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The motto for this year’s Geneva Motor Show was ‘The Green Vision’, focusing on sustainable development and

green technologies. This was quite appropriate, as the ‘greening’ of fleets remains topical for any company serious

about its corporate responsibility in wider society. Fortunately, manufacturers’ efforts restrict CO2 emissions and ever

more stringent ‘green’ vehicle taxes are providing them with some leverage.

An increasing number of companies is curious to know more about electric and hybrid cars, and that’s a promising

development. Unfortunately, the suppliers can’t always meet the rising demand adequately. Can any manufacturer

deliver a lot of 120 electric cars in 6 different countries? Can any lease company propose a transparent and cost-

efficient business model to finance them? As long as the reply to these questions remains incomplete and unclear, the

uptake of electric and hybrid vehicles in fleets will remain minimal. Of course, setting up a transparent and credible

business model is difficult, in light of the unknown territories explored by new technologies, and the accompanying

lack of statistical information. And yet it's essential. Especially for multi-brand rental companies, if they want to avoid a

switch in funding towards the car manufacturers, because they have first hand access to all necessary information and

their objective is to put their vehicles onto the market.

A switch will have consequences for the international fleet manager, but we’re not there yet. First of all

it’s clear that the fleet decision makers need clarity in the jungle of new technologies. Therefore I

invite you to the first edition of the Fleet Europe Technology & New Powertrains 2011 Event in

Brussels on June 7th, where experts present the current e-Mobility and new powertrain offerings

on the market, their TCO approach and business model, and the tax and legislation

status. You can subscribe to this unique event by visiting

"www.fleeteurope.com/newpowertrain"

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EDITO

RIA

L We all need clarity

“ There is a need for a transparent and reliable business

model for electric cars. ”Steven SCHOEFS Chief Editor

MMM BUSINESS MEDIA sa/nv

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Phone: 00 32 (0)4 387 87 87 Fax: 00 32 (0)4 387 90 87 [email protected] www.mmm-businessmedia.com

EDITORIAL TEAMEditor in chief: Steven Schoefs ([email protected]) Team: Tim Harrup, Stijn Phlix, Jos Sterk, Julie WidartExperts: Professor Peter Cooke (University of Buckingham), Vincent Rupied (Leaseurope & CVO), Bart Vanham (Fleet&DriverCare),

SALES & MARKETING TEAMSales Director: Marleen Neukermans ([email protected])Sales Manager: David Baudeweyns ([email protected])Sales assistants:Patricia Lavergne ([email protected]), Romina De Gregorio ([email protected])

Marketing: Kathleen Hubert ([email protected])

PRODUCTIONHead: Sonia Counet

EDITORDevelopment Director: Caroline ThonnonManaging Director: Thierry DegivesEditor/CEO: Jean-Marie Becker

SUBSCRIPTIONSwww.fleeteurope.com/shop

Price: 105 EUR - 1 yearParc Artisanal 11-13 - 4671 BLEGNY-Barchon (Belgium)Phone: 00 32 (0)4 387 88 18Sophie Demeny ([email protected])

© Reproduction rights (texts, advertisements, pictures) reserved for allcountries. Received documents will not be returned. By submitting them,the author implicitly authorizes their publication.

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STRATEGY

FOCUS

New Emerging MarketsProfessor Peter NC Cooke highlightsthe interest of fleet suppliers in the newmarkets, especially the BRIC countries(Brazil, Russia, India and China)(page22). He also explains the difficultrelationship and correlation in the deci-sion making process of fleet clients(page 25). Furthermore, he told ushow fleet clients and their company’scan be touched today and tomorrowby the consequences of economic ele-ments (page 48).

Car Taxation in EuropeTaxation specialist Bart Vanham givesan overview of the recent evolutions ofcar taxes and he explains the way theyevolve on the green highway (page 28).

New lease accounting rulesVincent Rupied of Leaseurope andArval brings an update on the LeaseAccounting Reform project and itsimpact on the fleet business (page 42).

INDUSTRY

Car Manufacturers' Strategy

10 Company Profiles - Discover the car fleet identity 2011

16 Green & Mobility Solutions - A small variety of green responses

19 International Business Deals - Customer tailored services are key

22 Emerging Markets - Are you ignoring business close to home CO

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MANAGEMENT

25 Conflict resolution: Where is the compromise?

GREEN TAXATION IN 2011

28 Car Taxation: Car taxes evolve on the greenhighway

FLEET EUROPE AWARDS

30 Microsoft: Real value, real results

34 You can be the next International Fleet Managerof the Year

38 Coca-Cola Hellenic:When fleet is lean and safe

MARKETS

42 Lease Accounting: Confusion after global outcry

FLEET PARTNER

44 Ian Hucker, Opel: Upbeat and Optimistic

45 Urs Haymoz, HAYMOZ Fleet Performance:Performance and transparancy

46 José Luis Criado, LeasePlan International: Insight and control

47 Luc Sano, SAAB: Growth in fleet

AUTOMOTIVE

48 Market: The opportunities of the post recession

50 Fuel: Risk of considerably higher oil price remains


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In order to respond to the financingneeds of independents and very smallcompanies in terms of cars, ArvalFrance has set up a programmecalled ‘Autoforfait.com’. This isintended to address a situationwhereby these ‘micro-fleets’ tend toopt for purchase or rental with pur-chase option, rather than the longterm renting solution used by largerstructures. The programme enablesclients to subscribe to an ‘all-in’ carfund, giving the option of selectingthe brand and model of choice. Thevery small (or one-man) fleet operatorcan also choose the service elementsrequired in his own personal pack-age. A dedicated website has beenset up for this new product. www.autoforfait.com

Arval service for micro-fleets

The Spanish food giant Leche Pascualhas ordered 500 Toyota Auris HSD and30 Prius to contribute to Madrid's sus-tainability plan. In the presence ofMadrid’s Mayor, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón,Grupo Leche Pascual presented its firstsustainable commercial vehicles. Thedelivery of 41 Auris HSD is the start of theroll-out of 500 Auris HSD and 30 Prius toits food transportation fleet. This initiativeis a result of Leche Pascual’s commit-ment to sustainable transportation inMadrid. Today, 13% of Leche Pascual’sdelivery fleet runs on alternative energy.As of February 2011, the vehicles willalso be used in neighbouring municipa -lities and eventually at all of the com-pany’s branches. The vehicles are

financed with the support of BansacarAutorenting , a service division of BancoSantander.Tomás Pascual Gómez-Cuétara, presi-dent of Grupo Leche Pascual, was per-sonally presented by the Mayor a cer-tificate for participating in the “Madrid

Compensa plan”, by which the almost200 metric tons of carbon emitted by the66 conventional Leche Pascual deliveryvehicles will be offset by the planting ofmore than 1,200 trees to enrich the envi-ronment.

European fleet management specialist, FleetLogistics, has achieved record results in January2011 adding 10,000 new vehicles to its managedfleet following an array of new contract signings ina variety of industry sectors and countries. The company, which now manages a fleet of inexcess of 80,000 vehicles across Europe, signednew contracts in Germany, France, Belgium, theUK, Sweden and Finland to record its highest eversingle month’s results since it began trading 15 years ago. The new business wins are with majorinternational fleets, many of them household namesand the largest of which operates over 2,500 cars,in a variety of industry sectors including telecom-munications, FMCG (fast moving consumer goods),electronics and pharmaceuticals.

500 Toyota Auris HSD and 30 Prius for Leche Pascual in Spain

Fleet Logistics achieves recordperformance

Fleet Logistics Chief Executive OfficerPeter Soliman said the resultspartially reflected the continueddepressed economic circumstances inboth the United States and Europe.

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DIGEST Europe

This fleet of 500 Auris HSD and over 30 Prius represents the largest sustainable commercial fleet in Europe.

Saab Automobile: new global sales structure

Danish company Autorola is celebra -ting ten years of on-line car auctions.Although many had believed that buy-ers need to see a car in the fleshbefore buying, the success of the con-cept has proved the contrary. In 2010,Autorola handled over 220,000 vehi-cles.

Autorola celebrates 10 years of on-line auctions

Saab Automobile announced the introduction of a new global sales structure aimedat enhancing support and communication with its markets around the world. Effective from February 1, Saab Automobile’s new global sales organization isdivided into four regions, each led by a regional director. The regions identified inthe new structure are: Americas, Nordic, Europe, and Asia Pacific, Middle East &Africa.The Americas region includes the United States, traditionally Saab’s largest market,and will be led by Alan Ludwell, currently responsible for importer markets at SaabAutomobile. Magnus Hansson will continue as regional director for the Nordics, whereSweden is the largest market. The Europe region will be led by Jonathan Nash, wholeaves his position as managing director of Saab Great Britain. Over the course ofthe next few months Saab Automobile aims to announce a regional director for AsiaPacific, Middle East & Africa, where China will become the main focus.All regional directors will be based at company headquarters in Trollhättan, Sweden,where they will report directly to Saab Automobile’s Executive Director GlobalSales & Aftersales, Matthias Seidl.

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FLEET PEOPLE

Building and facilities managementgroup, Europa Support Services(Europa), has appointed contracthire and fleet management special-ist, Fleet Alliance, to manage its 350-strong car and commercial vehi-cle fleet following an open marketselection process.Fleet Alliance was appointed aheadof several other contract hire andleasing suppliers due in part to itsonline fleet management solution,e-fleet, and its ability to achieve costsavings of around 8-10%. Europa’s commercial vehicle fleet,which is comprised entirely ofCitroën Berlingo, Dispatch and Relaydiesel models, is used by mainte-nance management personnel tofulfil contracts at clients’ propertiesaround the UK. Prior to FleetAlliance’s appointment, a significantproportion of the vehicles were onshort term rental agreements of upto 12 months, but all vehicles havenow been switched to contract hire

for three years/60,000 miles for thevans, while the cars are also oper-ated for three years but on indivi -dually tailored mileage contracts.Fleet Alliance also compiled a newcar policy list for Europa employeesto provide a selection of “green”vehicles based upon whole life andCO2 emissions.

Europa selects Fleet Alliance to supply and manage fleet

Arval UK has announced thatBart Beckers will become thenew CEO. Jean-Marc Torre willhand over his role as ChiefExecutive Officer after five suc-cessful years to join Bank of theWest. His successor BartBeckers has strong experiencein Operational Leasing, havingspent the last 15 years withLeasePlan. He was ManagaingDirector of LeasePlan inBelgium, before joiningLeasePlan in France. Mostrecently he was chairman of theLeasePlan entities in France.

ALD International hasannounced the appointment ofStéphane Renie as Sales andBusiness Development Directorof ALD International. He suc-ceeds Olivier Fossion whobecame Managing Director ofALD Automotive Switerland.Stéphane Renie has more than15 years experience in sales andmarketing within Renault, inFrance In his new function hewill report to Pascal Serres,Deputy CEO of ALDAutomotive.

Alphabet Fleet Managementis undertaking a degree ofrestructuring within its personnelin order to prepare for futuregrowth. On February 1stErbehard Schrempf joined theBoard of the company. He waspreviously Head of Sales andMarketing at BMW Bank. At thesame time, Emil Karl Sänze, whohad been head of sales, left thecompany. Responsibility forsales is now in the hands of UweHildinger, previously operationalin Services.

LeasePlan Corporation N.V hasannounced that it has appointedJose Luis Criado-Pérez to theposition of Managing Directorfor LeasePlan International B.V.The appointment became effec-tive on 17 January 2011. His pre-vious position was as Chairmanof Consultores y Asesores enRenting, S.L. (C.A.R.) and hehas also held the post ofManaging Director for AmericanAppraisal in Portugal and inSpain. You can read the exclu-sive interview at page 46.

Bart Beckers

Stéphane Renie

Jose Luis Criado-Pérez

Martin Brown, managing director of FleetAlliance (left) with Greig Brown, chief

executive of Europa.

Athlon Car Lease has announced that it is to become involved in theStreetscooter development consortium. The leasing company is taking ashareholding in this German enterprise, and will be actively involved inresearch. The consortium intends to design and build an electric car,rather than merely replacing the combustion engine with an electric motor.It was founded in 2009 by RWTH Aachen University, and is working on thedomains of battery technology, electric drives and energy efficiencyamongst others. The vehicle it is developing has a top speed of 120 km/hand a range of 60 to 130 km, making it suitable for most short journey uses.Athlon is the first leasing company to become directly involved in developingan electric car.

Athlon in Streetscooter move

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According to a survey carried out bythe Oliver Wyman bureau, 40% of allnew vehicle sales are set to be elec-tric by the year 2040. The figure mayeven be as high as a half in Europe.The bureau believes that the marketwill not really take off before 2025 atthe earliest, but that this ‘take-off’ isinevitable. Before this date, it doesnot think that plug-in electric vehicleswill achieve more than a 6.6% mar-ket share, representing a little over 3 million vehicles worldwide. Hybridsare set to rise to 8.8% during this

‘interim’ period. And legislative inter-ventions such as higher taxes oncombustion engine vehicles in citiesare not to be discounted.

Electric sales - half the market in 2040?

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FEU053_11_Focus_Flash_DOSSIER 15/03/11 16:21 Page8

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“The times, they are a-changing”, Bob Dylan sang in the Sixties. Fifty years on, thatmuch at least still is true. It also applies to the automotive and fleet industries. More thanever before, the manufacturers concentrate all their efforts towards durability, and low-emission vehicles. This ‘green’ trend is aimed at all clients, private and corporate, but it’sobvious that the main thrust of innovation is happening in business fleets. After a fewdifficult years, the fleet sector seems to have regained a measure of enthusiasm that ispromising to turn 2011 into a very interesting fleet year. Especially now thatmanufacturers are managing to reconcilesustainability, performance and driving pleasurewith each other. In this dossier, you’ll find anoverview of the manufacturers’ developmentstrategy, of the way they organise theirinternational fleet cells, and of the respective fleetambitions for this year.

Steven SCHOEFS

Optimism and enthusiasm lead to creativity

CAR MANUFACTURERS’ COMPANY PROFILE The Fleet Identity 2011 10

GREEN & MOBILITY A small variety of green responses 16

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEALSCustomer tailored services on the way 19

EMERGING MARKETS Are You Ignoring Business Close toHome? 22

Designed yesterday, developedtoday, taking your places tomorrow?

