next year, we’ll be introducing a dashboard, indicated on each license plate: it will quantify fines, fuel usage, damage and TCO for each individual vehicle. But our green efforts aren’t limited to fleet – they are company-wide. We promote repairing car windows instead of replacing them, thus reducing our waste, which we sort meticulously. Timers and smart meters reduce unnecessary heating and electricity expenditure in our offices and workshops. We even maximise natural light in our buildings, reducing the need for heating. Our efforts do not go unnoticed. We have an ISO 14001 label and we are in the Top 10 of the 150 companies certified

by EcoVadis for sustainability performance.

Carglass’s green efforts aren’t limited to fleet – they are company-wide. The company has an ISO 14001 label and is in the Top 10 of the 150 companies certified by EcoVadis for sustainability performance.

Ronny Van den Driesch, winner of the 2014 International Green Fleet Award, highlights: “Belgium may be small, but the international impact of our teamwork is great.

I could list dozens of our initiatives that have been taken up by other branches.”

Going green isn’t only good for the planet, it’s also good for your company…

R. Van den Driesch: Of course, saving on fuel means reducing cost. Green issues and safety concerns are closely related, which is why we’ve managed to reduce accidents by 25%. All our projects have been pre-evaluated for profit and loss. For example, our solar panels rotate with the sun, increasing their yield by 17%. Saving the planet saves us money too. We save thousands of euros each year at each branch by going green. And there’s another good business reason to care about the environment: without a viable planet, we won’t have any customers in the future.

What would your advice be to other fleet managers who want to create an equally successful green policy?

R. Van den Driesch: Start by finding like-minded people in other departments. You can only move forward with people who believe in the project. Then, get them to join your sustainability implementation committee. As mentioned, communication and motivation are crucial. That doesn’t need to be difficult. Explain to anyone that turning the heat down by one degree will save you EUR 300 a year, and they will gladly wear a sweater. Explain that the correct tyre tension will save you half a litre every 100 km, and your company will take note. ■ Frank Jacobs

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MANAGEMENT I FedEx International

What you didn’t know about Michael Dana International Fleet Manager of the Year 2014 “It was absolutely thrilling,” says Michael Dana about the moment he won Fleet Europe’s International Fleet Manager of the Year award in Hamburg last November. “This is the first award I’ve received as an international Fleet manager.” It’s far from the first time he has distinguished himself, though.

D

ana, now Senior Fleet Manager for EMEA for the global courier company FedEx Express, keeps his award at home in Belgium. That’s easier than choosing between his office at Charles de Gaulle airport, FedEx’s hub, or the one in Brussels, the company’s admin HQ where he spends most of his time – when he’s not jetting across half the world.

American football Dana’s high-flying career is a far cry from small-town California, where he graduated high school in 1984. Although even back then he excelled, in American football. “Five universities offered me a full athletic scholarship. After college, I joined the military and ended up in Germany, at Baumholder Army base. I initially enlisted in a technical field and quickly rose in rank and responsibility.”Leaving the military in 1991, Dana wanted to stay in Europe. He landed a job at Cargolux, the Luxembourg-based freight airline. “I was in charge of cleaning and restocking the parts room, but soon took over the movement of parts supporting our heavy aircraft maintenance checks, performed in Germany and Holland.”

Football gave me the capacity to lead a team.

Live-animal transport “Eventually I joined the import/export team, as well as becoming the expert in live-animal transport. Once we even shipped a whale. It was fitted into a stirrup, loaded through the nose of our 747 and moistened by a ‘groom’ during the flight.” In 2003, Dana joined FedEx as Fleet Manager for Southern Europe, and in 2011 was promoted to Senior Fleet Manager for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. At present, Dana spends a large portion of his time in the field.

Before joining FedEx, Dana was part of the Cargolux import/export team, where he became the expert in live-animal transport: “Once we even shipped a whale.“

“I manage several Pan-European projects, requiring frequent stakeholder meetings. I also try to visit the regions teams at least once a year, as well as a many of my departments’ internal client base. We’ve also acquired a few companies, driving the need to develop their Fleet departments and assure policy compliance. And we’re setting up vendor networks.”

Luxembourg Lions Which leaves little room for personal time: “I have three kids ranging in age 24-13-6 years old. I do my best to prioritise my family and relationship, including at least a yearly visit to my parents in the US. Like all parents, I try my best to find the right balance between work and family.” Not that life and work are ever totally separate. Dana’s fleet management skills have roots outside the office: “My time in the military has taught me to focus. Also, football gave me the capacity to lead a team. In fact, I was captain of an American football team, the Luxembourg Lions, who won the European leagues championship back in 1995.” ■ Frank Jacobs

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MANAGEMENT I FedEx International

“Some clients demand delivery in EVs” Michael Dana’s main focus is on delivering a safe and secure fleet as cost-effectively as possible. But he is also responsible for implementing FedEx’s fleet sustainability initiatives in EMEIA.

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oncern for the environment, and goals for achieving and perfecting a more sustainable business model are woven into the fabric of FedEx’s business model, Dana explains. “Our sustainability targets are set at corporate level and then pursued aggressively. We’ve already hit our corporate CO2 emissions reductions targets well before time and are pursuing even more stringent objectives.”

Benchmark testing FedEx’s corporate sustainability policies may be set in Memphis rather than Paris or Brussels, but Dana’s region is closely involved in their execution. Even in the trial stage. For example, as Senior Fleet Manager EMEIA, Dana is much more closely involved with benchmark testing of a range of alternative fuel vehicles: “We’ve been testing hybrid technology since 2007, and are also testing electric vehicles and vehicles running on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). We’re not testing hydrogen-powered vehicles yet, although FedEx is already doing that over in the US. Specifically for our GSEs, we’re looking at electric-powered assets. EMEA-wide, we coordinate with our Environmental department, our Health and Safety department, the Operations team. But we also coordinate with the Sales and Marketing team. This is because we do have clients that want delivery of their goods with electric vehicles.”

We test alternative drive vehicles from an operational perspective: “they need to be durable, safe and user-friendly.”

environmental impact of the alternatives in a vacuum.

Rather, we compare their performance with our standard vehicles over a range of operational perspectives: they need to be durable, safe and user-friendly over the long haul.”

“Solely buying hundreds of alternative-fuel vehicles, is not a solution in itself. And in fact some alternative-fuel vehicles can be resourceintensive. The solutions that we pursue must, over time, make sense for our business, our customers, and the environment. For example: charging 20 EVs at a single station draws as much power as it takes to run 20 households. And if the energy to produce that power comes from traditional sources, it’s still not a better solution; you’ve just moved the problem from A to B.” ■

Our sustainability targets are set at corporate level and then pursued aggressively.

Operational perspective Market demands like that add a customer-based pull to the push coming from HQ with regards to sustainable practices. Yet despite its progressive CO2 policy, FedEx never loses sight of the main purpose of its vehicles: reliable, timely and costeffective delivery. “Our testing of alternative drive vehicles is wide open. We don’t particularly favour any technology over the other. Our objective is not just to test the

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Frank Jacobs

MANAGEMENT I Safety first at Philip Morris International

Focus on leadership, communication, motivation and performance When the annual Fleet Europe Awards were presented last November at the Grand Elysée Hotel in Hamburg, first prize in the International Fleet Safety Award category went to Csaba Csiszko, Corporate Health and Safety Director at Philip Morris International (PMI). The citation read: “Despite the increase in its fleet size, PMI has managed to reduce the number of fleet injuries by 60% since 2012.” So how did they do it? And how do they intend to keep on doing it?

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We manage fleet safety as a complex issue, from safe car procurement to enabling the organization to focus on driving safely,” says Csiszko. This rounded approach is made possible by fostering a company culture that supports all aspects of fleet safety. The intricacy that this involves is challenging, Csiszko admits, but starting with sales cycle planning, all processes have to factor in safe driving. “Small decisions can have big impacts when it comes to safety,” he adds.

