Fleet Europe 54 UK by MMM Business Media

THE INTERNATIONAL FLEET MAGAZINE FOR TOP DECISION MAKERS

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Nr 54 June 2011

MMM BUSINESS MEDIA - FLEET EUROPE N° 54 - Quarterly periodic newsletter - April - May - June 2011 - English publication - Deposit office Luxembourg-Gare

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Leasing in Europe in 2011 • Lessors’ presence • Strategy • Service developments

CVO BAROMETER 2011 THOROUGHNESS IN THE MARKET

CASE STUDY ERICSSON RATIONALIZATION LEADS TO QUALITY

INTERVIEW M. LÜHRS, MERCEDES COMPLETE TAILOR MADE OFFERS

EDITORIAL

Benchmark your fleet strategy nternational Fleet Management is a challenging exercise. In an economic, legislative and technological environment

that continuously evolves you have to keep the right balance between the strategic vision and the financial interests

of your company and the wishes and requirements of your drivers. To be successful you have to anticipate upcoming trends, to be willing to innovate and to dare to take initiatives. It is important to know that you don’t have to start from scratch, and you’re not on your own. Other international fleet managers are facing the same challenges or have been through some of your ‘problems’ before you. It’s advisable to listen to them, to talk with them and to learn from them. In Steve Jobs’ (CEO of Apple) 12 Rules for Business Success, there are at least three principles referring to exchanging ideas. “Ask for feedback from people with the same and different backgrounds, because each one will tell you one useful thing”, “Learn from failures. When you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and to get on with improving”, “Learn continually. There's always one more thing to learn. Cross-pollinate ideas with others both within and outside your company.” Benchmarking your fleet strategy may be the right start to improve your fleet management. Fleet Europe gives you the unique opportunity to do so by participating in the Fleet Europe Awards 2011. Our expert jury will study and judge your international fleet management in all objectivity and – who knows – reward you and your company in one or more of the following categories: • International Fleet Manager of the Year Award • International Fleet Innovation Award • International Fleet Green Award • International Fleet Safety Award • International Mobility Award Don’t hesitate! Improve your fleet management and put yourself and your team in the spotlight at the Fleet Europe Awards 2011 ceremony, which will take place on October 27th in Madrid! You can find all information on participating by visiting www.fleeteteurope.com/awards . Steven SCHOEFS, Chief Editor

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor in chief: Steven Schoefs (sschoefs@mmm.be) Team: Tim Harrup, Stijn Phlix, Jos Sterk, Julie Widart (Final Editor) Experts: Professor Peter Cooke (University of Buckingham), Vincent Rupied (Leaseurope & CVO), Bart Vanham (Fleet&DriverCare) SALES & MARKETING TEAM Sales Director: Marleen Neukermans (mneukermans@mmm.be) Sales Manager: David Baudeweyns (dbaudeweyns@mmm.be) Sales assistants: Patricia Lavergne (plavergne@mmm.be), Romina De Gregorio (rdegregorio@mmm.be)

EDITOR Development Director: Caroline Thonnon Managing Director: Thierry Degives Editor/CEO: Jean-Marie Becker

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Car Manufacturers' Strategy 12 16 18 19 22 34 38 40

Trends : welcome to tailor made services Green leasing: sustainability with respect for TCO Tender requests: take your time and keep it simple Light commercial vehicles: lessors show a growing interest Leasing companies : company profiles Leasing companies : company presence Emerging markets: go beyond, go BRIC but be careful Rent a car: flexible solution for modern fleet management

INDUSTRY

STRATEGY MANAGEMENT

FLEET PARTNER

CVO International Fleet barometer 2011: a fresh view on fleet markets

Legislation: taxation as an enabler for strategic decisions

Interview: Javier Vazquez – Volvo Car Corporation

Interview: Chan Uk Jun – Kia Motors Europe

CASE STUDY

Ericson: rationalization and reorganization lead to quality Green fleet forum: Orange is turning green

Paul Verkinderen: new Sales Director at Chevin Fleet Solutions

Interview: Jan Bouckaert and Roger Smith - Sofico

Interview: Diter Fess – bf forecasts

Interview: Matthias Lührs – Mercedes-Benz Cars

Interview: Gareth Hession – Jato Dynamics

Interview: Miguel Fonseca – Toyota Motor Europe

LEASING 65

Safety: in the driver’s seat

CAR SHARING

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Car sharing for corporations: a mobility solutions

CVO Fleet Barometer 2011

Car Taxation in the EU

Vincent Rupied (CVO) analyzes the key findings of the CVO Fleet Barometer 2011, with a focus on emerging countries. (page 42)

Bart Vanham gives an overview of the lessons learned from the new International Fleet Guide 2011. (page 46)

CONTENTS

FOCUS

DIGEST Europe

Car leasing market recovered in 2010 Leaseurope, the trade association representing the European leasing and automotive rental industry, has announced that new leasing business in Europe increased by 4.9% in 2010.

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Leaseurope estimates that total new volumes will have reached € 227 billion (compared to € 209 billion in 2009). These strong results indicate that European lessors have taken significant momentum into 2011 and have firmly recovered from the steep decline in new volumes experienced previously. New leasing business increased across all asset segments. Leasing of vehicles increased by 5.9%. While there was clear recovery for the European market overall, the Leaseurope survey shows divergences across regions

and asset types. Leasing growth rates were strong across much of Western

Europe and the Nordic region, with particularly strong results evident in the leasing of vehi-

cles in Spain, Portugal and the Nordic countries.

According to Leaseurope’s latest figures, leasing of vehicles increased by 5.9 % in 2010.

Carbon tax by 2013?

Multi-bidding can generate financial benefits

The European Commission has just presented a proposal document involving carbon tax. The quantity of CO2 emitted would be taxed, but account taken of the amount of energy actually produced by the fuel in question. The Commission believes that this move would correct an imbalance which currently exists. A minimum monetary level is proposed, in order to avoid wide variations which exist due to different states having different tax levels. The variable part of the tax, based on CO2 output, could lead to diesel, for example, being taxed at around 8% higher than petrol. An Emissions Trading Scheme is also envisaged, as is the possibility of granting a transition period to industries which are traditionally heavy users of diesel. A minimum level of 20 Euros per tonne of CO2 could be in force in 2013.

A survey carried out by Fleet Logistics has shown the advantages for fleet owners and managers in undertaking a multi-bidding process. Carried out in Belgium, the UK, Germany and France, the survey involved 3,700 new car transactions. All types of leasing companies were asked to submit quotations, and the results showed the very high variation in prices that are on offer. Across the four countries, leasing price

differences per month for the same vehicle ranged from 37 Euros in the UK to 65 Euros in Germany. In France, the spread of quoted prices was 40 Euros and in Belgium it was 48 Euros. All of the different types of leasing company proved to be the most economical in particular circumstances and countries, showing once again that a ‘general rule’ cannot be applied.

New programme from Fleet Logistics Arval Germany has received authorisation from the German Federal Finance Supervisory Authority to take over Commerz Real Autoleasing. This company has been in the hands of Commerz Real Group until now. The takeover, which was agreed in December of last year, took officially place at the beginning of May. Arval will see its fleet under management grow by around 50% to 36,000 vehicles. It will also acquire some 200 extra staff members. Arval Germany becomes a partner of Commerz Real Mobilienleasing in the domain of full service leasing for corporate customers.

CPM still growing Car Professional Management (CPM) is expecting to see further growth in 2011, following an increase of more than 10% in 2010. A customer satisfaction survey has also

shown a high degree of satisfaction with the services of the fleet management company. Some 93% of those questioned declared themselves to be ‘very satisfied’.

MIX Telematics is offering the ‘MIX Carbon Offset Initiative’, which enables fleet managers to achieve a carbon neutral footprint thanks to compensating for the greenhouse gas emissions of their fleets. MIX has itself subscribed to the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Škoda foresees growth by product offensive In the last issue of Fleet Europe we published the old logo of Škoda on page 10. The Czech car manufacturer that has just celebrate the 20th anniversary of its association with the Volkswagen Group announced the new logo during the Geneva Motor Show in March. The new corporate design and new logo ushers in a new era of the brand's development. After the record year 2010 with 762,600 sold vehicles, the Czech automobile manufacturer expects a continuation of the growth course for 2011. Until the year 2018, Škoda wants to double its annual sales to at least 1.5 million units. To achieve this, the company has launched an extensive product and market offensive and plans to increase production at all locations. The new "City Car” will be the first vehicle of the product offensive to be launched in the market. In 2012, there will be the launch of a compact sedan – located between the Fabia and Octavia – has to open up another high-volume element for Škoda.

In the new Škoda logo, the winged arrow has a larger and more visible design.

LeasePlan will acquire SC Multirent in Portugal LeasePlan Corporation has signed an agreement to acquire lease company Santander Consumer Multirent (SC Multirent) in Portugal. SC Multirent is providing operational leasing and fleet management services to both corporate and individual clients since 1996 and is currently managing a multi-brand fleet portfo-

lio of over 21,000 vehicles, including close to 10,000 funded vehicles. SC Multirent was part of the Spanish company Santander Consumer Iber-Rent. Closing of the acquisition is subject to approval of the Portuguese Competition Authority and the Dutch Central Bank.

Qualcomm Enterprise Services Europe has recently launched new telematics solutions giving information on the driving style of the driver and enable made-to-measure insurance to be designed, along with giving users the possibility of undertaking crash management. Manheim opened a new auction centre near Milan in Italy. Manheim is creating a broad range of remarketing and retail support services in Continental Europe. Other recent investments include a second dedicated auction centre in Germany as well as the roll out of mobile auction units that support ‘off-site’ auctions from any defleet or remarketing centre. CLM has launched AlphaDrive, a ‘plug-and-play’ online solution designed to provide company employees with a choice of new vehicles with all the benefits of a company car, but without the Benefit In Kind liability. Sixt Leasing has signed a cooperation agreement with Ogilvie Fleet in the United Kingdom to extend its international mobility service offer. Sixt clients will now have the option to take a product that meets European inter-company counterpart standards and an individually tailor-made fleet solution.

The acquisition would provide further support of LeasePlan’s long-term strategy to deliver sustainable growth with a focus on profitability.

Moveris, a newly founded fleet management company, has selected the ‘FleetScape’ software programme from InNuce to help small and medium sized company fleets with their management. It is web-based and enables Moveris to apply the ‘pay as you earn’ principle.

DIGEST Europe Created by Hans Damen and Bart Vanham, TCOPlus enables international fleets to reduce their carbon footprint. Typical savings achieved by current users of the tool can amount to 8.5% on corporate taxation and fuel (and carbon emissions), with many users achieving 15-20%.

Arval shows the green way Arval has announced that it has reduced the average CO2 emissions of its own fleet to 128 grams per km. It has achieved this figure by reviewing its list of authorised vehicles within its various entitlement categories. The least polluting vehicles (some below 100 grams) are in a specially created Eco-

group. Employees selecting cars from this group receive a monthly trade-down allowance from Arval, in the form of a salary supplement. A quarter of all Arval company car drivers who have taken delivery of new cars over the past year have selected from this group.

Long term rental companies in France increased their business by just under 13% in 2010. Some 44% of all vehicles now emit less than 120 grams of CO2 per km, which is 8 grams less than in 2009. Bank subsidiary companies and captive leasing companies now hold 42% and 40% of the market respectively. Independent companies account for the rest, a falling proportion. Daimler will bring its mobility program car2go to Amsterdam before end of 2011 and decided to run one of the world’s first large scale carsharing fleets of pure electric vehicles there with 300 smart fortwo cars.

Cars included in the list are the BMW 320 Efficient Dynamics, Volkswagen BlueMotion and Ford Econetic models, the most fuel-efficient versions of the Mini Cooper and Audi A3, along with the Japanese hybrid pairing of Toyota Prius and Honda Insight.

ALD offers electric cars

The Dutch minister for the Environment has allocated 2,6 million Euros to subsidise green company vans. Fleets that acquire a company vehicle running on ‘green’ gas, biogas, or higher blends of biofuel, are eligible for the subsidy. The scheme will run from July 1st up until and including December 30th.

News updated daily on

From the beginning of this year, clients of ALD Automotive have been able to lease electric cars. The leasing company itself is also including two electric vehicles in its own fleet. ALD Automotive is working in partnership with energy company RWE Effizienz in this ini-

tiative, which sees the concept of electric mobility now becoming a reality. The offering involves full service leasing and the provision of electric charging points, installed by RWE in numerous urban locations in Germany.

Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 wins the 2011 Research & Innovation Prize The Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 has been awarded the Research & Innovation Prize at this year's 7th edition of the MAAF 2011 Auto Environment awards. The jury of journalists singled out Peugeot for its response to environmental challenges with the upcoming launch of the first diesel hybrid in the world. This technology enables a high standard of services and very low consumption. In fact, the 3008 Hybrid4 permits consumption in mixed cycle from 3.8 l/ 100 km and 99 g/km of CO2. The Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 permits consumption in mixed cycle from 3.8 l/ 100 km and 99 g/km of CO2.

Lease harmonisation delayed again The two boards responsible for harmonising accounting standards in Europe and the USA – the IASB and the FASB – have announced a further delay in achieving their objective. The last date given for finalising this work on lease accounting standards had been June of this year. However, this timetable has now been extended by a further ‘few’ months. IASB chairman Sir David Tweedie commented that it was still the intention to complete the work by the end of the year, a requirement set down by the G20 intergovernmental group. Recent meetings between the two boards would appear to have taken account of some of the concerns of equipment lessors.

FLEET PEOPLE

Christian Blank

GE Capital Fleet Services strengthens its LCV leasing operation. Simon Cook has been named as LCV Leader. Eddie Parker has also been appointed as LCV Consultant.

IASB chairman Sir David Tweedie : “It is still the intention to complete the work on lease harmonisation by the end of the year.”

GE survey : volatile fuel prices are top concern

Mazda has announced that Christian Blank has been appointed to the position of director, European Fleet Operations. He was previously in charge of the manufacturer’s relations with independent European distributors.

Andy Rothery has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at JATO Dynamics, international provider of up-to-date information on vehicle specifications and pricing, sales and registrations. The last two years Mr Rothery has been COO, which saw him reshape JATO’s Business Services operations.

Andy Rothery

Toyota has announced new appointments in Europe. Responsibility for all production sites in Europe is given to Didier Leroy, along with responsibility for planning for vehicles in segments A, B and C. Leroy also retains his position as Managing Director of Toyota Motor Europe.

The top concern of American fleet managers in 2011 will be the management of the volatile fuel price. Karl-Friedrich Stracke

increased in 2011 to 28% from 21% in 2010, while cost savings fell as a priority but remained important at 23%, down from 36% in 2010. Moreover, cost savings are now a bigger focus for executive management according to fleet managers. 64% of those surveyed indicated that executive management’s main focus for fleets is cost savings, up from 48% in 2010. And last but not least 28% of the surveyed fleet managers declared that they plan to incorporate electric vehicles into their fleet within 1 year.

FURTHER ON WWW.FLEETEUROPE.COM See how 2010 financial figures from leasing companies show strong improvement from 2009, in particular at: • ALD; • Alphabet International; • Arval; • Lease Plan.

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Corporate fleet managers rate higher and more volatile fuel prices as their top concern in 2011, according to a recent survey conducted by GE Capital Fleet Services in the USA. 29% said the recent spike in fuel prices has made this issue their top concern, up from 12% a year ago. The survey of 105 fleet managers, conducted recently at the 2011 NAFA Institute & Expo in Charlotte in the USA, found that driver safety and cost savings were also top areas of concern. Concern for driver safety

General Motors has appointed Karl-Friedrich Stracke to head its European subsidiary Opel. Stracke, who has been with Opel for 32 years, succeeds Nick Reilly who retains responsibility for GM’s activities in Europe and presides over the Opel Surveillance Board.

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

A challenging future ahead The leasing industry seems to be well recovered from the difficult period of the two previous years and they don’t hesitate to develop new services in management – mobility management, driver management, LCV management, to name a few. The goal is to differentiate themselves on the market and to be ready for the interesting and challenging years to come, where elements as the integration of electric vehicles, the development of the emerging markets and BRIC countries or the possible outcome of the new accounting rules on leasing will play a key role. On the following pages, Fleet Europe presents its annual focus on leasing in a European context. Beside the ‘traditional’ comparative list of the major leasing companies’ international presence, this report also TRENDS brings an overview in terms of network, strategy Welcome to tailor made services 12 and service development, so that you can manage GREEN LEASING the fleet policy of your company even more Sustainability with respect for TCO 16 efficient and transparent.

TENDER REQUESTS Take your time and keep it simple

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES Lessors show a growing interest

18 19

LEASING COMPANIES Between structure, strategy and new developments

LEASING COMPANIES Company presence

22 34

The international oriented lease companies believe that 2011 will be a good year for panEuropean leasing, although lease rates could rise.

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Steven SCHOEFS

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Trends

Welcome to tailor made services The trend towards rationalizing fleets is set to strengthen during 2011. Cost efficiency, green management, Corporate Social Responsibility, etc… remain priorities for many international clients. Leasing companies are now very much focusing on customer strategy. In this challenging environment, with the impact of taxes, technologies or local traffic restrictions, the leasing companies hope that, by listening to their customers, they will be able to tailor their offer and fine-tune their expertise. Julie WIDART

ven though the developments in the 2011 corporate-fleet market certainly give rise to some optimism, these positive signs should not gloss over the problems the majority of businesses are facing. As Stéphane Renie, Sales & Business Development

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Insurance, driver management, control of TCO, risk management, mobility management, etc… the range of vehicle services available to drivers and fleet managers has multiplied.

Director of ALD Automotive International, puts it, “Some major uncertainties remain: the overall health of the economies of mature markets, the volatility of liquidity markets, the potential reform of the banking system (Basel 3) and the accounting rules (IAS 17) to name just a

few”. Against this backdrop, José Luis Criado, Managing Director at LeasePlan International comments: "The automotive market situation is expected to remain mixed in 2011, with strong demand in the emerging markets while the economic situation in Europe is likely

Corporate awareness The crisis, and the uncertain climate it has brought with it, has forced many companies to take swift action on several fronts. In this context and as Christian P. Rehbein, Director International Development of Sixt Leasing AG explains: “As the crisis abates, operational leasing demand will increase as orders that had been deferred are now activated again”. He goes on to say: “The high-potential emerging countries in particular are showing promising trends”.

LeasePlan International takes a similar view to most of the major international leasing companies, estimating that: “Looking at the European vehicle leasing market in general, we still feel that operational leasing is the fastest growing market segment, especially when you compare it to financial leases and outright purchases”. For the majority of leasing companies, this trend will only intensify in the years to come. “And the needs and requests from large clients to large companies will”, according to Erik Lelarge, Head of Sales & Marketing ING Car Lease International, “become market standards for the smaller fleets”. Nancy Storp, Head of International Sales and Marketing at Alphabet International,

Mobility will become an important part of the fleet business.

New Mobility schemes For most leasing companies, alternative mobility schemes will become a substantial part of fleet management. “With more and more pressure on company costs and evolving needs for employee mobility, we expect an increased focus on the overall management of companies’ mobility in general”, adds José Luis Criado of LeasePlan. At Athlon Car Lease International they believe that “We are now seeing the first signs of a new mobility era which will bring in new demands, with these demands set to evolve as time goes on. We predict that these trends will become even stronger in the coming years and are continuously evolving our offering of products and services to our customers to meet their changing demands”. But more specifically, Sarah Lomas of Athlon Car lease International believes that “In the future, there will be two business models available to leasing companies: leasing companies who stick to their core business, striving for operational excellence and offering car leasing as a commodity, and leasing companies which complete the switch towards becoming a mobility provider”.

feels that: “If fleet management is already extremely cost-driven now, it will only continue in this direction the near future. Consultative management will be more important than ever in order to track ‘hidden’ costs, such as the workload of the fleet manager”. Tom Vlaminck, International Business Development Manager at KBC Autolease, also believes that: “A comprehensive service will become more and more important because of the transparency it offers customers”.