FOCUS Car Manufacturers' Strategy

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Steven SCHOEFS

All of the major car manufacturers are looking to combine an increase in their fleetbusiness with a growing focus on cleaner technologies, clearly including hybrid andelectric models. Here, some of them tell us how they see the various market placesdeveloping, and what their brands have in store for us over the coming year.

Company Profiles

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Discover the Car Fleet Identity 2011

COMPANYPROFILE

Mercedes-Benz Company & Network2010 was a successful year for Mercedes-Benz withsignificant growth rates in many important markets.The German brand has ambitious plans for 2011: thegoal is to surpass the sales record set in 2007 andachieve the best year in the company’s history. Forfleet sales growth Mercedes-Benz expects opportuni-ties especially in the emerging markets where globaland national enterprises are currently building up theirfleets. In Europe they also expect growth through theintroduction of new models including the new B-Class,which will complement the current fleet range.

PRODUCT & SERVICESn New models in 2011To accompany the launch of the brand new CLS inJanuary Mercedes-Benz is also adding improved po -wertrains to the E-Class further reducing the CO2 andTCO figures. From March the new generation C-Classlikewise offers significant TCO improvements, forexample the new C 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY has aCO2 value of 117 g/km as well as the best interior inthe class and is now accompanied by the all new C-Class Coupé. 2011 will also see the launch of an all

new SLK and M-Class which will benefit from newhighly efficient engines. Later in the year Mercedes-Benz will launch the first of the new range of cars inthe compact-vehicle segment. The all new B-Class sig-nals the first of four new models in this segment. This all new car will ideally complement and broadenthe current product range to make Mercedes-Benzeven more attractive to fleet purchasers.n Fleet Focus in 2011The C- and E-Class models have been predominant aspopular fleet vehicles for many years and to stay at theforefront Mercedes-Benz cannot stand still. n Fleet Strategy in 2011Mercedes-Benz has a well developed infrastructurewith market centric fleet programs in all major coun-tries catering to fleets of all sizes. As the fleets reachmedium to large size for the local market they will havethe support of a professional fleet contact equippedwith the resources and tools one would expect fromMercedes-Benz. The international customers areserved from the headquarter in Stuttgart. The 2011strategy is to ensure that Mercedes-Benz maximizesthis already strong infrastructure to be the best in theindustry at serving the customers needs through excel-lent professional relationships and the ability to meet

the individual needs of the most demanding cus-tomers. To support this strategy they are able to offerfully integrated solutions from one source. Through thecreation of a specialist team covering vehicle acquisi-tion, financial services, fleet management, spare partssupply and replacement vehicles Mercedes-Benz cannow offer very complete tailor made offers to cus-tomers requiring a one-stop-shop solution.

International expansionMercedes-Benz will lay the main focus on the growthmarkets, especially the BRIC countries. In additionthey expect to boost sales in the U.S. The new products such as the C-Class or the SLK will alsomake their contribution to the positive development.The emerging markets are also main focus markets forfleet sales growth where they are maximizing opportu-nities as global and national enterprises are currently building up their organisations. For example in theBRIC countries, South Africa and Australia, many com-panies are currently establishing vehicle fleets and thenational Key Account Management teams are activelyacquiring new customers and provide additional sup-port for existing customers as they expand.

ŠkodaCompany & NetworkThe SME concept and strategy Škoda has been deve -loping together with its main EU5 countries is currentlybeing adapted and soon Škoda will implement this intoother countries as well.

Products & Servicesn Fleet Strategy in 20111. Development of Sales processes (KPI and Reporting

and lead / client management) in the dealerships. 2. Sales skills (importer and dealer level – i.e. SME-

salesman) to professionally acquire and service fleetcustomers.

3. Product and tools to support the above.4. Launch in EU5 and gradual integration of further

countries.

International expansionIt is mainly inWestern European countries that Škoda is pio-neering all new activities in terms of Business and Salesdevelopment. At this point the main development of theSME activities takes place in EU5 +, Portugal, theNetherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.

What does Mercedes-Benz consider to be the next big thing in international fleet business?More and more countries will limit CO2-emissions and introduce taxation schemes heavily based on CO2 emissions.This development has started already in countries such as France and Great Britain and will probably continuethroughout Europe in the upcoming years. Many car manufacturers cannot respond to these new challenges ade-quately and in time. It the goal of Mercedes-Benz though to help the customers deal with this situation without pass-ing on significant cost increases.

What does Škoda consider to be the next big thing in international fleet business?Large international customers are reducing the number of brands in their car parks to reduce complexity. They alsorequire a “single point of contact” concept to deliverer and manage more than one or two brands.

Škoda Octavia Green Line

Mercedes-Benz C Class Coupé

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Discover the Car Fleet Identity 2011

COMPANYPROFILE

Citroën Business International Company & NetworkIn 2010, Citroën sold 1,460,000 cars, which representsa growth of 8% compared with 2009 when 1.369.573cars were sold. In Europe, Citroën sold 1,045,142 vehi-cles in 2009. In 2010, the brand became the No 6 onthe European market and the No 3 on the LCV marketin Europe. Regarding B2B sales, Citroën sold over325,000 vehicles in 2010 and signed more than 170 international contracts.

Products & Servicesn New models in 2011Following the unprecedented success of Citroën DS3and the excellent launch of Citroën C 4, the brand isfollowing its product strategy, based on a completeand attractive range, with the distinctive DS Line. Two

new models will complete this line: Citroën DS4 inMay and Citroën DS5 in October 2011.n Fleet Focus in 2011 ‘Französiche golf’ (The French Golf) : a recent title of aGerman newspaper about the new Citroën C4 is agood “résumé” of the New Citroën C4. This car isperfect for fleet. Its qualities have been saluted by theEuropean automotive press (roadholding, equipment,comfort, motor…). The new Citroën C4’s handlingcombines responsiveness and comfort and has all thenew safety and comfort equipment. Furthermore, thee-HDi micro-Hybrid technology is available on theCitroën, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emis-sions. n Fleet Strategy in 2011Meeting the needs of all fleet customers, withexpanded Business Center Network, expanded

National Key accounts and back office resources, theInternational Corporate Sales team, Business Lineproduct offer in all markets, additional services forfleet customers, including CO2 analysis and mapping,and improved servicing offers. Last year, Citroën con-tinued to deploy the strategy launched in 2009 with aclear increase in focus on the B2B market.

International expansionChina is the main priority for Citroën. It is the secondmarket for the brand in sales volume (16% of Citroënsales). In 2010, Citroën sold 224,000 vehicles in Chinaand the market share reached 2%. Citroën has theobjective of continuing with these sales dynamics. TheB2B market share in China is 3%. We also plan toincrease our sales in Brazil and in Russia.

Infiniti Europe Company & NetworkIn 2009 Fleet sales were mainly B2B. B2B salesremained stable in 2010 in Europe. Increase in salescame from a big push on leasing activities, helped byvery competitive residual values in nearly all markets.

Infiniti will keep the growth going in 2011 with a con-solidation of the leasing companies and a develop-ment of B2B sales.

Products & Servicesn New models in 2011Infiniti is launching its first Hybrid as part of the latestmodel: the M35h with a CO2 at 162 g/km. This car willdevelop 360 bhp.n Fleet Strategy in 2011 Infiniti is presented to all international key accounts asthe Premium brand of the Alliance Renault/Nissan;Infiniti, Renault and Nissan are included in one singleinternational contract with majors leasing companies.

Locally Infiniti has has implemented fleet standards inthe network to help to professionalize its network.2010 has also been the year Infiniti has introduced thebrand with all the majors companies in the leasingindustry.In 2011 Infiniti will keep its momentum with the fleetindustry and improve its TCO positioning. In additionversus last year Infiniti will develop a strong B2B pro-gram.

International expansionInfiniti launched its activities 2 years ago in 15 countries inEurope. Every single one is developing very strongly. In 2011priority on Fleet sales will focus on G8 countries.

Honda Europe Company & Network2010 sales in the Europe Region for Honda were justover 198,000 units and there is projected growththrough 2011. For 2011 Honda has extended theHybrid range to four vehicles, the Honda Civic Hybrid,Honda Insight, Honda CR-Z sports Hybrid and theHonda Jazz Hybrid. The new Honda Jazz hybrid wasone of the star acts of the last Paris Motor Show andit is the world's first ever hybrid in the B segment.Lightweight IMA hybrid technology remains crucial toHonda's corporate offering of low emission cars to thebusiness sector. It's a technology where Hondaremains a key leader after it first developed the systemfor the Insight two-seater coupe in 1999.

Products & Servicesn New models in 2011In addition to expanding the Hybrid range, the latestlow-emission 2.2 i-DTEC engine will appear first in anupdated version of the stylish and spacious five-seaterAccord Saloon and estate Tourer models. In additionto its newly revised appearance and more efficientdiesel engine, the 2012 Model Year Accord range hasbeen extended to include the more accessibleComfort trim, offered for the first time with the lowemission 2.2 i-DTEC engine. The Honda Accord is alsoavailable in Elegance and Executive trims.

n Fleet Strategy in 2011 Over the past 12 months Honda has expanded its keyaccount base forming partnerships with a number ofkey Pan-European customers. Honda’s growth hasbeen achieved through a real desire to review tenderopportunities and see where Honda can realisticallymeet customers’ needs and objectives. This has beenmirrored by a continued growth in focus in local mar-kets where Honda continues to establish a programmethat delivers a sound basis for future growth. In termsof fleet supply all vehicles are supplied through thedealer networks, for larger customers Honda has agrowing number of Fleet Specialist Dealers.

Honda Accord

What does Citroën consider to be the next big thing in international fleet business?Flexible mobility solutions, including a combination of state of the art thermal engine vehicles, hybrid vehicles, andfull electric vehicles, in addition to alternative transport solutions. It is worth noting that Citroën will launch the fullhybrid diesel DS5 in 2011, another concrete example of additional solutions. Another example is the “MULTICITY”service, an innovative new mobility offering. For example for long journeys C ZERO customers may, with a simpleclick or call, choose an alternative vehicle from the full Citroën range corresponding to their actual needs. The vehi-cle will be delivered to their home.

Citroën DS4

Infiniti M 35 h

What does Honda consider to be the next big thing in international fleet business?Over the last couple of years Honda has seen the gradual beginnings of the electrification of vehicles lead by hybridbut now encompassing a wide range of technologies. These technologies will find their ways into the largest fleetsand the challenge will be to adapt and exploit the technologies available. In terms of future fleet thinking, it’s nowtime to think of the fleet as just one part of a mobility and communications strategy. An integrated approach to thiswill have a meaningful impact on developing future policies and meeting CSR commitments.


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RenaultCompany & NetworkLast year, the registration level increased by 25% onthe Western European fleet market (within a globalfleet market which increased by 8%). Renault aims atmaintaining the market share in 2011, which will belinked to market evolution.

Products & Servicesn New models in 2011The launch of the complete range of the new Master(passenger cars & short wheel base LCVversion) will reinforce the Renault leadership in Europeon the LCV market up to 3.5 tonnes.The launch of the new LCV range is accompanied by

the launch of Renault Pro + in additional countries. This is a bespoke network dedicated to business roadusers. It delivers a tailor-made service geared to the demands of its customers ‘respective activities.The 2011 schedule year will see an acceleration in thenetwork‘s international expansion, both within and outside of Europe.Thanks to the launch of the new Laguna & newLatitude models end of last year, Renault will extendthe range width and consequently the fleet commer-cial opportunities among current customers and newprospects. Renault Latitude, in particular the brand'slatest high-end saloon model, delivers a high numberof comfort and journey enhancing features. Aimed atcustomers who value quality and comfort in everysense of the words, Renault Latitude places the accentvery much on the well-being of its occupants.2011 will be the first launch year of electric models,two derivatives of internal-combustion vehicles:

Renault Fluence Z.E., an electric version of Fluencewhich will initially be available in Israel and Europe.Renault Kangoo Z.E. will be an electric version ofRenault Kangoo Express, intended primarily for fleetand business use. Pre-ordering linked to attractiveprices has already been opened for both models,whose launch will be completed at the end of 2011 bythe launch of Twizy, a new model whose architecture isdesigned to run exclusively on electric power.

International expansionRenault will put the focus on the European fleet mar-kets, whose sales represent around 70% of fleet sales.They are also pursuing the fleet structure developmentin the countries outside of Europe, in order to effi-ciently respond to corporate and local fleet customerneeds and contribute to an effective implementation ofour international agreements. The share of the fleetsales outside Europe should progressively grow.

PeugeotCompany & NetworkAs proof of the dynamism in 2010 Peugeot confirms anall-time world-wide sales record of 2,142,000 units,supported by the acceleration of the internationaloffensive, the rapid deployment of new service offerings, the new Style Identity and the launch of 4 products out of the 14 scheduled by 2012. In termsof the plan to develop B2B sales, Peugeot announcesthat 450 business centres have been implemented andthat already contracts with 200 international customershave been established compared to 33 in 2009. Thishas contributed to the spectacular growth of our B2Bmarket share in Europe by 0.9 percentage points up to8.1%. Peugeot’s aim is to keep increasing the portfolioof customers and the sales as well as to provide firstclass account management. The objective for 2011 is8.3 % market share in the real Fleet Market in Europe(LCV and Passengers cars).

Products & Servicesn New models in 2011The first deliveries of the full electric Peugeot iOn re -present a very important milestone for Peugeot and forthe whole industry. The launch of Peugeot 508, inChina and Europe, will be the event of the first quarterof 2011 in the M2 segment. The car is sure to be a realB2B best seller which has been conceived taking intoaccount the TCO of the car at every step of the pro -ject. In terms of engines – first on 508 and then on thenew version of 308 – the Stop & Start E-HDI enginesare going to be available and will decrease the CO2emissions of the Peugeot vehicles by some 15%. Finally, Peugeot is going to launch the first DieselHybrid engine combination on 3008 during the secondhalf of 2011, and it will then cascade the E-HDI tech-nology to the whole brand. n Fleet Strategy in 2011 Last year the newly created Peugeot Professionalteams focused on convincing new customers that

Peugeot has a relevant solution for their fleets. In2011, the International and National teams will concen-trate most of their time on developing the partnershipsformed in 2010, consolidating the links with new cus-tomers, understanding their needs, providing them theadded value they expect.

International expansionAfter Europe, China and South America are two veryimportant markets for the Peugeot B2B strategy in2011. In Europe the focus will be to professionalise allcountries and to implement 600 Professional Centres.The coaching of all B2B sales people and the B2BService department will be a key factor for respondingto the needs of B2B customers. We will be as close aspossible to the customers to satisfy them 100 %.

