European fleet managers association EUFMA founded
Three leading fleet-owner associations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland have founded the European Fleet and Mobility Association (EUFMA). National associations from other European countries are invited to join.
As fleet and mobility management is becoming an increasingly international topic, it made sense for the fleet associations to look beyond their borders, too. "Although there are local differences, like different taxation and legislation schemes, objectives like TCO control, cost-efficiency or attention to driver behaviour are cross-border topics. Also many members represent companies with a certain international scope with subsidiaries, fleets and drivers in various countries. Hence there is value in sharing best practices and putting fleet-owners in contact with each other."
Represent all European fleets
The initiative came from the German fleet-owner association Bundesverband Fuhrparkmanagement (BVF), who has 400 members with a fleet of in total 220,000 vehicles. The Swiss association Schweizerischer Fahrzeugflottenbesitzer- Verband (SFFV) counts 300 members with a fleet of 100,000 vehicles, and the Fuhrparkverbandes Austria (FVA) counts 15,000 vehicles.
"Many decisions that play a major role in operative tasks and legal framework conditions are today planned and decided at the European level," said Marc-Oliver Prinzing, CEO for the German fleet association BVF. "In this light, lobby representation on the European level obviously makes sense," added Henning Heise, chairman of the Austrian association FVA.
EUFMA's goal is to act as the representative for all European fleets. The organisational and process work will be taken in hand in the next few weeks. "Above all, it is important to give the positions of the member companies of all affiliated associations a stronger, concentrated voice," said Ralf Käser, board member of the Swiss fleet association SFFV. This should also complement and strengthen the members' national activities.
Picture, from left to right: Markus Weidmann, Ralf Käser, and Anton Wyssen of SFFV; Bernd Kullmann, Axel Schäefer, and Marc-Oliver Prinzing of BVF; Michael Närr and Henning Heise of FVA.
