Features
6 Apr 21

Leaseco CEOs give their outlook on the future of leasing

We asked the CEOs of the leading leasing companies operating in Europe about their plans for 2021, how they see the future of the industry and how they see the flexible fleet evolve. Read the full article or jump straight to a CEOs answers in the menu below. 

Tim Albertsen, CEO, ALD Automotive: “Accelerating sustainability”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Tim Albertsen (pictured, right): “Our focus is on supporting our long- term corporate clients through these turbulent times. The pandemic has, however, accelerated the sustainability agenda for many corporates, with strong demand for EVs. In 2020, 24% of our new car deliveries in Europe were green powertrains. By 2025, we aim to increase the share of EVs to 30%.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“The pandemic has forced companies to rethink how they relate to their employees. Remote work- ing takes greater consideration of their safety, well-being and flexibility. This may mean fewer company cars – but also more access to cars for all employees, which is what our employee car schemes are well suited for.”

“The growing demand for flexible, sustainable mobility also positions our ALD Move app and our MaaS- based mobility schemes as viable, efficient alternatives. They can help employees commute and travel in a smarter, more connected way.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“Greater flexibility in mobility is essential in uncertain times like these. But it also supports long-term strategies, by allowing fleet managers to diversify their mobility strategy, simplify the overall management of their mobility resources via one single provider and optimise Total Cost of Mobility by maximising vehicle usage.”

“We’re continually looking to pair innovative, high-value solutions with digital technology to make life easier for fleet managers. That’s why we created ALD Flex.”

Marco Lessacher, CEO, Alphabet International: “Focus on existing innovations”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Marco Lessacher (pictured, right): “We focus on our existing innovations as we see them continue to gain even more relevance for our clients in these challenging times when flexibility is key. We have AlphaRent, a solution tailored for both the short and long term; and AlphaFlex, our mobility budget. And then there’s AlphaElectric, which meets our customers’ needs to go green; AlphaCity, which offers state-of- the-art and hygienic car sharing solutions; and AlphaGuide, our recently updated app for self-service smart mobility.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“There’ll always be a need for leas- ing – now with a bit less emphasis on sharing, a bit more on flexibility. In fact, flexibility is now key. But the pandemic has also accelerated developments in smart and connected mobility.”

“Companies used 2020 to rethink their sustainability policies. So, electrification will only become more important – an area where we have a lot of experience, having launched AlphaElectric back in 2012. In all things, consultancy is key. The customer decides, but guidance is important. That gives them ‘the power of choice’.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“The pandemic is boosting the pre-existing trend towards flexibilisation. In some cases, we see an imbalance between the current mobility setup of our customers and their future needs. Fortunately, we have a wide range of products in place to help them adapt. Not only in terms of duration – from one minute to several months – but also by providing these solutions in the most convenient way.”

Bob White, President, ARI: “Adopting open-end leasing”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Bob White (pictured, right): “Our central objective is the continued adoption of open-end leasing in Germany and the UK as an attractive financing option for fleets wanting more flexibility and transparency. The last few years have shown a true demand for this solution, the standard in North America.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“Future fleets will be increasingly electric and connected. 5G will enable greater connectivity, including vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Real-time responsiveness will revolutionise things like scheduling and route optimisation, enhancing the customer experience.”

“In 2020, nearly $140 billion was invested globally in EVs and EV infrastructure. Combined with OEM product plans and global decarbonisation regulations, this means the electrified future will arrive sooner than expected.”

“The pandemic has accelerated the trend towards digitisation. This will likely lead to different and perhaps fewer fleet vehicles in the decades to come.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“ARI entered the European fleet market with a defined strategy: provide both flexibility and transparency. Key to this are responsive funding and leasing solutions, providing a suite of unbundled options that can be customised to fit customer needs.”

“Giving fleet operators the flexibility of open-end leasing creates opportunities for savings, via an agile fleet programme that can quickly respond to market changes and challenges.”