COMPANYPROFILE

What does Renault consider to be the next big thing in international fleet business?Mobility offers and sustainable development policies adapted to fleet customers requirements based on TCO reduction are the main key business values for the international fleet business.Renault Fluence Z.E.

What does Peugeot consider to be the next big thing in international fleet business?The successful implementation of electric vehicles into corporate fleets is definitely the next big thing jointly with,obviously, the way the Chinese market will welcome the B2B approach and range of products…

Peugeot 508

SEAT Company & NetworkSEAT’s target is to move to a total sales figure of387.000 vehicles in 2011 versus 339.000 vehicles in2010. In Corporate sales SEAT increased the volume in2010 with 26% in comparison with 2009 and this yearthey aim a new increase with 20%. To ensure maxi-mum service to the customer, SEAT has developed anetwork of Fleet Specialized Dealers. SEAT signs inter-national agreements through Volkswagen Group FleetInternational, but for SEAT the motto “Think global actlocal” remains crucial on the international level.

Products & Servicesn Fleet Strategy in 2011This year SEAT has the new automatic version of EXEOand EXEO ST. There is also the launch of the IbizaCommercial, with 930 litres of boot space. By the endof the year SEAT will enter in a new segmentlaunching a new “Small urban car” offering best inclass CO2 emission levels and fuel consumption.

Seat Exeo


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VolkswagenCompany & NetworkThe Volkswagen strategy is defined with Mach 18,within which Volkswagen has to be the most innova-tive high volume brand. This strategy is valid for allprofitable customer segments.

Within this context the European market is the regionwhich needs to be defended with other markets suchas China or India providing the most powerful oppor-tunities for growth.

Products & Servicesn Fleet Strategy in 2011Volkswagen will continue its strategy of 2010. Thismeans that Volkswagen continues to offer vehicles

which meet customer needs in terms of technology,competitive TCO and, last but not least, emotions.Two important flagships for the fleet business are therecently launched new Passat and also the new Jetta.In combination with BlueMotion TechnologyVolkswagen offers to customers a combination of thelowest CO2 and fuel consumption in the car industrybut also exciting driving experiences.

VolvoCompany & NetworkVolvo is looking at a very positive 2011. They are plan-ning to have growth compared to 2010. This growthwill come from both retail and fleet sales.

Products & Servicesn New Models in 2011The recently launched S60 and V60 DRIVe variantsprovide uncompromised driving dynamics, very com-petitive cost of ownership while delivering CO2 figuresof 114 and 119 grams. Later, Volvo will also launch thenew C30 Battery Electric Vehicle, a car which embod-ies the Volvo core values of safety, quality and environ-mental care. Volvo will continue to improve the emis-

sion outputs of their engines and find ways to loweroperating costs for fleet customers.

n Fleet Focus in 2011The new Volvo S60 DRIVe. Placed within the competi-tive C/D premium segment, this car delivers what thecorporate market wants : driver appeal, supported bylow CO2 emissions (below 120g/km) and class leadingsafety. Features such as City Safety, with Auto brake,assist the driver and can help reduce accident costs. n Fleet Strategy in 2011The International Fleet Strategy of Volvo celebrates its25th birthday. In 1985 Volvo established the firstInternational Fleet Operation to provide one point ofcontact for multi-market fleet agreements. The experi-ence and the infrastructure to deliver and implement

an international agreement is second to none, a factbacked up by the high customer retention rates.

International expansionVolvo sees growth in Europe and the USA, where theysee also many opportunities. The continuous improve-ment in lowering the CO2 output, increasingly makesthe Volvo products more attractive to the corporatemarketplace and wins new customers across theworld. In addition, the recent acquisition by ZhejiangGeely Holding Group gives Volvo a greater insight anda strong platform into Asia, particularly China, whereVolvo aims to grow both the retail and fleet sales seg-ments.

COMPANYPROFILE

Land Rover - Jaguar Company & NetworkTo the year ended March 2010, Jaguar sold 51,000 vehicles globally, Land Rover 157,000. X-TYPE ceased production in 2010, a car that hadmade up 33% of Jaguar total sales volume in Europe in2009. Despite this Jaguar sold 27,400 vehicles inEurope in 2010 compared to 29,800 in 2009, with anincrease of sales for XF of 20% year on year. The XFand the successful launch of XJ contributed to anenhanced performance for Jaguar Land Rover in 2010.Land Rover sales in Europe increased from 69,500 to83,400, a 20% rise. Defender sales were broadly con-

sistent year on year, Freelander saw an 18% increasein sales, Range Rover Sport a 27% increase, Discovery29% and Range Rover 26%.

Products & Servicesn New models in 2011 Since its launch the Jaguar XF has received wide-spread critical acclaim, winning over 60 internationalawards. This year Jaguar will introduce a small dieselengine to the model line up with competitive CO2emissions, fuel economy and power output. There’s also the launch of the Range Rover Evoque in2011. Pre-launch focus groups across Europe havegiven it a resounding seal of approval and this is nowtranslating into demand across Europe. Land Roverbelieves sales will exceed the initial estimates,because Evoque presents a compelling proposition tofleets with CO2 emissions from 129 g/km and fueleconomy from 5.0 ltr/100 km in the combined cycle.n Fleet Strategy in 2011In 2011 Land Rover - Jaguar is launching cars/deriva-tives that are targeted at the heart of the executive

segments. They will continue to do so over the nextfew years. Consequently, they will adopt a balancedand measured approach to the fleet market working inpartnership with rental, leasing and end user compa-nies. In addition to this, Land Rover is the vehicle ofchoice for a significant number of governments andindustries where there exist specialised functional carrequirements.

International expansionJaguar and Land Rover expect to grow their businesssignificantly in 2011 with the launch of new productsto the market. The larger markets in Western Europewill remain important and provide the strongest growthopportunities. Central and Eastern European marketsare receiving increased focus but are expected toshow lower growth due to the fragility of their eco-nomic recovery process. Outside Europe, key marketsin 2011 will be the United States, as always, withChina continuing to increase in importance.

What does Volkswagen consider to be the next big thing in international fleet business?Volkswagen continues to launch an exciting range of new models each year, and 2011 will not be an exception from that.

What does Volvo consider to be the next big thing in international fleet business?Volvo believes that alternative fuels, electric cars and diesel hybrids, as well as continuity of the CO2 focus and fur-ther improving fuel consumption will be very high on the agenda. It is important for all parties involved to reduce car-bon footprints, and reduce the overall cost of the fleet, while at the same time looking after the environment and ourchildren's future society.

Volvo S60

New Range Rover Evoque

Volkswagen Jetta


All of the major manufacturers havespecific thoughts and actionsabout how to tackle the environ-

mental question, and these range from an overview of what society needs, toaction taken within their own ranges.Volkswagen starts by stating that it hasalways been a technical pioneer for sus-tainable innovations which provide realbenefits to the customers. Ralf Kostrewa,Head of International Fleet, Rent-a-Carand Used Cars, says: “We will continuethis strategy. It is important toVolkswagen is to meet both challenges,the optimisation of existing technologiesbased on diesel or petrol, which finds

its benchmark in the one litre car, andproviding an electric vehicle which isready for the daily usage, and not just agreen story. This will become real from2013 on.”

The challenge and the costOn the question of future challenges andhow to tackle them, Volvo believes thatreducing greenhouse gas emissions is aglobal concern that requires global solu-tions. As a small car maker (in its ownwords), Volvo Cars states that it aspiresto be at the forefront in innovation andnew technologies to cut CO2 emissionsin transport. But it remains a challenge for

all car brands to invest in developinggreen technologies in the absence ofglobal standards, incentives and legisla-tions to adhere to. On top of this, cuttingedge innovation through electrificationof mobility comes at a cost. JavierVásquez, Director, International MajorAccounts, continues: “We need to under-stand who will pay for what is essentiallya common good – the welfare of ourplanet. Additionally, we must continueto have a broad perspective and not viewtransport in isolation. An example withinelectric vehicles is how to ensure thatthe electricity used to charge the car isderived from renewable energy sources.”These challenges, he says, cannot betackled single-handily by a single carbrand. It is necessary to work togetherwith different partners and create newsolutions and ways of thinking. An exam-ple he gives is Volvo’s own joint venturewith energy supplier Vattenfall, in order todevelop a plug-in hybrid vehicle to beintroduced to market in 2012. And in the eyes of Škoda, there can neverbe enough done for the environment.The company says that it believes that in the future new technologies will bedeveloped in order to reduce CO2 andsupport various alternative power sup-plies. Nevertheless, it predicts a long runwhich will have to face many problems asevery new technology does when it isbeing implemented. In model terms,Škoda says that its latest product in thefield of low CO2 technology is the EOctavia – the first Škoda ‘Elektromobile’currently preceded in European fleets bySkoda’s new GreenLine portfolio. Thebrand’s complete model range is nowavailable in GreenLine version with a low-est CO2 of 89 grams from the Fabia

Tim HARRUP

No discussion on the future plans of car manufacturers can take place without taking intoaccount – or even putting a primary focus on – the environmental question. We asked themanufacturers to tell us how their brands are thinking and what they are doing. The answer is a small variety of sustainable solutions and plans.

Green & Mobility Solutions

A small variety of green responses

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Today, almost every car manufacturer is driving on the green highway, but the direction can be different.



GreenLine. The same story with sisterbrand SEAT. “Sustainability is one of themost important words in our philoso-phy”, says Elena Delgado, Head of FleetSales & Remarketing at SEAT. “Having 23 of our engines producing less than 120 g/km of CO2, makes us one of themost sustainable brands on the market.We are constantly looking for ways tomaximise our range efficiency withoutcompromising on the lifestyle and drivingpleasure we are used to. Our best inclass Ecomotive engines are setting CO2emissions records, like the Ibiza with 89 g/km or the Leon with 99 g/km.”

Significant reductionsLooking at actions to be taken within itsown ranges, Renault says that its all-new1.6 engine – ‘Energy dCi 130’ – will be themost powerful engine on the market withthis capacity and offer the best emis-sions/power ratio in its class. To be avai -lable on the Scénic and Grand Scénicfrom May 2011, it will reduce CO2 emis-sions by 20% compared with the previ-ous generation. And Robert Boscari –Renault Director, Fleet Sales & Marketing– Corporate Sales Division, adds:“Renault’s new Energy TCe gasolineengines will cut CO2 emissions for vehi-cles in the A, B and C segments byaround 30% (or 40 g/km of CO2 andone litre less fuel per 100 km)”.Theseinnovations are set to help reduce CO2emissions significantly. From 137 g/kmtoday, Renault’s range in Europe willtherefore emit an average of less than 120 g by 2013 and less than 100 g by2016 when electric vehicles come intothe equation more substantially. Peugeot Professional InternationalDirector Pierre Garnier points out someof his brand’s actions in this domain:“Peugeot will soon have an even largerrange of cars that can offer very lowCO2 and driving pleasure simultaneously.For example, the 3008 Hybrid 4 has asuperb driving experience, and at thesame time, four wheel drive, and a zeroemissions mode. This should helpaddress the issue by clearly showingdriving pleasure can still be enjoyed, whileat the same time, having a low CO2 car”.

Widening the approachHonda believes that it is time to lookbeyond the car alone. There is no reasonto believe, it says, that businesses will

continue to be restricted to four wheels.As society’s ideas of mobility change,so will its demands for vehicles. In Brazil,Honda points out that it has alreadydeveloped a flex-fuel motorbike that canrun on a flexible mixture of environmen-tally sound bio-ethanol and petrol. TheCG150 Titan Mix is the first motorbike tobe equipped with emissions-reducingflex fuel technology.Mercedes too takes a multi-facetedapproach. Hans-Georg Lutz, SeniorManager International Corporate Sales:“On our way to emissions-free mobilitywe commit ourselves to an integratedstrategy that has led to ground-break-ing technologies such as diesel (BlueTEC)or petrol aggregates (BlueDIRECT), forour fuel-efficient models, as well as elec-tric power trains with battery (E-CELL)and fuel cells (F-CELL).”And Citroën’s Head of Fleet Sales DavidStaniforth, explains what his brand hasbeen doing in this respect: “Citroën hasalready begun to develop green tech-

nology, such e-HDi micro-Hybrid tech-nology and will follow on this path for thenext three years with a Diesel Hybrid 4 (Full Hybrid) in the range. On top of this,electric vehicles are a reality at Citroënwith the launch of the Citroën BerlingoFirst Venturi and C-ZERO. Our strategy isto offer multiple solutions to environ-mental challenges facing the planet.” Hegoes on to point out that cutting CO2emissions is a key requirement, statingthat the challenge is to continue CO2reduction actions, in relation with hiscompany’s involvement in the area ofsustainable development. To tackle thesequestions, Citroën is to take action inseveral areas including weight control,power-train technology and aerodyna -mics. The pursuit of useful technologicalinnovations and solutions, believesCitroën, will allow breakthrough progressin the environmental impact of cars.

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We asked our manufacturers’ representatives to give a piece of advice to fleetmanagers. Here is a selection of replies.

CITROËN: “Choose a partner for the long term with appealing state of the arttechnology, exciting products and a global presence. Your fleet partner must be ableto meet your fleet needs, now and tomorrow.” (David Staniforth)

HONDA: “I don't believe a one-size solutions fits all fleet requirements. Ordering abatch of just one model might deliver purchase savings on paper, but in terms ofoperation, are the cars fit for purpose and do they meet the company's CSRrequirements?” (Harvey Hughes)

MERCEDES-BENZ: “Your choice of car brands should reflect the goals of thecompany, whilst satisfying the TCO budget, the environmental targets and at the sametime providing your drivers with a safe, reliable and rewarding car to drive.” (Hans-Georg Lutz)

PEUGEOT: “Just don’t think about “the fleet” anymore. Think about your employees’use of mobility independently of the fact that they are allowed or not a company car.The idea is to optimise this Corporate Mobility.” (Pierre Garnier)

RENAULT: “Select a structure allowing the customer to be fully supported in their owninternational development. Select a vehicle range highly competitive in terms of price,total cost of ownership and CO2 emissions. And also quality and safety items have tobe taken into consideration in the car brands selection.” (Robert Boscari)

SEAT: “To choose a range of reliable, sustainable and excellent TCO vehicles is notenough. Car manufacturers must commit themselves to the highest quality of serviceto simplify fleet management.” (Elena Delgado)

VOLVO: “A company car is becoming more and more an extension of the companyimage and values and it is important that companies look for manufacturers thatrepresent 21st century values : modern design, care for the environment, safety, qualityand premiuness.” (Javier Vásquez)

Advice


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Whatever other factors come intoconsideration when companiesmake their fleet choices, in the

end it is all about cars. So the way inwhich the various manufacturers reflectand act on their fleet clients’ needs iscrucial.