Policies, principles and programmes PMI uses an array of approaches to achieve its safety goals. There is a “Nine Principles” policy that ranges from “Risk Assessment” to “Management review”, and this is underpinned by a Fleet Safety Leadership programme, which equips middle management with the tools needed to meet overall targets. Tools alone are not sufficient, however.

Critical skills, such as the ability to listen and manage change, are essential as well. “In simple terms it means that if driving safely is part of my boss’ priorities, it will be priority for me,” Csiszko says. The Fleet Safety Leadership programme is supported by an e-learning curriculum that is deployed across more than 80 countries in more than 40 languages.

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Working with an educational company that has global reach, PMI provides localized content and ensures that all videos and infographics are from the country where drivers log into the system, and in their native language.

“We don’t want to show Swiss roads and Swiss driving situations to someone driving in Manila or Sao Paolo,” says Csiszko, who argues that localizing the content adds credibility to the message. The curriculum is accessible on desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Drivers who do not own digital devices can access the modules from an Internet café.

All of this merges nicely with the parameters of the International Fleet Safety Award that Csaba Csiszko

picked up in Hamburg in November: “This Award recognises a company that has successfully implemented a safety project for its fleet within the framework of its CSR strategy,” read the commendation, and continued: “It rewards a project that focuses on original tools and programmes to improve the safety of its drivers, whilst taking into account TCO optimisation.”

Another original PMI programme is the Philip Morris Fleet Safety Award and, for those interested in best practices, it is worth noting how it fits into the totality of the company’s approach to developing strategies that work.

At PMI, the organizational concentration is on four main areas when it develops its programmes: leadership, communication, motivational

Working with an educational company that has global reach, PMI provides localized content and ensures that all videos and infographics are from the country where drivers log into the system, and in their native language.

Winner of the International Fleet Safety Award 2014, Csaba Csiszko (PMI) explains: “The best fleet manager always creates value while keeping people in focus.”

PMI FLEET FACTS Company: Philip Morris International Industry: Tobacco Employees: 90,000+ (2013) Fleet size: 25,000 Drivers: 25,000+

Csaba Csiszko Originally from Hungary, Csaba Csiszko now lives in Lausanne in Switzerland, where Philip Morris International has its global operations centre. As Global Director Environment, Health & Safety at PMI, he ensures the health and safety of its employees, contractors and visitors on its sites, affiliates and markets. He is also responsible for the sustainability of operations and the value chain.

programmes and performance.

“These are our award categories to ensure that the organisation invests its energy into areas where it can make a difference,” says Csiszko.

Fleet safety KPIs on the dashboard Rolling out leadership programmes, furthering e-learning initiatives and financing better-equipped cars is an expensive business and it means drawing upon limited resources, which means that fleet safety must compete with all other areas within PMI for these resources. “It is the role of the leaders to create the culture,” is a PMI management mantra, so how does the philosophy work in relation to fleet safety? According to Csiszko, leaders decide which KPIs to put on their dashboard, and if they include fleet safety-related KPIs, these will then be in the spotlight. Environment and sustainability are also in the spotlight and Csiszko points out that PMI is committed to reducing its carbon emissions. “We set limits on maximum emission

when we buy cars, and we currently have several local projects and pilots to test hybrid and electric cars in our fleet,” he says.

Intelligent applications and smart sensors Talking of technology, what software and hardware should we be keeping an eye on when it comes to determining fleet safety in the coming years?

Csaba Csiszko feels that interactive and intelligent applications will play an even greater role in the future. He sees the trend shifting from built-in technologies focused on reducing the impact of unsafe situations to those that will monitor the health status and concentration abilities of the driver.

“Sensors will warn us if our hands are not on the wheel or our eyes and mind are not on the road,” he says.

Further down the road, the driving might be taken away from the driver, which would increase safety, but eliminate the joy of driving. A controversial trade-off, no doubt, but if it

reduces accidents and saves lives, a price worth paying many would argue.

There is safety in numbers, it is said.

For PMI, safety is in the statistics generated by the small decisions that have the big impacts. That is why it is reaping rewards. ■ Eamonn Fitzgerald

The Nine Principles of the PMI Global Safety Policy 1. Leadership 2. Baseline Assessment 3. Risk Assessment 4. Diver hiring and placement 5. Driver Training 6. Driver performance recognition 7. V ehicle selection and maintenance 8. Crash and incident investigation and reporting 9. Management review

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MANAGEMENT I Data is the new gold

Big Data, big deal “Data is the new oil”, assert the advertisers, “data is the new gold”, scream technologists. And we have to concede: Big Data is a very big deal. How’s your fleet preparing?

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t’s not a question of if data will reign supreme – the process has begun. Data providers’ ability to harvest consumer and technical info, and make sense of it via advanced data science, means brands and businesses are mapping a future that’s built on the stuff.

Retailers are partnering providers who boast rich, deep data – lifeblood for Customer Retention Management strategies, consumer targeting, and online programmatic advertising.

Software giants too are leveraging data to innovate in ways unthinkable even five years ago: hyper-efficient health screening and medicinal breakthroughs are testament to that.

If the term “Big Data” needs to be clarified for fleet, think telematics max: huge volumes of data that – after complex sorting – highlight and pinpoint correlations, insight and efficiencies hitherto unreachable in fuel, TCO, efficiency, behaviour, speed et al.

A data-foundation Fleet in mature markets is no stranger to data. Big fleets have for some time been powered by trends and stats to optimise performance. Industry kingpins in the leasing world have led the way in data insights – and with Big Data there’s a perfect bedfellow to give clients even more. © Shutterstock/??

What is Big Data?

Best we position a fleet-centric definition of Big Data for our industry – for that, we turn to those at the business

end. “Big Data purists might call a lot of what we do ‘business intelligence’,” says Reinier Willems, International Marketing Director at LeasePlan, “but Big Data is referred to as less-structured or even un-structured data, a collection of data that’s becoming complex and difficult to process with traditional data management applications.”

The car leasing industry is convinced that insights in Big Data will change the way car fleet management will be used in the future. Predictive management should be the answer.

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“Data is in the blood of our company,” says LeasePlan’s Reinier Willems. “Companies like LeasePlan, and others around us in the market, are investing heavily because it’s an area clients expect us to take the lead in.”

“You need to think about data in regards to gas, damage, insurance claims, repairs and maintenance, and also CO2. Their requests for data is increasing more and more.”

“Leasing became an IT business, and from there we’ll surely become a data business,” says Christophe Duprat, Director of Strategy at ALD International. “Data will be the raw material for value creation and I’m sure no one can yet imagine the amount of value we’ll be able to create from this new material.”

“Data is key in the future,” says Knut Krösche, Head of Fleet, Aftersales and Used Car at Volkswagen Financial Services, “in connectivity and predictive services, driver behaviour, fuel consumption and general cost reduction.” To get a sense of the change and the possibilities in fleet that are outside daily controllables like fuel and behaviour, we borrow an example from Majk Strika.

Big Data’s potential is already mobilising clients to ask more questions.

A step-change for fleet To imagine and realise this value, fleet needs to shift in its approach to embrace Big Data – or risk losing ground. Philosophical industry realignment starts at the top.

“There has to be a shift in fleet management,” says Majk Strika, Global Marketing Director at ARI. “We’re not comparing and we’re not asking questions – but that’s not how we spend our personal money so why is it allowed in the fleet business? “This will change in the next five years, we’re going to see this market shift dramatically.” According to Majk Strika, extra forecasting means customer and client liberation, and an end to the culture of limited transparency.

“In the fleet market, I think leasers have been spoiled by very loyal customers. It reminds me of the old days of telecommunications companies in Germany: a market monopoly meant a call from Stuttgart to Hamburg cost 23 pence a minute. Once the market was liberated, customers asked for benchmarks.”

