H. Nijlunsing: “We are a leasing company that stands for quality and optimised services. In every country where we are present, we guarantee a quality operational process with a high degree of flexibility and transparency. We have the same organisational structure everywhere; this is an enormous advantage to our clients, since we always work within the same service platform. After our clients, our staff are our greatest asset. They are the force behind our success especially focusing on SMEs, although we also work with the larger international fleets. Finally, we represent certain major leasing companies in Central Europe, and in addition to the multi-brand activities of Business Lease we also organise captive activities for several brands. The latter are an extension of the activities of AutoBinck as well as other non related brands. ”

 

H. Nijlunsing: “We have a total fleet of around 40,000 cars. Of those, 2/3 are in the Netherlands and 1/3 in Central Europe. The fact that we are such a large presence on our home market has much to do with the takeover of Masterlease’s portfolio in 2009. I remain modest as regards growth, and we certainly wish to reach the average market growth, but as I look at our results in recent years, this should not be a problem.”

 

H. Nijlunsing: “That depends on the tender. If it is coordinated locally, then we also handle it locally, but if it’s a multinational with a central purchasing department, then our International Sales service within Business Development manages the tender. In practice, the majority of tenders with an international dimension are handled locally.” 

 

H. Nijlunsing: “We were well prepared because we had already completed a thorough reorganisation in 2005-2006, in which we developed our current vision and began automating our processes. Because we monitored this very closely, we were able to switch over more quickly when the crisis broke out. One proof of this is the takeover of Masterlease’s activities in the Netherlands in December 2009.”

 

H. Nijlunsing: “I have my doubts. Although the shake-up caused by the crisis was necessary in the international leasing sector, where an unhealthy price war was being fought. Unfortunately, however, this shake-up didn’t last for quite a long time. I notice that there are once again colleagues who fall into the same errors as in the past. The precautions they were forced to adopt because of the problems involving residual value are now once again being used in order to generate extra volume. That detracts from healthy leasing practices and generates a risk of dishonest competition, the more when it leads to governmental support when these leasing companies get in trouble again.”

 

H. Nijlunsing: “Ten years ago we were already working on bike leases, we offer short term leasing formulas, we have a policy for carpooling vehicles and the combination of automobile and train has been available at Business Lease for some time. Our strategic vision reaches beyond the car. It focuses on providing the appropriate service to allow a person to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. This brings us closer to the cafeteria model, which uses a mobility budget. With our firm that is possible, although until now it has been an uneven affair because of the complexity of the different modes of mobility and the lack of certain infrastructures and comfort levels.”

 
What about electric vehicles?
H. Nijlunsing: “The Netherlands is one of the key players in the development of the electric solution. We belong to numerous working groups and have more than 100 electric vehicles in our fleet. The electric approach is a good one, but it is not moving as fast as the early adopters would like it to. The technology is relatively speaking fairly expensive, making subsidies essential if this venture is to succeed. In addition, comfort is not optimal because electric vehicles are either very small or very large, with limited autonomy and a long recharging time. Moreover, the manufacturers have succeeded in making conventional engines increasingly economical and cheaper in terms of TCO, so that the electric car is having a difficult time. But if a customer asks for one, we have everything it takes to meet that request.”