ExpansionIn terms of expansion of its fleet poli-cies, Renault is, for example, develop-ing fleet structures outside Europe, andespecially in Latin America, Eurasia, Asiaand Africa. This is partially in response toclient requests to have an extended co -verage within fleet activities. For Renaultthis is the best way to develop interna-tional agreements with clients whorequire worldwide offers.

Although part of the Renault-Nisanalliance, Infiniti is a relative newcomer tothe European fleet scene, and thus to itsinternational customers. Infiniti is posi-tioned to international key accounts asthe Premium brand of the Alliance. Withinthis context, it has over the past yearimplemented fleet standards in the net-work to help to professionalise its net-work. In 2010 Infiniti also took steps tointroduce the brand to all the majorscompanies in the leasing industry, and 2011 will see the brand maintain itsmomentum with the fleet industry,improve its TCO positioning and developa strong B2B program.

The organisation of Peugeot’s fleet stra -tegy involves having its Peugeot

Professional Centres in each country(total of 600 centres). These involve spe-cific standards, for example specific B2Bsalesmen trained by the brand, a servicedivision with specific services for B2Bincluding opening hours and replace-ment cars, demonstration and test carsand B2B marketing and communication.All standards will be controlled a minimumof once a year by an external audit. Andfor its part, Europe’s leading sales brandVolkswagen says that it will continue tooffer vehicles which meet customerneeds in terms of technology, competitiveTCO and, last but not least, emotions.

AgreementsInternational fleet agreements form animportant part of the fleet strategy equa-

Tim HARRUP

The value of fleet sales to car manufacturers is enormous. And as the criteria fleet managers arerequired to take into account evolve, so do the strategies of these manufacturers to their largest clients.We asked a number of major brands to tell us what they are doing for fleets.

International Business Deals

International fleet agreements become an important part of the car manufacturers’ fleet strategy equation.

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Customer tailored services are key




tion. Mercedes-Benz has now more thandoubled the number of Internationalframework agreements in the last 24 months. The brand has seen anincreasing tendency for international cus-tomers to centralise their procurementprocesses, including vehicle needs.“Many European and worldwide tenderrequests”, says Senior ManagerInternational Corporate Sales Hans-Georg Lutz, “ have led to an increasefor international framework contractswith manufacturers and leasing compa-nies. In recent years Mercedes-Benz hasbeen able to acquire many internationalcustomers through tender requests andas our product range continues tobecome broader, more attractive andCO2 efficient we are expecting this trendto continue”. In the same way Jaguarexpects to grow its business significantlyin 2011 with the launch of new productsto the market. "In 2011 we are launching cars/deriva tives that are targeted at the heartof the executive segments. We will con-tinue to do so over the next few years.Consequently, we will adopt a balancedand measured approach to the fleet mar-ket working in partnership with rental,leasing and end user companies", addsPeter Brown, Director JLR OperationsEurope. Honda too has been expandingits key account base over the past 12 months forming partnerships with anumber of key pan-European customers.“Our growth has been achieved througha real desire to review tender opportuni-ties and see where Honda can realisticallymeet our customers’ needs and objec-tives.

This has been mirrored by our continuedgrowth in focus in local markets where wecontinue to establish a programme thatdelivers a sound basis for future growth”,explains Harvey Hughes, Manager,European Corporate Operations. All vehicles are supplied through theHonda dealer networks, and for largercustomers we have a there is now agrowing number of fleet specialist dealers.Where international agreements are con-cerned, Volvo puts these into perspective:“We currently have over 100 Internationalagreements and aim to add more during2011. We have a clear view within Volvothat signing an international agreement isthe smallest part of the equation. Thereal difference, where we deliver, is atimplementation,” explains Javier Vasquez,Director, International Major Accounts.The Volvo organisation states that it isfully committed to ensuring it provides thebenefits that an international customershould expect from a premium manu-facturer when signing an internationaldeal, namely most competitive products,class leading services and full accountsupport on an international and locallevel.

TCOWhen considering fleet strategies, TCOis never far from the top of the agenda.On the question of developments forreducing TCO, Skoda’s Director ofGlobal Fleet Rainer Mielke is quite clear:“We are in direct contact with main mar-ket influencers, we regularly conductTCO studies and adapt the results toour new models, and we are doing our

best to hear the voice of the market todevelop most competitive product in thefields of TCO and RV. In order to influ-ence these we are working to improvefunctionality, design, image and CO2emissions”.Citroën, also has specific TCO targetsfor all new vehicles with a dedicatedorganisation. The Citroën BusinessInternational and CVOI teams are fullyinvolved from the start of all vehiclesdevelopment programs. Specific TCOtargets are set, and monitored along withall other vehicle targets. Citroën also hasa dedicated international and nationalfleet organisation, and a full range ofservices tailored to the needs of fleetcustomers. It has developed tools suchas Active Fleet Data dedicated to fleetmanagement, in order to meet fleetneeds. At SEAT they know that choosinga fleet partner is not easy and thereforetheir strategy is focusing on four factorsthat matter fleet customers the most:Reliability, Eco credentials, Service andTCO. “SEAT's comprehensive ResidualValue Management combined withVolkswagen Group technology and qual-ity ensures best in class TCO”, saysElena Delgado, Head of Fleet Sales andRemarketing. “To further increase its com-petitiveness SEAT has introduced theLong Life Service, a new maintenancesystem with flexible intervals in order toadapt the maintenance to the indivi -dual driving style and user characteris-tics.”

It is quite clear that the specific demandsof the fleet industry, as companies try tobalance the many different corporateand human factors which come into play,are of the utmost importance to the majormanufacturers. A car may be a car, but itis also an expenditure, a working tool, apart of Corporate Social Responsibility,an emotional possession… And whenhundreds or thousands are involved inone company, with hundreds or thou-sands of drivers, getting it right is ineverybody’s interest.

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In terms of expansion of its fleet strategy, Peugeot is developing an international fleet structure with dedicated Peugeot Professional Centres in each country.


Almost every company in our indus-try is eyeing up the BRIC markets– Brazil, Russia, India, China with

their almost infinite business growthpotential. But are there better, albeit moremodest and less risky growth and profitopportunities waiting to be harvestedrelatively close to home?

While the BRIC markets may offer thebiggest opportunities longer term, whatrisk do they pose? There is always anenhanced risk with a new opportunity intaking a new product or service into anew market that has little or no experi-ence of providing or buying that serv-ice. It can be fraught with problems. Are there less risky opportunities thatone might develop shorter term while themagic BRIC markets come to terms withour type of product and acquainted withthe European business vehicle model?If one is risk averse – or even cautious,then read on. Many business strategistsclaim ‘first into the market gives a realstrategic advantage’ – yes it probablydoes, but at what risk and cost? A new market with a novel business con-cept – fleet management or leasing forexample – may take time to accept thenew idea. Equally, there is the necessityof understanding the local culture andbusiness climate, competition, identifyingand perhaps helping to grow service sup-port and then finding new customers. Ifyour existing customers expect you toenter a new market to provide them withservice support, that is a different matter– you have a customer you understandand you can develop together.

BRIC markets are huge in volume terms– geographically too – a quarter of the

Professor Peter N C Cooke

New business development a long way from home, especially whenthose new markets could be almost infinite, is much more exciting thanlooking closer to base, at ones’ own doorstep, for developing and newclients and new sales.

Emerging Markets

Almost every international company iseyeing up the BRIC markets – like Russia– but keep in mind that a new marketwith a novel business concept may taketime to accept the new idea.

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The difficult orientation of car manufactu



globe’s land mass – can you take that onfrom scratch? How much business wouldyou need to have a critical mass? Chinaalone is now the biggest car market –what share would you want to lease?Some might say - can you afford not tobe there?Many a successful company has a busi-ness model which suggests they ‘leadfrom behind’ – this could be a case inpoint! Let others make the expensivemistakes, buy their staff and grow – later.

And what about the CEE?Where else might one look for real newbusiness opportunities? The CEE mar-kets may well be an interesting proposi-tion if your business is not already there.Essentially the old Warsaw Pact coun-tries, they are now moving forward withincreasing economic confidence. With the exception of Poland, none ofthem are especially large, but they dohave the great benefit that they are rela-tively close to the EU15 and share muchof the business ethos of the EU15 – andare normally only a couple of hours awayif senior management have to intervenein development or management activi-ties. Equally, within the EU legal andaccounting issues are gradually con-verging.

For the international fleet managementand leasing business with a spread ofclients, many will either have moved intothe CEE markets or be contemplatingsuch moves as they emerge from reces-sion and reposition themselves forgrowth. Such a business status can rep-resent an excellent opportunity for theirsuppliers.For a company entering a new markets,better to take with them their own sup-pliers who they know and trust. Theirbusiness is not to provide business mobil-ity, it’s to sell goods and services – yourbusiness is to provide that transport. Theinternational leasing company can havewhat may amount to a symbiotic rela-tionship if you move into a new markettogether – you need each other.

CEE markets will certainly be differentto the EU15 markets; vehicle require-ments may be different; income levelsand costs may be lower; dealers lessexperienced in terms of supporting fleetbusiness. Used vehicle disposal may raiseissues – in some markets lessors almostroutinely move end of lease vehicles toother countries for disposal becauseused car markets are not yet matureenough ot have the volume capacity toabsorb ex fleet vehicles.

The checklist in Figure 1 highlights someof the issues which might need to beexamined when considering new busi-ness development in as yet untappedmarkets.Think about the services you might seekto provide if you open a new marketcloser to home, and perhaps less glam-orous than the BRIC markets. Your clientsare presumably specialists in areas otherthan fleet management – that may giveyou the opportunity to provide a widerrange of services in the new marketsthan in existing markets. You can takeover the whole provision of personal busi-ness mobility for them.Certainly part of that service will need tobe subcontracted to ,local suppliers –or to your existing outsourcers whichmay already be operating there. However,a package for a CEE market, or indeedfor all of the CEE markets, may well proveless complex to provide than seeking toprovide the same levels of support in aBRIC market.

‘Small and perfectly formed’ might bethe definition of the individual CEE mar-kets, few can provide the levels of out-sourcing capability as the EU15, but theyare closer and probably more akin toyour current business than going for ‘bigis beautiful’ – in terms of the BRIC mar-kets.

Be carefulEvery business needs a strategic vision,it also needs to be prudent. It is a verynice decision to have to make – develop

CEE markets – several smaller countriesbut with an affinity to your existing suc-cessful business – or ‘go for broke’ andseek to develop a BRIC market – fewwould seek to take them all at once. Maybe BRIC markets are sufficiently alienas to justify a radically different modusoperandi – do you have that model, thepeople and the clients to be sure of arealistic start – or should it still be a dreamfor tomorrow? I’m not saying ‘avoid the BRIC markets’– but are you ready for them and whatthey might represent – or is there stillhigh quality domestic business waiting foryou?

Think carefully about new markets youwish to open up!

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Professor Peter N C CookeUniversity of Buckingham

• How big is the existing fleet market inthe new target country/region?

• What are current product/serviceneeds – what might they require?

• How mature is the leasing industry?

• How/from where would you supportthe market?

• Do service facilities exist to supportfleets?

• Are your current clientsthere/requesting you to provideservices?

• How would used vehicles be disposedof – locally/exported?

Figure 1 - New BusinessDevelopment Issues

4 X4 X4 X

facturers


Fleet priorities“Getting this balance right for fleets is vital”,says Chan Uk Jun, Kia Motors Europe Fleet andRemarketing Manager. He sums up the ways inwhich Kia’s modern approach plays to the advan-tage of European fleets: “Fleet managers areunder pressure from all sides: their companies areexpecting them to deliver cost savings both atpurchasing and operational levels, governmentsand company policies are putting forth ever morestringent environmental norms, and drivers look-ing for a vehicle, which is both suited to the joband a pleasure to drive. These factors haveplayed a decisive role in developing the currentand now complete Kia model line-up”.

Fresh rangeThe Kia range extends from the all new 2011Picanto city car, via the young-at-heart SOUL,right up to the Sportage and Sorento, two of themost stylish and cost-efficient SUVs on the mar-ket. In between, the Venga MPV, the all new2011 Rio in the B Segment, and the highly suc-cessful cee’d with a choice of three bodystyles,ensure that all fleet drivers can find exactly whatthey are looking for. The new Picanto will featurefour all-new power trains in 1.0- and 1.2-litre dis-placements, all boasting class-leading CO2 emis-sions levels. Additionally, petrol engines, LPGbi-fuel (90 g/km CO2) and flex fuel variationswill be available, depending on the market. Thenew Rio has a swept-back profile, which gives itan in-built dynamism - even when standing still.

It delivers low running costs and class-leadingCO2 emissions – with target figures for the modelrange starting at just 85 g/km with fuel con-sumption from only 3.17 litres/100 km. To top itall off, Kia brings you an elegant, stylish executivesedan at the end of 2011 – the Optima. Spacious,and with class-leading levels of safety and luxuryequipment, the new Optima is set to be a veryimportant car in the fleet world, boasting thesame impressive credentials as its smaller broth-ers in terms of CO2 competitiveness, below115g/km.

Ecologically impressiveLow CO2 emissions go hand in hand with low fuelconsumption. For example, the new Kia Rio deliv-ers class-leading CO2 emissions and will be thecleanest and most fuel-friendly non-electric carin Europe. Take a look at the figures in the tableof CO2 emissions per model to see how sus-tainability, ecology and fuel consumption are atthe forefront of Kia’s strategy.

Competitive For Kia, economy comes in many forms andshapes. Firstly, through competitive list priceswhich translate into advantageous lease rates,thanks to the high residual values which charac-terize the entire range: the cee’d Sporty Wagon,for example, beats all of its competitors inEurotaxGlass’s residual value predictions, inseven European countries. And while we’re talk-ing about seven, here is the final pillar in the Kia

economy programme: every single Kia model inthe range, every single Kia car in your companyfleet, comes with a seven-year manufacturer’swarranty. Seven years! Take a look around thecompany car park – how many cars can you seein it today benefiting from a seven year guaran-tee? On top of this, Kia would not have been ableto make inroads into the European fleet marketover recent years, and would not be able tocommand such high residual values, if it had notpaid great attention to the real and perceivedquality of its models. Quality which is obviousfrom the outside through the design and thebuild levels, and from the inside through theergonomic layout and the materials used.