New control in TCO Consumer retail, insurance, banking – name the industry and chances are that tech and the Internet have opened customers up to comparison, benchmarking and choice. Fleet TCO that’s truly under client control would be an extension of the tech-enabled democracy we’ve seen in other verticals. Big Data’s potential is already mobilising clients to ask more questions.

“Nowadays as a leasing or mobility company, as we are, you need to have the data analytics advice because customers require a clear overview of how their fleet is performing,” says Folkert Ruiter, Global Marketing Manager at Athlon.

Today, when a single driver’s car requires scheduled maintenance, that driver will randomly pick a garage and get the work done. If a fleet has 600 cars, and 100 of those are due for maintenance at a similar time, greater insights, correlations and control could change the dynamic.

“Why would your manager not go out to bid for all garages in the area?” asks Strika. “Then we’re talking rebates and discounts. It doesn’t happen in the market, and that’s crazy.”

Changing times It sounds so obvious, but Strika’s example is the first of many hypotheticals where huge cost-saving opportunities lie for fleet managers, just by better knowing what’s going on in their shop.

And it gets futuristic. Cars built on data are redefining what constitutes down time: Tesla recently sidestepped a recall by fixing 29,222 via a remote software update. If Tesla can fix its scattered fleet from afar, so too can and will fleet managers.

Volkswagen Financial Services’ Knut Krösche says that we’ll be waiting “less than five years” before cars on our roads are built as much on software as they are hardware.

Researchers at Frost and Sullivan reckon next year is the year when operational vehicle-to-anything (V2X) technology comes into its own. Data systems linking and syncing vehicles with all manner of items in the Internet of things means extracting and processing infinitely more trends – and further breakthroughs await.

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Good business doesn’t stop with the bottom line. The impact for drivers – via better route planning, more V2V interaction, V2X interaction and entertainment choice – suggests a more comfortable and rewarding day at work.

Big Data’s big results We’ve barely left ground zero and the winds of change are blowing through fleet. Lakshmi Moorthy, Marketing Director of Fleet at GE Capital International, gives a sense of Big Data results so far.

“From our businesses across platforms we have seen case studies where customers have saved up to 10% in fuel costs though better driving, a decrease in unauthorised fuel usage, at-fault accidents can come down by up to 25%, and we have seen idling times come down by up to 20%.”

We could cherrypick any number of case studies to highlight the progress of telematics’ deployment but here are two from TomTom: Northern Ireland food giant Tayto Group cut its annual fuel spend by GBP 72,000, and Toshiba increased fleet miles-per-gallon by 27%.

In the end the consumer is, or should be, the owner of the data.

Data systems linking and syncing vehicles with all manner of items and its drivers is already a reality. to drive the desired change through their fleet policies, one step at a time.”

Data ownership At a cautionary level, we Europeans aren’t quite ready to hand our will and our lives over to Big Data without establishing some ground rules. Any fleet boss watching developments will know there’s an ownership debate afoot.

As GE Capital’s Lakshmi Moorthy explains: “The challenge with Big Data in Europe compared to our US business, is the depth and variety of data protection regulations. There is a lot of data we could technically gather, but we don’t because of the data privacy risks associated.”

It’s not the data it’s what you do with it For those blinded by the BIG in Big Data, it shouldn’t instill fear, but optimism. Consensus among fleet experts is that clients needn’t worry about the means of data farming, it simply requires a little added know-how when it comes to using and deploying insights.

Big Data is not a free-for-all playground, and nor should it be argues Athlon’s Folkert Ruiter: “I think in the end the consumer is, or should be the owner of the data, but I can fully understand we claim ownership – so do the car brands, and the insurer, and the black box maker.

We are struggling with that.”

“Our corporate customers are more interested today in the value held in the data rather than the full logs from telematic solutions,” says ALD’s Christophe Duprat.

Moving forward When it comes to Big Data’s business case, it’s hard to find holes. The results are in and the game’s only just begun. Data will line fleet’s soil in years to come.

Research shows big companies have been building their Big Data base for some time, investing in IT and installing in-house data scientists. Whether a fleet is gathering its own data or outsourcing its harvest, the experts suggest setting parameters.

“It is important that fleet managers start with clear goals,” says GE’s Lakshmi Moorthy “and use the data

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MANAGEMENT I Data is the new gold

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Speaking a little naïvely: the industry accepting its new role – and any prickly ownership debates – will find equilibrium when the TCO model starts purring and the savings and efficiencies hurtle towards us – at the speed of enlightenment. ■ Ally Millar

ADVERTORIAL I Opel/Vauxhall

Opel-Vauxhall raises the small car standard to new levels Opel/Vauxhall has substantially beefed up its model line-up at the small car end of the range, with the new Opel KARL (Vauxhall Viva in the UK), as well as its refined new Corsa and ultra-chic ADAM – along with its ROCKS and S versions.

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he new Opel KARL (Vauxhall Viva in the UK) now represents the freshest, most exciting car for up and coming young company car drivers. The entry level model comes in at under EUR 10,000– and this for a five-door, five-seater car with features and finishing levels from much higher segments. Exactly what the driver wants, and with ultra-efficient engines and low TCO levels – exactly what the fleet manager wants. Along with KARL/Viva comes the new and most refined Corsa yet. The fifth generation of this B-segment legend is available with three or five doors, and trim levels not usually found in this segment. But that’s not all: the acclaimed and ultra-chic ADAM completes the most comprehensive small car line-up on the market. And for those who want this 21st century supermini with genuine punch, now there is the ADAM ROCKS and the ADAM S. Opel KARL – stunningly sporty Small but spacious, a dazzling appearance and insanely sensible – this is what entry-level buyers will get from

The Opel KARL is the ideal car for price-conscious customers looking to combine everyday suitability with comfort and modern technologies.

Opel starting with summer 2015. Opel Group CEO KarlThomas Neumann sums up the benefits for fleet managers, drivers and buyers of the Opel KARL/Vauxhall Viva: “KARL offers typical Opel virtues starting with the high-tech, quiet one-litre, three-cylinder engine and by no means ending with our award-winning IntelliLink infotainment system. The Opel KARL is the ideal car for price-conscious customers looking to combine everyday suitability with comfort and modern technologies.” From the outside, the appearance is stunningly sporty. The typical Opel smile at the front, the three precise, sharp lines on the side, characterize the smallest Opel. The signature ‘blade’ body side reflects Opel’s sculptured, precise design philosophy. Large headlights and taillights add to the vibrant appearance. So if you want to stand out from the crowd, KARL does the trick. ■

Opel KARL – the key facts • ultra-efficient one-litre, three-cylinder Ecotec petrol engine • 75 hp, 55 kW • Euro-6 compliant • Compact 3.68 metres long

Opel Corsa – the legend goes on

• Opel Intellilink infotainment system

The fifth generation Opel Corsa features striking looks with signature brand styling elements. The chic new Corsa offers a fresh look and a fresh driving experience with a new chassis and optimized steering, combining the art of German engineering with emotional design, superb digital connectivity and a great price/performance ratio. New generation gasoline and profoundly reworked diesel turbo engines ensure a new level of comfort, top performance and low fuel consumption. For fleet managers, the great news is that Corsa has best in class TCO, based on 5 years and 100,000 km in its home market Germany.

• Apple and Android smartphone connectable • ESP with traction control as standard • ABS with electronic brake force distribution as standard • Hill Start Assist • Lane departure Warning • City assist urban steering mode • Park Assist • Heated front seats • Heated steering wheel • Exceptional finishing levels

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BUSINESS I Athlon Car Lease

FlexDrive reaps the reward At the Fleet Europe Awards ceremony in Hamburg in November, Athlon Car Lease won the International Fleet Industry Award for its FlexDrive programme. This programme, as its name suggests, gives drivers options beyond just a company car. We look at some of the features which merited the jury’s vote, and speak to two people who operate the programme in practice: Rob Custers, Corporate Supply Chain & Procurement South West Europe for Siemens, and Cécile Liénard, the Product Manager at Athlon in Belgium.