Cost control European companies seem to be orienting themselves towards a more longterm approach, by better rationalising their fleet strategies, with further reduction in TCO remaining a topic of debate for lessors and lessees alike. In this context, at Sixt Leasing, they strongly believe that: “Leasing companies must not lose sight of this objective or of any other emerging challenges such as green fleet or supranational fleet management”. Today there are a number of factors that play a part in the total cost of operating a vehicle, and this makes fleet management all the more complex. In this situation, the satisfaction of each professional, SME or large group is determined by solutions that take both operational efficiency and economic realities into account. Within this framework, we asked the leasing executives what trends they expect to see in the European market in the immediate future. “"We see a clear trend in companies seeking to optimise the total cost related to their fleets. Creating internal awareness of both the direct as well as indirect costs is a key element to this approach. We also experience an increased interest in benefitsharing agreements with suppliers to incentivize positive results coming from successful cost management programs", adds José Luis Criado of LeasePlan International. He uses electric vehicles as an example, which, he believes: “will have to be implemented in an urban setting before they will ever make any inroads in out-of-town situations”.

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to continue to dampen new passenger car sales in the region, however commercial vehicle sales in Europe may record a relatively strong growth."

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

This opinion is shared by Alphabet International, which feels that: “Electric vehicles will become a new and substantial part of the fleet business, where completely new processes will be created, including pay-per-use models. Third parties, such as the energy suppliers for example, will also come on board. The first initiatives have already been launched; at the current time though, electric vehicles do not yet meet the demands of company-car drivers when it comes to range and TCO”. On top of this, most businesses believe that driver safety will be a top priority

for companies and their fleet managers and this is also set to gain in importance to the point where it becomes a priority for many international clients.

Trend to consolidate With the pressure on the market, many companies predict that more and more fleets with an international dimension will, for the first time, look into international consolidation processes, with the aim of utilising their economies of scale and taking even further control of their costs and policy. “Indeed, we are seeing car policies becoming more and more inter-

The European companies are more and more convinced that fleet management systems make cost control easier.

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Taxation as key parameter

The new IFRS lease accounting standards continue to be a subject which may have a significant impact on corporate balance sheets. “This continues to develop and take shape and has the potential to impact on operational leasing for the rest of the decade”, feels José Luis Criado, Managing Director at LeasePlan International. And Nancy Storp of Alphabet International believes that: at an operational level, changing European tax regulations will allow customers to organise their purchases in a different way, making best use of VAT regulations and payments terms”. In the same way, many companies estimate that environmental issues linked to tax will remain a focus for taxation in many countries.

national and a tendency towards less brands, namely max. two. within addition ‘hands-on’ IT systems giving increased transparency on cost management and enabling a stronger focus on international and also – very importantly – green car policies. And finally: new mobility concepts, including more means of transportation than the vehicle will play a role, with Car2Go being already a good example,” says Maarten Vrijaldenhoven, Head of Sales & Marketing Passenger Cars Global of Daimler Financial Services. According to Tero Tapala, Group Sales Director of Arval , “Continued concentration of the industry can be expected as well as an upturn in new car registrations”. And Arthur Mathysen Gerst, Managing Director of Fleet Leasing EMEA, GE Capital, adds: “We are committed to being there from day one to help drive this industry. We are making a bold move to stimulate additional international action and to get a commitment from other companies, and we expect that this will come”. In this context, ALD Automotive and many leasing companies believe that “The leasing business will continue to grow, mainly thanks to countries where leasing is not yet as popular in spite of the fact that they have a large automotive market (CEE, BRICs in particular), and thanks to the penetration of leasing among SMEs in more mature countries”. And for Stéphane Renie ALD Automotive International, “The market should also expect to seethe entry of newcomers (telecoms companies, high-tech companies, or social networks) in the corporate mobility field”. One thing is perfectly clear: the fleet world is going through great change, company requirements and therefore policies are evolving fast, and leasing companies will have to evolve with them. They will start providing new services which, not so very long ago, might have been considered not to be part of the fleet world at all! Just providing good cars at a reasonable cost – keeping lessor, lessee and driver happy all in one go – will very much be seen as yesterday’s fleet management world. n

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Green Leasing

Sustainability with respect for TCO If there is one overriding issue that has occupied the thoughts of leasing companies and clients alike over recent times, it is ‘green’. But what is actually being done, where is the market going…? The major leasing companies themselves gave us their thoughts and, more importantly, some concrete examples.

Tim HARRUP

etting up specific services or departments to help clients in their quest for ever-greener functioning of their fleets is something all the major leasing companies have done. Arval, for example, states that it created its International Business Office in 1998. Comprising experts from many different countries, IBO teams work to give major groups consistent resources to implement and track the management of their local fleets in all countries in which they are present. It gives international fleet customers who want to ‘green’ their fleets advice in the domains of driver behaviour, fuel consumption, reduction of CO2 emissions, the right usage of their vehicle. ING Car Lease International too, opts for the advisory route. It provides CO2 and TCO advice to optimise car policy and proactively offers hybrids and

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All leasing companies pay attention to green fleet and help their clients to optimize their carbon footprint.

electric vehicles with a vision on the thorny question of Residual Value settings and maintenance. It also offers a package to compensate the remaining emissions. Peugeot Finance International has an Eco Consulting Programme which covers the CO2 footprint, driver training and fuel consumption services. Alphabet International calls its offering in this domain ‘Tact’ (‘Think before you Act’). This brings together the ecological, financial and social aspects in fleet management to improve both fleet sustainability and efficiency.

Drivers LeasePlan International turns more specifically to one of the areas which has come to be recognised as providing a high potential for reducing emissions: driver behaviour. The company starts

with a pragmatic reality: “The car choice can only be influenced upon replacement of the car and business miles can only be influenced up to certain limits”. The company therefore offers driver training and these, it says, result on average in a fuel consumption reduction of 8%. The costs of driver training are therefore recuperated from the fuel cost reduction and even result in a saving both in CO2 and costs. Daimler Financial Services also points out that driver comfort is an issue, and that the whole domain of ‘green’ is more complicated than might be thought: “It is mostly about the right fleet strategy, fleet set-up and car policy. When setting up a car policy, fleet operators should not only look at the CO2 that comes from the exhaust, but have a look at the whole ‘value chain’ and include the development, production and recycling of a vehicle in their ‘big picture’. In addition, vehicle specifications make a difference: manuals are CO2-better than automatics, smaller tyres better than bigger ones, smaller engines better than … etc. However, a well balanced picture is required – since driver comfort should not suffer from decisions based merely on CO2. From a leasing company’s point of view, an ‘eco-friendly car policy’ (CO2 alone is not enough) quite often needs a lot of information and analysis. And – since the driver is important – training, training, training on how to drive eco-friendly!”

Customer motivation Hybrid and electric cars are much in the news when ‘green’ is being discussed. But do the leasing companies find that customers actually want to include them in their fleets? Arval quotes the

New possibilities Alphabet International sees a changing mentality when it comes to alternative powertrains: “Hybrids are already an important part of fleets. In the future electric vehicles will play a crucial role, but as long as they do not meet the TCO of normal cars, their use will be quite limited. Athlon Car Lease International states that it is a ‘true believer’ in the added value of hybrid and electric vehicles to the overall sustainability (monetary and environmentally) both of its own organization, and of those of its customers.

ALD International says that a ‘significant share’ of its customers has shown early interest for hybrid and electric mobility. “While hybrids have become generic in

125 electric cars on the road and we are currently looking at over 350 other ones in back-order … and we truly believe this is just the beginning!”

“ New sustainable technologies will be considered as long as the costs are acceptable and they respond to driver needs. ” some car policies, EVs still tend to be limited to fleet testing due to financial issues and range limitations”. ALD International currently has over 2000 hybrid and electric vehicles in its fleet. More than 100 pure electric vehicles are also on the order book. A final word goes to Athlon Car Lease International: “In supporting our customers to ‘green’ their fleet, we have already put over

All of the companies mentioned in this article provided a great deal of professional insight into the domain of green fleets, and the above is just a small selection of some of their thoughts. The issue is complex, and is clearly going to be evolving for many years to come… especially if the world really does one day run out of oil! n

Most of the leasing companies are working on solutions for alternative mobility, some of them through Bike Rental, for example.

Four big ideas ING Car Lease International states that electric vehicles for road tests are available in majority of its business units. That proactive approach combined with the advisory role taken by ING Car Lease certainly explain the large number of hybrids vehicles, over 4500, and EVs, over 50, in ING Car Lease fleet. KBC Autolease too has put two electric cars into its short term fleet, so that customers can experience driving an electric car. Alphabet International sees a changing model: “Electric vehicles might change the traditional lease product as we know it today into a ‘pay-per-use’ model. This opens also possibilities for alternative mobility solutions like car-sharing”. Athlon Car Lease International has identified a need to satisfy all of its customers’ needs and wants and is positioning itself to comply with their increased need for TCM ‘Total Cost of Mobility’ offers.

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2011 CVO Barometer, which asks the opinions of over 3,000 European fleets. This reveals that the estimated percentage of hybrid and electric vehicles within large companies in the next 3 years is 6% for hybrid petrol, 9% for hybrid diesel and only 5% for electric. LeasePlan International states that there is certainly an interest in alternative power trains. Customers see the need to reduce their carbon footprint and also want to make the statement of being seen as ‘sustainable’. So they are interested in new technologies and often add them to their car policy/car selection list. But there is a further reality to take into account: the choice of the car is based on the combination of ‘fit for purpose’ and cost efficiency, which means new technologies will be considered as long as the costs are acceptable and they respond to driver needs. KBC Autolease believes that a first step for electric vehicles in fleets could be pool cars which are charged every night in the company or limited to city use where long distances are not involved. On the question of a business model for hybrids and electric vehicles, Citroën Finance International believes this: “For both, electric and hybrid vehicles, the needs of B2B customers are the same as for combustion engine vehicles”. The manufacturer also believes that due to their nature and costs, electric cars can be held for a longer term as the TCO decreases as the mileage rises.

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Tender Requests

Take your time and keep it simple Organizing an international tender is more than an exercise, it’s a strategic key element in the process towards an efficient fleet policy. The quality of the information you get back from the fleet suppliers and on which you base your supplier selection depends in large part on the quality of information you put in your initial information or price request. It is therefore vital to prepare well and start with the less glamorous subject of process and methodology. Steven SCHOEFS

oday’s lease companies are reasonably well organized to respond to international tender requests. Almost all of them have a developed structure on an international level dedicated to orchestrate and consolidate the required information with the help and the input of local subsidiaries. This involvement of the markets is key since the services are delivered on a local basis. Once the local input is delivered, the information is consolidated in the tender document respecting the format, requirements and timeframe of the international fleet client.

significantly increased over recent years, but the percentage of tenders that don’t reach the decision making stage is relatively high. Some speak of 25%. It is therefore crucial to think before you act. First of all, as a fleet manager, you must be sure that you have the power within your organization to push through a decision. A strategy for the whole process should be decided upon by all key stakeholders within your business taking into account the requirements of HR, Procurement and Finance. A communications plan can contribute to this objective.

25% cancellations

Before you put together the international request, consider some valuable key points: • What do you want to obtain from your supplier request on the short, medium & long term? • What services do you & your drivers need? • Who will be involved internally? • Are you going to be able to manage the volume of request responses? • What do you want to organize internationally and what locally? • How would you like to manage your fleet – ‘hands on’ or ‘hands off’ approach? • Which / how many suppliers to issue the RFP to? • Are your expectations realistic?

According to the leasing market the number of international tender requests has

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When you organize an international tender request, prepare it well and have a view on your current fleet.

Secondly, the knowledge of your current fleet and an understanding of the European fleet and lease market is important, because the European leasing market is not a uniform market and can be affected by many factors such as legislation, taxation, cultural identity, etc. Having a view on the European market will enable you to make a correct choice in your supplier selection.

Keep it simple When you finally start putting together the information or price request it is essential to include all elements that guarantee the best sustainable TCO as Sustainability and CSR are two major principles in the business model of tomorrow’s companies. Furthermore, do not hesitate to ask for pricing transparency so that you can have a good view on price evolutions and so that you are able to compare apples with apples. But don’t make it too hard on yourself and on the supplier. Keep it simple and avoid unnecessarily complex processes or questions. You should be aware that request exercises of around 500 quotations do not always offer greater insight than a balanced set of 100 quotations, but it does certainly add greatly to the administrative workload for both supplier & international fleet manager. Good luck! n

It is also useful to talk to peers and to people who have already organized international tenders. They know which pitfalls to avoid and they can give you some tips & tricks.

Light Commercial Vehicles

Lessors show a growing interest The trend began in 2010 and has already been confirmed at the beginning of this year: the LCV market is showing growth, considerably ahead of the car market and reflects a more confident economic situation. In this context, for most of the leasing companies, whether multimake oriented, captive or operating within their own network, the LCV market represents an important sector with opportunities. Julie WIDART

s we put numerous economically bleak months behind us, the utility vehicle market has now been displaying positive development potential for some months, with growth of 9% in 2010 for the up to 3.5 tonnes segment. The crisis did, however, cause the fleet policy of many companies to be modified, with greater caution in terms of investment as the main driver, whether to preserve cash or limit debt levels. For many companies, turning to the rental option represented a more flexible and rapid alternative. Thorsten Haeser of Sixt Leasing put it like this: “Despite the crisis-shaken market over the past two years, Sixt Leasing has observed a growth in this promising sector, especially with small and medium sized enterprises”. An opinion shared by Stéphane Renie, Sales & Business Development Director of ALD Automotive who believes that: “This part of the fleet is of course important because of its size, but also because it is vital to the activity of some of our key customers”. And for most of captive companies too, the LCV market represents an important part of their range of products. “Especially in light of the new models and facelifts, the demand is growing”, adds Klaus Entenmann, CEO of Daimler Financial Services AG. The utility vehicle rental market therefore appears to be going through a real transition phase, leading certain leasing companies to revise their commercial strategy in order to respond to the market demand resulting from the economic situation. Directlease is an example: “Our focus is on the full operational leasing of passenger cars. But we have observed that it is helpful to offer light commercial vehicles as well to be more attractive for prospects/customers”, explains DirtectLease Director Arjan Stuij. Athlon Car Lease for its part has “solid

As the LCV sector is a specific market that has its own characteristics, lease companies have understood that this market deserves a commercial and management approach with commercial vehicles specialists to advise fleet customers efficiently.

A particular management approach However, as the LCV market has its own specific characteristics, leasing companies which lease LCVs as well as passenger cars need to be able to demonstrate that they understand that a commercial vehicle has to be treated very differently to a passenger car. José Luis Criado, Managing Director of LeasePlan International explains: “If we tend to observe the same ‘mega trends’ (towards outsourcing for example) as on the market as a whole, the LCV segment has a number of specificities linked to the usage of the vehicle, which makes this segment very challenging too”. This means having commercial vehicle specialists in the business to advise LCV operators wisely on the initial selection of the right vehicle for

the job and perhaps more importantly, the expertise and experience of the commercial vehicle market to subsequently manage the vehicles during in-life operation. Within this context, many leasing companies have set up their own LCV department, as Sarah Lomas of Athlon International explains: “We have customers whose fleet is composed of 90% LCVs. For this reason we have dedicated LCV specialists in our countries”. And at ALD Automotive too, some of their key subsidiaries have a specific LCV department to address customer requirements and adapt services, methods and pricing to this market. In summary, within this sector which is susceptible to profound modifications, if they are to take full advantage of the services they offer, both captive and multi-brand leasing companies need to remain very attentive to the needs of clients which are quite likely to modify their investment habits. n

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partnerships with manufacturers, allowing us to offer our customers better deals, recurrent training and extended information”, comments Sarah Lomas, General Manager Athlon Car Lease International Sales & Account Management Division.

COMPANY PROFILES

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Leasing company profiles

Between structure, strategy and new developments The lease industry has recovered well from the difficult 2009 and 2010 years. They make new business, develop new services and believe that their organization and corporate philosophy is well adapted to conquer the future. Julie WIDART and Steven SCHOEFS

LeasePlan International Organization & Evolution In Europe, LeasePlan is currently present in 23 markets all of which are owned subsidiaries of LeasePlan Corporation, offering harmonised products and services to both local and international clients. To serve international clients more effectively, LeasePlan Corporation formed LeasePlan International in 1996. This operates as a single entity specialized in serving major global fleets and offers a harmonized approach and structured product and services to international clients. Over the past 15 years LeasePlan has rapidly expanded geographically into new territories enabling it to extend global reach and enhance services. With the strategy designed for sustainable growth with a focus on profitability, 2010 was a year of recovery for LeasePlan and the first positive signs of recovery witnessed in the second half of 2009 continued to gain momentum in 2010. The performance in 2010 was significantly ahead of 2009 and saw LeasePlan almost return to pre-crisis levels.

Strategy & Products n Cost Reduction Consultancy Services: LeasePlan’s objective is to help clients to manage and reduce the TCO of their fleet. This is achieved by obtaining a qualified insight into where fleet management cost saving opportunities exist and monitoring & tracking the achieved cost savings to report internally. LeasePlan is able to provide over 15 made to measure consulting tools and services. Using these services in combination, LeasePlan aims to tailor cost control solutions to its clients’ needs as well as create a balanced fleet policy taking into account CO2 emissions as well as driver satisfaction.

Open Calculation: LeasePlan advocates an open assessment of the total costs associated with running a fleet. Not only are clients provided with insight in the cost components of their

CEO:

Vahid Daemi

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011): Shareholders:

6,079

Volkswagen Bank GmbH (50%)

FleetEurope Magazine 54

and Fleet Investments B.V. (50%)

Active in the market since: Present in # countries:

1963

lease, Open Calculation ensures their costs will reflect the actual usage and profile of their fleet, reconciled through a settlement account. With this type of agreement, LeasePlan bears the risk if the actual costs exceed the budgeted costs and the client is credited for any savings achieved through efficient management.

Consolidated Fleet Reporting: LeasePlan through the use of International FleetReporting, is able to provide a globally consolidated insight into all key aspects of international fleet management. International FleetReporting effectively supports international fleet managers in implementing a strategically balanced fleet management approach (cost, environment and safety). It allows for fleet managers to manage fleet policy implementation and compliance, to assess the effectiveness of policy changes and proactively communicate relevant fleet developments internally. n Driver management Companies can reduce administration and increase internal efficiency by outsourcing driver management directly to LeasePlan. When outsourcing driver management, driver needs are directly attended to by LeasePlan, according to an SLA agreed with the client and covering all processes and events affecting the fleet and the driver. This ensures a lean process and a fast management of driver requests. The key is to keep the process (cost) as lean as possible while ensuring an optimized driver experience. Experience shows that the majority of the above tasks can only be carried out effectively by the leasing company, which actually owns the risk on the vehicles.

LeasePlan UK is the first major leasing company in the UK to launch a salary sacrifice scheme, under the product name SalaryPlan. This is a new way of providing vehicles to employees not eligible for company cars. There are also opportunities to open up new services to clients in this area and LeasePlan will continue to explore possibilities not previously exploited. n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: The automotive market situation is expected to remain mixed in 2011, with strong demand in the emerging markets. Commercial vehicle sales may record relatively strong growth. A continuing trend towards alternative powertrains, term & mileage, choice restriction with importance placed upon TCO, fiscal benefits and environmental aspects. • Leasing prices: Fleets should remain focused on whole life costs to ensure that they mitigate the effects of residuals etc. on monthly rentals. • Residual values: We expect to see an improvement in the resale value of used vehicles in the majority of markets • Electric vehicles in fleet: Electric vehicles will be implemented in an urban setting long before their suburban application. During their first years of implementation, the use will be much more driven by municipal regulations than by purely economic arguments • Mobility schemes: Mobility Schemes will continue to develop and LeasePlan will actively explore opportunities in this area for both company and non-company drivers.

n Mobility management LeasePlan has already begun and will continue to develop mobility schemes. LeasePlan offers alternative mobility options in the Netherlands in the form of MobilityMixx.