Alain van Groendael, CEO, Arval: “Sustainability and responsibility”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Alain van Groenendael (pictured, right): “We’ll continue to deploy our Arval Beyond strategy worldwide, answering customer expectations with concrete objectives. Our major focus will be sustainability and responsibility. Among our projects this year: new services to better care for corporate needs (Mobility Hub, Mobility App and Mobility Consulting); the ambition to double our BEV orders, backed by a transformational CSR project to be launched in June; and ambitious partnerships to reach new populations and frontiers.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“The pandemic accelerated the need for reliable and flexible mobility. People need alternatives to public transport. The growth of remote working contributes to new mobility trends: temporary needs, alternative options to the car, shorter distances...”

“In addition, we all experienced a CSR wake-up call. Sustainability is now a must for our clients and drivers. And, more and more, new technology features are changing people’s lives. They expect these to help make their cars safer and their journeys easier.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“Flexibility doesn’t just mean ‘mid-term rental’ anymore. It now covers many aspects of what our customers need, in terms of contracts, products and powertrains. One example: we clearly see a need for a combined offer, with several mobility options next to the car. That’s why we evolved our business model so we can support our customers ‘in the many journeys of their lives’.”

Christian Schüler, CEO, Athlon International: “Flexible and green solutions”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Christian Schüler (pictured, right): “We will of course continue to support our customers in managing the corona pandemic, by offering contract extensions and flexible solutions for their mobility needs.”

“At the same time, we will continue to execute our strategy to grow our business by offering more flexible and green mobility solutions to our customers. We have partnerships in many markets to offer electric vehicles and charging solutions in one. On top of that, we keep digitising our processes and products.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“Various trends such as working from home and digitisation accelerate the demand for more flexible and more sustainable mobility. Fewer and fewer people want to commit to a long-term lease and are looking for flexible mobility solutions instead.”

“Also, more people are thinking about driving an electric car. We have a lot of experience in electrifying fleets. It is important that outdated car policies are replaced by modern mobility policies. We help our customers to do so.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“The need for flexibility has effectively accelerated, due to the corona pandemic. However, flexibility in fleets comes with higher complexity, which we as a fleet and mobility providers can reduce. That means our customers can focus on their core business. We continue to develop flexible solutions, like Athlon Rent and Athlon Flex.”

Elias Drakopoulos, CEO, Business Lease: “Increasing operational excellence”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Elias Drakopoulos (pictured, right): “In 2021, we expect to achieve modest fleet size growth while continuing to focus on developing and increasing operational excellence. This will help us upgrade the service to our customers, drivers and business partners. Our new IT platform – our digital backbone – will help us improve our efficiency while unburdening our customers. Plus, our new corporate identity will increase our market visibility.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“As more services are added to the palette of leasing companies, leasing and fleet management will change. Mobility in its broadest sense will add to what we can offer to our customers.”

“Apart from the fact that we are preparing for new mobility services, managing fleets for our customers is and will remain key – today and tomorrow. Our belief in quality of service will guide us, whether for our clients’ current fleets and requirements, or for new mobility solutions.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“Flexibility comes in many forms. In the past year, customers asked us to be flexible in terms of payment extensions and contract changes. But even before the pandemic, we were asked operational leasing and fleet management under one master contract – which we provided. We see ourselves as a sizeable company with a regional specialism, able to adapt to the market. Whatever flexibility is requested, we can develop a solution.”

Simon Oliphant, Senior Corporate Officer & CEO, Hitachi Capital Mobility Solutions Division: “Customer-first approach”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Simon Oliphant (pictured, right): “We’ll continue our ‘customer first’ approach, as well as our programme of continuous service improvement. We’ll ensure the development of MaaS and driver mobility remains relevant for our customers, by integrating all our services into a range of simple-to-use mobility solutions.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“Very positive! Recent developments in home working and changing mobility preferences have only strengthened the relevance of the car as a vital tool for corporate mobility.”