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very lease driver can sign up for the ‘FlexDrive’ formula and the concept behind it is quite simple. An employee who has the opportunity to order a new company car will be given a budget. The philosophy behind FlexDrive is to enable him or her to spend this budget as well and as effectively as possible.

With FlexDrive, the employee does not have to spend the budget all at once and all on one car, but can choose a smaller car or a less powerful engine, or fewer options, so that there is some budget left over each month. The driver is then free to spend this saved up budget as he or she wishes on other forms of mobility.

The smaller car, plus bike, plus the FlexDrive ‘car change’ possibility, is now beginning to take off.

A car for the weekend A monospace people carrier during the summer holidays, a convertible for a weekend, a moving van for a single day… and accessories are also among the options. These could include a ski-box, a trailer, a bicycle rack or a folding bike. FlexDrive also allows employees to rent a car abroad when travelling by air.

Cécile Liénard, Product Manager of Athlon Car Lease in Belgium, also confirms that in practice drivers are very keen on taking a larger car in order to go away for the weekend, and on being able to hire a car when abroad.

Athlon asks drivers to reserve their ‘weekend car’ at least a month in advance during the summer months (or even when they fix their holiday dates earlier in the year) for logistical reasons. Outside of holiday periods there is more flexibility. Liénard adds that the option of smaller car, plus bike, plus the FlexDrive ‘car change’ possibility, is now beginning to take off with company car drivers.

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A monospace people carrier during the summer holidays, a convertible for a weekend, a moving van for a single day… FlexDrive optimizes flexibility of vehicle use according to the needs of the driver.

Cécile Liénard, Product Manager at Athlon Car Lease Belgium, reaps the International Fleet Industry Award 2014 with FlexDrive, a programme that gives drivers options beyond just a company car.

Athlon limits to a maximum the amount of administration that the client company or its fleet manager needs to do. The driver takes direct contact with Athlon, which makes all the arrangements. Practical questions (such as management of the provision, questions, reservation of the car) will be settled directly between the driver and Athlon. Athlon also provides a report to the driver and to the fleet manager about the evolution of the provision, including the calculation of the BIK for the period.

Integrated solution It is important to see how this Athlon product integrates into customers’ operations in practical terms, in the eyes of Rob Custers, Corporate Supply Chain & Procurement South West Europe for Siemens. He explains that along with Athlon Car Lease, Siemens started this mobility concept in order to respond to employee questions regarding the company offering in terms of company cars.

The car budget did not necessarily meet their mobility needs all the time, and some of them realised they were paying benefit-in-kind tax all year for a large car they only needed two or three weeks a year. It is clear that in the past the norm has always been for an employee to spend every last cent of his or her budget on the biggest, or most powerful, or best specified car available within the budget.

Or sometimes, to choose a car on the basis of needing a large family model for the annual summer holiday…

So Siemens looked for an alternative which would allow them to use part of the budget for other mobility solutions – bikes, electric bikes… With a smaller car there is also an environmental spin-off, of course, and as Siemens is involved in environmentally-friendly solutions among other products, this is an important aspect.

The Siemens scheme also allows employees who are not entitled to a company car to buy a bike at special rates, and Siemens organises training courses. A pool of electric cars is also available for professional and private use.

A number of employees have opted for a smaller or less well-specified car and a bike – the most popular option.

Some choose to have public transport subscriptions. ■ Tim Harrup

FlexDrive – the benefits for companies, drivers and fleets • Improved offering to attract and retain staff • Mobility solution suited to individual needs • Decreased TCO • Lower environmental footprint • Reduced employee benefit in kind tax • No extra fleet manager administration • Car hire abroad as part of the package

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BUSINESS I International Fleet Industry Award 2014

Top quality runners up There were so many worthy candidates for the International Fleet Industry Award this year that it is right that we don’t just putt he spotlight on the eventual winner, but on those who made the other steps of the podium. TomTom with WEBFLEET and Dragintra with Mobicells are both extremely useful to fleet managers.

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he WEBFLEET SaaS platform from TomTom, which took second place, is designed to create the connectivity between the vehicle and the back office. TomTom’s International Alliance Manager George de Boer explains: “When teams are connected, everyone can make better decisions – and that’s the key to happy customers, great governance and reaching new goals for your business. Our hardware and SaaS are quick to implement and easy to use, WEBFLEET is immediate vehicle insight, tracking, messaging and controls, totally in sync with their core business processes.” The ‘standard’ out-of-the-box telematics solution already provides these benefits including the user interface. The innovation that led to the jury’s decision, however, is the fact that the WEBFEET platform is open in it’s technical design (APIs and SDKs) and that TomTom is actively creating a partner-ecosystem of hardware and software vendors that integrate with its solution.

This allows customers to benefit from an out-of-the-box end-to-end solution that is not ‘just-tracking-andtracing’, but a real integration in the core business process.

Implementing mobility budgets Third prize went to Dragintra’s Mobicells offering, which convinced the Fleet Europe Awards jury because its mobility consulting services are aimed at assisting companies in the introduction and implementation of mobility budgets and alternative commute methods. This service helps the fleet manager with knowledge and guidance. The mobility app,

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TomTom’s International Alliance Manager George de Boer receives second prize in International Fleet Industry Award category for TomTom’s WEBFLEET platform.

Dragintra’s Director Mobility Projects Philip de Pauw takes third prize in International Fleet Industry Award category for Dragintra’s Mobicelles solution.

When teams are connected, everyone can make better decisions.

which is to be installed on the smartphones (iPhone or Android) of all users participating in the alternative commuting and/or mobility budget programme, is aimed at the automated gathering of daily commute data.

This app does not require any input from the user and thus avoids users and fleet managers alike spending countless hours on administration while increasing data accuracy.

Dragintra’s Director Mobility Projects Philip de Pauw describes the key USP’s as: automated commute registration, complete picture with commute trips, associated costs and mobility budget situation in one online tool, consolidated operational and strategic reporting, and direct interface to payroll. ■ Tim Harrup

BUSINESS I ŠKODA

Scaling new heights in fleet With new sales passing the one million mark for the first time in 2014 the team at ŠKODA can look back at the year just gone and smile. We caught up with Pavel Hlavacek, the new responsible for Global Fleet & Used Car Development, to find out how a strong product line up and a solid TCO have helped ŠKODA achieve success.

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positive feedback. The overall appearance of that model significantly improved. Beside that Fabia and Fabia Combi will be launched in all markets. As you can imagine we are really looking forward to taking this car to fleet customers. We’ll also be refining our service models to build on our after sales service and we will further expand our dedicated Fleet Business Centres across Europe in order to deliver quality and consistency.

For the first time in our 119 year history we crossed the magic threshold of producing and selling one million vehicles in a single year,” says Pavel Hlavacek. “Every month in 2014 we broke a sales record as our new model range attracted more and more new customers.”

Company performance in the true fleet segment mirrored this success too. “We indeed increased our share of fleet on total ŠKODA sales by 7 percentage points, from 41% in 2013 a 48% in 2014. Why? Our corporate clients have been impressed with the TCO studies of our new models, the service support that ŠKODA offers and our cars strong residual values. The newly released third generation Octavia has also proved a resounding success and cemented itself as a firm favorite amongst corporate fleet clients in multiple markets.” Geographically speaking ŠKODA has seen growth across Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and China.

We understand that ŠKODA is doing extremely well in local markets and with local fleets, but what about performance with fleet customers on an international level?

Pavel Hlavacek: International fleet customers are extremely important to us. We cooperate closely with Volkswagen Group Fleet International to ensure that the needs of international fleet customers are met. This partnership serves both parties really well. ŠKODA performs strongly across all types of

Pavel Hlavacek: “I wish the readers of Fleet Europe lots of success in again a more challenging business environment, and all the best in their professional and personal lives, and good health.”

fleet customers. From big and medium sized fleet sales, through to SMEs. We have a product offering that’s tailored to satisfy our wide customer base.