What does LeasePlan International consider to be the next big thing? “The challenge will be to take all aspects such as driver safety, cost efficiency, emissions management, implementation of the new lease accounting standards and concepts such as mobility management, telematics, tracking and pooling, and merge these into a truly balanced and sustainable fleet approach.”

30 countries

José Luis Criado, Managing Director at LeasePlan International

COMPANY PROFILES ALD Automotive International Organization & Evolution ALD Automotive can be described as both international and multi-local, with a network of 38 subsidiaries empowered to manage the portfolio of customers and drive their P&L, and an International Holding structure based in Paris. As of January 1, 2011, ALD Automotive’s fleet included 841, 220 passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles, an increase of 6.5% over the previous year. 2010 has been a record year for ALD in terms of fleet size, registration and used car sales. ALD Automotive hasn’t opened any new subsidiaries in 2010. The existing alliance in the US between ALD Automotive and Wheels Inc shows interesting results for global key customers, allowing a professional coverage on both sides of the Atlantic. In Ireland, ALD Automotive is also strengthening the links with partner Johnson & Perrott Ltd. ALD Automotive has been very active recently in the alliance and agreement field with car manufacturers and with new business partners. ALD Automotive is able to capture small and medium companies’ fleets through car manufacturers’ dealers under the manufacturer’s brand. This dealer-based white labelled distribution channel today represents 12% of ALD Automotive global fleet. Following the agreement signed between Better Place and ALD Automotive in Denmark, new alliances with innovative business partners in various geogra-

Gianluca Soma

CEO:

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011):

3,700

Société Générale

Shareholders: Active in the market since: Present in # countries:

1946 27 European countries +

phies should be announced in 2011, especially in the field of electric vehicle and new mobility.

Strategy & Products n Cost Reduction Now that vehicle safety is a given, cost (or value for money) remains the main driver in fleet management. ALD Automotive reporting tools allows close management of each entity’s TCO. • At vehicle selection, a “best buy” recommendation is always provided in parallel with the required vehicles. Those proposals always ensure the best TCO for the dedicated usage of each renewal. • At contract term selection, ALD offers a unique flexibility thanks to the ALD Matrix, which allows changing the mileage/duration characteristics during the life of the contract, under predefined conditions. • During vehicle usage, in association with fuel cards, fuel consumption is closely monitored and any excess or event can be highlighted in line with the fleet managers’ set limits. Fuel consumption analysis can lead to tailored eco-driving training proposals. • At the end of the contract, vehicles’ TCO are clearly assessed.

n Driver management Driver management handled by leasing companies is a clear trend. ALD Automotive has been providing driver management in several countries for a few years and will work at professionalising further this activity. n Mobility management ALD Automotive today addresses mobility management mainly through a car sharing offer. Providing an internal combustion engine vehicle to electric vehicle drivers is also part of extended mobility whereby vehicles are the best adapted to each usage. 2011 will see the development of innovative mobility offerings from ALD Automotive. n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: differentiated growth • Leasing prices: increase due cost of funding • Residual values: improving • Electric Vehicles in fleet: to take off • Mobility schemes: blooming through experimentation

What does ALD Automotive International consider to be the next big thing? “Once the fleet is well optimised, the next big thing is the mobility era. Such an evolution will extend our audience from company car drivers to all employees and stakeholders. Many existing players will be willing to play the role of the mobility integrator that leasing companies have occupied for several years.”

11 ROW

Stéphane Renie, Sales & Business Development Director ALD Automotive International

Alphabet International Organization & Evolution The Alphabet network is able to offer a central or local approach, depending on the customer’s requirements. Today, Alphabet offers full service leasing in 14 countries (including partnership with UniCredit Fleet Management in the Czech Republic) covering Europe's core markets, while the subsidiaries are wholly-owned by BMW Group Financial Services. In general, Alphabet’s focus is on its existing network, which involves extending its network based on customer requirements. Cooperation opportunities for countries outside our network with strong partners is a very good alternative. Alphabet will continue developing this approach in 2011. Last year Alphabet managed around 301,000 company car contracts, recording significant growth in full-service contracts. Despite the crisis, Alphabet has grown at a high average rate (17% p.a.) over the last 5 years. Due to the shift of pure service contracts to other BMW Financial Services divisions, the overall number of contracts was reduced by 7.7 percent. Alphabet is concentrating on the growing seg-

Norbert van den Eijnden (Head of Alphabet International)

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011): Shareholders:

750

Alphabet is a BMW Group Division

Active in the market since: Present in # countries:

Strategy & Products n Cost Reduction It is important to have a detailed overview of all fleet-related costs. By using a tool to analyse fleets, Alphabet is able to reveal these direct and indirect costs (often hidden costs). This approach offers sustainable savings. n Driver management Alphabet has a driver-specific programme to support drivers with their routine fleet enquiries. This can range from information on, and selection of, vehicles, to operational support, managing vehicle collection or accidents. An important part of this programme is cost management. Alphabet does this by reducing fuel consumption and damages, for example, or providing cost-efficient support in vehicle selection.

n Outlook in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: growing, and leasing will become more common in the “new” market • Leasing prices: interest rates will be on the rise, so leasing prices can be expected to increase accordingly • Residual values: actual residual values increase, however, when determining new RVs, leasing companies are much more conservative than before the crisis • Electric Vehicles in fleet: they will become a new and substantial part of the fleet business • Mobility schemes: they will be developed further. Car-sharing projects and public transportation will be a substantial part of fleet management

What does Alphabet International consider to be the next big thing? “Fleet business might move from the traditional fixed monthly payment to a more flexible approach. A possible solution could be car sharing, but also other “pay per use” initiatives will become more common in the market. The introduction of mobility solutions combined with EV’s will be a good starting point to accelerate this approach.”

1997 13

Dr. Nancy Storp, Head of International Sales & Marketing Alphabet International

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CEO:

ment of full-service fleet management and is developing products and services for sustainable and efficient corporate mobility management.

COMPANY PROFILES

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Arval Organization & Evolution Arval head office is responsible for creating, implementing and managing the group's strategy at an international level, while ensuring its implementation in each of the subsidiaries. Despite an economic climate that remains difficult, Arval’s leased fleet has progressed steadily from 2009 (10% up), partly due to the impact of external growth operations. Vehicle purchases rose b 180,600 units (27% up from 2009). In turn, the number of vehicles sold (149,800) increased by 7% compared to 2009. Arval has not opened new subsidiaries in 2010. The latest subsidiary openings date back to 2007 with the creation of Arval Greece and Arval India. But last year Arval signed a cooperation agreement with Windsor Fleet in Ireland and there is another ongoing cooperation agreement in the Asia/Pacific region. These signatures strengthen the international stature of the worldwide PHH Arval global alliance.

Strategy & Products n Cost Reduction Arval studies various cost reduction solutions such as systematic model comparison, downsizing, contract optimisation in terms of duration and mileage, and also conducts specific consulting missions based on savings

Philippe Bismut

CEO: Total number of staff (at end December 2010):

4,400

Shareholders:

BNP Paribas

Active in the market since: Present in # countries:

identified through Arval Consulting. Arval Consulting is the centre of analysis, expertise and advice. Its services are based on TCO. The corporate mobility plan is proposed as a comprehensive output of these analyses. In 2010, customers who had adopted this approach were able to mitigate the rising cost of financing their fleets and modify their vehicle selection strategy so as to better manage or even reduce their budgets, generating savings of € 424 on average per vehicle and per year. n Driver management Studies conducted by Arval Consulting show that Driver Behaviour has a direct impact on the cost of vehicle usage through an increase in the number of accidents, over-usage of fuel and tyres, and a rise in required maintenance operations. A driver with an aggressive driving style can causes an increase in fuel costs of 40% and a 80% growth in overall operating costs. This is the reason why, in 2009, Arval launched a brand new telematics service: “Measure and Management.”

kind of mobility, which complements other travel systems. Before being officially launched on the French market and then extended to other countries in the group, Arval France conducted a successful test among a hundred of its employees. n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: Continued concentration of the industry can be expected as well as an upturn in new car registrations • Leasing prices: Less volatility of prices between market players, influenced by the cost of funding which is forecast to increase • Residual values: No significant change expected in relation to current levels; used car prices are not expected to recover pre-crisis levels

n Mobility management In France, Arval has just launched a car sharing offer, called "AutoPartage". This offer is promoting a new and convenient

What does Arval consider to be the next big thing? “There are several items, like managing Driver Behaviour (incl. Telematics), the possible impact of the new IAS Lease Accounting norms and finally the closer collaboration between OEMs and International Operational Leasing players.”

1989 19 subsidiaries in Europe

Tero Tapala, Group Sales Director Arval

Athlon Car Lease International Organization & Evolution Through the presence in 9 European countries and a strong global partner network, Athlon is able to offer customers international car leasing and mobility solutions, always taking account of local variance. In 2010, Athlon integrated the International sales team into the Athlon Car Lease organization and renamed it ‘Athlon Car Lease International Sales & Account Management’; formerly it was part of the joint venture with Lloyds TSB “Fleet Synergy International. During the challenging year 2009 Athlon was able to grow the fleet in Europe by 2.26%. During the year 2010 Athlon has been able to stabilise the European fleet. Since the acquisition of Athlon Car Lease Italy in 2009, no new subsidiaries have been opened. It is planned, however, to expand the business and are currently looking into several options.

Strategy & Products n Cost Reduction Several products that Athlon Car Lease is offering specifically look at cost reduction for customers. Save Lease encourages drivers to drive in a more regulated manner and use the cheapest options to refuel. With the Cleaner Car Contract, Athlon is offering customers advice and help in choosing more environmentally friendly options and the Green

CEO:

Hans Blink

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011):

FleetEurope Magazine 54

Shareholders:

1,100

Part of De Lage Landen’s business line ‘Financial & Mobility Solutions’

car policy also encourages customers to go for green cars which will have a direct impact on their overall fleet cost. The aim of the 5 step sustainable mobility plan is to help customers save costs. n Driver management The level of contact Athlon Car Lease will have with drivers depends on the needs and wishes of customers and is agreed upon implementation. If customers wish to have Athlon Car Lease support them in the communication with drivers, Athlon offers Save Lease. Save Lease is a rewarding program for drivers focused on both, reducing their fuel consumption by driving responsibly and lowering fuel costs by choosing cost conscious filling options.

n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: Further consolidation of the leasing industry and development of high potential markets • Residual values: Due to the risk based pricing that most companies have adopted by now, well rated companies will continue to receive lower pricing in the future. • Electric Vehicles in fleet: Low market volume available in 2011. Currently Athlon Car Lease International has over 125 EVs on the road while the current backorder for EVs accounts for over 350 EV’s • Mobility schemes: A trend towards TCM and Mobility Budgets enabled by new systems

n Mobility management Athlon Car Lease is a true believer in the added value of hybrid and electric vehicles to overall sustainability, for the organisation and its customers. The 5-step sustainable mobility plan has resulted from the customer focus of the organization. Athlon is currently working on developing a business case for a one-stop-shop offering with its CSR-Innovation network to even better support customers in introducing (PI)hybrids and EVs to the fleet.

What does Athlon Car Lease International consider to be the next big thing? “The concept of total mobility and offering suitable solutions for customers will become most important in international fleet business. The challenge for leasing companies will be to offer sustainable mobility solutions to their customers.”

Fully owned by Rabobank Active in the market since: Present in # countries:

1916 9 single owned, 18 including partners

Sarah Lomas, General Manager Athlon International Sales & Account Management Division

COMPANY PROFILES

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Sixt Leasing Organization & Evolution

Strategy & Products

Sixt Leasing is part of the Sixt Group. Sixt Leasing offers companies vehicle leasing solutions combined with services. Instead of conventional, one-size-fits-all offers, Sixt Leasing develops unique mobility packages as part of customized fleet management solutions. Sixt Leasing coordinates all international activities from its headquarter in Pullach in Germany to ensure harmonized services and products. Operations are decentralized to reflect local circumstances. Sixt leasing has recently started activities in the Netherlands, UK and Northern Ireland and is about to expand to Uruguay, Armenia, China, Ireland and Serbia.

n Cost Reduction Clients are advised proactively on fleet cost reduction potential. The international reporting system at Sixt Leasing has been redesigned to increase client transparency and to further support thorough analysis.

CEO:

Mark Thielenhaus; Thorsten Haeser

Total number of staff (globally end 2009): Shareholders:

6,071

100% Sixt AG

Active in the market since:

1967

Present in # countries:

n Mobility management Mobility Consulting, an independent Sixt company, provides comprehensive advice on complete mobility solutions focusing on sustainably reducing clients’ mobility costs within a TCO approach and on increasing transparency on costs for clients. Mobility Consulting overtakes the complete fleet

management and ensures highest user service. Additionally, Sixt Leasing offers car sharing, car pooling and e-mobility solutions together with Sixt rent-a-car to meet customer demands holistically. n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: Increasing • Residual values: Recovering, but not to pre-crisis level • Electric Vehicles in fleet: slightly increasing with growing car alternatives • Mobility Schemes: One-stop-shopping, growing flexibility, extension of mobility services

What does Sixt Leasing consider to be the next big thing in international business? “Integrated Mobility Solutions, from short term rental to long term leasing solutions seem to be the most welcome trend by customers along with the TCO approach supported by integrated intelligent online solutions for all countries.” Mark Thielenhaus, Executive Board Member at Sixt Leasing

GE Capital Organization & Evolution GE Capital has over 65,000 fleet customers globally, with a total fleet under management of 1,500.000 vehicles. In Europe, GE Capital Fleet Services is a leading fleet management company with 245,000 cars. Financing and efficiently managing a company fleet is the core business of GE Capital Fleet Services. The company has operations in 11 European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and is able to serve customers in Austria via Germany.

Strategy & Products n Cost Reduction GE Capital has an established consulting offering called “Key Solutions” that helps customers optimise their fleet costs. GE Capital has a team of experts dedicated to provide customised advice and cost saving solutions to customers, both

CEO:

Rich Laxer (GE Capital EMEA)

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011): Over 19,000 for GE Capital in EMEA Shareholders: Active in the market since:

Public Listed In Europe since 1992

Present in # countries:

at pan-European and country level. The team uses proven processes and methodologies to produce cost analysis and recommendations to customers to help them better manage their fleets. n Online Solutions GE Capital is continuously investing to enhance its e-business suite and provide fleet managers and drivers with tools to ease their day-to-day fleet operations. ‘Online Key’ is a set of online tools designed to make the Fleet Manager’s job more effective and less time-consuming. Comprised of iQuote, iManage and iReport, it is being regularly enriched with new features and functionalities to better serve the customers. n Strategy towards CSR GE Capital has been on the forefront of sustainable fleet management since launching Clear Solutions in 2007. Clear

Solutions is a combination of expertise, online technologies and consultancy, helping customers to optimise fleet cost by considering environmental impact. GE Capital was one of the first to offer to customers the possibility to track online the evolution of their CO2 footprint at a European level, by country, by business unit – through iManage. In 2011, GE Capital is improving its green offering with a new eco-driving solution. It will help customers further reduce their fuel cost and CO2 emissions by 5 to 10%. n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) Residual values: RVs are likely to remain stable although government fiscal austerity measures and turmoil in the Middle East mean the overall recovery remains fragile

What does GE Capital Solutions consider to be the next big thing? “Globalisation is becoming a reality. The electric vehicle is on its way and GE is committed to play a leading role in the EV industry. In November 2010, Jeff Immelt announced that GE will purchase 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015 for its own fleet. Next to that GE can offer the full suite of solutions, from leasing and vehicle management services, to battery charging, to customer infrastructure upgrades and electrical grid integration".

Arthur Mathysen Gerst, Managing Director of Fleet Leasing EMEA, GE Capital

Organization & Evolution DirectLease is a pan-European lease company with a decentralized organization, active in 3 countries in Western Europe. During the previous years DirectLease has seen a stable rise of full service lease contracts. In 2008 they managed 6,000 contracts, in 2009 that was 6,300 contracts, and last year the company had 6,500 contracts to manage. DirectLease focuses on short lines and quick response process with an optimized use of CEO:

Active in the market since: Present in # countries:

Y2011 there will also be a drivers application for smart phones.

Strategy & Products

n Mobility management The website of DirectLease offers a perfect on line tool to make “Green” choices (energy label CO2 emissions). DirectLease believes it’s a must rather than an option to offer this kind of services. Especially in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility.

n Cost Reduction Direct Lease offers intelligent on line tools for cost control. n Driver management DirectLease offers already an intranet solution and mid

Arjan Stuij

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011): Shareholders:

online tools. The company has no plans for new alliances or co-operations.

DirectLease Holding B.V. 2001 3

Arjan Stuij, Director at DirectLease

FleetEurope Magazine 54

DirectLease

COMPANY PROFILES

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

KBC Autolease Organization & Evolution

Strategy & Products

KBC Autolease is a daughter of the KBC Lease Group who provides a variety of leasing products to 5 core CEE markets, and with its HQ in Brussels. Within this group, KBC Autolease Belgium has been appointed to serve as the competence centre for full-service car leasing, given its more than 25 years experience in this domain. For the pan-EU structure KBC Autolease has chosen to keep it lean where the international people can fully rely on the support from specialists out of Belgium, while developing the CEE countries and sharing Best Practices. Within the local teams at least one person has been appointed to closely cooperate with the international department and the specialists. Co-operation has been set-up on multiple activities, e.g. cross-country selling, process review and enhancements, international tenders, reporting… The motto of KBC Autolease is “think global, act local”. Having a local focus, with some international systems and guidelines, leaves room for flexibility and creativity. The last opening was the Polish entity, in July 2008. In 2010 all subsidiaries have known a significant growth, often higher than the market average.

n Cost Reduction For new customers KBC Autolease has a set of consulting tools which can be tailored to give specific advice to support customers in their quest for savings, both quick wins and structural. KBC Autolease Belux developed the “Fleet Performance Indicator”. This user friendly tool is based on the customer’s actual fleet details and it allows to make simulations on financially important variables such as fuel consumption, CO2...

CEO:

Stany Van Besien, CEO KBC Autolease

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011): Shareholders:

240

KBC Groep NV

Active in the market since:

1982

Present in # countries:

n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: slightly grow • Leasing prices: still a risk to increase due to interest rates, higher cost of maintenance, repairs & tyres etc. • Residual values: will be stable • Electric Vehicles in fleet: number of electric cars will slowly get higher

n Driver management On demand of the KBC Autolease customers, outsourcing possibilities are offered. n Mobility management So far KBC Autolease doesn’t offer specific products related to mobility management, but in Belgium KBC Autolease offers its customers via “Best of Class” a total concept, allowing the fleet manager to surf on the wave of a growing environmental consciousness both due to ecological and financial reasons.

What does KBC Autolease consider to be the next big thing? “The progression of the green fleet and the use of hybrid & electric cars in companies. The outcome of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) fighting to change the new proposed construction regarding lease accounting rules in the EU.”

Tom Vlaminck, International Business Development Manager at KBC Autolease

ING Car Lease International Organization & Evolution The International Sales team together with the local countries and partners build specific ING Car Lease European offers. The International team is now fully in charge of international customers and prospects and as a consequence is expanding its workforce. For companies with some medium European coverage needs ING Car Lease has a group credit facility in place and the lease company supports country initiatives to address the needs of these pan-country customers. The total fleet in January 2011 is above 238,000 units and the fleet has grown by 3%+ compared to 2010. No subsidiaries were recently opened, but ING Car Lease is reinforcing the cooperation with current partners.

