Leasing strategy - Page 4

Common business sense means that contract hire and leasing companies do not want to make a loss on service, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs so it is vital that they undertake a robust risk assessment and measure and manage the lifecycle of individual vehicle components.

True fleet sales in the first quarter of 2013 have remained broadly flat year-on-year, following the trend set during much of last year.

LeasePlan is starting to see a “glimmer of confidence” in UK plc which is starting to translate in greater employment opportunities and a boost in company vehicle purchases.

In most contract hire companies someone is responsible for obtaining new vehicle data, someone else negotiates discounts with dealers and someone else obtains VRB details and negotiates tactical deals with manufacturers.

Leasing companies place more than a quarter of their SMR business with independent companies rather than franchised dealers, new research has shown.

The long-awaited revised Exposure Draft (ED) on lease accounting was published by the IASB on 16 May 2013 and addresses a number of the problems identified by respondents following the initial Exposure Draft published in 2010.

Business confidence is rising among leasing companies as profitability improves and growth expectations increase in response to stronger fleet customer demand.

Leasing companies have praised manufacturers for their efforts to improve relationships with the industry in the past year – and they have set out four priority areas to improve levels of support still further in future.

Nearly a quarter of fleets say they are currently reviewing their fuel card supplier, according to the Fleet Barometer.

Fleets have been venting their fury or singing suppliers’ praises as they review their best and worst recent experiences with manufacturers and leasing companies in the past month.

Proactive, flexible, knowledgeable, inquisitive, honest and adaptable: these are some of the key qualities fleets want to see from their leasing and fleet management companies.

Drivers are increasingly moving away from cash allowances and back into company cars, according to fleet operators.

Growing business confidence could lead to an increase in spending among fleets in the next six months, but many are looking to reduce the number of suppliers they use, an exclusive industry survey for Fleet Leasing has revealed.

A fleet drive to reduce CO2 emissions is creating opportunities for revenue growth among leasing companies.

Leasing companies and manufacturers have been generally talking up the fleet sector, suggesting that many companies have returned to traditional buying patterns and are replacing their ageing cars and vans.

Value of high quality, well-specced three and four-year-old company cars with less than 50,000 miles on the clock will continue to rise, according to auctioneer Andy Conde.

New car sales volumes are the ‘real elephant in the room’ in terms of predicting future residual values, according to Denis Keenan, managing director of automotive data provider KeeResources.

Britain’s car market has undergone a total uplift of baseline residual values in the wake of rocketing used car prices prompting possible concerns of buyer resistance.

Vehicle contract hire and leasing companies are enjoying a residual value windfall worth hundreds and perhaps thousands of pounds per vehicle as record used car prices makes a mockery of forecasts made in the depths of recession.

Lease vehicles are likely to witness increasing mileage as fleet operators emerge from recession.

The leasing industry enjoying a residual value windfall worth hundreds and perhaps thousands of pounds per vehicle as record used car prices makes a mockery of forecasts made in the depths of recession.

Value of high quality, well-equipped three and four-year-old company cars with less than 50,000 miles on the clock will continue to rise, according to remarketing company Manheim.

Contract hire pricing. It’s not the sexiest of topics, is it? When compared with some other parts of the organisation, pricing tends to be positively tame.

One in four fleets is either currently changing their leasing provider or has switched in the past year, according to industry research.

Ford topped the fleet registrations table last year with 157,269 units, followed by Vauxhall (136,819) and Volkswagen (101,788) – the only three manufacturers to hit six figures.

The past four years has seen unprecedented change in the leasing landscape. Mergers, the collapse in residuals values and restricted access to funding have forced all leasing company parents to reassess their policies and position in the market.

Fleet finance and vehicle leasing have experienced some turbulent times. After the banking crisis of 2007/8, the market underwent some funding trauma as the number of available lenders shrunk dramatically and the cost of funding rose significantly.

Fleet managers have set out some of the key attributes they look for in a leasing company.

Triggers for reviewing funding suppliers tend to fall into two broad categories – immediate requirement and long term influence.

Business analysts often warn that a company which stands still is effectively going backwards, so even in the harshest economic conditions, growth must be a key priority.

Bart Beckers talks about providing the products, support and services fleets need.

The 2011 top 50 leasing companies in the UK are highlighted on this video from the 2011 Fleet News FN50.

BMW produces the most reliable company cars while the most reliable vans are built by Volkswagen, according to the UK’s largest vehicle reliability survey.

All the winners from last night’s prestigious FN50 dinner including most reliable manufacturers and team of the year.

Fleet News editor Stephen Briers welcomes everybody to the event and summarises an interesting year in the fleet industry.

Top 20 FN50 leasing company makes growth a priority as back-to-basics approach reaps rewards

The FN50 survey conducted by Fleet News is the most comprehensive in terms of the number of vehicles involved, with more than a million cars run by leasing companies included in the survey each year.

What will the fleet sector look like in 2020? LeasePlan and University of Buckingham Professor Peter Cooke asked a number of fleets for their views, producing the 'Fleet 2020' report.

What’s in store for fleets over the next five years? Leasedrive Velo’s report reveals the views of leading fleet operators.