What new models, innovations and new service offers will we see from ŠKODA in 2015?

P. Hlavacek: We’ve got some really exciting stuff, the new Superb, which should be first revealed during Geneva Motorshow in March; we believe that this car will be a game changer on the fleet market.

So far we received tremendously

What is it that attracts fleet customers to ŠKODA over the competition?

P. Hlavacek: ŠKODA offers fleet customers very good value for money and a great product mix. We are well priced, our model range offers either class leading or competitive TCO, and ŠKODAs residual values are strong and stable. On top of all this company drivers get a safe, superbly designed and roomy car, offering new technologies that make driving a ŠKODA a truly satisfying experience. We know that user choosers exert a significant impact on vehicle selection and we aim to please.

What about the risk of direct competition with the Volkswagen brand?

P. Hlavacek: We take a smart, joined up approach within the group. We complement one another. Let’s say Volkswagen offers premium products with some of the latest technologies. ŠKODA offers value for money, and whilst in some areas we have similar products we successfully differentiate ourselves. ■ Steven Schoefs & Jonathan Green

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BUSINESS I Fleet Logistics

International expansion continues in 2015 “Fleet Logistics has grown its portfolio by 50% to 146,000 contracted vehicles,” says Rainer Laber, CEO of the Fleet Logistics Group. His company has just concluded a year rich in business growth and market expansion.

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n 2014 Fleet Logistics started operations in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and Israel. Brazil is under final preparation. And there’s more to come: in 2015, South Africa will be next, as well as countries in the Asia-Pacific region. “We choose our new markets based on only one criterion: Follow the customer,” Vinzenz Pflanz, Chief Commercial Officer explains. Therefore the Fleet Logistics uses the worldwide network of legal entities of its parent company TÜV SÜD. TÜV SÜD is present in more than 70 countries worldwide. Fleet Logistics benefits from this network. This eliminates the need for greenfield development in each new market. “Where TÜV SÜD has an infrastructure, starting up has become relatively easy. In former times we needed at least a year to become operational.”

“Now we only need 3 to 4 months to get going in a new market. Not to mention the fact that costs are much lower: We don’t need a six-digit investment anymore for a new-country launch,” says Marcus Hennecke, Director Business Development.

Fleet customers certainly agree: 40% of Fleet Logistics’s current growth is generated by existing clients, expanding their involvement with the company or following the group to new markets.

Quality is key Geographical expansion is the most obvious factor explaining Fleet Logistics’s solid growth, but far from the only one. The company put

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consulting activities have been relaunched: “In placing a separate business unit dedicated to consultancy, we were simply following market demand, responding to an increasing need for independent expertise,” says Thibault Alleyn, Director Consulting.

Rainer Laber, CEO of Fleet Logistics Group, looks forward to a new year of expansion and is peruaded to realise a portfolio growth by more than 20% in 2015.

a lot of effort in pushing efficiency on several levels. Responsibility for P&L was devolved to local markets and regions. “If you are responsible for P&L you need to deliver quality – that was our motivation for this decision,” says Rainer Laber, CEO of the Fleet Logistics Group.

Under the impulse of TÜV SÜD, a quality management initiative was inaugurated that additionally generated a full process review across all markets. Certainly not in the least, increasing the focus on employee satisfaction has significantly reduced employee turnover. On the product and service side, the renewed reporting module now features an updated online KPI dashboard function, accompanied by the launch of a new Driver app.

Consulting Consultancy is an important chance for growth for Fleet Logistics. With the acquisition by TÜV SÜD the

Fleet Logistics is currently advising local fleets from less than 100 cars to multinationals with over 20,000 vehicles. An important consulting product is FleetScan.

FleetScan is a fleet audit programme covering procurement, car policy and fleet operations.

FleetScan is a globally available product, offered to existing outsourcing and reporting customers. “FleetScan does not require a certain fleet size, is not bound to a pre-defined country scope and can be performed independently from the fleets acquisitions method. The main point is that it is based on hands-on experience with the fleet business,” continues Alleyn. Fleet audits currently take place in all parts of Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific.

Looking back to 2014 and forward to this new year, Rainer Laber thanks his customers and partners.

“Strong business made us a very sound supplier. Financial stability, quality and a strong strategic contribution motivated new customers to work with us. With regard to our current orderbank and investments in our business we are convinced to again achieve a growth of our portfolio by 20% plus in 2015.“ ■ Steven Schoefs

ADVERTORIAL I Alphabet

AlphaElectric enhances companies’ sustainability drive Alphabet’s consulting approach and Electrification Potential Analysis provide meaningful insight for companies targeting reduced carbon emissions.

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he complex challenges of modern Business Mobility require an in-depth look into a company’s mobility needs.

With this knowledge in hand, fleet consultants can provide the right advice and create mobility solutions tailored to customer-specific demands.

Over the years, Alphabet has become reputable for its comprehensive take on Business Mobility, the basis of its holistic fleet solutions and services portfolio. The fleet provider employs its consulting approach, technological resources and future-oriented thinking in the development of highly innovative solutions that incorporate cutting-edge mobility concepts and mixed modal methods. One of these solutions is Alphabet’s eMobility approach, AlphaElectric.

Harnessing the positive effects of electric vehicles As a sustainable mobility solution, AlphaElectric reduces total fuel consumption and CO2 emissions through a fleet composed of electric and conventional vehicles. The solution is integrated in a few easy steps and it comes with suitable cars, charging facilities, and a wide range of Add-on Mobility services, such as electric vehicle driver training and handy car rental for longer journeys.

AlphaElectric ensures that customers enjoy smooth, hassle-free eMobility.

AlphaElectric presents Alphabet’s case study customer with an opportunity to reduce fuel costs by 11.2% and to cut fleet emissions by nearly 32% per month.

Part of its consulting approach, Alphabet experts undertake a thorough Electrification Potential Analysis (EPA) of the company’s fleet.

Metrics such as speed, distance travelled, acceleration behaviour and parking are recorded. This information provides a precise driving profile of the fleet and is the basis for a tailored eMobility solution that includes the optimum number of EVs and the according charging infrastructure.

Case study exemplifies EVs potential for CO2 reduction A case study from one of Alphabet’s international customers demonstrates how EPA data can be converted into a successful eMobility fleet strategy. A global engineering and consultancy firm recently tested the EPA with its head office fleet as it seeks new ways to minimise its carbon footprint. The company therefore viewed AlphaElectric’s eMobility fleet approach as an effective option.

An EPA of the fleet showed potential for the integration of electric vehicles. According to the driving profile, almost one third of the fleet undertook short trips that could be more efficiently driven by electric cars. The analysis software also displayed detailed journey profiles for each vehicle, which assisted in determining the most suitable location for charging infrastructure.

The ultimate AlphaElectric solution for this customer featuring 9 electric cars and 10 charging points presents the company with an opportunity to reduce fuel costs by 11.2% and to cut fleet emissions by nearly 32% per month. By opting for even more fleet electrification and exchanging all fuel-driven vehicles for either electric, hybrid or range extenders, emission and fuel savings look even more impressive. ■ Further information at: www.alphabet.com

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SMART MOBILITY I

Allianz Managed Operations & Services

Discover our new Smart Mobility section As efficient fleet management can’t do without looking at a broader mobility scope you will now find in each issue of Fleet Europe magazine and on our website (www.FleetEurope.com) a dedicated section on Smart Mobility.

In this section you will find up-to-date information, case studies on alternative mobility solutions related to the use of the traditional company car, as well as information on new mobility products and services, and mobility management suppliers.

In each issue of Fleet Europe magazine, fleet and mobility managers share their best practices, and mobility experts share their insights into the new trends and solutions in the world of mobility management – a world whose frontiers with fleet management are fading.