Strategy & Products n Cost Reduction ING Car Lease International guides its customers in optimising fleet Management at all levels, from quote to

CEO:

Ed Frederiks

FleetEurope Magazine 54

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011):

1180

Shareholders:

ING

Active in the market since:

1977

Present in # countries:

car termination. The team delivers enhanced transparency with more complete European Contractual Framework Agreements anda quotation grids solution wherever it is available. n Driver management Driver management can be organized by a range of solutions, depending on the country. These solutions deliver more autonomy to the customers and the drivers. n Mobility management ING Car Lease International proposes mobility management solutions. Depending on the needs of the customer these can vary from car sharing initiatives, through income tax calculations. Projects on solution of leasing some other vehicles together with the main leased car unit and telematics are currently held.

n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: 3 to 5% growth for operational leasing market • Leasing prices: Stable or slight increase if the base rates increase by more than 100 bips • Residual values: Stable or increasing • Electric Vehicles in fleet: Slight increase and first cars from several suppliers to be delivered by end 2011 • Mobility schemes: Car sharing solutions and more outsourcing of the drivers’ needs

What does ING Car Lease International consider to be the next big thing? “ING Car Lease International will become more and more a Key International player due to the reinforcement and new means of the International Sales Structure.”

8 subsidiaries and 13 in Europe

Erik Lelarge, Head of Sales & Marketing ING Car Lease International

COMPANY PROFILES

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Avis Europe Organization & Evolution Avis Europe is a car rental company in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where it operates the globally recognized Avis and Budget brands. Its strategy is to grow both profitability and return on capital employed and to continue to improve cost and capital efficiency. On top of this Avis Europe wishes to develop new mobility solutions to anticipate changing consumer behaviour. Avis Europe is an integrated organisation, neither decentralized nor centralized. Over 85% of Avis Europe's revenues in 2010 were generated in the five major markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Avis Europe is investing in China, where it is the only Global short term rental Company present. The objective is to expend the Avis network into every major city in China by the end of 2012. CEO:

Pascal Bazin

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011):: 5,163 FTE Shareholders:

plc company

After a significant drop in demand in 2008-2009, the market has recovered in 2010, and according to Avis Europe, 2011 should show some volume growth. The B2B market represents 50% of Avis Europe business.

n Mobility management Mobility management is part of the core business of Avis Europe. Avis keeps improving the product portfolio to be able to respond to mobility needs from its customers.

Strategy & Products

n Competitive argument AVIS Europe offers dedicated products to B2B customers such as “Avis Flex”, a medium term rental solution with no exit fee. This product provides a very flexible rental solution. On top of this we have just launched a new product called “Avis on Demand” which provides the possibility to take part in a car sharing program.

n Green management As Avis Europe replaces the fleet every year, the customer benefits from the latest technologies. The challenge is to integrate new hybrid and electric cars into the Avis fleet at a reasonable cost as the customer doesn’t want to pay extra for hybrid or electric cars. Avis Europe has signed agreements with both Renault and Citroën, and expects to have 500 electric vehicles in the fleet by the end of this year.

What does Avis Europe consider to be the next big thing in international business? “The change of behaviour from “owning” a car to “sharing” a car as part of more global mobility solutions.”

Laurent Sculier, Director European Fleet & Remarketing at Avis

Citroën Business Finance Organization & Evolution Banque PSA Finance has a responsibility in coordinating and supporting the branches of PSA Peugeot Citroën group. Each European country handles a marketing & commercial team dedicated to B2B-customers. Citroën Business Finance is operating in 23 countries with standard credit. The Operational Leasing portfolio of Citroën Business Finance has increased by 11,9% in 2010 compared to 2008 despite wide variations from a country to another depending on the extent of the crisis on local markets. This progression is due to maintaining a good quality of our loan book; a responsive strategy on refinancing aligned on the extremely tight market; a successful range of vehicles; the residual values stability;

CEO:

UK, Spain, Germany, Belgium & the Nederlands) including main functionalities as: management, cost analysis, online administrative acts and current regulatory and tax information online.

Strategy & Products

n Mobility management Citroën Business Finance is supporting the services developed by Citroën. Next to that Citroën Business Finance provides leasing for the Best in class CO2 vehicles of the Citroën range and a monitoring of the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions via telematic services in selected countries.

n Cost Reduction Citroën Business Finance can organize a TCO approach depending on the country. Furthermore there is a specific follow up of real fuel consumption & CO2 emissions. n Driver management Citroën Business Finance provides an online Fleet Management Solution “Interp@rc2” in 6 countries (France,

Philippe Alexandre

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011): Shareholders:

the launch of innovative services, with the creation of full services packages, insurance & telematic services and finally the ramp up of our leasing branches recently launched in Portugal, Italy and Poland.

2,800

PSA Peugeot Citroën

Active in the market since:

1982

Present in # countries:

Christophe Lepont, International Key Account Manager at Citroën Business Finance International

Peugeot Finance International Organization & Evolution

FleetEurope Magazine 54

Banque PSA Finance has a responsibility in coordinating and supporting the branches of PSA Peugeot Citroën group. Each European country handles a marketing & commercial team dedicated to B2B customers. Peugeot Finance International is operating in 23 countries with standard credit. The portfolio of Banque PSA Finance Peugeot has increased by 2,5% in 2010 compared to 2008 despite wide variations from a country to another depending on the extent of the crisis on local markets. This progression is due to maintaining a good quality of our loan book; a responsive strategy on refinancing aligned on the extremely tight market; a successful range of vehicles; the residual values stability; the launch of

CEO:

Active in the market since: Present in # countries:

UK, Spain, Germany, Belgium & the Nederlands) including main functionalities as: management, cost analysis, online administrative acts and current regulatory and tax information online.

Strategy & Products

n Mobility management Peugeot Finance International is supporting the services developed by Peugeot. Next to that Peugeot Finance International provides leasing for the Best in class CO² vehicles of the Peugeot range together with the Peugeot Eco Consulting Program including CO² footprint, Eco Drive Training and Fuel consumption via telematic services in selected countries.

n Cost Reduction Peugeot Finance International can organize a TCO approach depending on the country. Furthermore there is a specific follow up of real fuel consumption & CO² emissions. n Driver management Peugeot Finance International provides an online Fleet Management Solution“Interp@rc2” in 6 countries (France,

Philippe Alexandre

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011): Shareholders:

innovative services, with the creation of full services packages, insurance & telematic services and finally the ramp up of our leasing branches recently launched in Portugal, Italy and Poland.

2,800

PSA Peugeot Citroën 1982 23

Louis To, International Key Account Manager at Peugeot Finance International

COMPANY PROFILES Daimler Financial Services Organization & Evolution

Strategy & Products

Daimler Financial Services has decided to establish regional functions for the Americas, Europe and AAP region (Africa, Asia-Pacific) in order to be able to focus on the respective business requirements. However, in addition to this approach, specific functions such as “Sales & Marketing Passenger Cars” or “Sales & Marketing Commercial Vehicles” have been established in order to ensure that customers can be served under the same standards across such a heterogeneous region as Europe. Daimler Financial Services has succeeded in expanding its business with commercial fleet customers and has completely overcome the crisis of recent years. The combination of first-class vehicles and fleet services from one source – Daimler Financial Services and Mercedes-Benz – has led to an increase in customer loyalty and the acquisition of numerous new customers. In addition, the focus on small and medium sized enterprises has paid off as well. The first trends in 2011 seem to show that this trend is continuing. For the time being, Daimler Financial Services doesn’t see a significant need to open new subsidiaries.

n Cost Reduction The solution is Daimler Financial Services’ business philosophy! Daimler Financial Services aim to work with customers on a constant basis on developing their fleet efficiency further. According to Daimler Financial Services, looking at costs only whenever a certain number of vehicle contracts is about to expire, is simply not enough. A longterm fleet relationship is the solution.

CEO:

n Driver management Driver management is essential. Daimler Financial Services has developed electronic tools such as “xFleet”, which helps drivers to organize their company vehicle issues and provides relief to the fleet operators. However, it is essential to also provide the right processes and define them correctly.

n Mobility management Mobility management comprises several components, such as replacement vehicles of the same segment, a predefined number of days for which these cars are available, etc. In some countries, where the market demand requires this, Daimler Financial Services offers the FleetSelect product with short-term rental. Another option is to look into the actual use of the fleet vehicles and check whether there are alternatives, such as intra company car pools, available. n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • Leasing prices: Lease prices will remain stable, especially for vehicles offering the latest in environmental and safety technologies • Residual values: They will gain in stability • Electric Vehicles in fleet: There is a place for these vehicles, even if they cover only certain niches

Mr. Klaus Entenmann, CEO Daimler Financial Services AG

Shareholders:

6700

100% Daimler AG

Maarten Vrijaldenhoven, Daimler Financial Services – Head of Sales & Marketing Passenger Cars Global

FleetEurope Magazine 54

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011):

COMPANY PROFILES

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Fiat Group Automobiles Capital Organization & Evolution Fiat Group Automobiles Capital (FGA Capital) is organized on a pan-European basis in a decentralized manner. At central level FGA Capital (HQ) defines the strategies and develops agreements with third parties. FGA Capital has recently started in the rental business in Denmark (since December 2010). With respect to leasing and management volumes, they are stable compared to the previous year.

Strategy & Products In order to combine high performance and net operating expenses reduction, the company is focusing its activity on the capability to define a car policy in line with the client’s needs in terms of cost savings, simultaneously managing lower costs, low pollution emissions and excellent performance. Companies tackle the recession adopting a car policy concentrated both on services and engines. The choice of engine downsizing guarantees a winning mix involving costs, low pollution issues and per-

Oddone INCISA

CEO:

Total number of staff (globally 12/2010): Shareholders:

1,836

FGA CAPITAL is a Joint Venture

formance. Finally the general trend is to prolong existing contracts, rather than to subscribe to new ones, spreading the rental costs over a longer period. n Mobility management Telematics are becoming far more commonplace in automobiles. This trend is leading to the birth of a new sector, called infomobility. An area destined to develop substantially over the coming years. In the Netherlands FGA Capital has introduced a program for customers involving low emission cars for employees who normally would not have a company car. In this way older/polluting vehicles will disappear from the market. Other services support safety, such as the safe guide courses, the attention to the typology of tyres , and suitable systems of support in the monitoring of emissions. In Italy there’s Drive Fleet, the version of eco:Drive dedicated to business fleets, which enables more efficient management of the car fleet. eco:Drive Fleet helps Fleet Managers and drivers to improve fuel consumption and to reduce CO2 emissions.

n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: Will increase again • Leasing prices: Stable/slight increase • Residual values: Stable • Electric Vehicles in fleet: Increase but over a long period • Mobility Schemes: New schemes will be introduced to the market and bring cost rationalisation

What does FGA Capital consider to be the next big thing? “The increase of single brand fleets, the changing of the legal environment and the market increase in the above in all less mature segments.”

(50/50) between Fiat Group Automobiles and Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance Active in themarket since:

Gianluca De Ficchy, Deputy General Manager, Business Development & Foreign Markets, FGA Capital

More than 80 years of experience

Present in # countries:

RCI Banque Organization & Evolution RCI Banque, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Renault, is specialized in automobile financing and services for Renault, Nissan and Dacia, Infiniti and Renault Samsung Motors brands. The organization of RCI banque is integrated into the manufacturer fleet strategy with 2 offers : an RCI Banque offer on credit, financial leasing and services + a full operational leasing depending on countries. Sales in the Renault Group have progressed by 21.6% on a world market which increased by 16.0% in the first half of 2010. At the same time, RCI Banque has achieved a market share in registrations of 30.1% of new vehicles from the Renault and Nissan Group in Western Europe, against 27.8 % over the same period in 2009. The combination of these factors and their continuation on the second half of 2010 led to a significant increase in fleets.

n Driver management The RCI Banque strategy is based on the manufacturers’ strategy through its network and focused on the own brand strategy of each manufacturer (Renault, Nissan, Dacia, Infiniti, Renault Samsung Motors). This approach allows for better efficiency within the three main components of TCO : vehicle value, financial elements, residual value.

n Forecast in the leasing business (for the next 12 months) • The market: Stable in Western Europe and increasing in the emerging countries • Leasing prices: Flat + • Residual values: No surprises in the coming months • Electric Vehicles in fleet: Growing • Mobility schemes: It’s just emerging, so shaping business model details

n Mobility management RCI Banque has not yet developed specific mobility management services, but they launched in France in 2010 “Car+”. This is a “green product” which is offering ecological driving process , green driving training and driving data feedback. Car + is made in partnership with ECF and KDC.

Strategy & Products Cost Reduction RCI Banque offers detailed knowledge and effective control of the components of the TCO. It also uses an efficient TCO Calculation Method.

CEO:

Dominique Thormann

Total number of staff (globally 02/2011):

FleetEurope Magazine 54

Shareholders:

Active in the market since: Present in # countries:

2,990

100% Renault

What does RCI Banque consider to be the next big thing? “The Electric Vehicle.”

1972 39

Sylvain Schuler, International Long Term Rental Development Manager, RCI Banque

COMPANY PRESENCE

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Alphabet International

ALD International Austria

Name ALD Automotive

Belgium

ALD Automotive

Czech Republic Croatia Denmark

ALD Automotive ALD Automotive ALD Automotive

Estonia

ALD Automotive

Finland France

ALD Automotive ALD Automotive

Germany

ALD Automotive

Greece Hungary Ireland

ALD Automotive ALD Automotive

Total fleet 3449 (FSL+FL: 2886 / FM: 563) 58858 (FSL+FL: 41981 /FM: 16877) 11384 (FSL+FL: 11280 / FM: 104) 2675 (FSL+FL: 2559 / FM: 116) 19336 (FSL+FL: 16801 / FM: 2535)

Total fleet

Name Alphabet Austria Fuhrparkmanagement GmbH

Alphabet Fleet Services -

1097 (FSL+FL: 1094 / FM: 3) 19449 (FSL+FL:18174 / FM:1275) 262800 (FSL+FL: 167403 / FM: 95397) 115753 (FSL+FL: 54190 / FM: 61563) 4555 (FSL+FL: 4555 / FM: -) 3099 (FSL+FL: 2884 / FM: 215)

Alphabet France Alphabet Fuhrparkmanagement GmbH -

Italy Latvia

ALD Automotive

Lithuania

ALD Automotive

Luxemburg Netherlands

ALD Automotive ALD Automotive

Norway Poland

ALD Automotive ALD Automotive

Portugal

ALD Automotive

Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain

ALD Automotive ALD Automotive ALD Automotive ALD Automotive ALD Automotive ALD Automotive

Sweden

ALD Automotive

Switzerland

ALD Automotive

Turkey

ALD Automotive

Others

ALD Automotive

91002 (FSL+FL: 89504 / FM: 1498) 1056 (FSL+FL: 1048 / FM: 8) 730 (FSL+FL: 726 / FM: 4) 8598 (FSL+FL: 8360 / FM: 238) 23693 (FSL+FL: 21478 / FM: 2215) 8069 (FSL+FL: 5890 / FM: 2179) 6209 (FSL+FL: 5735 / FM: 474) 12361 (FSL+FL: 10613 / FM: 1748) 5283 (FSL+FL: 5120 / FM: 163) 9394 (FSL+FL: 8721 / FM: 673) 1317 (FSL+FL: 1279 / FM: 38) 1370 (FSL+FL: 1307 / FM: 63) 1267 (FSL+FL: 1222 / FM: 45) 57125 (FSL+FL: 45480 / FM: 11645) 16259 (FSL+FL: 13710 / FM: 2547) 4552 (FSL+FL: 4240 / FM: 312) 6023 (FSL+FL: 6023 / FM: -) 59710 (FSL+FL: 53787 / FM: 5923) Ukraine: 3853 (FSL+FL: 2768 / FM: 1085)

TOTAL EUROPE

Name -

South America

Asia Pacific

Country -

Total fleet -

ALD Automotive

Brazil

ALD Automotive

Mexico

ALD Automotive

Malaysia

10263 (FSL+FL: 9284 / FM: 979) 3798 (FSL+FL: 3623 / FM: 175) FSL+FL: 222

ALD Automotive

China 400 (FSL+FL: 276 / FM: 124) India 6304 (FSL+FL: 6304) Algeria 1419 (FSL+FL: 1415 / FM: 4) Morocco 4794 (FSL+FL: 4790 / FM: 4) Egypt 633 (FSL: 632 / FM: 1) 27 833 848 159

ALD Automotive Africa

ALD Automotive ALD Automotive ALD Automotive

TOTAL ROW Total (Europe + ROW)

24 218

836

8 514 -

17 351

216 727

Total fleet

Name Through Partner

Athlon Car Lease Belgium

35 000

Through Partner -

Athlon Car Lease France

21 000

Athlon Car Lease Germany

23 000

20 962

2 100 2 996

Through Partner Through Partner

Through Partner

11 892

135 012

3 089

3 062 29 503

Athlon Car Lease Luxemburg Athlon Car Lease Netherlands

(see Sweden) -

12 890

Athlon Car Lease Poland

1 400

7 036

Athlon Car Lease Portugal

300

Alphabet Fleet Services Espana

7 868

3 449 5 397 3 881 80 019

Alphabet Fleet Services Sverige

3 024

Alphabet Fleet Management (Switzerland) Ltd -

4 469 -

TEB Arval

Alphabet Italia S.p.A.

Alphabet Netherlands Alphabet Fleet Services Norge -

Alphabet (GB) Limited

Athlon Car Lease Italy

5 100

1 800 120 000

Through Partner Athlon Car Lease Spain

4 700

5 640

Through Partner

4 545

Through Partner

43 947

84 558

3 530

295 304

653 430

212 300

Country -

Total fleet -

Arval

Australia

5 980

820 326

North America

Total fleet 2 921

Name -

5 421 7 196

186 681 -

ALD Automotive

Athlon Car Lease International

Arval

Name -

Country -

Total fleet -

India

2 168

Arval

Morocco

4 232

Alphabet Fleet Services Australia

5980 301 284

Name

Arval

Country -

Total fleet -

Brazil

7 628

Name -

14 028 667 458

FSL Full Service Leasing - FL Financial Leasing - FM Management Only - TF Total Fleet ARG Argentina - ALG Algeria - BHR Bahrain - BLR Belarus - BRA Brazil - BGR Bulgaria - COS Costa Rica - CYP Cyprus - DOM Dominican Republic - FGU French Guiana - GUA Guadeloupe - GBR Great Britain - ISR IsraĂŤl - LBN Lebanon - LBY Libya - MLT Malta - MDA Moldiva - MEX Mexico - MGL Mongolia - MOR Morocco - NIG Nigeria - PAN Panama - PER Peru - QAT Qatar - ROU Romania - SAU Saudi Arabia - SGP Singapore - SYR Syria - TUN Tunesia - UAE United Arabian - URU Uruguay - UKR Ukraine.

212 300

COMPANY PRESENCE GE Financial Services Total fleet -

Name Via Germany

LeasePlan International

Ing Car Lease Total fleet -

Name -

Sixt Leasing Total fleet 22 865

Name LeasePlan Österreich

Total fleet

Name Sixt Austria

Austria 1 340

GE Financial Services

ING Car Lease

FSL: 26336

LeasePlan Fleet Management N.V

Via Business Lease -

LeasePlan Ceská Republika s.r.o. LeasePlan Danmark A/S

19 741 22 232 Via partnership 17 506 109 056

LeasePlan Finland Oy LeasePlan France S.A.S.

Belgium Sixt Czech Republic Sixt Croatia Sixt Denmark

Starting 2012 2 900 20 143

Sixt Estonia

ING Car Lease

GE Financial Services

LeasePlan Deutschland GmbH

Via Deutsche Leasing Via Business Lease

LeasePlan Hellas SA LeasePlan Hungária Zrt.