The final word goes to Giuseppe Tommaso,General Manager Business Development at KiaMotors Europe: “We are in a new world, with newrealities and new expectations. It’s time to breakaway from the old ways, and choose a modern,enthusiastic brand, time to breathe new values,new efficiency and pleasure into your companyfleet. Time, in fact, to take a serious look at Kia,the real fleet alternative”. n

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Kia : the time is NOWPUBLIREPORTAGE

The European automobile industry begins to face a new future andone manufacturer has emerged as a very serious contender for it:Kia. With its appealing, new modern design, driving pleasure,environmental performance and economy, Kia now offers exactly thebalance that fleet operators and their drivers are looking for.

Chan Uk Jun, KiaMotors Europe Fleetand RemarketingManager and GiuseppeTommaso, GeneralManager BusinessDevelopment.

The new 2011 Kia Rio

Kia Optima

MODEL CO2 EMISSIONS

(g/km):

New Picanto (2011) From 90*

New Rio (2011) From 85*

cee’d From 103

New Optima From 113*

Venga From 114

Sportage From 135

Soul From 137

Sorento From 169

Kia’s low CO2 emissions models*

Man

ufac

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r tar

gets

FEU053_21_22_Strategy_Flash_FEU053_p24-29 16/03/11 14:29 Page24

Maybe if one was not discussingsuch a highly-visible and emo-tional subject then the stakes

might be slightly lower. Recession andeconomic recovery have made the topiceven more emotional and any reduc-tion in headcount or the number ofcompany cars could make thetopic even more political.The stakeholder paradigm inthe figure below identifiesjust a first level of con-flicts of interest andsome of the issues afleet manager hashad to resolve andbalance from timeimmemorial – anddoubtless well intothe future as well.It is interesting toexamine each ofthese groups ofstakeholder inte -rests in a little moredetail. Some of themcreate concernswithin the same indi-viduals within the orga -nisation. The picture is

also further complicated inthat the issues highlighted

here are those within the juris-diction of the fleet user business

and do not embrace the externalissues which might occur with leasingcompanies, government and the vehiclemanufacturers.Our list is quite complicated enough – are there any issues which you, as a professional fleet manager within an

Professor Peter N C COOKE

One might justifiably claim that fleet management is ‘an exercise in conflict resolution’and, as such, perfection is well nigh impossible! Have you ever considered just how manydifferent and widely conflicting interest groups are involved in the process – and allexpect their particular interests to be given priority – no compromises.

Conflict resolution

25


Where is the compromise?

STRATEGY Management

Source; author – for illustrative purposesonly – not comprehensive

Internal Stakeholders’ Interests in the Fleet

• Minimise interference• Flexibility• Minimise tax position

• Board strategy• Mobility provision• Reporting & monitoring

• Achieve bestvalue

• Safety corporatecost control• Maximise RVs

• Competitor analysis

• Vehicle selection• Vehicle condition

• Personal tax• Corporate tax• Methods ofcalculation

• Taxminimisation

• Provide a ‘safe fleet’• Maximise safety• Minimise cost

• FleetManager

• Fiscal issues

• CorporateSocialResponsability

• CostMinimisation

• Corporateimage

• Fleet CarDriver

• CorporateGovernance

• Carbon footprint• Appropriate powertrain

• Promotesafety

• Riskmanagement

• Drivertraining

• Drivermonitoring

• Duty of care

STAKEHOLDERSIN FLEET

MANAGEMENT


international organisation has managedto avoid? Certainly some of them will betaken elsewhere within the businessdepending upon your exact structure,but one suspects they will all be there –among others.Consider the individual groups of issuesand the potential internal conflicts theymay create. The paradigm highlights thevarious areas and some of the topicsgermane to that particular stakeholderinterest – the comments below seek tosummarise these issues and their impli-cations.

• Fleet manager; while not the ultimatearbiter in terms of fleet management andconflict resolution, the role is critical andit is important that the fleet manager hasclear reporting lines to senior manage-ment for insoluble conflict resolutionshould it occur. The role is part executiveand part coordinating.

• Cost minimisation; often consideredthe key role of the fleet executive – it’scertainly important and takes in an ever-wider range of topics as the rolemigrates more towards that of busi-ness mobility coordinator in many for-ward-thinking organisations.

• Duty of Care; a critical element of thefleet executive’s task for which theremay not be budgets and little morethan a mention in the job specification.However, it is vital within the organisa-tion, and may require top managementsupport, especially as company cardrivers are asked to do more as busi-ness gets more competitive.

• Corporate governance; a difficult rolefor the fleet executive in that it maytake in policies and decisions abovetheir salary grade and, as such, requiresupreme diplomatic skills to be able topersuade policy makers of the centralrole of the company car and the fact itcannot be run on an ever decreasingbudget.

• Corporate Social Responsibility;another interesting challenge – CSR alltoo often slips down the list of ma -nagement priorities during a period ofeconomic downturn – how does thefleet executive keep it on the manage-ment radar – and within budget?

• Corporate Image; to be competitive,employee cars need to match compe-tition or staff may be vulnerable toheadhunting. At the same time thoseunits have to be fit for purpose, main-tained in best condition – and all withinthe budget. In a service industry, thecompany car is often the organisation’sonly tangible asset the client will eversee.

• Fiscal Issues; tax concessions andallowances regarding CO2, capitalallowances and driver tax liabilities, notto mention fuel taxes will all get blamedon the fleet executive. It is gettingincreasingly difficult to balance themout as rules change and more infor-mation is required. This may get stillmore complicated as electric cars moveonto the fleet.

• Fleet Car Driver; had to come into theequation eventually! The fleet car driveris the fleet executive’s real client – butthere are many conflicting issues, eveninternally, that may interfere with andconfuse the relationship.

It’s many years since I last managed asubstantial fleet; it has certainly becomemore complex than it used to be, andthat’s only the internal issues with someof the conflicts which might arise.

Prioritisation of objectivesPerhaps the most important manage-ment issue from the fleet executive’sviewpoint is the ability to bring all of theelements highlighted in the foregoingparagraphs, plus the external issueswhich are even more complicated,together and make them work within thebusiness.Such a claim is perhaps a little naive – therole is much more complex and evermore so during a period of tight budgetconstraint. The fleet executive has toachieve the best value from the fleetbudget while satisfying all of those otherpressures.Prioritisation of objectives for the fleetexecutive is a difficult, many would claimimpossible task, beyond the first two orthree. The first has to be to ‘maximisefleet safety’ – protecting drivers, otherroad users and the general public. A task which is easier said than done inthat the company car is earning its keep

when it’s away from direct managementcontrol and supervision. That creates aspecial case of driver relationships, basedthese days on driver information andmotivation – as often as not with seniorexecutives in the organisation who maywell consider the task to be irrelevant totheir objective of ‘maximising shareholdervalue’. Of all the roles within the business, thatof fleet manager is one of probably threethat run across the whole organisation.The others? The wages clerk is one –under whatever title – and of all roles,the one whose quality assurance isexpected to be highest... essentially‘everybody’s’ friend’. They have no dis-cretion beyond getting the sums wrong.The second? The chief executive – his, orincreasingly her, role is sacrosanct – theyare boss, if all goes wrong, they fall ontheir sword – or are fired. The third? – Well - the fleet executive ofcourse! Of the three roles, that is pro -bably the one with the most theoretical‘discretion’. However, that discretion is,in reality, fairly tight in that a total personalbusiness mobility strategy and pro-gramme has to be delivered – within atight budget.While all members of the organisationknow they could run the business betterbut will not tell the CEO, and don’t wantto be the wages clerk as the role is toorestrictive. The only role in which they could demon-strate their broader expertise is in ma -naging the fleet – and they are generallyvery happy to give you the benefit oftheir prejudicial and hidden expertise.In summary, fleet management is an oftfraught role, a compromise, a balancingact between the different elements offleet management but of necessity con-strained by budgets, operational require-ments and often undeclared - sometimesunknown fleet objectives.

But, that’s what makes it such an inte -resting role!

n

26



STRATEGY Management


Bart VANHAM

Taxes are part of life. The economic circumstances are influencing taxes and taxes are used to steerconsequences of economic situations; also for car taxes. Prudent optimism could be good description ofcurrent feeling in the market. Differences between countries in economic position in the EU make itdifficult to make some comments valid for Europe.

Car Taxation

Car taxes evolve on the green highway

STRATEGY Green taxation in 2011

Nevertheless we see some simi-lar measures taken by somecountries the impact of which

on the fleet market we will try to describebelow. In any case, 2011 is theyear of hope.

Ending of scrappingschemesQuite some countries didintroduce scrapping schemesto stimulate market demandwith the green objective oftaking out old cars. As indi-cated before in FleetEurope, history has shown,France had introducedsuch scheme in the 80’tiesand Italy later in the 90’ties,that these schemes do tend topull forward and acceleratesales in stead of having anincreasing effect on sales.Many countries, France,

Spain, Germany, Italy, UK,…indeed saw and see sales drop in

the after scheme hang over.Other countries, like Belgium andthe Netherlands, where this schemewas not introduced, car sales even-tually were (near) record sales.Overall sales in Europe dropped bya 5%.

Since B2C sales generally drop, carmanufacturers go the extra mile toconvince fleet buyers leading to his-torical high discounts maintainingmore or less numbers of B2B sales.It is expected that when the B2Cmarket gets boosted again, theseB2B incentives will fade.

Green taxationThe number of countries introducing CO2 -related taxation seems to have flat-tened out. Greece, in search for funds,did introduce a green, usually sociallybetter accepted, car taxation. Othercountries not on green yet, seem to awaitbetter times. Nevertheless, many inter-national fleets have taken and/or are taking the opportunity to introduce aCO2 focus in their fleet resulting in quitesignificant savings.Unfortunately, with a change of govern-ment in The Netherlands, the plan tointroduce a kilometer charge was post-poned for an undefined time. With the electric vehicle technologybecoming very real (the Geneva MotorShow seems to be full of it), most coun-tries are implementing some sort of incen-tive for EV’s by either exempting thosecars (or should we say computers?) fromcar taxes or providing actual subsidies orsubsidised rebates for B2C and B2B con-sumers.

The same can be said for infrastructuresurrounding the EV’s. Future will tell ifthese incentives are sufficient to con-vince buyers to accept practical (psy-chological?) barriers?

VAT ratesA number of countries, UK, Portugal,have raised their VAT rate. For the UKand Portugal that do block (partially) theinput VAT deduction on cars this imme-diately adds to the bottom line.It makes leasing more expensive andadds to the running cost of the cars.Furthermore, in the early weeks or monthsafter the raise it also influences nega-

28



tively B2C car sales. It is to see if these VAT rates increasesare temporarly...

Place of supply rules for servicesHowever, some changes in VAT do open opportunities forfurther cost reductions due to operational efficiencies.Since 1 January 2010 invoicing services cross EU bordersis simplified and does mostly not result in any VAT pre-financing.This implies that an international company also can envis-age to create a centre of excellence from where is steers(strategically) the international car fleet. Savings are to beexpected both in terms of quantity; FTE’s, rebates, … andqua lity; streamlined, best practices processes, easier expan-sion and change,…. Companies gone that way do indeedwitness improvements and savings..

Higher oil prices with (higher) excisesThe economic recovery (and of the current unstable politi-cal situations in North-Africa) however are boosting oilprices in the direction of previous record heights. Withexcise duties mostly being expressed in %, the effectincreases making governments rich(er) on excise incomepushing the price at the pump very high. This will certainly have it impact on fleet costs and on theway fleets are managed in 2011.It could well be that these changes will enhance the moveinto EV’s development and a more multi mobility approach.

A few things are clear: it is a very complex situation inter-national fleets find themselves in; higher taxes, CO2-relatedtaxes, still unstable economics, new technologies and newgenerations approaching mobility from a different, less cardriven, angle, make the fleet world as interesting as neverbefore. And taxes have and will keep on having their impact..

So let’s stay tuned….n

29

Bart VanhamCar taxation specialist


ay


Tim HARRUP

If one says Bruce MacLaren, one says fleet management vision. Bruce MacLaren has been in charge offleet at Microsoft for five years. A well-known figure in the industry for his forward-thinking views, it wasprobably no surprise to anyone when his name was announced as ‘International Fleet Manager of theYear’, at the 2010 Fleet Europe Awards.

Microsoft

Bruce MacLaren, Senior CategoryManager at Microsoft : “Key to oursuccess is having a great team thatdelivers real value and real results.”

30


Real Value, Real Results

STRATEGY Fleet Europe Awards

FEU053_25_case study_Flash_FEU053_p30-33 15/03/11 21:35 Page30

With the launch of Office 10, itsnew Windows Phone 7, to sell-ing over 8 million Kinect devices

in just 60 days, things are on the move atMicrosoft. And this includes the fleet,which has 9,333 passenger cars. Highexpenditure, high cost savings potential,and the opportunity to help the environ-ment on the way. Bruce MacLarenexplains how it is done from a Microsoftperpective.

n I see you are using the new WindowsPhone 7. Do you like it? B.M.: “I love it! This phone is all aboutwhat is important to me. It helps memanage my professional and private lifeall in one device. My teenage daughtertried it and I had to chase her to get itback!”

n How is your fleet program pro-gressing? B.M.: “We recently released our Q2 fleetresults. For H1 we spent 47.57% of ouryearly budget; well in line with expecta-tions. We achieved a savings of 4.83%of our addressable spend and havealready achieved over 100% of our yearly committed savings. Our CO2 is at 144.6 g/km on new orders, down 5.5%year over year with an accelerated downward trend; which is heavily influ-enced by our global policy. Our costper unit per month decreased 6.2% yearover year and 1.52% quarter over quar-ter respectively. Our driver satisfactionin fleet management is up 2 points yearover year and up 8 points over two yearsago. We are tracking at 0.5% driverescalations coming in to my team, whichmeans that 99.5% of all driver issues are resolved through our supplier base.We have zero business partner escala-tions year to date. This indicates that

the supply chain is functioning asexpected.”

n How is the fleet organized?B.M.: “We have outsourced all localadministration to suppliers in a multi-sup-ply context. We manage those supplierswith a central-led category team report-ing to me. Two members of my staffoperate our driver satisfaction centre,dealing with escalations that may occurfrom a local level. This team also meas-ures driver satisfaction through surveysand KPIs from our operations. My ca -tegory team performs strategic supplymanagement, car policy developmentand provides business insight to all sub-sidiaries where we operate fleets. Key toour success is having a great team thatdelivers real value and real results.”

n How have you developed your inter-national car policy?B.M.: “We created a global council madeup of executives from Procurement,Finance, Human Resources, andEnvironment. I chair the council. It pro-vides executive guidance regarding pol-icy. We solicited feedback from local andregional stakeholders to present beforethe council. Decisions were made by the council and further buy-in was obtained from the business.Implementation was executed throughtargeted communication at a regionaland local level. The results were designed to facilitateimproved business alignment, opexreporting, cost savings and a reductionin our carbon emissions. We mandated that all fleet costs must be booked into10 unique general ledger codes. Theglobal policy supersedes all local policies.No local policy can be changed without

the approval of Procurement, Finance,and Human Resources. We empoweredmy team to negotiate the mileage orduration of any new or existing leasecontract. My team can now negotiateany lease contract on forecasted mileageas opposed to a generic subsidiary ave -rage mileage. This reduces the variationbetween contracted mileage and drivenmileage at the end of the term. We cre-ated a CO2 target of 130g/km.”

