ARI Fleet UK will be known as Holman from today (Monday, March 28) following a global rebrand and reorganisation.

The move will see the entire global organisation, including retail dealerships, vehicle up-fitters and fleet management, come under the Holman name.

The news comes as ARI Fleet UK has just been named as Leasing Company of the Year (up to 20,000 vehicles) at the Fleet News Awards

Nick Caller, UK managing director of Holman, said: “The automotive sector is going to experience more changes in the next 20 years than it has in the past century, with the advent of increased electrification, innovative funding methods and technological leaps in areas such as autonomous driving and safety.

“We are committed to being at the heart of these changes, which is why we have decided that we need to work as a global partner for our customers, sharing best practices and insights from our teams across the world.”

The change marks the first time in nearly 100 years of operation that all companies will operate under a singular name and the banner of ‘Driving What’s Right’ to form a global organisation employing around 6,500 people and managing in excess of two million vehicles under funding and fleet management.

Holman’s says its global team will work even closer together to deliver customers additional insight around supply chain, best practice, finance and electric vehicles (EVs), supported by local expertise to help implement fleet solutions for their customers.

Caller continued: “Our customers’ fleets are evolving, and so are we. With local experts working on an operational level and a global view offering strategic insight, we will be ‘Driving What’s Right’ on a daily basis to ensure we continue to offer an award-winning service.

“It’s important to our customers that they know we remain focused on their needs – while we are a global company, we will never take our eyes off the needs of our UK customers, with our team of experts covering all areas of fleet management, from financing specialist vehicles for utility fleets to lobbying legislators on behalf of our clients.”

Caller added that although this move is a huge shift for the business and customers will reap the benefits, he assured customers they would notice no interruption in their day-to-day interactions.

“Nothing will change in terms of the way we work together – contacts will remain the same, services will remain the same and our first-class delivery will remain the same,” he said.

“The same team that was responsible for winning the Leasing Company of the Year award from Fleet News is still in place.”

The Holman business is a family run global organisation specialising in multiple automotive sectors.

It runs more than 40 dealerships, parts distribution and vehicle uplift businesses as well as insurance. These are in addition to the five ARI Fleet divisions running across the world.

Holman began trading as a single Ford dealership in New Jersey, USA, in 1924.

Chris Conroy, president and chief operating officer of Holman, added: “The automotive world continues to experience unprecedented change, which means we face new challenges, but also new opportunities; and while we at Holman are very familiar with the wide range of competencies we possess, and services we offer, many of our customers and partners are not. 

“What many don’t see is what we’ve become: an integrated automotive services company with a set of collective competencies that transcends our traditional industries, an enterprise offering a unique set of complementary services that truly sets us apart from our competitors.

“Unifying our business under the single global brand of Holman will help us change that.”

Holman has been providing funding and fleet management services for almost 30 years and has almost 150 customers in the UK.