9 592 8 844

LeasePlan Ireland

9 479

GE Financial Services

ING Car Lease

GE Financial Services GE Financial Services

ING Car Lease ING Car Lease

FSL: 1432 FSL: 82918

LeasePlan Luxembourg S.A. LeasePlan Nederland N.V.

ING Car Lease

FSL: 8980

35 628

GE Financial Services

LeasePlan Norge AS LeasePlan Fleet Management Polska SP. z.o.o. LeasePlan Portugal

15 946 66 533

GE Financial Services

Via Business Lease ING Car Lease

n/a LeasePlan Slovakia B.V. n/a LeasePlan Servicios, S.A.

4 820 5 713 85 875

Sixt Romania Sixt Russia Sixt Serbia Sixt Slovakia Sixt Slovenia -

GE Financial Services

Via Autoplan

LeasePlan Sverige AB

26 742

GE Financial Services

LeasePlan (Schweiz) AG

16 850

Sixt Swiss

3 760

ING Car Lease

Joint Venture 134 718

Sixt Turkey

GE Financial Services

LeasePlan Otomotiv Servis ve Ticaret A. LeasePlan UK Ltd.

LeasePlan Emirates

Joint Venture

Sixt Leasing (Sixt Leasing European Partners: BLR, BGR, CYP, ISR, MLD, MDA, ROU, GBR, UKR )

With a presence in 11 european countries, GE has a total fleet of 245 000 vehicles Country Total fleet US, Puerto Rico, Canada Mexico -

FSL: 12363

FSL: 29613

49766 (FSL: 44643/ FL+FM:5123) -

83 023

LeasePlan Italia S.p.A.

78 012 Via partnership Via partnership 7 327 115 711

239 992

Name -

Country -

Total fleet -

Sixt France Sixt International Sixt Greece Sixt Hungary Sixt Ireland

Sixt Leasing Italy

Germany

4 585 1 450 New leasing franchise partner in May 2011

Greece Hungary Ireland

Started January 2011 1 600

Sixt Latvia Sixt Lithuania

Sixt Benelux

Started March 2011 60

Sixt Poland

Country USA

Total fleet 218 941

LeasePlan Brazil, LeasePlan Mexico

Brazil, Mexico

10 891

Australia, India, New Zealand

112 494

Lithuania Luxemburg Netherlands Norway Poland

2 330 169 About to start 260 200 -

Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain

Sweden

9 500

Switzerland Turkey UK Others

40 952 118 400

Country Total fleet -

TOTAL EUROPE

North America

Sixt Leasing ARG, BRA, COS, DOM, FGU, GUA, MEX, PAN, PER, URU -

400

South America

Sixt Leasing

SGP, BHR, LBN, MGL, QAT, SAU, SYR, UAE

700

Asia Pacific

N/A

Sixt Leasing

200

JV partnership -

Thaïland

LeasePlan Australia, LeasePlan India, LeasePlan New Zealand -

N/A

ALG, LBY, NIG, MOR, TUN -

239 992

Latvia

Portugal

JV Costa Rica, Honduras, partnership Guatemala, Nicaragua GE Australia, International New Zealand, Japan, S. Korea

Italy

Sixt Leasing UK

Name -

Finland France

47 300

951 190

Name LeasePlan US

Czech Republic Croatia Denmark Estonia

6 1 700

GE Financial Services

Name GE International GE International

FSL: 28584

54 977

342 326 1 293 516

FSL Full Service Leasing - FL Financial Leasing - FM Management Only - TF Total Fleet ARG Argentina - ALG Algeria - BHR Bahrain - BLR Belarus - BRA Brazil - BGR Bulgaria - COS Costa Rica - CYP Cyprus - DOM Dominican Republic - FGU French Guiana - GUA Guadeloupe - GBR Great Britain - ISR Israël - LBN Lebanon - LBY Libya - MLT Malta - MDA Moldiva - MEX Mexico - MGL Mongolia - MOR Morocco - NIG Nigeria - PAN Panama - PER Peru - QAT Qatar - ROU Romania - SAU Saudi Arabia - SGP Singapore - SYR Syria - TUN Tunesia - UAE United Arabian - URU Uruguay - UKR Ukraine.

Africa

1 300 119 700

TOTAL ROW Total (Europe + ROW)

COMPANY PRESENCE

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Directlease Austria Belgium

Name DirectLease N.V.

Citroën Business Finance International

KBC Autolease Total fleet 1 800

Name KBC Autolease

Total fleet 38 800 4 600

Daimler Fleet Management/ Mercedes-Benz Financial Services

Total fleet FSL: 7 439 FSL: 6 496

Name Citroën Bank Citroën Lease

Czech Republic

ČSOB Leasing

Croatia Denmark

Estonia Finland France

Citroën Business Finance

FSL: 91 740

750

Citroën Bank

FSL: 31 082

Germany

DirectLease.de GmbH

Greece Hungary Ireland Italy

Latvia Lithuania Luxemburg

2 100 -

KBC Autolease

3 200

Netherlands

DirectLease B.V.

Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey UK

KBC Autolease ČSOB Leasing -

Others

TOTAL EUROPE

6 550

52 200

North America South America

Name -

4 000

K&H Lizing -

Country -

Total fleet -

Name -

2 200 1 300 -

Country -

Total fleet -

Citroën Business Finance

Leasing offer: Lauching in progress -

Citroën Renting

FSL: 1 263

Citroën Lease

FSL: 1 979

Citroën Business Lease FSL: 60 Citroën Renting FSL: 1 407 Citroën Credit & Leasing Launched in April 2011 Citroën Renting FSL: 1 828 Citroën Finance FSL: 12 815 Citroën Finans FSL: 47 Citroën Contract FSL: 21 918 Motoring -

Name -

Name Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Daimler Fleet Management Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services

Total fleet -

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Daimler Fleet Management Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services

Daimler Fleet Management Mercedes-Benz Bank Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services -

Daimler Fleet Management Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Daimler Fleet Management Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Financial Services

178 074

Country -

Total fleet -

More than 300.000 vehicles in the segment of commercial and fleet customers in the European Passenger Cars business. On a global scale, DFS has more than 2.4 million passenger cars in its books (covering all customer segments).

Name -

Country -

Total fleet -

Asia Pacific

Africa

TOTAL ROW Total (Europe + ROW)

6 550

52 200

178 074

FSL Full Service Leasing - FL Financial Leasing - FM Management Only - TF Total Fleet ARG Argentina - ALG Algeria - BHR Bahrain - BLR Belarus - BRA Brazil - BGR Bulgaria - COS Costa Rica - CYP Cyprus - DOM Dominican Republic - FGU French Guiana - GUA Guadeloupe - GBR Great Britain - ISR Israël - LBN Lebanon - LBY Libya - MLT Malta - MDA Moldiva - MEX Mexico - MGL Mongolia - MOR Morocco - NIG Nigeria - PAN Panama - PER Peru - QAT Qatar - ROU Romania - SAU Saudi Arabia - SGP Singapore - SYR Syria - TUN Tunesia - UAE United Arabian - URU Uruguay - UKR Ukraine.

COMPANY PRESENCE Fiat

Peugeot Finance International Total fleet -

Name -

FSL: 21

FGA Capital Denmark A/S -

Total fleet FSL: 8 565 FSL: 4 956

Name Peugeot Bank Peugeot Lease Peugeot Finance -

RCI Banque

Leasing offer: Lauching in progress -

Total fleet 2 985

Name RCI BANK AG RCI Financial Services S.A RENAULT LEASING CZ s.r.o RCI Finance CZ s.r.o RCI USLUGUE Renault Finance Nordic

Peugeot Lease

FSL: 99 661

Renault Finance Nordic DIAC Location - Overlease

32483 (FSL: 22883 / FM: 9600) -

Peugeot Bank

FSL: 25 422

Leasys (with Brand Savarent and Leasys) -

108850 (FSL: 103133 / FM: 5717) -

Peugeot Renting

Peugeot Lease

2417 (FSL: 1693 / FM: 193) FSL: 1675 5076 (FSL: 4535 / FM: 833) -

150 522

Fal Fleet Services

FGA Capital Netherlands BV ALD FGA Capital UK

Name -

Country Total fleet -

FSL: 1 243

Peugeot Leasing Peugeot Renting Peugeot Financiranje Peugeot Renting Peugeot Finance Peugeot Finans Peugeot Contract Hire

Czech Republic

Croatia Denmark

258 105

Estonia Finland France

RCI BANQUE S.A

97 227

Germany

RCI Zrt. RCI BANQUE

608 39 549

Greece Hungary Ireland Italy

RCI Financial Services S.A

FSL: 3 139

RCI Financial Services B.V.

4 948

Netherlands

14 285 7 894 32 829 10 917 6 532 13 422

Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey UK

FSL: 35 FSL: 2 382 Launched in April 2011 FSL: 10 243 FSL: 11 930 FSL: 100 FSL: 17 011

Renault Finance Nordic RENAULT CREDIT POLSKA RCI BANQUE RCI Leasing Romania IFN S.A RCI USLUGUE RCI Finance SK RCI Banque GRUPO RCI ESPANA Renault Finance Nordic RCI Finance SA RCI P.D.H Ltd RCI Financial Services Ltd

184 687

489 301

Name -

Peugeot Financiacion

Austria Belgium

Country Total fleet Argentina

Name Financiera Renault RCI Banque Sucursal Argentina RCI Financial Services Korea RDFM RCI Banque Algérie -

Country Brazil Argentina

Total fleet 309

Korea

207

Morocco Algeria -

Latvia Lithuania Luxemburg

Others

TOTAL EUROPE

North America South America Asia Pacific

Africa

TOTAL ROW 150 522

184 687

489 301

Total (Europe + ROW)

FSL Full Service Leasing - FL Financial Leasing - FM Management Only - TF Total Fleet ARG Argentina - ALG Algeria - BHR Bahrain - BLR Belarus - BRA Brazil - BGR Bulgaria - COS Costa Rica - CYP Cyprus - DOM Dominican Republic - FGU French Guiana - GUA Guadeloupe - GBR Great Britain - ISR Israël - LBN Lebanon - LBY Libya - MLT Malta - MDA Moldiva - MEX Mexico - MGL Mongolia - MOR Morocco - NIG Nigeria - PAN Panama - PER Peru - QAT Qatar - ROU Romania - SAU Saudi Arabia SGP Singapore - SYR Syria - TUN Tunesia - UAE United Arabian - URU Uruguay - UKR Ukraine.

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Emerging Markets

Go beyond, go BRIC, but be careful The world is evolving and it’s clear now that politically and economically there are new emerging markets which will play a more and more determining role. In the international fleet business too, countries like China, India and Brazil have attracted the attention of the fleet and lease suppliers. No wonder, growth over the coming years has to be achieved here.

Steven SCHOEFS

he term BRIC Countries stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China and is used to point out the economical importance of economies of opportunities now that the US and Europe are believed to have reached a certain level of saturation. LeasePlan and ALD Automotive, both recognized international lease players, are already active in those markets. LeasePlan started business in Brazil in 1998 and has been in India since 1999. The company is currently investigating whether and when it will start operations in other emerging markets. ALD Automotive is present in all

BRIC countries today. ALD Russia was started in 2004, while ALD India and ALD Brazil were launched in 2005. “All these are 100% owned subsidiaries”, says Tim Albertsen, COO at ALD Automotive, “while in China where we started in 2006, we have a 50% owned joint venture with a local Chinese partner. The reason for having 100% owned subsidiaries in Russia, India and Brazil is the same as all other of our subsidiaries, whereas the Joint Venture in China is solely based on the fact that the Chinese market and the corporate culture is quite unique and therefore we needed a local partner.

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“The new emerging markets have many uncertainties and challenges and it can be very difficult to get the wanted and needed transparency”, warns Tim Albertsen, COO of ALD Automotive.

Double growth in salary “The BRIC countries are all rapidly growing economic markets and it is expected that they will outperform the traditional economic giants in the future”, says Saskia Harreman, Managing Consultant at LeasePlan International. “LeasePlan’s geographic expansion focus will be based on the needs of our growing segment of international fleet customers. We are seeing the pace of globalisation accelerate and expect more cross-border activity to increase as clients continue to seek new markets and pursue cost savings.” We hear a similar opinion from ALD Automotive which is already present in each of the BRIC Countries. Tim Albertsen : “As part of our global strategy, ALD International has expanded geographically into more than 20 new countries in the last 5-7 years in order to follow and serve our International Key Accounts. These clients are also typically represented in the BRIC countries. In the longer term we believe that growth will be coming from these countries and areas.” Brazil for example is already the 7th largest economy of the world. Tjahny Bercx, CEO of LeasePlan Brazil: “All economic groups are benefiting from the economic growth. With the upcoming World Championship football in 2014 and Olympics in 2016, the interest and investments from outside as well as inside will bring a further boost to the economy. On top of this, Brazil has moved to the 4th place as producer of new cars, pushing even Germany back into fifth place. Currently only 11,6 % of the Brazilian population has a car, combine this information with an expected double growth in salary in the coming 5 years and you will understand that this

than in many parts of Europe. Lastly if we compare Europe with Brazil there is a lack of industry bodies like LeaseEurope.”

Lack of maturity The biggest difference with the European market is the level of maturity in terms of leasing and fleet management. “All the BRIC’s have a large geographical coverage compared to European markets and require strong regional coverage”, says Tim Albertsen, “but none of these markets are mature outsourcing or operating lease markets and China is not even yet at a stage where company cars are that common. Having said that, in Russia, India and Brazil the products and services we deliver are fairly identical to the ones in Western Europe. In China this is still not the case; the products there are more a hybrid between a short term rental contract and an operational leasing contract. And all these countries are vastly more bureaucratic than any Western European country, which is a clear challenge.” “When compared with Europe, the fleet business in India is at a very nascent stage”, confirms Sanjeev Prasad, Managing Director of LeasePlan India. “Currently, the overall corporate fleets in India comprise less than 5% of the gross auto sales in India. Traditionally, Indian companies have been procuring fleets only for senior managers. The concept of tool for trade cars was unknown. However, with the economy rapidly expanding, companies are looking at ways to increase market share, increase efficiencies and boost the top line with minimal impact on bottom line. Indian corporates are looking at fleets as a means to achieve this objective. Unlike many parts of Europe, the larger fleet market in India comprises companies that traditionally have not had fleets, but are realizing that fleets can be business enablers.” “If we look at Brazil we see that in essence the business concept between Brazil and Europe is the same. Although in Brazil operational leasing is still not well understood by the local companies”, declares Tjahny Bercx. “In Brazil the dealer network is also immature and new cars are changing rapidly due to the higher demands of clients, which has an impact on the residual value of the car. The infrastructure and road conditions cause more vehicle damage

Feel & Sense Nevertheless both lease suppliers consider it possible to develop an international fleet policy with the BRIC countries. “From a client’s point of view it’s possible but you have to segregate”, says Tjahny Bercx. “Because of local differences we often see that a company operating an international fleet implements an umbrella fleet policy for the entire global fleet outlining the company’s strategy and objectives for the fleet including the aim of cost control, driver care and CSR. How to implement these global fleet initiatives is up to the local organisation supported by a detailed and market fit local fleet policy as well as an experienced fleet management partner.” From the supplier’s side the policy can also be harmonized says Tim Albertsen : “For our international clients and accounts we work pretty much under the same policy in all countries. In our subsidiaries in the BRIC the TCO concept is well established, but the offering of additional services can vary from country to country depending on demand and potential legal constraints. The environmental concepts and services that we offer however seems to be more difficult to apply, as this is clearly not a focus in these countries for the time being. Having said that, we do see the first trend of awareness surfacing.” And finally both lease suppliers also agree in giving advice to the international fleet managers that also have responsibilities in the BRIC Countries. “Try to understand the culture and the local regulations. Talk to one or more of the international players in the industry that are present in this particular market. It is key to visit the country, look at the infrastructure. Feel it and sense it for a better understanding of BRIC requirements. Because these markets are very different from Europe and have many pitfalls.” n

Do's & Don’ts from Werner Berger & Lutz Hansen Do’s: • Map and understand specific requirements and priorities of your local businesses; • Have clearly defined objectives, shared and supported by local teams; • Understand which potential business partners truly act with a global key account structure; • Carefully chose your business partners on the basis of their own local experience & geographic presence; • Compare level of maturity of potential business partners with your own country expertise so as to decide which activities should/can be outsourced; • Compare financial/fiscal implications between pre-funding (self-funding) versus external financing, yet still considering to outsource non-core day-to-day fleet management activities; • Keep your finger on the pulse, i.e. monitor cost evolution (all key TCO drivers) for internal benchmarking and continuous improvement purposes; • Accept local differences and understand the local needs, think global act local; • Be aware that solutions need time, quick hits might not help you. Don’ts: • Don’t go for international tenders or contract coordination without having a formal mandate from senior management; • Don’t necessarily try to impose the same brand/model strategy in all countries but rather go after best fit for purpose and best overall total cost; • Don´t think all car models are available globally and that the engines are always the same.

Thanks to Werner Berger (International Fleet Manager of the Year 2009) and Lutz Hansen (Bayer – winner International Fleet Green Award 2009)

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will make the Brazilian market even more attractive.”

FOCUS Leasing in Europe

Rent a Car

Flexible solution for modern fleet man What can a short term leasing company mean to a fleet-owner? Flexibility is the major trump card that short term leasing companies can play and that is also what they are doing. They claim that they have the solution for modern fleet management within which a focus on the environment is becoming increasingly important.

Michaël VANDAMME

he starting point for all fleet managers has to be a clear definition of mobility needs. It is only possible to determine what the most appropriate solution is when this definition has been established. It’s often said that it is already in the name. “Short term leasing offers solutions for a

Caroline Simmerman (Hertz): “CO2 emissions are limited to a maximum of 140 gr/km within our Green Collection.”

shorter length of time, whilst long term needs are best provided for by leasing products.” However, it would be wrong to think in terms of too strict a dichotomy. Flexibility is something that is common to all short term leasing companies. But it should be

taken as a warning that leasing partners also often offer short term solutions. “It is noticeable that customers increasingly want one point of contact. For that very reason, you need to be able to offer a whole range of products. When companies start managing their fleet on a more international scale, they also want a mobility partner that has an adequately international network.” It is also often said that the focal point lies with the customer. “A typical customer has both long term and short term needs. Sometimes a sudden need arises for one or more cars. Being able to meet such needs quickly is also part of the important issue of ‘flexibility’. Furthermore, it may be that this need suddenly disappears once again. It is therefore important to understand that contracts must be able to be cancelled quickly.”

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Product diversity pays off

A flexible approach translates into a wide variety of products. Such diversity also appears to be systematically increasing - it is a subject in itself. “We offer so-called Collections: The Fun Collection, The Green Collection and The Prestige Collection", explains Caroline Simmerman, Benelux Marketing Manager for Hertz. “Each collection represents a specific type of car. The Fun Collection contains convertibles, the Prestige collection contains luxury models and makes whilst the Green collection only contains cars with CO2 emissions under 140 gr/km. Another example is our Hertz Minilease product whereby you lease a car for a minimum period of 30 days. You can then obviously continue leasing, but only one day’s notice needs to be given when cancelling the contract! It goes

agement without saying that this is a very appealing solution for smaller companies.” Technology is continually advancing and the ways in which cars can be leased is also increasing. “Speed is very important in our sector,” points out Frank Paschen, from Sixt’s Central Press Office. “Thanks to our Quick-Check-In, it is possible to lease a car using a Smartphone or tablet PC. This system also offers the possibility of unlocking a car using a remote control.”

Car sharing on the rise There is a change of behaviour on the horizon amongst fleet customers. “We are increasingly going from managing a car to sharing a vehicle,” says Avis. This not only requires a change in mentality, but it also requires the right formulas and products to make this all possible. You also need to be able to quickly meet the demand. And in doing so, react just as quickly to changing circumstances. According to what we have heard, “it is the short term leasing companies that have the right knowhow to be able to do this.”

