Leasing strategy - Page 11

There are now just 3 weeks to go until this year’s FN50 Dinner and there has been a great response by the fleet industry for this year’s event.

New Arval managing director employs a Japanese-inspired strategy to satisfy customers.

There are now just over 4 weeks to go until this year’s FN50 Dinner and there has been a great response by the fleet industry for this year’s event.

Car Leasing Made Simple has appointed Laura Heathcote-Smith and Leonie Channell as senior relationship managers.

Miles Jupp, award-winning actor, writer & comic, has been confirmed as the entertainment for the FN50 Dinner 2013.

Companies are being urged to book their place at the FN50 dinner, which takes place on Wednesday November 13, 2013 at the Westminster Bridge Park Plaza Hotel in London.

Figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show a good performance from the motor market in the first six months of the year, with consumer new car finance growing 31% by value.

Good fleet managers are “worth their salt” to their business. But their numbers have been in decline which is “a real shame”, according to Andrew Mann, managing director at JCT600 Contracts.

Northern Ireland-based contract hire and leasing company Agnew Corporate has been reaping the benefits of being linked to the second largest franchised dealer business in the UK since its acquisition by Sytner Group in January 2012.

Leasing experts believe that manufacturer-owned contract hire companies will accelerate their penetration into the UK fleet market over the next two-to-three years.

Privately-owned contract hire provider Motiva is targeting a place in the top half of the FN50 within the next four years.

SG Fleet has re-written the rule book for salary sacrifice car schemes in the UK.

Contract hire and leasing companies live or die by accurately predicting vehicle sale prices and while a ‘marginal tailing back’ of values from current levels is being predicted if the economy improves, a raft of uncontrollable influences means a precarious balancing act is being pursued.

Vehicle contract hire and leasing companies continue to enjoy a residual value windfall worth hundreds of pounds per van as sale prices show little sign of dropping from record levels.

Leasing companies must analyse the usage profile of individual vehicles if they are to accurately forecast future service, maintenance and repair costs, according to experts.

Traditional fleet service, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs can be forecasted down to the final penny at the benchmark three years/60,000 miles - but a raft of ‘grey areas’ fuelled by numerous factors means contract hire and leasing companies continue to build up contingency funds to meet the cost of the unforeseen.

This year is set to deliver the best value returns seen for light commercial vehicles for many years, although there are some claims that prices may have hit their glass ceiling.

Buyers are continuing to pay close to top dollar for de-fleeted top quality company cars, but experts are warning of a tightening market with investment in pre-sale repairs paying dividends.

Longer service intervals and a trend for motor manufacturers to move the requirement for ‘expensive’ parts replacement - such as cambelts - beyond 60,000 miles has contributed to a decade long changes in the breakdown of service maintenance and repair (SMR) costs.

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.