TOP 10 leasing firm GE Capital Fleet Services is undergoing a name change as part of a massive European rebranding which will rename some of the industry’s most well-known brands.

From November 1, the firm will be called GE Commercial Finance Fleet Services, a change that will also affect all GE’s fleet brands in Europe.

Other names being axed from November are Leasecontracts, Cochranes, Logéroute, CELT and Avis Fleet Services, one of the most well-known brands.

GE Commercial Finance had an agreement with global rental giant Avis Europe which dated from GE’s 1992 acquisition of the European corporate fleet leasing and management business of Avis. It gave GE exclusive rights to use the Avis Fleet Services name across Europe until 2007.

The rebranding will be finished by the end of the year, when all of GE’s global fleet operations will be going to market under the GE Commercial Finance Fleet Services brand (GECFFS).

The operations impacted by this change are in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. None of GE’s other worldwide fleet operations have used the Avis Fleet Services name.

This week, the firm named Rich Green as UK managing director of GECFFS. His role begins on September 1, replacing Steve McAuley who left the business last month.

Mary McNamara, European chief executive officer at GE CFFS, said: ‘This change creates a single identity for GE’s fleet activities across Europe and the rest of the world.

“It will allow us to bring our complete range of fleet products and services to the market under one brand, eliminating any customer confusion and creating increased opportunities for enterprise selling.’

The change is a small part of a global rebranding taking place this year throughout GE’s businesses.

McNamara said: ‘We believe that having stronger visible links with the core GE brand and GE Commercial Finance will help to reposition our business and underline its strength in the European market.

‘We have had a long and fruitful relationship with Avis, who remain one of our principal suppliers of rental vehicles, and we look forward to continuing to develop that relationship in the future.’

World’s largest company in diverse markets

GE is the world’s largest company, competing in markets as diverse as technology, media and financial services. It operates in 100-plus countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide.

GE Commercial Finance Fleet Services has more than 1.2 million vehicles worldwide and more than 220,000 cars in Europe under lease and service management. GE Commercial Finance Fleet Services’ European businesses are located in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Nether-ands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

In the UK, GE Commercial Finance Fleet Services has a fleet of 54,000 vehicles and is based at head offices in Sale, near Manchester, where 250 people are employed.