Total mobility means total flexibility Franz Fehlner, Head of International Fleet at AMOS, the internal shared facilities provider to the Allianz Group, won the 2014 International Fleet Mobility Award.

The jury recognized Fehlner’s pioneering approach to “total mobility”.

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ig numbers mean Big Data and in the case of global enterprises such as the Allianz Group, big numbers also mean that immensely intricate structures are needed to manage day-to-day operations. Step forward, Allianz Managed Operations & Services SE (AMOS), the internal shared facilities provider to the Allianz Group. AMOS supplies Allianz companies worldwide with in-house support for everything from IT infrastructure to mobility solutions, which brings us to Franz Fehlner, Head of International Fleet at AMOS. What makes fleet management at AMOS so exciting right now is that it is evolving into a broader concept of “total mobility”, and for Franz Fehlner this means going the extra mile beyond delivering cars or services via the company fleet. The demand for flexibility requires offering customers a combination of all available mobility elements: cars, trains, air travel and bikes.

Car policy 2.0 We are living in a time when new models of usage and 24/7 access to mobility services instead of ownership are growing. Thereby Allianz has installed car-sharing models in a number of its entities, Fehlner says, and “there is a demand and our employees are very satisfied with these solutions.” To illustrate the flexibility of the system, he points out that staff who do not own their own cars can take one for the weekend or after work by paying a special rate using their personal credit card. In addition, AMOS offers bicycles instead of a company car to Allianz employees.

“People ask me for a mobility solution, and not just about which car they prefer,” explains Franz Fehlner, Head of International Fleet at AMOS

BACKGROUNDER Name: Franz Fehlner Title: Head Of International Fleet —Global Travel, MICE & Mobility Career: Joined Allianz Managed Operations & Services SE in 2013 from GE Captial EMEA Location: Munich, Germany Size of department: 2,500 employees Education: Studied Business Administration and Information Science at Fachhochschule Regensburg, Bavaria Favourite free time activity: Spending time with my wife and kids AMOS is responding to the needs of the changing market with increased investment in innovation. One of the results is its “Car Policy 2.0”. In effect, this means giving employees the opportunity to choose the mobility solution which fits best with their individual needs.

“For example, if an employee works in a different country to where he lives then it would be better for him to get a train or flight ticket instead of a company car, depending on personal behaviour,” says Fehlner. Right now, the concept is at the development stage. The next step, he says, is to convince internal business partners and departments that it should be implemented.

Mobility means total flexibility: there is no one size fits all.

Replace the car, delete the data Vehicles, sensors, the Internet of Things, Big Data…

The convergence of these technologies means massive amounts of instant information and knock-on effects for fleet management and controlling fleet costs.

“Champion” models: Reduced CO2, reduced TCO AMOS is known within the industry for having succeeded in establishing a green fleet strategy and, to keep the momentum going in this direction, it is planning to introduce what it calls its “Champion” models. These cars will not only have reduced CO2 emissions, but they will also have a reduced TCO, explains Fehlner.

“It is great that we can access the Internet, e-mails and apps, but I think it poses a big threat and also carries the big risk that you will use these systems whilst you are driving,” states Fehlner. “Also if you replace the car you have to make sure that all your personal e-mails, music, websites and so on are deleted.”

Buying “Champion” models in bulk means that the scale effect occurs so that the cars will cost less, both for employees and for the company. To track efficiency, AMOS is designing a reporting tool that will focus on the complete TCO. “This means we can develop global strategies and offer tailor-made solutions,” explains Fehlner.

Then there is the hot issue of moving fleet management to the cloud. But with all the recent headlines about hacking, this has become a contentious issue. Franz Fehlner is aware of the dangers, but he sees a silver lining: “For me, working in the cloud will give us more flexibility than ever.” What is critical, in his opinion, is to have the right systems and the appropriate security processes in place, and he is adamant that he would never farm out data to a company that does not fulfil the company’s internal IT requirements, whether it is cloud-based or local.

We will be more connected than ever and apps will increasingly optimise our driving behaviour, says Fehlner when asked to envisage the future. The next “Big Thing” in fleet mobility, however, is coming from California, he believes. There, Google has completed the first build of its self-driving car prototype. Autonomous driving represents radical change. One gets the impression that Franz Fehlner welcomes the challenge. ■ Eamonn Fitzgerald

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SMART MOBILITY I SWIFT

A company-wide mobility approach It was the realisation that employee mobility in the 21st century is no longer confined to company cars alone that persuaded SWIFT to become a pioneer in the shift towards overall mobility. Caroline Ceustermans, Fleet and Mobility Manager, explains some of the thinking behind this ambitious project.

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he SWIFT offices themselves demonstrate a desire to be different from the rest. While the centre of Brussels is just twenty or so minutes away by car, SWIFT has chosen to be right in the countryside, a decision which adds to employee comfort and well-being, even if it doesn’t necessarily make access particularly easy.

Why did SWIFT decide to go down the ‘mobility’ route?

Caroline Ceustermans: We attach a great deal of importance to the well-being of our personnel at SWIFT. We therefore wanted to offer them a whole range of transport modes, of accessibility to our site. We are located in La Hulpe, in the countryside just outside Brussels, and public transport services are relatively limited. So we wanted to offer alternatives to cars – such as electric bikes, scooters – which enable people to ease some of the many concerns we face today in the domain of mobility.

We started a ‘New Way of Working’ system by which there are no longer any individual offices.

Do you operate any sort of remote working as part of the package?

C. Ceustermans: Yes, we call this in fact ‘Work from Home’ and it allows people to work for up to 2 days from home, precisely to avoid them having to take their cars to come to work every day. Here in the offices, we started a ‘New Way of Working’ system by which there are no longer any individual offices. All the work space is ‘landscape’ and when people arrive in the morning, they sit wherever they want and connect their laptop. There are no individual fixed telephones either – the person’s telephone number is also contained in his or her laptop. People can sit anywhere in this building or the other one, which provides a great deal of flexibility.

This enables team working, or working together with someone from another department. For example, I work in the HR department but this method enables me to sit next to someone from Finance, Marketing or Communications when I need to. Each department has its own cupboards of course, so that documents can be safely stored in one place. Of course people are human and do have habits, and quite often they sit in the same place with their immediate team members.

‘Work from Home’ allows people to work for up to 2 days from home, precisely to avoid them having to take their cars to come to work every day.

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You spoke of electric bikes and scooters. In practical terms, where are they?

C. Ceustermans: There are two methods: firstly, members of staff can add an electric bike or a scooter to their car leasing contract. So this provides a combined transport

We attach a great deal of importance to the well-being of our personnel.

You have a wide car policy – does this mean you can’t obtain economies of scale from manufacturers?

C. Ceustermans: Well although there are 28 brands in our car park, again because we wish to provide freedom of choice to our employees, the reality is that there really is a top three: BMW, Mercedes and Audi. We have over 300 BMW’s, a hundred or so Audi’s and the same for Mercedes. So this makes over 500 vehicles from three manufacturers and so we do have benefits.

Caroline Ceustermans, Fleet and Mobility Manager at SWIFT: “We wanted to offer alternatives to cars which enable people to ease some of the many concerns we face today in the domain of mobility.”

solution for the whole of the duration of the lease contract.

We have a special area where these bikes and scooters can be parked here at the offices. The second part of this is that we also have a pool of electric bikes which belong to SWIFT and which enable people to move between this site and another site we have not very far away. They can also walk, but having electric bikes makes things quicker.

Does upper management take part in all of this?

C. Ceustermans: Yes, they are very committed and they encourage these exchanges between departments, the fluid communication between departments. And this extends to the use of the electric bikes and the scooters, because we really do favour a green approach to our business.

Does the policy include electric cars?