31


Microsoft Corporation, founded in1975 is an American publicmultinational corporationheadquartered in Redmond,Washington, USA that develops,manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and servicespredominantly related to computingthrough its various product divisions.With operations in most countriesacross the globe, Microsoft employs90,000 persons and turns over some 63 billion dollars annually.

Microsoft

Bruce MacLaren is an advocate of win-win situations between clients and suppliers. And he extends thisphilosophy to the way he interacts withhis peer fleet managers. As a frequentspeaker at the IFMI (International Fleet Managers Institute) he shares hisexperiences and his successes withothers. He is also a well-knownchampion of the profession ofinternational fleet manager, a role whichhe clearly enjoys himself. BruceMacLaren also ensures that his ownteam is given the opportunity to takeadvantage of the IFMI and the trainingit provides.

Bruce MacLaren

“ I believe that true leadership is not doing what is easy and

popular, but it is doing what is necessary and right for the

company.”


It was Hans-Georg Lutz, Senior Manager international Corporate Sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars, who handed over the first prize to Bruce MacLaren.

n Let us come back to some of thesepoints. You mentioned CO2 emissions.What strategy are you using to reduceemissions and what are you largestchallenges?B.M.: “Considering that we operate a100% benefit fleet, we trade in the hightech space and we operate premiumbrands, the target is quite aggressive.The challenge is to provide reasonablealternatives, keep cost flat and incur mi -nimal employee disruption. We use over-

all caps, caps by car policy level, bonus-malus schemes and other alternatives,such as car plus public rail passes. Insome cases we have also restrictedchoice.”

n You also mentioned that your centralpolicy takes precedence over localpolicies. How do you ensure it is fol-lowed, and did you meet resistance?B.M.: “We had the choice to place thepolicy under Procurement, HR, or Financeas these are the main stakeholders. Wedecided to place the policy underFinance since one of a controller’s tasksis compliance. Our supplier base helpsas well as they are not empowered to

make exceptions to our car policy.Yes, we faced resistance. You can’t cre-ate this kind of change without it. Weidentified broad principles to which agreat majority could agree: a sustainablebenefit cost savings, responsible envi-ronmental impact and improved busi-ness alignment. We built upon those. I believe that true leadership is not doingwhat is easy and popular, but it is doingwhat is necessary and right for the com-pany.”

n Moving on to the vital question ofTCO, how do you monitor this, andhave you had success in reducingcosts?B.M.: “We have a global accountingsystem where all fleet costs are bookedto ten general ledger codes. We receivean executive view of these costs on amonthly basis, which reflects the costsagainst budget. We can now createtrend reports. On the average we have saved $5 millionyear over year which represents 5% ofour addressable spend. This has beenachieved mainly through competitivelease bidding, tax optimization,unbundling accident management from

the operational lease, volume relatedbonus, sale of depreciated assets (wherewe purchase), fuel negotiations, extend-ing lease durations and negotiating insu -rance premiums where we have insu-rance unbundled.”

n Do you see further opportunities forcost reduction?B.M.: “There are always multiple oppor-tunities since we procure in a dynamic,heterogeneous marketplace. Reducingthe cost of accidents and damages isan opportunity. Introducing alternativepower trains, to save on fuel cost isanother opportunity.”

n Has the economic crisis had aneffect on the way you operate?B.M.: “Economic downturns are a greatopportunity for procurement to bring realvalue. During such times the businessturns to procurement for improved costefficiency. I think that this was one of themacroeconomic factors which helpedfacilitate acceptance of a global car po -licy. A door of opportunity was opened.We walked through that door.”

n Can you give an overview of the var-ious projects you have successfullyimplemented internationally?B.M.: “At the heart of every successfulinternational fleet is a governing policy.

32


“ At the heart of every successful international f leet is

a governing policy.”



We moved from a decentralized man-agement structure to a central-led cate-gory team of international subject matterexperts reporting into myself without anyforced attrition. We mandated GL codes

to be used globally to record our opex.We now have defined and implementedmeaningful global metrics which providebusiness insight. We have standardizedour subsidiary business reviews. Ourmetrics were designed to facilitate thereview of the total cost of operations asopposed to looking at front end pricing:thereby facilitating a more holisticapproach. We don’t manage lease prices,we manage life-cycle costs.”

n What do you believe to have beenparticularly innovative in your inter-national car policy, and what are yourfuture challenges?B.M.: “We created a global policy whichmandated critical areas while allowingthe subsidiaries a great deal of freedom.In doing so we were able to create aglobally consistent approach to reducingharmful emissions. A challenge moving forward is to achievemore consistency in the way we man-

age fleet across the world. This will leadto us making decisions about what partsof the supply chain we will continue totouch and what parts we will outsource.”

n Any wishes for the industry? B.M.: “I would like to see IFMI expandedto include a certification program. Hiringwould be easier if we knew a potentialcandidate was “IFMI Certified”. I wouldlike to see a much higher adoption ofinternet meetings. I still see a lot of sup-pliers traveling around when they couldbe saving time, money and our environ-ment by adopting technology which ishere today. I know the technology worksbecause I use it every single day. I’d better go now and procure a WindowsPhone for my daughter, before she triesto take mine again!”

n

33


GLOBAL FLEET MANAGER :Bruce MacLaren

BASED IN : Munich, Germany

NUMBER OF CARS : 9,333

NUMBER OF VANS : 0

NUMBER OF COUNTRIES WITHFLEETS : 60

The Microsoft fleet

The Microsoft supplier selectionprocess begins with an assessment ofthe sourcing requirements. This leadsto a formal sourcing process, whichconsists of an RFI, RFP, Short List,Negotiations, and the awarding of acontract. Questions in the tenderdocuments (to potential supplierswhich meet Microsoft’s criteria) arepre-weighted so that tenders can beobjectively measured. Once a winnerhas been identified, the negotiationprocess begins, and if this should fail,the second-placed candidate may beinvited to negotiate. At Microsoft’sdiscretion, losing candidates may beprovided with limited feedback.

Tendering

It’s precisely to thank its team for raising continuously her qualification level that Bruce MacLaren wished to participate at the Fleet Europe Awards.

“ A door of opportunity was opened. We walked through

that door.”


On 27 October 2011 the winners will beunveiled during the Awards ceremony inMadrid, an event closing the FleetEurope Forum.

34


You can be the next International Fleet M


Julie WIDART

After presenting in this issue the case studies of the awarded companies of the Fleet Europe Awards2010, it’s already time to launch the next edition and to present the Fleet Europe Awards categories for2011. Following the success of the edition 2010, taking place at the Brussels Stock Exchange, we areobviously retaining the successful prize categories from previous years. The Fleet Europe Awards aredesigned to find the best case studies throughout Europe, to put the spotlight on innovative projectsand especially to share best practices.

You can be the next International Fleet M

FEU053_28_Awards2011_Flash_FEU053_p34-37 15/03/11 21:02 Page34

International Fleet Manager of the Year 2011The International Fleet Manager of theYear rewards the person or team havingmost successfully developed an interna-tional fleet management strategy andimplemented an efficient car policy, lead-ing to an optimised TCO and taking intoaccount local differences, best practicesand actual fleet trends. • Previous win-ners: Raphaëlle Jeanneret, Novartis(2007) - Claus-Peter Krüger, Shell (2008)- Werner Berger, Nestlé (2009) – BruceMaclaren, Microsoft (2010). • Selectionprocess: Complete the registration formand send your company dossier to FleetEurope. Deliberation by the selected jury.

International Fleet Green Award2011The International Fleet Green Award isgaining in popularity, because green ishot. This award is given to a companythat has successfully implemented agreen project for its fleet. It rewards aproject that focuses on eco-friendliness,balancing TCO optimisation with eco-logical aims, whilst taking into accountdriver satisfaction. • Previous winners:Akzo Nobel (2007) - Hewlett-Packard(2008) - Bayer (2009) – Nokia SiemensNetwork (2010). • Selection process:Complete the registration form and sendyour company dossier to Fleet Europe.Deliberation by the selected jury.

International Fleet Safety Award2011 The International Fleet Safety Award isgiven to a company that has successfully

developed a safety project for its fleet,within the framework of the CSR strategy.It rewards a project that focuses on orig-inal tools and programmes to improvethe safety of its drivers and takes intoaccount TCO optimisation. • Previouswinners: Shell (2008) – BP (2009) –Coca-Cola Hellenic (2010) • Selectionprocess: Complete the registration formand send your company dossier to FleetEurope. Deliberation by the selected jury.

International Fleet Mobility Award2011 The International Fleet Mobility Award isgiven to a company that has successfullydeveloped and implemented a mobilityproject for its fleet. It rewards a projectthat focuses on enhancing mobility withinthe company while offering original alter-natives and optimisation of the use ofthe car and taking into account TCOoptimisation and driver satisfaction.• Previous winners: Barilla (2009) –Accenture (2010) • Selection process:Complete the registration form and sendyour company dossier to Fleet Europe.Deliberation by the selected jury.

International Innovation Award forfleet-owners 2011This special prize for innovation rewardsa fleet related project that stands out inthe field of innovation.Innovation or novelapproach in a specific field of fleet man-agement (car policy, implementation,international organisation, tools, greenapproach, safety approach, mobilityapproach). • Previous winner: Vodafone(2010) • Selection process: Complete

Flee

tEur

op

e M

agaz

ine

53

t Manager of the Year

Contact Fleet Europe’s team directly ifyou wish to receive more information,or visit our dedicated Fleet EuropeAwards website.www.fleeteurope.com/awards.

Don’t hesitate any longer and applybefore August 10th to be a candidate!Contact: Annick Nemetz([email protected])

How to enter the competition?

• Personal recognition: taking part willprovide you with recognition andrespect for your job, in the presenceof your industry peers, your suppliersand partners.

• Recognition of your department:winning an Award is the ideal way toshow your team that their efforts tooptimize fleet management areappreciated - and applauded -throughout the industry. -

• Benchmarking: being evaluated by ajury of professionals, who comparethe management of your fleet to thatof your peers, will contribute tooptimize your own fleet management.

• Meeting your colleagues: thenominees for all Awards will be invitedto the evening at which the prizes willbe awarded, making this a perfectnetworking event.

Why you should considerapplying

t Manager of the Year

35

_ _ _ q _p g

the registration form and send your com-pany dossier to Fleet Europe. Deliberationby the selected jury. International

International Fleet Industry Award2011Since last year, Fleet Europe also decidedto award a special prize for the industrysuppliers. This award is designed to high-light innovative and efficient tools, prod-ucts or services offered by fleet industrysuppliers (manufacturers, leasing com-panies, other suppliers).• Winner 2010: Arval for their project‘Arval Analytics’. • Selection process:Complete the registration form and sendyour company dossier to Fleet Europe.

Voting by an International Fleet ManagersPanel.

Fleet Europe Hall of Fame 2011During the ceremony of the Fleet EuropeAwards 2010, the audience also discov-ered for the first time the name of the firstfleet industry pioneer to enter the FleetEurope Hall of Fame. This award recog-nises fleet industry leaders and pioneerswho have significantly contributed to theinternational fleet management profes-sion. Eligible nominees must have at least5 years of international fleet manage-ment experiences and have contributedsignificantly to the industry.

• Winner 2010: Tony Elliott, DirectorEuropean Sales & Consultation, ARIStrategic Services Group. • Selectionprocess:Complete the nomination formonline (www.fleeteurope.com/awards).The winner of this category will be chosen by the Fleet Europe readers and the visitors of the websitewww.fleeteurope.com.

n

36


Who will succeed to Werner Berger (Nestlé - on the right) and Bruce Maclaren (Microsoft - on the left) as International Fleet Manager of the Year ?



Setting up a car policy and an inter-national fleet strategy for such awide-ranging organisation as

Coca-Cola Hellenic is very challenging.However, it appears that Coca-ColaHellenic is meeting the challenge, andbrings back substantial results along interms of compliance, savings, and CO2reductions. The Fleet Support Managerof Coca-Cola Hellenic, Janos Kis pro-vides us some more details about themany aspects of the company fleet.

n First of all, tell us how the interna-tional fleet management process isorganised.Janos Kis: “Our organisation is very lean.The Fleet Support Manager role is to

interface between the 28 country ma -nagers, the group senior management,the cross-functional managers and ofcourse our suppliers and partners.

Strategy is defined at Group level, but indiscussion with the country operationswhich are responsible for managing theirown business in line with the agreed

strategy. The countries report back onoperations and the Group monitors per-formance taking note of trends and highlevel business indicators.”

n How much influence do the coun-tries have in setting the policy?J. K.: “Group and country operationswork this out together. The countrieswere all very involved and made sug-gestions and recommendations that weretaken into consideration when formingthe final policy which was ultimatelyreviewed and approved by the OperatingCommittee and Board of Directors.Countries are always treated with respectand are involved into the decision makingprocess, which ensures smooth execu-tion and good level of compliance.

In case of fleet related assets and serv-ice purchases, countries submit formalrequests, for approval by the Groupbefore purchases are made.”

n When was the fleet policy exactlydeveloped?J.K.: “The central fleet function wasestablished in 2007. Prior to 2007 therewas limited understanding about thepotential for a Group-wide fleet stra-tegy.