CSR as business framework

“The fact that customers still usually opt for classic engines does not detract from the fact that there is much interest and curiosity!” emphasise the people at Sixt. “This interest is not in itself all that surprising. It goes hand in hand with growing environmental awareness within all sections of society. The major challenge here is the availability of green models, which is also the responsibility of the manufacturers. Our company is playing a leading role. We have increased the green share within our fleet and we are informing our customers about it.” The players see mobility as an increasingly important issue, which is logical as

The Rent a Car sector has noticed a change in behaviour amongst customers, a behaviour which is increasingly oriented towards sharing a car.

it has an effect on the way in which they work. “Fleet management is gradually becoming synonymous for mobility management,” they say. “Whereas in the past fleet owners used to be responsible for a fleet, they are now confronted with issue of mobility.”

The prospects look good Should we take a look in the crystal ball? “The financial crisis has highlighted the importance of professional Fleet Management,” is a comment that is often made. “People are also more cautious which also means that they are less inclined to commit themselves for long periods of time. This paves the way for

the potential of short term leasing. It’s up to us to come up with an adequate range to meet this increasing demand; a range which in terms of cost must be able to compete with other financing formulas as TCO is an on-going concern for customers.” As far as we can see, the prospects look good for short term rental companies. n FleetEurope Magazine 54

The ‘green’ issue is perhaps the most widely discussed component of corporate social responsibility. However, safety and mobility must also not be overlooked. All three issues seem to be becoming more important to short term leasing companies. “The fact that we have a modern fleet means that we score very well when it comes to safety and being green,” says Avis. “However, our commitment goes further than this. We see the long term integration of electric and hybrid cars within our fleet as a challenge. Several partnership agreements have been set up with this goal in mind. On top of this we just launched a new product called “Avis on Demand” that provides the possibility to enter into a car sharing program.”

STRATEGY Management

CVO International Fleet Barometer 2011

A fresh view on fleet markets, in Europ Once again this year the Corporate Vehicle Observatory is publishing its International Fleet Barometer, this time covering 15 countries. Russia is now included in order to further strengthen the observation on non European economies. Based on over 4,500 interviews with decision making fleet managers, the Barometer looks behind the simple fact of recovery and emphasises radical divergences among otherwise closely interdependent fleet markets. Vincent RUPIED

he CVO Barometer 2011 is structured into geographic clusters. This article refers to ‘Europe’ including Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The ‘outside Europe’ cluster, under the acronym ‘BRIT’, involves Brazil, Russia, India, and Turkey.

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Fleet managers are focusing on solutions that keep them ahead of trends that impact the budget.

Unbalanced growth European automotive markets are celebrating a recovery that is encouraging when set against the depressed figures from past years. However, the image looks surprisingly bleak when compared with powerfully growing younger economies. The contrast is not less striking when we observe professional fleets through the eyes of the fleet managers

themselves. In Europe they are improving, but still far from the excellent year of 2008. Measured in terms of those intending to increase their fleet minus those intending to reduce it, the growth potential of large corporates is at +16%, far better than the -1% of 2009 but still some way from the +25% of 2008. Smaller companies, whose fleet growth had not plummeted so dramatically in the

e and elsewhere crisis period, are even at a slightly lower level of intention than last year. Greece and Portugal go as far as to show negative net trends irrespective of size segments. Against this, the BRIT countries are ‘where it’s happening’. Net intentions to develop fleets here are above 55% in businesses of all sizes. India and Brazil are the champions within these countries, closely followed by Turkey. Russia is at a relatively average level, similar to Poland, the most optimistic European country (see Graphic 1).

strong partisans of outright purchase even in large corporates, and financial leases are firmly established in Portugal and the Czech Republic. More strikingly, we are observing in 2011 an alteration in the normal predominance of operational leasing : it loses 2 percentage points (from in medium-large European companies and 5 in very large ones). The

scale of the change, however modest, can certainly be discussed but the novelty is that the so far continuous growth of the full service operational lease seems to be coming to a halt. Whether it should be seen as a new lasting trend or as a temporary breath after years of continued growth, remains open for debate (Shown in Graphic 2).

Graph 1: Fleet growth potential in the next three years

Thoroughness still the key Should we conclude that business overseas is easy? All professionals involved in emerging economies know that tricky conditions are the norm in these markets. In fact their fleet managers are even more cost oriented than in Europe. While Europe has tended to keep tight rules over the crisisperiod, fleet users in BRIC countries are now adopting equally severe selection criteria. Roughly half of their fleet managers declare that they are working under stronger cost pressure than last year. This thoroughness, again championed by India, is doubtless helped by improving control of the drivers of fleet costs – starting with the duration of depreciation periods. As in Europe last year, these countries, with the exception of Brazil and Russia, are extending the duration of use of the vehicles, whether passenger cars or light industrial vehicles – a trend still perceived in Europe this year but with far less penetration, except for Portugal.

Graph 2: Evolution of the main financing method

The analysis of dominant financing methods across countries usually discloses deep heterogeneity behind misleading European averages. Let us observe medium and large businesses, above 100 employees. While the full service operational lease model has been constantly gaining ground virtually everywhere over past years, countries like Switzerland, Poland and Greece remain

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A new Challenge in Operational Leasing

STRATEGY Management

Financial Leasing in Russia and Brazil Outside of Europe outright purchase is widely dominant in businesses of all sizes, right up to the largest ones in Russia. In addition, unlike in Europe, car purchase on credit still plays an essential role, in particular in India and Turkey. Financial leasing is relatively well established in Russia and Brazil, leaving very little space for operational leases : with the noticeable exception of Turkey where a third of businesses above 100 employees mainly use operational lease, this formula so far represents only a few percentage points in all other countries surveyed.

Graph 3: Experience with fleet leasing

Budget control Beyond current market shares, what are the drivers for the development of operational leasing in European and BRIT countries? In Europe, the CVO has analysed and assessed the durability of the motivations of fleet managers for leasing. When asked about the main added value, besides the rental cost, that they find in operational leasing, budget control is the first answer, closely followed by the outsourcing of services and administration, and then by the avoidance of maintenance and residual value risk. These operational preferences of lessees make up the value proposition of operational lease and are economically rational. They should be brought to the attention of the advocates of the current IFRS Lease Accounting project, who appear only to suspect window dressing and so blatantly miss the point (Graphic 3).

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Another difference in operational lease appearing in the CVO Barometer 2011 is its ability to account for unpredictable mileages and conditions of usage. Among companies over 100 employees, 85% of European and 88% of extraEuropean lessees consider the usage based rental adjustability as an important motivation. We should bear in mind that this flexibility is significantly questioned by the afore-mentioned accounting project (Graphic 4).

Finally the observation of distant countries refreshes our perception of our own markets and mitigates latent common topics. A new challenge to the so far most rapidly growing financing mode for fleets is probably a normal variation of businessesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; preferences and should not

Graph 4: Adjustments of rentals in case of mileage deviation

What is CVO? Corporate Vehicle Observatory is an international research institution initiated by Arval and established to meet the growing interest in the subject of car fleet and formed by all members of automotive market: producers, deliverers, fleet managers, insurers and government institutions representatives. Established in France in the year 2002, CVO currently operates in 15 countries.

outweigh the structural added values of operational lease on service integration and risk avoidance. At least as long as these are not offered in association with alternative finance sources. n

Vincent Rupied Chairman Automotive Steering Group, Leaseurope (European Federation of Leasing & Rental); Director Corporate Relations, ARVAL Executive Director, Corporate Vehicle Observatory.

STRATEGY Management

Legislation

Taxation is an enabler for strategic de c About this time of the year Fleet Europe together with PricewaterhouseCoopers are producing the International Fleet Guide, an overview of car related taxes in 28 countries. Understanding these taxes and their impact on the car market is vital to take the correct decisions.

Bart VANHAM

axation shapes markets: determining the vehicles that sell well in certain markets, and influencing vehicle size, body styles, fuel types and engine displacement. Taxation can have a bearing on the absolute size of markets, and influence production location decisions. Tax differentials also influence consumer behaviour: in the US, where there is almost no fuel duty and gasoline costs € 0.37 a litre, the best-selling vehicle is the Ford F-Series pickup, more than likely fitted with a V8 engine. In the UK, where

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“Not picking up the right taxation signals may influence your company car fleet double: the running cost of your fleet and residual value”, declares our taxation expert Bart Vanham.

fuel duty and VAT combine to make up over 63% of the price of fuel (at € 1.42 a litre) the number one selling car in 2010 was the Ford Fiesta and would most likely be sold with a four-cylinder engine of below 1.6L displacement. In France, since 2008 a € 1600 penalty was payable only if the car purchased emitted over 200g/km, but by 2010 the € 1600 penalty became payable at anything over 190g/km. Likewise, a € 1,000 bonus at introduction payable for cars

emitting between 61-100g CO2/km has been scaled back to € 800 between 60g and 90g/km. This approach to vehicle taxation has had its effect on the French car market. By 2010, vehicles emitting less than 120g per km of CO2 made up 47% of the market, up from 18% in 2006, while the market for vehicles over 160g per km CO2 had virtually disappeared. As well as affecting the market make-up, the scheme has also had the desired effect on total CO2 emissions of cars sold: hitting the 130g/km mark in 2010

cisions From CO2 to electric cars In 2011 about 19 countries have introduced a CO2-linked car taxation regulation. The last being added to the list was Greece. Although the driving forces behind that decision could be more then an environmental objective, “green” taxes being seen as quite socially acceptable. Most West-European countries have updated band of CO2-emissions and the taxes linked to these in line with evolution of the supply of CO2friendly cars. Quite logic since losing tax income on cars are not affordable for most governments still recovering from last downturn. In Eastern-Europe, no significant changes were introduced. Latvia, Greece and Hungary do have some taxes linked with CO2-emissions or the envi-

decisions. An example I came across a few days ago is illustrating: A fleet contained the choice for a new luxury brand hybrid car in an important segment. With the price premium (and still some uncertainty on the residual value), the lease fee for this vehicle is about 10% higher than most of its best competitors in the same car segment. If you base decisions on the lease fee, you risk that the car is positioned in the wrong car policy segment having to compete to higher car segment cars. Secondly, if you calculate the TCO plus impact of car taxation, the hybrid car may well be more cost effective than its competitors in the same car segment. Therefore fleet decision makers should take into account the effect of car taxes when making important decisions, certainly also including the car taxes with indirect effect not directly influencing the price on the road of a car,

“ Understanding the dynamics of car taxes is vital to make correct fleet management decisions. ” ronmental performance of the cars. In most of the CEE countries it seems that the crisis has slowed down the race to catch up with West-Europe. 2011 will be marked in history as the first introductions to the market of electric vehicles. In WestEurope, 15 of the EU27 are stimulating the demand for these hybrid or full electric cars by introducing tax incentives in form of tax reliefs, subsidies,…, ranging from € 9,000 in Belgium to waiving the registration tax in Denmark (significant as in Denmark is either 105% or 180% of the purchase prices). So taxation policies will be extremely important for the future of EVs as consumers still have to be convinced to pay a quite significant price premium for a use that still has limitations in terms of range.

Taxation impacts management decisions Understanding the dynamics of car taxes and its impact is vital to make correct

but influencing the total cost for the company (e.g. level of deduction, level of capital allowances, etc…). Car taxes are also an important source of income for the governments. With car taxes being increasingly linked to the environmental performance of cars and with the increased supply of environmental friendly cars on the market, it is easy to understand that governments will tighten the set limits in order to secure tax income. Therefore international fleet managers should continue their effort in the quest for environmental friendly and hence cost effective cars surfing along the trend line set for the supply side of the market aiming at 130g CO2/ km by 20122015 evolving to 95g CO2/km by 2020. As ever, early adapters will benefit from tax incentives given and will continue to benefit from these tax incentives. Fuel prices and fuel taxes seem to become an important factor in the decision making process both for govern-

ments and the car market. Diesel cars have increased their market share of the last years significantly in search for lower CO2-emissions combined with highly improved engine performance. In Belgium, a diesel car country for many years due to lower excises on diesel and its better CO2-emissions, is struggling with the particles resulting from diesel use. This effect being duplicated in a number of other countries… possibly indicating that governments may decrease the differentiation between diesel and petrol fuels (if any today). Furthermore, I was told that the room for improvement from a technology point of view is quite higher with petrol cars. Looking at both trend indicators, it may be that we should take into account a shift back towards petrol cars, eventually supported by electric engine power. All the above does not only influence the fleet cars but also private cars. Therefore, not picking up the right taxation signals may influence your company car fleet double: the running cost of your fleet and residual value. A warned man being worth 2, one should take into account car taxes in its decision process. This will help to position cars in a correct car policy segment, this will enable to benchmark cars properly including direct and indirect tax effects, will help to decrease (temporarily) cost, will enable to choose the right technology (EV’s, diesel, petrol, …) fit at its aimed use….. Fleet managers starting early with embedding these tax effects in their decisions will benefit from incentives. n

Bart Vanham Specialist International car taxation With assistance from the PwC Automotive Network

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from 149g/km when the scheme was introduced.

STRATEGY Case Study

Serge Ruytjens, Ericsson

Rationalization and reorganization lead Ericsson is in the process of reorganising its car fleet operations across the world. Within this context, we asked Serge Ruytjens, Fleet Manager Western and Central Europe, to explain the new organisation and what the Swedish telecommunications and electrical manufacturer’s objectives are in this field.

Tim HARRUP

here are four new regional groupings for the purposes of organising the vehicle fleet within Ericsson: Western & Central Europe, Latin America, North America and the Mediterranean. This structure was established at the beginning of the spring, and will require considerable new thinking within the various different countries, which have been used up to now to working relatively independently.

“From twenty three market units which is how it was organised before, we have restructured down to ten larger regions. My territory includes three market units.

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Serge Ruytjens is Fleet Manager Western and Central Europe for Ericsson. He wants to reduce the number of fleet suppliers in the years to come.

These are the UK and Ireland, Western Europe, and then Central Europe from Poland to Croatia”, says Serge Ruytjens. Do you have fleet managers in every country? Serge Ruytjens: “Yes, we have a fleet manager in every country, and in some cases this person may cover more than one country. But where this is the position, there is also a local person responsible for and taking care of the local fleet. But we are trying to move forwards into a more centralised way of working. This is going to be far preferable to the way it was before, when each country did n

almost anything it wanted to, and in the way it wanted to. But now, with this switch to the regions, we have noticed that certain categories left room for improvement. We are looking at how we can bring all the countries together into a centralised scheme.” n This sounds as though it might be quite a task. Serge Ruytjens: “It is, and it is linked of course to quite a lot of change management. Fleet cars, and especially benefit cars, are a very emotional subject – we have to be very careful and we are constantly walking on egg-shells! There are many stakeholders involved, not just sourcing and procurement but also HR and the legal and finance departments.”

Does centralising mean having a limited number of leasing companies and brands? Serge Ruytjens: “This is an objective which we will need to meet, but we have some way to go. We are currently in a situation whereby we have thirty two different brands and twenty eight leasing companies. This is clearly too many, and so our first steps are to make adjustments in this area. We intend to optimise to a smaller number in each category, and this is one of the reasons why the Board in Sweden has instigated this global fleet category, of which I am one of the four members. We held our first 5-day workshop just recently, and set about identifying the situation in each region and seeing how it could be improved. We tried to define what is more or less a global strategy, which means there are a lot of people we have to convince. We hope, of course, that our new way of working will bring substantial savings.” n

d to quality About Ericsson Ericsson was founded in 1876 in Sweden, and in 2001 it created a jointventure with the Japanese manufacturer Sony, active in the communications field, with well-known products including televisions and mobile telephones under the ‘Sony-Ericsson’ name. Ericsson employs over 75,000 across the world. Turnover in 2010 increased by 0.2% on 2009 despite the continuing consumer confidence crisis, to just over 200 billion Swedish Kroner, or around 22.5 billion Euros.

Western & Central Europe fleet

n You mentioned CO2 emissions, do you have a target? Serge Ruytjens: “We have a target, but I would like to start once again by explaining the current situation. Because

6,000

BENEFIT CARS :

4,000

SERVICE VEHICLES:

2,000

Ericsson will in the near future probably select five to six brands for the whole European region.

everybody was doing what they wanted, we have wide differences from country to country. The biggest polluter, for example, is Spain, at an average of around 200 grams per km, whereas Italy is only

“ Eco-driving courses represent a high cost, and can only make any sense if you do it on a regular basis. ” companies the opportunity to quote for our business alongside the international players. So a possible outcome is that we will be working with local companies in certain countries, alongside one of the (probably two or three) international companies we will select. And again, this will not be imposed – the countries can choose from the partners we authorise.”

NUMBER OF VEHICLES :

at 150 grams. So yes, we now have a target, and this is to comply with the European objective of 120 grams by the end of 2012. This is of course with newly obtained cars, and I am sure that we will achieve this target.” n How do individual drivers fit into your new plans, especially their impact on CO2 emissions? Serge Ruytjens: “Up to now this has also been limited to local operations, but it is now on our agenda to set up a kind of communication plan for drivers. This will not only advise them of how to best

drive their cars, but also to inform them of just how much money their company car is costing Ericsson. In other words, instil cost awareness into our drivers. This will follow on from the first steps we need to take in our new set-up – fuel, OEM’s and leasing companies.” n What about eco-driving courses? Serge Ruytjens: “I am not particularly convinced by these courses. This is because it seems to me that it represents a high cost, and it can only make any sense if you do it on a regular basis. If you invite your drivers to an eco-driving course just once, it may have a limited effect over a short period of time. To guarantee real results over the long term, the courses need to be regular, and this represents a very high cost.”

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From this high number of suppliers, what are you trying to get down to? Serge Ruytjens: “I started by basing myself on the current situation, so I have agreements with the major OEM’s. I have tried to select about seven or eight of these, and I have agreements with them in areas such as discounts. We will now launch a request for quotation (RFQ) across the region, and based on the results of this, we will probably select five to six brands for the whole region. We are not making all of the brands mandatory, but countries will be able to select from within them. Germany is a good example of a selection process, they are doubtless only going to choose three brands. We will also go even further following our 2011 transition year, and will reduce the number of brands even further, down to four or maximum five. We will make an evaluation based on TCO and CO2 emissions and will need to drop certain brands, probably by the end of next year; Then we will be able to work in a genuine partnership with the four or five brands remaining. Where leasing companies are concerned, some of our countries work with local leasing companies, and this is sometimes a good solution. We intend to give these local n

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Think business, drive Hyundai In recent times, Hyundai has gone from strength to strength in Europe, epitomised by last year’s record performance. In 2010, Hyundai achieved its highest-ever sales and market share across Europe. Hyundai’s presence in the fleet market was a key factor in this growth. And with the launch of the all-new i40 also the future colours Hyundai.

Total sales of 362.000 units led Hyundai to attain a European new car market share of 2,6%. This sales volume represented a 4,9% increase over 2009’s figures – a result made all the more remarkable by the fact that the European market decreased by 4,7%. Total fleet sales of 74.000 units across 26 countries pushed the brand to new heights. ‘True fleet’ sales amounted to 54.000 units, with a further 20.000 units sold via rent-a-car schemes. To cement Hyundai’s position as a leading brand, not just within the automotive industry, a recent Interbrand study showed Hyundai’s brand recognition took a significant step forward, and is now ranked as one of the most valuable automotive brands in the world – ahead of more

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In 2011 Hyundai is launching the allnew i40, a car designed specifically for Europe and European drivers.

prestigious names, including Porsche, Lexus and Ferrari.