C. Ceustermans: Yes and we have in fact just ordered 21 BMW i3 models, which will be delivered in May 2015.

Including electric cars in the fleet is not always easy because there are not a lot of government incentives for doing this. And when these cars move outside of the office area, there are not many recharging points… But we are going in this ‘green’ direction because we have 950 cars and we are aware of how much pollution these can cause.

What about CO2 levels?

C. Ceustermans: In our car policy we limit CO2 emissions by level of car, and we will be reviewing these levels shortly. We would like to bring down our average CO2 emissions levels further. In 2011 the average stood at 140 grams across the whole fleet, and we are now already down to 122 grams. So we have made substantial progress. And in terms of cars currently on order, they are at 118 grams. We encourage people to ‘drive green’ and of course the introduction of new benefit-in-kind rules also helps here! For the top level of cars, we have a theoretical limit of 180 grams, but the directors no longer select cars with emissions as high as this. The top level now is around 140-145 grams.

We ordered our first Tesla a little while ago – an electric car which is obviously for top management, because our management really is, as I said, committed. We are also working on a programme to introduce some BMW i3 electric models – we are planning to have around 20 of these delivered all in one go, for those members of staff willing to go down this green route. ■ Tim Harrup

About SWIFT Founded in 1973, SWIFT – the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication – has its worldwide headquarters just outside Brussels in Belgium. The company has a total of around 10,500 financial partners in some 215 countries, for this security-based service. More than 2,000 persons are employed in the 23 offices located in the major financial capitals of the world.

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SMART MOBILITY I Evolution of corporate mobility

From fleet 1.0 to mobility 2.0 From Total Cost of Ownership to Total Cost of Mobility, fleet management is opening up to new horizons. Fleet managers and providers have to get ready to face new challenges and embrace the rise of corporate mobility.

Graeme Banister, Director of Consulting Automotive & Transportation at Frost & Sullivan, explains how.

Should corporations consider other approaches to the mobility of their employees rather than the car?

Graeme Banister: The car is an essential business tool, and this need for vehicles will not change. What we do see however is increasing focus from businesses to ensure vehicles and/or car allowance – both within job need and perk populations – are provided only to employees who absolutely need them. Every business is different and the extent to which this trend will be exercised – and in parallel how interested a company is in new mobility solutions – must be considered in line with where the company and its employees are based both internationally (e.g. impact of company and personal vehicle taxation) and nationally (e.g. urban or regional / rural).

What does the ‘Total Cost of Mobility’ entail?

G. Banister: Total Cost of Mobility (TCM) is a natural extension of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), bringing focus on the mobility needs of all employees rather than just those driving on business. In both fleet and business travel the gathering and translating of real-time data into actionable insight has become of paramount importance and new business models are sure to develop from this data.

Who will manage employee mobility in the future?

G. Banister: Already we see the merging of fleet & business travel with

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on-demand short-term vehicle access encompassing car rental, car-sharing and car clubs.

Graeme Banister: “You may just find Google, Amazon or Apple speaking about Mobility at a future Fleet Europe Forum!”

many companies now managing these elements in combination. Others too recognise change is in the air with the role of the Corporate Mobility Manager set to develop.

What mobility solutions are best adapted to employees’ mobility needs?

G. Banister: There is no ‘one-size-fitsall’ where mobility solutions are concerned – each company’s needs are different. We’ve found that company cars/car allowance are the most used and there is future interest, particularly within the SME market, for these solutions. Car rental is also a popular solution but it is a market which is rapidly evolving into a market for

How do you envision the future of corporate mobility?

G. Banister: The future will certainly be more integrated and connected.

People are accustomed to accessing services in anytime, anywhere and in real-time over mobile devices and with the continued blurring of work and life, so companies are updating their policies and the technology their employees can use in order to accommodate this new way of working. Mobile devices are the gateway through which on-demand mobility solutions are delivered.

What about new mobility stakeholders?

G. Banister: Technology advancement is central to delivering integrated mobility services and there are many actors shaping up to make a play for a larger slice of the mobility pie. The core components of mobility management (planning, booking and expensing) provide opportunities for a raft of companies, either independently or in an ecosystem partnership. We do believe that mobility brands will form with companies who already excel in delivering trusted mobile experiences.

So you may just find Google, Amazon or Apple speaking about Mobility at a future Fleet Europe Forum! ■ Laetitia Fernandez

SMART MOBILITY I Shared economy

Car-sharing: back to basics It ticks the environmental box, it eases traffic on our swelling roads. It fits perfectly with the ‘sharing economy’ and can turn a profit for corporates. Here’s the what, where and how in Car-sharing: back to basics.

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ar-sharing is, basically, users benefitting from having a car at the point-of-need minus the costs and responsibilities that come with ownership. But, as ever in a world run by tech, there’s options aplenty.

Car-sharing Car-sharing in its purest form usually involves a subscription fee and some admin hurdles. After those, a driver calls on a booking app and visits a branded parking bay. For a pre-determined period he or she has largely unbridled use of a car. Gaining access is straightforward – an NFC chip-based keycard, fob or keyless smartphone technology covers entry. When the journey is over, the car is returned to the same bay for the next user.

Host Model A product of the ‘shared economy’, the Host model is, for now, only in Luxembourg’s CiteeCar. With CiteeCar, guardians or “CiteeHosts” are ‘employed’ to manage a car – from staying on top of bookings to arranging maintenance and liaising with the company. For their troubles, hosts can use the car gratis and, believe it or not, with a huge waiting list to be a “CiteeHost”, the company’s planning expansion.

Free-floating Free-floating has momentum on its side. Members can – in-app or online – consult GPS maps to identify suitable and available cars. Keyless entry lets the driver hop straight in and charges begin ticking pay-as-yougo (minute, hour or day) style. A car can be taken anywhere, so long as it’s returned to the home zone. © Paolo Bona / Shutterstock.com

Avis’s ZipCar is a provider known to many in cities like London. In Germany there’s DriveNow from BMW and Sixt, car2go from Daimler Mobility Services and Multicity from Citroën. Enterprise, Europcar – more and more big boys offer the service. Lesser know operators are in on the action too. Around 1,700 ‘Greenwheels’

cars cover 100 towns and cities in the Netherlands and Germany. In the UK, City Car Club operates in 20 municipalities and Paris has Autolib. Tech-savvy providers, too, are spinning the concept into something unique.

Across the different types of car-sharing models, the main players employ electric vehicles and are therefore introducing the concept of electric mobility to a greater number of drivers.

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Car-sharing forces drivers to consider the need of a journey – rather than the want of a journey.

The aforementioned car2go service by Daimler is one such. It does everything traditional car-sharing does, it’s just a little freer and you don’t need to worry about going over your time. You just take it (immediately, with no pre-booking required) for as long as you need. Despite an unceremonious withdrawal from the UK earlier this year, car2go boasts 700,000 customers in 25 world cities, 12 of which are in Europe.

Corporate car-sharing If new players are seizing on public enthusiasm for car-sharing, big rental companies – which have spent the last five years either building car-sharing schemes or swallowing up smaller providers – are targeting the

corporates. By showcasing car-sharing as a last-mile mobility option; an environmentally-savvy way to give employees cars, and an avenue for profit, there’s momentum in this too. Exclusivity deals with institutions mean employee pool cars are now infiltrating airports, hospitals, government bodies and educational establishments.

Some corporates prefer to manage their own car-sharing schemes so buy in, or outsource, vehicles for dedicated, unspecific employee use. By charging employees to use share cars outside business hours, employers can even turn a cost into a profit and recoup some of the investment.

Benefits to car-sharing In corporate circles, turning four company cars into just one share car – at no loss of mobility – tells its own story. Moreover, most providers stock share-car electric vehicles (EVs), thus spreading the EV word via trials and education in its tech. But EV or not, car-sharing forces drives to consider the need of a journey – rather than the want of a journey. So cue the reduction of pollution and congestion – it’s got the making of good future training and financial sense, so prepare to see and hear a lot more about car-sharing. ■ Ally Millar

SMART MOBILITY I News

Automotive investors fear the march of mobility Investors are said to be nervous about the future of the car industry, as alternative mobility and smartphone apps threaten the traditional ownership model - and future growth. Reuters reports that investors particularly fear the impact another economic slowdown could have on an industry that’s still in recovery.