Tim HARRUP

Coca-Cola Hellenic is one of the world’s largest bottlers of The Coca-Cola Company, serving apopulation of approximately 560 million people across diverse cultures and geographies in Europe andNigeria. The company runs one of the largest commercial fleet in Europe, with approximately 19,000vehicles across its European operations. In recognition to the company’s efforts in harmonising thefleet, Coca-Cola Hellenic was awarded the International Fleet Safety Award 2010.

“ At the moment the fleet focus is on handling safety related

risks and monitoring fleet safety performance. A very precise

def inition of the ‘accident’ and accident categories has been

developed, to make report ing clearer for the countries.”

Coca-Cola Hellenic

Janos Kis, Fleet Support Manager of Coca-Cola Hellenic, receives the International Fleet Safety Award 2010 from Oliver Lajara, General Manager European Fleet & Remarketing at Hyundai Europe.

38


When fleet is lean and safe



Coca-Cola Hellenic was not previouslyconsidered as an international customerfor vehicle Manufacturers (OEMs) andLeasing companies. In the years that fol-lowed the formation of the central fleetfunction, Coca-Cola Hellenic developedand implemented a fleet policy, which isalready exceeding set targets in terms ofcompliance.”

n How does the Total Cost ofOwnership (TCO) fit in?J.K.: “The TCO approach has beenimplemented with safety and emissionsreduction included as part of the decisionmaking criteria. The company developedand rolled out a green initiative, which hasalready yielded tangible results, havingreached 2 million Euros of savings in2009. This initiative is best practice withinthe Coca-Cola system. The first Group-wide tendering processwas conducted in 2008 by assessingpotential vehicle models, including specs,defined by the countries in all vehiclesegments. At that time the target was toselect one OEM by country. This selec-tion was mandatory for functional cars,and recommended for management cars.Countries had to run local tenders toselect a leasing provider on a yearly basis.This strategy was implemented for theperiod 2009-11. This year a new tenderwill be out. The company has made internationalmaster agreements with three largeLessors, but since these companies canonly partially cover our geography, coun-tries are also free to involve local partners.Countries can differ from the carallowance according to local standards.For example, a sales car in Switzerland istypically selected from a higher segmentthan a vehicle used for the same pur-poses in Serbia. However, specs arealways challenged as a part of the tenderprocess. We target the selection of themost downsized vehicles possible thatare still fit for the company purposes.Since change is very frequent in the auto-motive world , Company strategy isreviewed, revised and updated accord-

ingly, so that Coca-Cola Hellenic alwaysremains up to date and synchronisedwith all the new trends in the sector.”

n How key are safety and environ-mental issues?J. K.: “At the moment the focus is onhandling fleet safety related risks andmonitoring fleet safety performance. Thecompany uses quarterly reporting tobenchmark country performance, identifybest practices and agree on country spe-cific action plans to address any issues.Performance measurement standards arecurrently being established to constitutea solid base for performance tracking. Avery precise definition of the ‘accident’,and accident categories has been devel-oped, to make reporting clearer for thecountries. Also a standard repair costthreshold was established that reflectsinput from all operations. As a result ofthese developments, operations most inneed of improvement can be easilyrecognised. In terms of ‘green fleet’, a Safe and EcoDrive Project was piloted back in 2007.Following a successful roll-out in allCoca-Cola Hellenic countries in 2008,the company was able to reduce CO2emissions from fleet by 6,000 tonnes in2009. At the same time, Coca-ColaHellenic has reduced its overall fuel con-sumption by 6.3%.”

n What do you consider to be innova-tive in your fleet strategy?J. K.: “One of the most impressive inno-vations of the Coca-Cola Hellenic fleetstrategy is the way the fleet is managedand the policy communicated across the28 different countries. This would not bepossible without excellent cross-func-tional cooperation involving employeeswith different responsibilities and at dif-fering levels of seniority.”

n

39


When fleet is lean and safe

TOTAL FLEET : 22,200

NUMBER OF CARS : 3000

NUMBER OF VANS : 12,800

NUMBER OF COUNTRIES WITHFLEETS : 28

TOTAL ANNUAL MILEAGE : 630 million km

The fleet in figures

Coca-Cola Hellenic is one of theworld's largest bottlers of products ofThe Coca-Cola Company with sales ofmore than 2 billion unit cases. It hasoperations in 28 countries serving apopulation of approximately 560 millionpeople. Coca-Cola Hellenic offers non-alcoholic beverages in the sparkling,juice, water, sport, energy, tea andcoffee categories. Coca-Cola Hellenicstates its commitment to promotingsustainable development in order tocreate value for its business and forsociety.

Coca-Cola Hellenic

The International Fleet Safety Award isgiven to a company that hassuccessfully implemented a safetyproject for its fleet. It takes intoaccount original tools and programmesto improve the safety of drivers andtakes into account TCO optimisation.

Janos Kis not only took this prize lastyear, but was also runner up to BruceMacLaren in the ‘International FleetManager of the Year‘ category.

Safety Award


Whatever doubt you may haveregarding the economic rele-vance of leasing for business

stakeholders should now be set asideby the scale of the wave created by thedisturbing IASB/FASB Lease Accountingproject. While a few hundred stakehol -ders usually take position on the mostimportant projects, no less than 760 havemade comments on the Exposure Draftreleased last August. An absolute record

for a product specific standard. Only theuniversal Revenue Recognition projecthas gathered more reactions (970). Thismay be the sign that awareness on theproject is no longer the privilege of a fewexperts and that disruptive impacts onkey leasing features, notably in the fleetbusiness, have caught the eye of moreleasing operators and users. However,the unattractiveness of the topic keepsdissuading many executives from get-

ting involved, precisely when lobbyingwould be most effective. The object ofthis article is to combat the idea thatindustry opinions will inevitably be heardand recall that key amendments to thereform are now in discussion.

The project, in shortThe essential goals of the far reachingreform project are to give full trans-parence to analysts on assets and

Lease Accounting

42


Confusion after global outcry

STRATEGY Research & Market Insight

Vincent RUPIED

The long running joint project of the European and American standard makers tothoroughly reform accounting rules for leases may have come to a turning point with theend of the consultation period. One reason more, not less, for fleet practitionners to getinvolved now !

The main practical drawback of the proposed new Lease Accounting standards for automotive fleets will lie in less flexible management processes”, predicts Vincent Rupied of Leaseurope.

FEU053_30_research_Flash_FEU053_p42-43 15/03/11 21:05 Page42

liabilities from leasing and put an end tothe differentiated treatment so far forfinance and operating leases. Operatingleases namely, are seen by the IASB andFASB as being responsible for massivewindow dressing – mainly in the big ticketdeals. The proposed solution is to put allleases on the balance sheet of Lesseesthrough new types of assets and liabili-ties initially measured as the discountedsum of future rentals. Then the depreci-ation of the asset, called the right of use,would be a straight line while the liabilitywould be amortised on a financial basis,like a loan. As I earlier wrote in these pages (FleetEurope, May 2010), the main practicaldrawback from this new standard forautomotive fleets would lie less in finan-cials than in processes, with less flexibilityto dynamically manage the vehicles.

An unprecedented wave of criticismAlthough it is difficult to gain a globalview on such a amount of opinions, it isstriking that the first and maybe uniquebeneficiaries of the project – the ana-lysts – did not massively answer norexpress an overwhelmingly positive per-ception. Referring to their long experi-ence and a methodology for capitaliz-ing off-balance sheet leases for analysispurposes, they do not find a satisfac-tory solution in the model. Across all stakeholders the hardly ma -nageable complexity of the model and itsdoubtful contribution to actual trans-parence are most commonly seen as anintrinseque flaw. Systematic and widelyjudgmental application of probabilitiesin the calculation of accounting entriesweaken the intended clarification, as eva -luations of future contingent (variable)rentals and optional renewal periods haveto be included in the initial asset value. Asa result, while the principle of recognis-ing a right of use on the balance sheet ofLessees is widely seen as desirable, therequired complexity to make it possibleis not accepted by many. Finally theabsence of a serious cost benefit analy-sis is seriously criticized.Regarding the differentiation of Leasingversus Credit on one side and ServiceContract on the other, the project doesnot provide effective guidance and rather

worsens the uncertainties and leavesopen significant opportunities for inten-tional structuring – that the projectintended to eradicate.On the Lessor side in brief, the dualmodel that virtually reinstates the ope -rating/finance lease divide and worry-ingly inflates the operating lessor’s bal-ance sheet is clearly rejected and willrequire an alternative proposal..Last but not least, a number of concep-tual inconsistencies were raised withother existing or planned accountingstandards involved in the IASB/FASBconvergence, especially RevenueRecognition.

What will the Boards do now ?An absurdly tight calender forces theIASB and FASB to deliver a final projectby mid year 2011. However they havemade no secret that the wave of criti-cism requires substantial adjustments inthe project and they have started toactively consult the industry in the intentto identify mitigating simplifications. Thequestion for the industry is naturallywhether the project can be hastily mademanageable or is intrinsequely flawed.Will a few months allow the invention ofsolutions not discovered over years ofpreparation ? In fact, although in a finalphase of elaboration the standard is stillincredibly immature. Ironically the Boardsrecognise that one of the crucial ques-tions to be answered urgently is what isa lease ?The most probable – and reasonable –outcome of the Boards’ discussionsshould be a decision to postpone thedelivery of the whole project. Alternativelyit seems unlikely – but not completelyimpossible – that only the Lessor side ispostponed, in order to issue at least apartial standard on time. Although poli-cally convenient, this solution would seri-ously undermine the consistency and thecredibility of the whole project, with majorincongruencies coming up in the con-solidation of sub-leases.But the Boards may take even more timewith their initial assumptions, even if itmeans dropping the major goal of unifiedstandards. They have just instructed theirstaff to work on a split of both Lessesand Lessors into two categories that

would virtually recreate the operating vsfinancing divide. Both kinds of Lesseeswould carry a right-of-use on their ba -lance-sheet but the amortization of assetsand liabilities would be linked in operat-ing leasing (resulting in a constant chargeover the period of the lease) while theoriginal dual amortisation would be main-tained in finance leases, (with anunchanged decreasing accountingcharge). One drawback of the projectwould then be mitigated for operatingLessees, but would this be sufficient ?

If goals are missed – drop itAfter the public consultation duly orga -nized by the Boards, a less transparentphase of expert brainstorming and pro -ject readjustment is now taking place.While it may appear as a somewhat des-perate intent to save a patient seriouslyill, it is not too late but the right momentto ask all associations and lobbies re -presenting businesses to push for com-mon sense decisions : drop the deadlineof June 2011 and avoid hasty arrange-ments, submitting a revised ExposureDraft for both Lessee and Lessor oncethe issues will be satisfactorily solved.In the meantime, keep applying the exist-ing IAS17, with a renewed scrutinyagainst fake operating leases meant forwindow dressing. We may then discoverthat these standards, when properlyenforced, provide a satisfactory level oftransparency and economic rationality.

n

43


Vincent RupiedChairman Automotive Steering Group,Leaseurope (European Federation of Leasing &Rental); Director Corporate Relations, ARVAL Executive Director, Corporate VehicleObservatory.

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44

INDUSTRY Partner


Ian Hucker, Opel

Ian Hucker started his GM career in1992 with Vauxhall in the UK, and hassince worked in Switzerland, the US,Germany and Russia, before beingappointed into his current role in Augustlast year.

n How is Opel faring, following themuch-publicised reorganisation?Ian Hucker: Things are going very wellindeed, and everyone is now looking for-wards. We gained market share in mostEuropean markets last year, and we arecontinuing our upward path with newproducts coming to the market. At theend of the day, it is all about product, andwe have just launched the Astra SportsTourer. This car is everything its fleet seg-ment needs and wants, and it makes it apleasure to be working in Fleet when youhave a product like that. It makes us veryupbeat and optimistic.

n Staying with products, what othernew models or innovations can weexpect this year?

I.H.: This year will see the completion ofthe roll-out of the new Astra range. TheAstra Sports Tourer launch started at theend of last year and later this year we willhave the 3-door GTC model, effectivelycompleting the Astra line-up. But it’s quitea big year, as we also have the Amperaand new Zafira coming along.

n How important are fleets to Opel,and what is your fleet strategy?I.H.: Fleets have always been very impor-tant to Opel/Vauxhall, and this year thefocus is on building awareness of ournew generation products. It really allstarted with Insignia, which was the 2009Car of the Year and has been very suc-cessful – in fact we’re still trying to keepup with demand some years after launch!I’ve already talked about Astra, but Corsaalso had a very significant refresh at thebeginning of the year, and Zafira is tocome. So it is our job in Fleet to makesure our customers know just how goodthese new cars are. We will be spendinga lot of time with fleets ensuring they

can see, touch and drive the cars. Thenumber of user-choosers in fleets hasgrown significantly over the years, and wewant to make sure that this fleet drivergroup, which has a choice, chooses theOpel/Vauxhall model.

nHow does the fleet programme oper-ate at an international level?I.H.: My team here includes an interna-tional group which looks after pan-European corporate customers, leasingcompanies with an international foot-print, and the major international rentalcompanies. We have just strengthenedthis team by appointing an additionalpan-European corporate account man-ager, based in Budapest. Our clients tendto be expanding their fleet operationsfurther east, and we now have someoneon board who understands these marketsand can help them with their fleet policiesand acquisitions.

Tim HARRUP

Opel has recently emerged from a substantial restructuring process.We asked Ian Hucker, Director European Fleet, Remarketing andUsed Vehicle Operations, to tell us how the brand is facing the

challenge of responding to fleet industry needs.

Upbeat and optimistic

Phrase.”

Opel Ampera Electric Car Concept

“The new Ampera will take us into a whole new field, that of electricvehicles. In product terms, ours is unique, with its range extender. Itmakes it the only viable electric vehicle on the market. It covers 40-80kmon battery power only, but, once the battery is depleted, the rangeextender then generates electricity to give you effectively an unlimitedrange. This overcomes the risk of the vehicle being left stranded and iswhat makes the car uniquely suitable for fleets.”

n Xxx xxxx? Xxxxx: Ia

Ian Hucker, Director European Fleet,Remarketing and Used VehicleOperations at Opel : “The number ofuser-choosers in fleets has grownsignificantly over the years.”

