January/February 2015
www.bvrla.co.uk
BVRLA News The bimonthly newsletter of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association
Rental and leasing in 2015: plenty of positives By Gerry Keaney, BVRLA Chief Executive
As we anticipated at the end of 2013, the number of plugin-grant eligible registrations The general election due passed the 10,000 barrier on May 7 may be too close in 2014. Despite the recent to call, but the immediate fall in oil prices, we see this prospects for the vehicle growth accelerating as new rental and leasing industry plug-in electric models are are easier to predict. launched and businesses and consumers become more aware It is set to be another strong Election: How will it of their practicality and costimpact our sector? year for our sector, buoyed effectiveness. The government by a strong economy and a continued allocated £200m in 2014 for up to 50,000 growth in demand for vehicle finance and more plug-in car grants and we believe this an ever increasing range of ‘mobility money will be exhausted by mid-2016. services’. The trend of BVRLA members offering This growth is reflected in our latest ‘mobility services’ will continue. Leasing member statistics (see pages 6-7) which companies are making increasing use of show that BVRLA membership increased fleet management technology to tackle again in 2014, with the combined fleet the grey fleet market. Meanwhile, car club reaching a new all-time high of 3.9 and car sharing operators are targeting million vehicles. business customers, who are the key to higher utilisation and profitability. So what about the outlook for 2015? Within the leasing sector, the strong Brokers remain an important routebusiness confidence that carried us to-market, both for leasing and rental through 2014 appears to have continued customers. In 2015 we will devote into 2015. Most members see conditions resources to improve market intelligence in the wider economy further improving of the sector, so we can better understand this year, although concerns remain about it and improve its visibility. used vehicle values, particularly for cars. Intelligent mobility and connected cars will We expect to see quarterly year-on-year rise rapidly up the agendas of policymakers, growth of around 5% for car leasing, with manufacturers and fleet operators in 2015. an ever-increasing market share from the We are delighted to see that members are lower-medium, dual purpose and multialready involved in some of the recently purpose car segments. Growth in van announced driverless car trials. leasing is predicted to be even greater, at around 10% up on 2014's figures. New automotive technologies and mobility business models present a huge Average CO2 emissions for the total lease opportunity, so this year we need to fleet should fall below 120g/km for the address the regulatory and legislative first time and we will continue to see a issues. We'll do our best to ensure the steady move away from diesel cars into vehicle rental and leasing sector reaches smaller engine petrol and hybrid vehicles. its full potential. u
Latest on abolition of the paper counterpart Find out the new date for the abolition of the paper counterpart, as well as the preparations you can make now. page 3 Plans for Commercial Vehicle Show 2015 The CV sector's headline event returns to the NEC this year. Find out where to find us, when we'll be there and what we will be doing. page 4 BVRLA talks politics with top parties Learn the outcome of our meetings with representatives from the main political parties, and find out what's coming next. page 5 Member statistics for 2014: positive signs Compiling the BVRLA's membership data for 2014 shows plenty of growth in the industry. pages 6-7 FCA tightens its focus on fleets in 2015 See our advice on what the Financial Conduct Authority has planned in the upcoming twelve months. page 9 Services round-up Discover the exciting news for users of RISC, the BVRLA's problem renter database, and view a report on our conciliation service. page 10
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