New models in 2011 This year, Hyundai is launching the all-new i40, a car designed specifically for Europe and a true competitor in the D-segment. Completing Hyundai’s full range of vehicles, the i40 joins the i10 city car, i20 supermini, i30 hatchback, ix20 compact MPV and ix35 compact SUV in offering private and fleet buyers a broad selection of high quality vehicles. Every element of the i40 has been tailored to suit European tastes. The powertrain options, for example, are extremely efficient, putting the i40 at the top of its class for environmental credentials. CO2 emissions of just 113 grams per kilo-

meter makes the 1.7-liter diesel stand out from its rivals. The exterior design is influenced by the company’s ‘fluidic sculpture’ form language. A dynamic profile is enhanced by distinctive graphic elements, while the interior design focuses on sculptural and ergonomically optimized integration of its functions. With the i40, Hyundai sets out to make premium quality accessible to everyone. This model boasts a number of features as standard, that are not yet available on competitor cars. These include heated folding front and rear seats; an auto-defog system that automatically detects and clears mist on the windscreen; and a heated steering wheel. Hyundai and the i40 also stand out from the crowd when it comes to total cost of

ownership (TCO). Over a typical lifecycle, TCO for the i40 is between 9% and 13% lower than key competitors, including Toyota Avensis and Volkswagen Passat, equating to a saving of up to € 900 per year. Conventionally, brands launch a D-segment car first as a sedan. But Hyundai recognizes that in Europe the wagon body-style claims over 50% of sales in this segment, so Hyundai is bringing the wagon to market before the sedan. This decision reflects Hyundai’s new brand slogan ‘New Thinking. New Possibilities.’ – choosing a new strategy to best meet the demands of fleet and private buyers in Europe The i40 will become an ambassador for the brand in all sectors and all markets, giving Hyundai a real opportunity to continue growing private and fleet sales in 2011 and beyond.

care package offers customers a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty; five years roadside assistance; and five years of vehicle health checks. Five Year Triple Care demonstrates Hyundai’s confidence in its vehicles, providing complete peace of mind to customers and making their ownership experience both rewarding and stress-free. Five Year Triple Care contributes to Hyundai’s lower TCO, giving fleet buyers competitive maintenance costs thanks to yearly health checks and the longerthan-average warranty. It’s an important component of Hyundai’s number one service strategy, and is intended to bring the

brand closer to a position of leadership in customer satisfaction. Every new i40 will come with Five Year Triple Care. This leading package is also available on a growing number of Hyundai cars on sale in Europe, including the best-selling i30 and two newcomers to the Hyundai range: ix20 and ix35 – both of which have come to market in the last 12 months. More information on the full range of Hyundai models and services is available at: www.hyundai-fleet.eu

Five Year Triple Care Since early 2010, Hyundai has been rolling out an important customer-focused initiative, ‘Five Year Triple Care’. This unrivalled

With the all-new i40, Hyundai makes premium quality accessible to everyone. Did you know that every new i40 comes with the unique ‘Five Year Triple Care’ package?

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In Europe the wagon body-style claims over 50% of sales in the popular D-segment, so Hyundai is bringing first the wagon to market.

STRATEGY Case Study

France Telecom

Orange is turning green In a first in the international fleet industry, France Telecom has organised a Green Fleet Forum at its Paris HQ. The main topic: Sustainable Mobility a value at the core of the company’s strategy.

Caroline THONNON

or France Telecom, Sustainable Mobility is of global strategic importance, says Philippe Tuzzolino, Group Environmental Affairs Director: “For many years now, France Telecom has been pursuing goals in Corporate Social Responsibility, in particular with respect to the environment. Even in today’s economic climate - in fact, now more than ever - this remains central to our corporate strategy, which is threefold: inclusion, conservation, attentiveness.” “Our group is aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% across our 18 national markets by 2020. That’s the challenge. We are taking this up with the United Nations

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Orange Green Fleet Forum: The goal is to benefit from extensive and up to date expertise, to challenge views, to network and to test-drive the e-cars provided by the suppliers.

and with the European Commission. We’re seeing countries establish laws and taxes based directly on emissions. So sustainable mobility is a really big challenge. To achieve this goal of 20% less CO2 emissions, we’ve also reviewed our fleet policy. If you consider that we have about 33.000 vehicles in our fleet, those emissions really add up. We’re considering all options with other stakeholders, with our industry partners, and other businesses.”

An industry first It’s been three years since France Telecom decided its procurement, envi-

ronment and fleet management departments should have annual forums to exchange views and best practices. Primary goal of these meetings was to have all involved in procurement adhere to the group’s CSR policy, to help lower the CO2 emissions of the company fleet. On March 30, France Telecom invited around 100 fleet industry decision makers, from manufacturers, lessors and purchasing directors of the main Orange countries to national green policy managers, all the way up to the group’s Secretary-General. Directors and managers of other major French and international companies were also invited. On the agenda were presentations outlining the manufacturers’ latest technological advances, and service formulas available on today’s market for car sharing, mobility management, business travel, business models available for e-car financing, and driver management. Add the discussions between the attendees generated by all this content, and you get the picture of a day filled to the brim with exchanges of best practices and lessons learned. The Green Fleet Forum was conceived as part of a whole week focused on sustainable development. During this week, the 4.300 employees of the Orange Village at Arceuil were also given the opportunity to test-drive the Peugeot iOn. One iOn has already been ordered by Orange UK and another one for France Telecom, and four parking spaces at the Orange Village parking lot have been upgraded to charging stations that can accomodate the iOn. Other Orange sites in and outside Paris, and outside France, will soon be similarly equipped. “While teleconferencing and telepresence are at the heart of our business,

real-life encounters between people will not disappear,” says Marc Fossier, Executive Director of CSR at France Telecom. “Hence, we also have offers for those looking to optimise, streamline and innovate the transport of goods and persons.” “I am very pleased to see a good number of our employees arriving a little late at their desks because they couldn’t help paying attention to the vehicles provided here today by the car manufacturers. Even Stéphane Richard, CEO of Orange, just had to test the Peugeot iOn, and so did the company president.” “The reduction of CO2 emissions by vehicles has been an issue at the heart of our strategy for several years now. We currently have an average of 130 grams of CO2 emissions, including the car of our company president. So we’re really quite far along the right way.”

experiments with ‘decarbonated’ vehicles, i.e. hybrid and electric cars. We’re part of a group established by the French postal service to facilitate the introduction of e-cars in France. We strongly believe in the development an introduction of

these new powertrains. Our Green Fleet Forum shows our commitment to the cause, both inside our own organisation as well as outside. Orange is turning green…” n

At Orange they are defining their green fleet management with the help of our partnered manufacturers and service providers (both short- and long-term leasing).

Green actions

Being creative Jean Zermati has been in charge of Vehicle Management at France Telecom Orange since 2010: “Our actions are focused mainly on the catalogue that we provide to our employees. The main trend in this catalogue is the broadening of offers to meet all needs of any France Telecom Orange employee. For private cars, we expand the catalogue offers by trying to think outside the box of the classic company car. We’re looking for the best-suited vehicles for our drivers, be they male of female. Maybe also a car that’s a bit nicer to drive, but also pricecompetitive. Obviously we also take into account CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.”

Going electric Guillaume Gautier, Commodity Manager: “ We are currently conducting several

Three themes of Orange’s purchasing policy • Relationships with internal prescribers: an operating mode is established between the purchasing department and its internal stakeholders allowing for the procurement of vehicles that are innovative and more environmentally friendly, that have precise specifications and that take into account the requirements of all parties involved. • Expertise in purchasing: the job of purchasing is oriented towards the vehicle category. Purchases are effected while keeping an eye on new technologies so we can respond to the buying requirements of our internal prescribers, taking into account the advances in green technology. • Guiding our providers: making sure our providers choose Orange. Orange strives to establish strategic partnerships with its automotive suppliers. One example is the operational test with feedback that will be conducted in the coming months in conjunction with a manufacturer of innovative zero-emission vehicles. Another example is the trust that has been established, allowing the manufacturers to exhibit their innovative vehicles at our forum.

With a little help from the sourcing department “Our strategy points to great opportunities of savings and increased efficiency,” explains Jean-Baptiste Planche, Sourcing Director. “These areas are obviously of particular concern to us.” “Sustainable procurement is a major economic and strategic challenge, but it’s also a real responsibility for us to take up. It’s also an opportunity to meet the different stakeholders, to create value and to drive innovation. It’s also an excellent way to effect change in our procurement methods.” “Our procurement strategy has to main focuses: first, a comprehensive approach (to all things economic, social and environmental) and then there’s our increasing tendency towards partnerships.”

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Orange has opted for an increasingly rapid fleet renewal, in order to incorporate the most environmentally friendly car models as fast as possible. “We’re discussing the pros and cons of electric vehicles and hybrids across all our national markets,” said Marc Fossier. “Also an important issue is eco-driving. The best energy management is the one that consumes as little as possible. Which is a very important principle. And finally, via e-learning, we’re constantly urging drivers to consume less.”

INDUSTRY Partner

Javier VAZQUEZ, Volvo Car Corporation

“We will go our own way” This year it’s the 25th anniversary of the international fleet structure at Volvo. According to Javier Vazquez, Director International Major Accounts, the values of Volvo’s international fleet vision have not changed, although a lot has evolved and will further evolve.

“

n Volvo is a premium brand but it’s premium image is not as big as that of the German competitors. Does this have an

influence on your fleet vision? J. Vazquez: “Volvo does not intend to copy its German competitors. We will go our own way with a strong focus on Scandinavian quality, technology and safety. Going forward we will put more emphasis into the emotional aspect of owning a car. Volvo models, particularly those introduced in recent years such as the XC60 and V60, are increasingly recognized as sitting right alongside premium brand competition. In terms of fleet image, we successfully launched the concept of "Risk-Free Fleet Strategy". n If one says Volvo, one says safety. Which safety services have you developed and will you develop? J. Vazquez: “During the last years, Volvo has launched a number of groundbreaking and award-winning safety features as City Safety and Pedestrian Detection. But Volvo is also working on additional projects with direct or indirect safety benefits to fleet customers. 2012, we plan to launch a Smartphone Mobile Application which will include features such as Crash

Volvo developed the DRIVe series and is developing plug in hybrids and electrical cars. Which sustainable technology will become the most successful? J. Vazquez: “DRIVe Towards Zero is Volvo's vision for developing cars entirely free from harmful exhaust emissions and environment-impacting carbon dioxide. It’s our aim that by 2020, the average emissions from our models will be 90-100g CO2/km. Volvo believes that petrol and diesel will be the main fuel for a foreseeable future, but increasingly in combination with electrification. An example is the Volvo V60 Plugin Hybrid that will be on the market in 2012, with 285 bhp (215 bhp turbodiesel + 70 bhp electric motor), a fuel consumption of 1.9 l/100 km (below 50g CO2/km) and a 50 km driving range on one battery charge.” n

Steven SCHOEFS

What for you is the most legendary Volvo? “I would choose one classic and one modern Volvo: the P1800 and the XC90. The former, celebrating its 50th birthday this year, is a true legend and one of the most beautiful cars ever made. The XC90 is the biggest commercial success in Volvo´s history since the launch in 2002. It redefined the SUV segment with unrivalled practicality and safety.”

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olvo recognized the importance of partnering with the international fleet customers already in 1986”, says Javier Vazquez. “Today we are more committed than ever to the international fleet business and I think that we can demonstrate that in two ways : our flat organizational structure with myself as International Major Account Director reporting directly to the President of Volvo Cars International Sales, which means rapid sign-off and decision making on all important issues. Secondly we have extremely close links with the Volvo National Sales Companies where we use a proactive "can do" approach, which lead to a great implementation. Future wise it’s important to know that we are working closely with emerging markets such as China which will be important in the future. In terms of future structure development Volvo recognizes the strategic and business requirements for international fleet partnerships.

notification, Emergency service, Breakdown service and Remote door unlock. Next to that there is the SARTRE Road Train project that has carried out the first successful demonstration of its technology at the Volvo Proving Ground in Gothenburg. Vehicle platooning, as envisaged by the SARTRE project, is a convoy of vehicles where a professional driver in a lead vehicle drives a line of other vehicles.”

INDUSTRY Partner

Chan UK JUN, KIA Motors Europe

“The role of the automobile is changin To help its new fleet offensive, KIA has just appointed a new Fleet and Remarketing Manager for Europe. He is Chan Uk Jun and we took the opportunity of the launch of the new Picanto model in Spain to gain an insight into his background and his ambitions for KIA. have been working for car manufacturers for 12 years, firstly one year with GM in Japan, then Jaguar for five years, followed by six years at Daimler, and now since December 2010 for Kia. My roles have been in sales as Key Account Manager for Mercedes in the German market and in marketing for Opel, Jaguar and Chrysler. Most recently, I was working in Fleet Business Development for markets outside of Europe at the Mercedes-Benz HQ in Stuttgart. I love cars and I always wanted to work in the automotive industry since I was a child.”

“

n From Mercedes-Benz to KIA may look strange as a career move in the fleet automotive. C.U. Jun: “Mercedes invented the automobile and is still my favourite Premium brand. I have learned a lot during the last years, especially about the fleet business. I decided to work for KIA, because I like the new challenge to build up a strong fleet organization in Europe. to transform Kia into a visible fleet brand in Europe. Kia and

Hyundai together are the number four car manufacturer in the world. There is still a lot of potential for our brand in Europe. In 2010 KIA had a share of 1.9% in Europe, while the fleet share stood at 1.3%. Fleet is key for the future growth strategy of KIA Motors Europe. KIA has the objective of becoming the mainstream fleet alternative for small and medium customers. The second step is to grow step by step in the large fleet and the rental segment.” Image and market presence are two subjective but major elements in the choice of a fleet brand for a company. Do you believe that KIA can improve in this area? C.U. Jun : “The product always comes first. Our latest products are better in design and quality than our brand recognition. The brand has a strong European DNA with regard to production plants, R&D and design centre. We are currently investing a lot into our dealer network. Changing brand perception takes time. KIA launched the industry-leading 7 year warranty just last

year, and we were already associated with the best warranty across Europe. Our awareness as a fleet brand is quite positive in the UK and in Poland, where we are on the shopping list for medium and large fleet. This helps increasing awareness and to gain acceptance among the decision makers. Of course, we have to still increase visibility and push fleet test drives offered by dealers.” n Do you think that the financial crisis has

somehow changed the priorities for choice with the fleet clients? C.U. Jun : “The role of the automobile is changing as a result of the financial crisis and there are as well higher customer expectations regarding ecological aspects. With rising prices for energy and new tax regulations there are obvious reasons to change car policies towards smaller cars, electrical vehicles and lower emissions. The user-chooser, on the other hand, does not like to compromise. A car manufacturer can respond to these trends by democratising excellent design and newest technology.” n If we meet again in June 2012, what will

you have achieved as a European Fleet Manager and what would you like to achieve?

If I was not in fleet business...

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I would work with good friends in a small start-up company to be more independent or when I am older I could imagine to be a politician in Berlin, because I like the city.

Paul VERKINDEREN, Chevin Fleet Solutions

g”

Appointed as Sales Director C.U. Jun : “By then we will have launched four major new model families, which are very relevant for the fleet segment. My role is to ensure that all these products will get the right TCO, which in particular means strong residual values from the new Picanto to the Optima. The KIA cee’d has proven that we can manage residual values successfully. We will gain the commitment of the different countries to our European fleet growth strategy and intend to have grown the number of qualified fleet dealers by about 50% by the end of next year.” How important is the Picanto for the KIA fleet business in Europe? C.U. Jun : “The new Picanto is replacing a very successful predecessor. We now offer two body styles and will be more attractive for a broader target group. The new Picanto has specific fleet target groups for customers who look for mobility at low cost. We have been pleased with the reaction to this new model. The dealers and fleet experts who have driven the car today in Spain have been really positive, and many of them are going to propose it to their own customers.” n

n When will the segment D Optima arrive? C.U. Jun : “The Optima is already on sale in Korea and in the USA, where it is produced as well. Launch has been delayed in Europe due to high demand there, but it will be launched in the last quarter of this year. The Optima will be our entry ticket into large and medium fleets. We have to be present to increase visibility and we want to build on the success of the cee’d in the C-segment with the Optima in the D-segment. In my opinion this car is the masterpiece of our chief designer Peter Schreyer.”

In the beginning of May 2011 global fleet management consultancy and software provider Chevin Fleet Solutions, has appointed Paul Verkinderen as Sales Director for Benelux, Germany and France. Paul Verkinderen, who’s Belgian has joined Chevin Fleet Solutions just weeks after the opening of Chevin’s latest European office in Belgium.

ith over 20 years’ experience in the automotive sector, Verkinderen has extensive knowledge of the fleet industry. Verkinderen joins Chevin from a fleet management company in Belgium, where he spearheaded the organisation’s business development activities. Prior to this he held different senior management roles in the automotive industry, including Beerens Group, International Fleet Services and J&T Autolease.

particularly as more and more business realise the benefits that fleet management software can bring to their fleet operations.” Ashley Sowerby, managing director of Chevin Fleet Solutions: “Our European office is fundamental in our global expansion plans and with Mr Verkinderen at the head, we’re confident we can build upon the achievements we’ve already enjoyed in Europe, North America and Australia”. Steven SCHOEFS

Opportunity for growth Verkinderen will play an integral role in driving Chevin’s European operations forward. His focus will be on promoting the company’s core offering, which includes the web-based asset management application, FleetWave, as well as the asset-centric desktop-based enterprise system, RoadBASE, to generate growth and establish long-term customer relationships in the region. Verkinderen remarks: “Chevin is the international market leader in fleet management software and has the capability to target companies across all sectors, regardless of size or complexities. With a lack of international software solution providers in the German and French markets, there is a huge gap for us to grow,

After 20 years of fleet expertise in Belgium Paul Verkinderen goes international with fleet consultancy and software specialist Chevin Fleet Solutions.

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Tim HARRUP

INDUSTRY Partner

Jan Bouckaert and Roger Smith, Sofico

Efficiency through web-based fleet tools Sofico supplies software solutions to help other fleet suppliers keep their clients at the cutting edge of technology. Its systems are now used for some 700,000 vehicles globally. Business Development Manager, Jan Bouckaert and Sofico UK head Roger Smith tell us why. n What is the general context within which Sofico is able to help fleet suppliers and their clients? Roger Smith: “Contract hire companies could strengthen customer relationships, increase transparency and improve efficiencies by using web-enabled technology solutions integrated within their back office, but many shy away from doing so because of the perceived cost involved. Others are investing heavily but they are doing so by ‘bolting on’ web modules to their old legacy systems, an expensive and often short term approach that does not deliver the transparent, fully integrated, end-toend solutions that fleet managers are now demanding.”

n And how exactly is Sofico moving forward in this area? Jan Bouckaert: “Our second generation product Miles will carry forward the momentum which Leasebase has given Sofico

over the years. Based on industry standard platforms and using state of the art technologies, Miles allows leasing companies to bridge a growing technology gap between their legacy systems and the evolving software market. Through its integrated Milesweb component, Miles puts Sofico’s customers in a position to offer their clients modern day interactive fleet management solutions such as online dashboards, e-reporting, e-invoicing, driver self-service functionality, driver management, …” What major advantages do you offer? Jan Bouckaert: “Sofico’s customers are the lease companies first and foremost. Their customers, the fleet managers naturally benefit from the improved services levels which the leasing companies can offer them through the use of Miles. There are major advantages for leasing companies and their customers in investing in the latest generation of web-enabled leasing solutions.

To begin with, leasing companies don’t need to duplicate the coding and data sets that they need for their back office and their websites. The two things can be one and the same, which increases efficiencies, cuts administration and drastically increases the level of services and speed of response that are available to the customer. There is also a cost issue for smaller leasing companies who may not have the budgets of their larger competitors.” n How do you see the ICT area evolving, in fleet terms? Roger Smith: “Multi channel web based services and functionalities are not yet common in the fleet and leasing industry. Other sectors and industries, with a higher pressure to innovate and maintain at the cutting edge of what is technologically are pushing new innovations. As these become commonplace, drivers and fleet managers alike are adjusting their expectations of what should be possible.”