With rental networks, sharing apps, taxi services like Uber, and a mighty leasing sector, competition in a new automotive domain is fierce. Alternative mobility options could slash automakers’ global revenue growth to less than 2.5 percent from 3 percent per annum between 2014 and 2020, according to Swiss bank and fund management group SYZ. Automotive consultants AlixPartners says that every vehicle in a car-sharing scheme now represents circa 32 cars that won’t now be purchased.

ALD introduces ‘Poolbike’ In Belgium, ALD Automotive has just added to its mobility offering with a newly developed service. It is now offering clients the possibility of providing company bikes for everyday use.

Under the name of ‘ALD Poolbike’, the service consists of providing a type of ‘bicycle container’ with 6 high quality bikes in three sizes. These are equipped with puncture-resistant tyres and 7-speed gearboxes, along with anti-disconnection chains. Company’s can claim 100% fiscal deduction in Belgium, and have the possibility of attaching their logos to the bikes.

ALD Automotive takes care of insurance, assistance and maintenance of the bikes. ALD Poolbike is currently undergoing pilot tests with a number of large companies. The service comes alongside ‘ALD Companybike’ which enables drivers to add a bike or electric bike to the car leasing contract.

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SCOPE I News First Remarketing Forum a great success

Fleet Academy Turkey kicks off successfully

Attended by close to 100 industry professionals, Nexus Communication’s first Remarketing Forum, on 18 November in Hamburg, was a great success. Nine speakers from diverse sections of the remarketing industry shared their expertise.

Filonuzu daha etkin nasıl yönetebilirsiniz?

How to efficiently manage your fleet – in Turkey?

The all-day Forum tackled the following issues, among others: the value of VIN (vehicle identification numbers) to increase remarketing efficiency and effectiveness; the key challenges facing the remarketing industry; the residual values of alternative powertrain vehicles (electric, hybrid and others); cross-border remarketing across the still very fragmented European markets; the tug of war between diesel versus petrol; the changing landscape of automotive; the increasing popularity of upstream remarketing; and the foundation of a European Car Remarketing Association. Closing off this first edition of the Remarketing Forum, Johan Verbois, Director of Knowledge Development at Nexus, promised that “over the next year, we will build a Remarketing Community.”

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Over 30 fleet customers attended the first ever Fleet Academy seminars in Istanbul on November 5 and 6, and January 14 and 15. The high attendance reflects the demand for professionalism in a market that offers great opportunities and potential for growth.

The Fleet Academy programme is a project developed by the Fleet Europe Experts, in collaboration with FleetCorp. The Fleet Academy offered participants not just the opportunity to professionalise their business practices, but also gave them a chance to exchange best practices and be trained in various aspects of their trade. The decision makers in attendance were keen to gain a better understanding of fleet management in general, and in particular to prepare for the legal and fiscal challenges of tomorrow. They wanted to gain insight into trends in Europe and the wider world.

SCOPE I Green car taxation

Tax shift: approaches and considerations Nowadays, green car taxation is a hot item on the agenda of governmental bodies across Europe. Maintaining overall tax revenue by proportionally reducing other taxes is often the main purpose of an ecotax policy. This is not an easy exercise, as governments need to find a balance in providing a neutral and non-distorting tax system, while maintaining and further developing environmental policies that may require subsidizing environmental friendly usage of company cars, leading to tax reductions.

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ccording to the 2014 Eurostat report on “Taxation Trends in the European Union”, labour taxes remain the major sources of tax revenue in the EU. Quite a number of EU countries have tax systems that are beneficial in offering the private use of a company car as alternative for monetary remuneration.

Such tax schemes allow and even stimulate easy access for employees to cars that they would not be able to afford themselves (more expensive, larger cars).

They are also likely to drive them more intensely as fuel costs are often borne by the employer (company). These measures increase the employee’s ecological footprint.

Still under EU pressure, more and more EU countries are considering the degree of pollution as a basis for taxation to discourage the use of polluting cars.

In its Company Car Taxation paper, the European Commission proposes two main approaches for ecotax policies affecting company cars: • the rates for imputing the benefit of a company car as function of the car price should be raised significantly in a large number of EU countries; • the large subsidy to fuel consumption due to the non-taxation of free fuel provided by the employer should be replaced by a system that is not too cumbersome.

Can a green tax be an incentive to reduce pollution?

Green taxes aim to improve the environment or reduce the negative impact of e.g. carbon emitting vehicles, or create an environmentally sustainable environment.

It is believed that green taxes will encourage changes in the behaviour of firms, organisations, communities and individuals.

It is believed that green taxes will encourage changes in the behaviour of firms, organisations, communities and individuals.

The European Commission in its paper on Company Car Taxation again sees two best approaches: • to tax the environmental objective at its root: e.g. implementing CO2 taxes. Also in the transport sector different types of taxes already exist, e.g. GPS-based and toll-based road pricing measures; • to include energy efficiency in the taxation of cars either at the purchase point or for the entire stock of cars through ownership charges. The EU has also adopted new legally binding emission targets for car manufacturers that imply internal incentives inside companies to focus on a less fuel consuming car fleet. ■ Erwin Boumans, Partner Tax & Legal Services

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SCOPE I Into the future

Which energy source for the car of the future?

The days of the traditional internal combustion engine aren’t over yet, but right now everybody in the car industry is closely watching the various technical evolutions. The race to the energy source for the car of the future is now on, although it is still too early to predict the winner(s) and loser(s).

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wo main candidates are preparing to conquer the auto market. It is still possible that both the electric and the hydrogen fuel cell car will divide the market between them, but the possibility that a third, currently unknown party will enter the fray cannot be excluded. But for now electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell cars are best placed to win this race.

A man making plans It is not possible to talk about the energy source for the car of the future without mentioning Elon Musk.

The South African born CEO of Tesla Motors doesn’t hide the fact that he aims to build EVs for the mass market. Right now the Tesla Model S has successfully penetrated the luxury segment of the car market. But in the near future Musk wants to go downstream in the market, and his team is working on an electric car which is affordable for everyone.

But as Tesla grows, the big players on the auto market won’t be ignoring the coming era of the electric car. Ford CEO Mark Fields declared end of last year that his company will be prepared to assemble electric cars on a large scale. And besides Ford, Toyota has built up a lot of experience by marketing the Prius, a hybrid car. It seems only logical that the other car manufacturers won’t wait on the sidelines until someone else has conquered the electric market.

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According to Toyota, public interest for fuel cell vehicles, but a technological breakthrough today or tomorrow is rather unlikely, especially with the lack of fuelling stations.

The success of the EV, however, depends on the battery, which up to now has been the Achilles heel of this technology.

High hopes for fuel cells The Japanese car company Toyota has taken the lead on the market for environmentally friendly cars.

The Prius is already a success, but Toyota also has high hopes on the fuel cell cars market. According to the management, the public interest is extremely high, but a technological breakthrough today or tomorrow seems unlikely. In this case the Achilles heel is a lack of sufficient fuelling stations.

Toyota isn’t the only company working on a fuel cell car; its competitors have also been developing

prototypes which are currently in a less advanced stage of development. But in the background, thus far unknown players are working on the car of the future. An interesting project worth mentioning is the Riversimple, a hydrogen-powered electric car under development in the United Kingdom.

Founder Hugo Spowers, an engineer born in Wales, not only aims to create a new car but also aims at introducing a new business model on the car market. Chances are great that other players will come in the arena, maybe with some new astounding technology. The auto industry stands by all means at the eve of a period of radical changes. ■ Jos Sterk