“The move towards EVs has also accelerated, and we intend to play a leading role in making these changes easier for our customers and their employees. Our support for our customers with whole-life cost analyses and practical EV driver communication programmes serves as an important indication of our pro-active approach.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“We are committed to making the lives of our customers easier. Part of that is the speed with which we respond to their changing needs and to developing market trends. Being a flexible partner to our customers is vital. Our ability to be agile and responsive to change is what will make the difference in the future. Listening to customers, showing an understanding of their business priorities, and acting with flexibility is a sign of real business partnership.”

Tex Gunning, CEO, LeasePlan International: “Better digital services”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Tex Gunning (pictured, right): “Digitisation is our overriding objective. LeasePlan’s ability to capture growth is linked to delivering better digital services at lower cost than our competitors. For example our LCV Fleet Manager Portal and the My Fleet reporting tool.”

“We also used 2020 to prepare for the complete digitisation of our operating model and the implementation of our Next Generation Digital Architecture. When complete, LeasePlan will not only be able to create new online businesses, but also to integrate new services across the broader Car-as- a-Service ecosystem.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“Leasing remains driven by the megatrend of ownership to user- ship. Despite the pandemic, leas- ing remains a cost-effective and prudent option for many clients – especially because leasing does not require large upfront capital outlays. That’s why we continue to see significant growth in the Car-as- a-Service market. We will also continue to lead the transition to zero emission, to ensure this growth is clean and green.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“Flexibility will be increasingly key to our offer across all segments – for example via our FlexiPlan and NoStressPlan products. These give customers hassle-free, affordable vehicle leasing options from as short as one month to as long as several years, giving them the freedom to terminate or extend the lease at any time after the first month, without penalties.”

Giacomo Carelli, Chairman, Leasys: “Continuing geographic expansion”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Giacomo Carelli (pictured, right): “We’ll continue our geographic expansion, with a presence in 13 European markets, via the addition of Austria, Greece and Switzerland. In the wake of our success in Italy, France and Spain, we aim to become a 360° rental operator, bringing our services anywhere, from car sharing to long-term rental, to online remarketing. Or as we like to say, all our rental services ‘from one minute to a lifetime’.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“The New Normal after the pandemic will accelerate the trend towards more articulated and flexible rental patterns. It has made us all more familiar with apps and digital operations. It has made mobility needs even more variable and unpredictable. And it has high- lighted the need for optimisation of expenditure. That’s why we’re pioneering new rental solutions, creating tailored products inspirited by ‘disownership’, flexibility, digitisation and sustainability.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“Flexibility is the future for the entire rental sector. We’re working hard to provide fleet customers with a string of innovative solutions, an ample choice of flexible contract and also physical reference points, such as our Leasys Mobility Stores.”

“We’re also tailoring our solutions to actual market demands, for example: temporary employees can have a company car, based on medium-term rental contracts; and urgent vehicle needs can be met with our ready-to-drive solutions.”

Jochen Schmitz, Head of International Fleet, Volkswagen Financial Services: “Aiming to be the world’s largest”

What is your strategic objective for 2021 in Europe and beyond?

Jochen Schmitz (pictured, right): “The fleet business is of strategic importance for Volkswagen Financial Services. The

company plans to have around 6.6 million fleet contracts on its books in Europe in 2025 and aims to be the world’s largest fleet provider. The large volumes involved, the short vehicle lifecycles and the broad willingness to innovate make fleets a particularly significant business area.”

How do you see the future of fleet management and leasing?

“We currently see no signs that the company car or leasing in general will lose importance in the future. However, the heterogeneity of mobility solutions in fleet manage- ment will increase. In the future, electromobility will be a very important and natural part of corporate mobility.”

How do you see the concept of the Flexible Fleet evolve?

“Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, we have reacted flexibly to individual customer needs in terms of leasing contracts and, for example, implemented term adjustments. Moreover, long-term rentals, short-term rentals and car sharing (Greenwheels) have been part of our portfolio for many years, at least in Germany.”

“Nevertheless, it is always necessary to question why customers want flexibility. After all, flexibility is usually always associated with higher costs. Here it is important to advise the customer and to flexibilise exactly the part of his fleet that really needs it to cut costs, such as for example pool fleets.”

Authored by: Benjamin Uyttebroeck