Steven SCHOEFS

Changing expectations

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“In the year 2000, arriving at the airport and getting in line to get your boarding pass was the norm. Today, your e-ticket is sent to you via email or a confirmation code arrives on your mobile phone. This sort of transformation is starting to happen in the lease industry. End users are starting to expect a choice in how they are able to handle various events in the lease contracts life cycle such as a quotation requests, vehicle delivery, routine maintenance, repairs, glass damage, tyre change,…”

Jan Bouckaert, Business Development Manager at Sofico

INDUSTRY Partner

Dieter FESS, bf forecasts

“After the crisis is before the crisis” Bf forecasts is a provider of residual value forecasts, portfolio analysis and risk management consulting in Europe. “Providing forecasts for passenger cars and light commercials in 10 European countries is our core business”, says Dieter Fess, Managing Partner and responsible for Marketing, PR & Sales. ut the derivatives of the forecasts are meanwhile a business of its own such as portfolio analysis, car-tomarket studies and since the beginning of this year, used car values.”

“

n Across the different activities, which one

is the most important? D. Fess: “Especially during the crisis, we received a tremendous response from our customers that for them it is of ultimate importance to provide a stable database for the calculations of leasing rates in the future. A database which is not influenced by the view of manufacturers but by macro-economical developments as well as model change impacts in the future.” n In which way can your company be an added value for international fleets? D. Fess: “The providing of a reliable source of data for the future is the key to a well calculated and less risky business of international fleets.”

I’ve noticed that risk management consulting is one of your activities. Do you think fleet managers pay enough attention to this subject? D. Fess: “Especially during the crisis we found out, that this service was of high interest for them. In times when the going gets tough, people in the industry remember the secrets of a good calculation: a reliable database. When things are easier this attitude slightly vanishes. We are getting more and more involved in marketing and product strategies long before a car is launched. This shows the importance of a third party to avoid typical blind spots within the customers management.” n

n As a residual value specialist, can you give our readers some do’s & don’ts regarding this aspect when they choose their vehicles? D. Fess: “The mix of the fleet is crucial to avoid a lot of similar cars going to the market in a similar time frame. The knowledge of sales channels within Europe and abroad may help to get rid of those cars which are hard to sell in the

domestic markets. To know the product launch times and the model change impacts is another information of high priority if one wants to avoid risks. And last but not least, the influence of inflation and economical developments in the future are playing an important role as well.” Will 2011 be a good year for the automotive industry? D. Fess: “All in all 2011 is going to be a good year. On the other hand it’s fair to say that: after the crisis is before the crisis….2011 is predominantly driven by the demand of huge markets such as China and Russia. The markets and market players do work properly as they did before the crisis. The markets which had economical problems hopefully learned their lessons. Maybe even the manufacturers seem to tend to produce cars in a healthy way not exceeding the demand too much.” n

n Why will 2011 be a good year for bf forecasts? D. Fess: “Our customer base is growing constantly and the countries we are involved in are growing too. We hope to play an important role on the Chinese market. Another focus is on the US-market were we have “black book” as a partner. But Europe is still our home base and therefore has our ultimate attention.”

Steven SCHOEFS

The ultimate dream car

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“My first car was a 10 year old Beetle, 44 HP and 1300 ccm´s, yellow with black stripes and an extraordinary high consumption. My dream car is changing from time to time. The most enduring dream is one of an Aston Martin Vantage but at the moment the SLS would do fine to tuck me in.”

INDUSTRY Partner

Matthias LÜHRS, Mercedes-Benz Cars

“We can provide very complete tailor m The fleet business is an important sales channel for Mercedes-Benz. Last year Mercedes-Benz fleet sales in Europe grew by 17% and the international fleet business by International Framework Agreements even more, up 36% compared to 2009. Matthias Lührs, Vice President Sales Mercedes-Benz Cars, is convinced that B2B sales will grow still further in 2011. lthough it is only five years since we are professionally organized to manage the fleet business at an international level, we already have a well developed sales and service infrastructure with market centric fleet programs in all major countries catering to fleets of all sizes”, says Matthias Lührs. “Our vision worldwide starting with Europe is basically to have a threefold way of doing business with our international customers. First of all we have over 200 international framework agreements with multinational companies where the team of Corporate Sales Manager Hans-Georg Lutz directly is in contact with the client. Alongside this we have national fleet departments with a fleet organisation, which deals directly with local fleet accounts on a national basis. And finally we have Mercedes-Benz Fleet Centers, which are selected fleet dealers that fulfill certain KPI’s in the areas of sales, services and processes. They serve for small, medium and sometimes even larger accounts in their regional environment.”

“

n Is there one of the 3 fleet channels that is

the most important in sales perspective? M. Lührs: “Although there are differences, I don’t want to put one before the other.

They are all important and at the end of the day the system has to go hand in hand with the identity and the vision of Mercedes-Benz as a brand. Our claim is ‘The Best or Nothing’, which means that we have the approach to exceed in what we do, whether it is building cars, whether it is sales or advertising. Regarding our fleet business, product quality and customer satisfaction are the most important points for us. Therefore I’m proud that we have made a remarkable progress in the recent years especially in customer satisfaction, as many independent studies show. To measure our progress we also have a Customer Satisfaction Index with our dealers in retail, and this year we’re going to introduce an adapted Customer Satisfaction Index for Fleet.” Will you extend your fleet presence geographically? M. Lührs: “We are commercially represented in almost all countries in the world either with an own company or with an importer. In terms of Fleet it’s a little bit different. We are trying to start and develop activities in more countries every day. Today, we have a fleet activity and dedicated fleet staff in all major markets. As the economy further globalizes we believe there’s still a substantial growth potential n

especially in overseas markets. But we have to go step by step. In 2011 we see opportunities particularly in the emerging markets like the BRIC countries, South Africa and Australia. But I believe it’s also very important to further increase our business in the countries where we are already represented.” Where do you see further growth potential? M. Lührs: “At the moment there’s a strong development especially in the small and medium fleet segment. A lot of smaller and medium-sized companies are setting up fleets right now, mainly overseas. So there’s a potential in terms of company cars for their employees and executives. Today around 20% of our fleet sales are to large and international accounts and 80% are to small and medium sized companies. Furthermore I also see growth potential with our new compact cars coming to the market, such as the new B-Class.” n

Do you foresee a downsizing attitude with the fleet driver, from C-Class to B-Class for example? M. Lührs: “Regarding engine sizes a downsizing trend is already visible and expected

Firework of models

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“We are launching a real firework of Mercedes-Benz models. Since the beginning of the year we have the new CLS, the facelift of the C-Class and the SLK . Now we have the launch of the new C Coupé, there will be the M-Class and SLS Roadster in autumn and the new B-Class coming at end of the year, all great products that will find a place in the fleet business.”

Gareth HESSION, JATO Dynamics

to continue. With a wide range of fuel efficient products we are well prepared for this trend. For example the E220 CDI now has 129 g/CO2 per km, therefore it is benchmark in its segment.” How far can you go in engine downsizing? M. Lührs: “Until 2012 we will have less than 140 g CO2/km as our average fleet value for new-vehicles in Europe. By 2016 we aim for 125 g CO2/km. In general, we see three directions of engine innovations. There’s the further optimization of the current combustion engines. Secondly there’s the hybridization. In 2012 the E-Class 300 BlueTec Hybrid with a consumption of only 4.1 l/km will have its market launch. Our S-Class Plug-in Hybrid will have a CO2-consumption of 70 g/km and come to market in our next S-Class generation. And finally there are the zero emission vehicles with fuel cell and battery. Today we offer four electric vehicles: the smart fortwo electric drive, the A-Class E-Cell, the B-Class F-Cell, whose practicality we currently demonstrate with the F-Cell World Drive and the Vito E-CELL. ” n

n If we look further than just the car, what’s

the Mercedes-Benz vision on sustainable mobility? M. Lührs: “We strongly believe that there will always be a need for individual mobility. In 2020 there will still be people who buy a car because they want to be independent in their mobility behaviour. But we also believe that the younger generations of people are changing the mindset from owning a car to using a car when it’s needed. This is today translated in our project car2go, a car sharing initiative from Daimler in Ulm and Hamburg in Germany, Austin in the USA and soon in many other cities in the world too, such as Amsterdam and Vancouver. n Finally, what’s the nicest Mercedes-Benz ever made? M. Lührs: “ It’s the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing first launched in 1954. The design is perfect, the upward opening doors were revolutionary and it’s very sporty without being a race car. It embodies the passion and visionary attitude of Mercedes-Benz.” Steven SCHOEFS

"Europe is making good CO2 progress" JATO Dynamics has released a study on the CO2-emission figures of new vehicles registrations in 2010. The report – A Review of CO2 Car Emissions across Europe FY2010 – shows that Portugal has claimed its position as Europe’s most “fuel conscious” country with the lowest CO2 emissions for new cars. ortugal is the first European country to achieve average emissions below 130 g/km, according to the latest study of CO2 emissions covering 21 European markets. Germany, Sweden and Switzerland are the biggest polluters in Europe, with average emissions for new cars registered exceeding 150 g/km. “This is not really a surprise to us”, says Gareth Hession, Vice President for Research at JATO Dynamics : “Portugal is a country where smaller cars traditionally do very well, while for example Germany and Switzerland are big car markets with a focus on motivation and image. These countries have relatively smoothly and rapidly survived possible consequences of the financial crisis, which means that the downsizing effect was much less prominent here. Sweden is geographically a country where the need for some larger types of cars is higher, so this position is not really remarkable either.”

in 2003. “It’s quite clear that the B2Bmarket is important here, because more and more international fleets have integrated a prominent CSR-strategy wherein sustainability is key. I believe that you can say that fleets are still more motivated and more robust than the retail business to achieve and respect clear CO2 targets.” All of Europe’s top 20 brands improved their emissions in 2010 compared to 2009, with Fiat recording the lowest average emissions, down 4.7 g/km to 123.1 g/km. Although this is an impressive performance Gareth Hession believes that the overall CO2-emission target of 130 g/km for all new cars in Europe, as defined by the EU, will be achieved and declares that it would be good to be even more ambitious in terms of the CO2-emission figures. Steven SCHOEFS

5g/km The report finds that despite the ending of scrappage schemes, gradually improving vehicle sales and an increasing market for fleet vehicles, CO2 emissions continue to fall across the region. Between 2009 and 2010 Europe dropped by 5 g/km, which is greater than that achieved in the three years from 2003 to 2006. Manufacturers appear to have made significant improvements, with more than 60% of all new cars sold having emissions of 140 g/km or less, compared to only 23%

Gareth Hession, Vice President for Research at JATO Dynamics, is convinced that in the near future pollutants like NOx will also be taken into the ecological equation.

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made offers”

INDUSTRY Partner

Miguel FONSECA, Toyota Motor Europe

Introducing the hybrid range in fleet At the Geneva Motor Show, Fleet Europe discussed with Miguel Fonseca, Vice President Sales Business at Toyota Motor Europe, the assets of the first full hybrid model range for corporations. ur stand was 100% dedicated to our Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) line-up of vehicles. It is a clear sign of our confidence in the hybrid technology, that we pioneered 14 years ago. Worldwide, Toyota and Lexus have already sold more than 3 million hybrid vehicles, and in Europe, we are gradually lining up hybrid versions of our core models. In 2010, we successfully introduced the Auris HSD, the first hybrid vehicle to be manufactured in Europe. And we are now confirming that in 2012, we will introduce the new Yaris HSD. More importantly, potential buyers are more and more keen on hybrid technology, as they are now aware of hybrids’ very low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions; two years ago, 8% of European customers said they wanted their next vehicle to be an hybrid, today that figure already doubled to 16%.”

“

n Do you see the same interest for hybrids as a company car? M. Fonseca: We strongly believe that hybrid technology is a great asset for company fleets, as it presents a low cost of ownership. We are also working on keeping the residual values of hybrids very high. The

holding costs are very competitive and the running costs very low. Prius and Auris HSD maintenance costs are 20 to 25% lower than conventional cars. In addition, hybrid vehicles are also well appreciated by company car drivers because of the uniquely relaxed and quiet driving. It was said that Toyota had great models, but not always the right engines for the European market. Are hybrids an answer to that? M. Fonseca: Exactly. Hybrid powertrains deliver very low fuel consumptions, classleading CO2 emissions, but also generate significantly less NOx and particulate emissions than equivalent diesel engines. These emissions are directly harmful to health or have an impact on global warming. In many European cities, there are already big issues wit NOx concentration in the air, and new NOx emissions regulations are coming up. The Euro VI norm will put higher pressure on diesel cars’ NOx emissions. Our hybrid cars are already 20 times cleaner than what the Euro VI norm requires. It means that for fleets, the hybrid choice is a safe choice. It is bullet-proof in terms of future emission regulations, and based on n

our 14 years experience in the technology, we now have all data to prove that hybrid vehicles are more reliable than other cars. n How are the residual values of hybrids evolving? M. Fonseca: Hybrid vehicles have very good residual value. With our HSD battery lasting the whole life of the car, customers will avoid the high battery replacement cost, or leasing costs, owners of Electric Vehicles will have to face. Also Diesel vehicles had usually high residual value in Europe as the demand for diesels was escalating and the supply of used diesels always lagged behind demand. The same is now happening with hybrids. When 20% of our mix will be full-hybrid in 2013, this will only represent 1% of the European market. It means there will be a strong demand for used hybrid cars, supporting even further high residual value.

n The confidence of lessors is a must to achieve a significant market share. Do you feel this confidence? M. Fonseca: When we started with the second generation of Prius, lessors were a little bit reluctant. But now, with 3 millions hybrid vehicles on the road, lessors have now statistics, to prove that hybrid running costs are low.

Caroline THONNON

Toyota’s fleet sales ambitions

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Miguel Fonseca: “We are not looking for a massive growth, but for a sustainable and healthy growth. We see a positive evolution in the fleet business. Bigger companies and multinationals are interested in our wide range and we see for the first time fleet managers including NOx emissions in their car policies, a positive element for hybrid sales. Our ambition in the fleet business is to achieve a market share of about 30 to 40% conform to each country overall fleet mix.”

INDUSTRY Leasing

Safety

In the driver’s seat Aside from the whole array of driving aid mostly only cars in the premium segment of the market have been fitted with active and passive safety equipments, many companies are now focusing on raising drivers’ awareness of their responsibilities in terms of fleet safety, usually in close collaboration with their leasing companies. Julie WIDART

One of the main parameters that need to be addressed is: the driver. As Nancy Storp, Head of International Sales and Marketing from Alphabet maintains: “since fleet cars generally have a very high safety level, More and more international companies are focusing on safety by rising driver awareness and driver responsibility in close collaboration with the leasing partner.

driver safety can mainly be improved by safety behaviour”.

Reporting tools as safety indicators As Stéphane Renie, Sales & Business Development Director at ALD International says : “Since the main challenge is to provide maximum safety for each driver, we offer our customers in some countries a driver assessment test to help drivers understand their driver profile and to raise their awareness in some areas of their behaviour (self confidence, tiredness, stress, etc.)”. In the same way, “the objective of Arval’s ‘Measure & Management’ programme is to increase safety by improving driver behaviour and reducing accidents. To achieve this, the programme operates two complementary methods:

offering drivers eco-driving training and monitoring the use of vehicles by means of an embedded telematics solution”. It is mainly on the basis of reports which focus on accident management that leasing companies support fleet customers in drive-safe programs. This information forms the basis for detailed analyses and is the key to unlocking a successful riskmanagement strategy. In the same way, Athlon Car Lease International strongly believes that information is the key to raising awareness amongst drivers and reducing the Total Cost of Mobility. Next to that also telematics can play a key role. “With the upcoming rise in numbers of e-vehicles in fleets, telematics solutions might make sense in terms of controlling the battery volume of these vehicles at all times”, we hear from Mercedes-Benz. Although telematics is largely used to support an organisation’s safety policy, there are however still some areas surrounding privacy law and ownership of data that need to be overcome before all the stakeholders will effectively avail of in-car telematics. “Furthermore, the success of tools will depend more on the actions that are taken than on the content of the reporting”, estimates Nancy Storp, of Alphabet International. In conclusion, management by people will only be successful if managers implement action plans at all levels of their company. As Eric Lelarge, Head of Sales & Marketing at ING Car Lease International reminds us: “The report content needs to be supported by company management; otherwise the benefits will not last or will simply be diminished. Individual responsibility and awareness requires strong communication.” n

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ursuing a proactive safety policy is not simply a matter of finding ways and means of reducing ‘insurance’ costs. “In order to manage the area of driver safety, it is important to have an insight into some key parameters”, we hear from LeasePlan International. Indeed, not just vehicle insurance, accident management and claim handling are vital, also reporting and car policy review and advice have to be considered. The challenge has to be to provide maximum safety for all drivers.

INDUSTRY Trends

Car sharing for corporations

A new mobility solution Car sharing is a bit like car rental, but targeted mainly at short trips and relatively regular use. Most car sharing organisations have corporate members as well as private ones, and the number of such car share companies certainly is on the rise in Europe. But how interesting is car sharing - suffering from negative connotations from uncool to impracticable - really for the corporate world? Bart DESMEDT

or starters, there are different tariff schemes for corporate members to choose between. For example, depending on the number of people using the system, the company can choose between a shared subscription for all its staff members, and individual memberships for each employee. The latter option allows a distinction between purely private use, and professional use, invoiced to the company.

ness trips, they can come into work by other means. This benefits the employee, who no longer has to spend time in traffic to bring his car to work. It also benefits the employer, who can reduce cost of commuting by reducing company car use and freeing up corporate parking space. It also reduces the cost of business trips, which can be performed with alternative, cheaper modes of travel.

Business related trips Part of smart mobility And then there are different types of transport, for some of which car sharing is unsuitable. Take the daily commute between home and work: this would effectively link one driver to one car, which would spend too much time parked idly in the driveway at home, or in the company parking lot. But car sharing can in fact help influence modal choice in home-work trips, by becoming an element of a smart, sustainable mobility policy for business-related trips. For example, when staff are no longer required to use their personal cars for busi-

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Cars are usually available at publicly accessible locations, whence they also need to be returned. Assigned cars can be opened and started using membership card or cellphone.

Business trips are very diverse: destinations and time frames differ widely. Companies that want to optimise their transport choices and costs in this area, will therefore need a multimodal approach. In this mix, car sharing can play its part, complimenting a range of options including use of the company fleet, public transport, walking and cycling. • Car sharing can support - or even substitute - a car pool system. Pool cars are used for business-related trips, but returned to the corporate pool, and not used for commuting. But should the

nature and timing of business trips make a company car pool scheme too difficult or too costly to manage, flexible options like car sharing can bridge the gaps. Most car sharing companies (e.g. Cambio in Germany and Belgium) will assist companies in selecting the best way to combine car pooling and car sharing. • Car sharing can be combined with public transport for business trips, especially to areas in or beyond suburbia where the latter is lacking. For instance, you could take a train to a city near your business destination, and use a shared car for the last few miles to the outskirts. This is a very efficient solution, especially when passing through heavily congested areas - especially since you can work during the train trip. • Business destinations that are easily accessible on foot or by bike will also benefit from the option of car sharing when heavy goods need to be transported - depending, of course, on whether car sharing actually is available in that area.

The downsides Of course, there’s no car sharing without cars. This entails the risk that this greener, leaner mode of transport is basically encouraging the use of motorised transport instead of optimising it. Car sharing could - but shouldn’t - be used to replace public transport, which would reduce the financial and environmental savings to zero. n

Bart Desmedt www.traject.be