FEU053_43a47_partner_Flash_FEU053_p44-47 15/03/11 21:53 Page44


45

Urs Haymoz, HAYMOZ Fleet Performance

“Today our services are built on an international consolidated

Management Information System onfleets, including outsourced fleet ma -nagement, country based vehicle bid-ding, centralized invoice control and otherservices”, says Mr Haymoz. “Our busi-ness model is strictly based on perform-ance – TCO/CO2 performance of eachsingle car – and supported by a highdegree of standardized IT systems andweb based tools which are used today inmore than 35 countries on ourfleetDECK® platform. Our focus is onlarge international fleets, covering allmajor industries. Today more than 60,000 cars operating in 70 countrieswith more than 80 leasing providers arecentrally managed, assessed and con-trolled.”

n What services with which addedvalue do you propose to internationalfleet managers?

U. Haymoz : “Depending on the capa-bility to target ambitious goals, our cus-tomers realized a decrease of the TCOcost level on a two-digit value. The con-solidated visibility of a car portfolio, andthe respective TCO and CO2 exposure- all on one single external platform - isrecognized today as the most wantedvalue for international fleet managers. Tohave a strong partner as a general con-tractor for all management services nomatter which service provider is handlingcars at local level is a strong value.”

n How do you guarantee your inde-pendency towards your clients andthe market?U. Haymoz : “Transparency combinedwith strict confidentiality, experience andsafe processes are our commitment toour clients and their suppliers. We under-line this by working with all leasingproviders and car manufacturers andtheir confidential customer data without

restrictions and on an “open book” basisregarding the TCO of cars. We do nottouch cars. Cars are in hands of the carowner, but we take care on the cost per-formance of cars on client’s mandatebasis.”

nWhat are for you the two new trendsin fleet business?U. Haymoz : “The complexity of inter-national and local fleet management isdrastically improving, driven by new tech-nologies of the manufacturers on onehand, the necessity of efficient policyand cost control on the other hand. Bothtrends tend toward a professionallybased fleet management policy and thehire of external and independent exper -tise. New and internationally standardizeddata processing technologies are theenablers of this process. That’s exactlywhat HAYMOZ stands for.”

Steven SCHOEFS

HAYMOZ Fleet Performance is an independent international fleetmanagement & consulting company based in Dietikon, Switzerland.

8 years ago the founder and Managing Director, Urs A. Haymoz,started the company as a classic project management and

consulting company with international tendering andcorporate/country fleet reorganization.

Performance and transparancy

An international fleet management policy is possible

Urs Haymoz : “Of course it’s possible, as long as there is a localfreedom of choice within a corporate portfolio of pre selected suppliers.But one should be aware: a international fleet policy is onlyimplementable in combination with a strong change managementapproach and the respective buy-in and alignment process on corporateand local level.”

Upbeat and optimistic

Urs Haymoz, Managing Director ofHAYMOZ Fleet Performance, believes inthe trend toward a professionally basedfleet management policy.


46

INDUSTRY Partner


José Luis Criado, LeasePlan International

n You left LeasePlan for 6 years, what isyour first impression of the company?JL Criado: In the last 6 years, manychanges have occurred in the market andlogically also within the LeasePlan organi-zation. As one of the most evident changesin LeasePlan, I would mention the out-standing improvements in the technologicalfleet management tools and the overallimprovement in the qualification of the staff.In short, in order to meet their client’sdemands and needs, LeasePlan had togrow with the market and significantlyimprove internal efficiency.

n How do you feel the market of globalfleet clients is evolving?JL Criado: The fleet market, as did manyother markets, struggled the last few years,and this struggle has been two-fold. Onthe one hand car leasing operators had toface their client’s diminishing business dueto staff reductions and other cost measures,

and on the other hand, specific industryissues such as losses in the remarketing ofcars coming out of contracts. However,due to the fact that outsourcing of fleetmanagement is an efficiency driven decisionby the client companies, most of them didnot consider cutting down on car leasing,they simply wanted to further rationalizetheir cost base. Global deals are one, or probably several,steps further into the fleet efficiencyachievement. Therefore, more and morecompanies that have fleets in several coun-tries welcome a solution that allows them tobenefit from global control processes andtools. So yes, there is an increase in thenumber of global deals.

n What are your objectives withLeasePlan International on short andmedium term?JL Criado: Signals of market recovery areseen in most markets and LeasePlan has

emerged from the past years in a muchstronger position. At LeasePlan Internationalwe want to expand our services to includeall international companies that have multi-country fleets and provide them with levelsof control and efficiency that will allowthem to make better decisions for theircompanies.

n How do you see the further growth ofLeasePlan International?JL Criado: LeasePlan International’s growthis inseparable from the growth of theLeasePlan Group which encompasses 30 countries. LeasePlan International growswith these countries. And similarly, the moreLeasePlan International grows serving multi-national companies, the more business canbe referred to the country operating com-panies. The LeasePlan Group is geared to growand LeasePlan International is going tocontinue to lead the growth among multi-national companies.

n Tools and expertise have always beenat the heart of LeasePlan.JL Criado:We are continuing to developthe expertise and the tools required to helpinternational clients. The LeasePlanInternational client has very specific needsand objectives. It is all about insight andcontrol; insight in order to have the neces-sary information to make the right deci-sions and control in order to implementthese decisions and realize an effectiveglobal fleet policy while acknowledging dif-ferences between countries and makingthe most of them. Therefore, we will con-tinue to provide our clients with the neces-sary tools, advice and support helping themto select and implement the best alternativefor every situation.

Caroline THONNON

Insight and controlWith 17 years with LeasePlan and 6 years as an independentconsultant, José Luis Criado is now in charge of LeasePlan

International. With this extensive experience, he understands bothLeasePlan’s values and objectives and has a good overview of

issues from different perspectives. We discuss international fleetmanagement anno 2011.

José Luis Criado about the mostimportant trends for the next years

Driver safety, cost efficiency,emissions management,implementation of the new leaseaccounting standards andconcepts such as mobilitymanagement, telematics, trackingand pooling, are all importantpriorities for the future.

Visit Fleet Europe to read more www.fleeteurope.com

José Luis Criado is the newmanaging director of LeasePlanInternational.



47

Luc Sano, SAAB

nWhat is your role as international fleetmanager?L. Sano: My role is threefold. First, it isabout creating a fleet team throughoutEurope. In Italy, Spain and the Benelux,Saab already has a local fleet manager.We are looking for the right people inFrance, Switzerland and Austria and inGermany. As fleet is really a major ambition,they will report directly to the local man-aging director.The second part is building and rebuildingthe relationship with the residual value set-ters. Our current RV’s are not particularlyencouraging since the split with GM. Butthe situation is already improving again andwe are trying to reinforce this through ourinternational contacts. Later, our team willalso be in direct relation with the RV setterslocally. All this will have a direct impact onthe leasing prices and our fleet marketshare.

n The third pillar of your objectives wouldbe the relationship with lessors?L.Sano: Exactly! It is the same story ofregaining trust and getting on the shop-ping lists. Except for Belgium, Saab doescurrently not have a captive leasing com-pany. In the coming months, I’ll be workingto find business partners be able to providefinancial services to the customers. With afocus on the 6 direct dealer countries. Having a strong financial arm is also impor-tant as they could cover the whole of thedealers’ sales.

nCould you explain the concept of directdealer countries?L. Sano: Most of our dealers are very loyalto Saab. I have never seen this before in mycareer. We have around 300 dealersthroughout Europe, and we’re not lookingfor new ones. The direct dealer concept avoids an extra

link between the manufacturer and thedealer. This organization fits with Saab andhelps avoid extra costs. The dealers there-fore interact directly with Sweden, which inmany cases can shorten the process time.

n Can you discuss the fleet results in2010?L.Sano: In total, we sold 32,000 vehicles in2010, with about 40% of our sales volumein fleet sales.

nWhat is the client focus?L.Sano: Firstly, small and medium enter-prises. They never lost their interest in thebrand and we have models that perfectly fittheir needs. Today, it is still a little too soonto actively target the big multinationals, buteven in this segment, we regularly receiverequests. But as soon as the fleet organi-zation is in place, our premium brand will beready to pursue them more actively.

ePowern What are the next steps in strategyand products? L. Sano: We have appointed a neutral con-sultant to analyze all the components ofthe Total Cost of Ownership. We know thatresidual values are not currently at theirbest, but all the other elements are. Thisconsultant interacts directly with both thedevelopment teams and the distributors.As soon as they are ready with their study,we will be ready to communicate to themarket. The next challenge is implementinga remarketing program for the dealers,again to support the residual values.A big challenge is the launch of the 9-5Wagon, and also the first crossover vehicle9-4X. As with all brands, Saab is investing heav-ily in green engines, low emissions andelectric vehicles. We are taking our firststeps towards developing an all-electricvehicle with the Saab 9-3 ePower. It offersits occupants the comfort and size of asaloon with a 135 kW/184 hp electric motordriving the front wheels, offering a drivingrange of about 200 km.

Caroline THONNON

Luc Sano has been appointed as the new international fleetmanager for SAAB. The company has gone through tough timessince the split with GM and the takeover by Spyker Cars, with a

direct impact on fleet sales, on residual values and thus on leasingprices. With a new model line-up coming, and the regaining of trust

in the brand, Luc Sano is now building the European fleetorganization with fleet sales being a priority for Saab.

“Growth in fleet”

Ongoing momentum in 2010 sales

• Sales momentum continues togrow quarter by quarter • 11,448 cars sold in Q4 2010, up129% compared to Q4 2009 andup 31% compared to Q3 2010 • Global sales in 2010 amount to31,696 cars • Total 2010 production rose to32,048 units, up 53% comparedto 2009

Luc Sano: “We need to show thefuture of Saab, because it islooking good!”


At the consumer end of the market, theone which drives everything, retailsales in the Euro zone were down

0.6% in the quarter – a cumulative 0.9%down over the full year versus an expected0.2% year on year improvement. Equally,the negative reports were at their strongestin Malta, Ireland and Lithuania while Polandand Portugal showed the biggest progress.Unemployment in the Euro zone is currently10 -10.1% – the highest since the Euro zonestarted in 1999 – and austerity programmesare starting to bite, causing further con-cerns regarding unemployment. However,the core Euro countries would appear tobe doing better.

At the other end of the business spectrum– raw materials, food and energy – inputprices have been soaring at an almostunprecedented rate.

Plan for the futureHow does one reconcile these headlineswith the way the company car is emergingfrom recession? Is it coming out ahead ofthe game – or could the company carbecome an endangered species? ‘Recession and recovery’ is a two part exer-cise. During a period of recession the vehi-cle operator does everything possible toreduce costs, although those cost savingstrategies may have longer-term implica-

tions. The recession from which industry isrecovering is the current writer’s fourthrecession and most of the standard actionsare essentially the same – ‘cleanse the fleetand then look for cost savings compared towhere we were before’ is one perhaps datedstrategy. The current policy, hopefully being adoptedby all forward-thinking fleet executives isperhaps more pragmatic, ‘cleanse the fleet,plan for the next shape of business andrefleet cost effectively against that newbusiness model’. Quite simply – plan forthe future – not replace for the past. Thatmay mean intermediate vehicle provisionas discussed later in these notes.Recession led to a drop in demand for usedcars which, in turn, led to an often dramaticdrop in residual values. In the UnitedKingdom, for example, fleet and leasingcars at auction prices dropped by over£1,000 per unit over six months – and recov-ered just as quickly.To the leasing company a drop in averageused car price achieved at auction would bea disaster – trade-in 1,000 units a monthand that could be a million pounds lost in amonth...not an outcome to please the share-holders. The response was for forward-thinking leas-ing companies, and indeed many fleets thatpurchased their vehicles outright, to extendtheir replacement cycles. To the lessee, afew months longer for selected vehicles,provided the price was right, was no majorconcern and it was widely accepted. Thedownside of not taking such action could be a significant loss and a bunched fleetwhich had to be replaced later. That is what has happened with a lot of leasingcompanies and organisations which buytheir own vehicles.

Professor Peter N C COOKE

It may be perceived wisdom that the EU is emerging rapidly from a period of fairly deep recession, butthe picture is far more complex. Consider some of the current evidence.

Market

48


The opportunities of the Post Recession

INDUSTRY Automotive

New car sales in the European Union has stabilized, but you can’t say that we’realready back on track.

Figure 1 - EU15; New Car Sales by Class – 2000-2010

Source; ACEA

FEU053_51_Market_Flash_FEU053_p48-49 15/03/11 21:24 Page48

Extended cycleA recent report in the United Kingdom hassuggested that a growing number of fleetsare increasing their replacement cycles –some to five years and 150,000 miles – evenif this is moving into ‘unknown territory’.While the fifth year is still the exception, anincreasing number of players are eitherdoing it or looking seriously at the risks andbenefits. Reports suggest the vehicles aregenerally standing up to the longer replace-ment cycles well.The implications on the other side of theequation are interesting with regard to theextended replacement cycle. True costs ofreplacement cycles and replacement cycleplanning may require a new business modelbut, perhaps most importantly, the absolutevolume of vehicles required for fleet opera-tions may begin to decline. We may have towait another year or so to see how this phe-nomenon develops. An extension in replacement cycles willinevitably lead to a drop in the absolutenumber of used ex-fleet cars coming tomarket, whether that is through dealers orgoing to auction. Any such reduction willhave a knock on effect to the used carmarker which, in reality, is the market thatdrives demand for new cars.

Reduce the flow of ex-fleet and leasing carsto the used car market, however subtle itmight be, and there is a risk that equilibriummay be disturbed. The shortage of appro-priate used cars will drive up auction priceswhich, in turn, may knock straight through tothe used car market driven by the simplerules of supply and demand.

The definition of the new business strategymentioned earlier suggested that the trueforward-looking fleet will be looking toreplace vehicles to match the new businessmodel, not the one in place before reces-sion. Such a change in focus would appearperfectly logical. However, there may becases where these changes have not beenfully implemented, or other issues mean acompromise, intermediate situation may bethe most effective.Such a ‘fleet in transition’ stage is mani-festing itself in many places and ways, butone of the most interesting phenomena isthe growth in ‘short-term leasing’. Again,this is increasingly being reported in the UK

with a growing number of organisationstaking a six month lease, while the busi-ness is restructured, and then all businesscar users can be dropped into the nextstructure in one fell swoop. Use of medium-term rental would provide sufficient cover tobe able to regroup and restructure.The recession and recovery scenario has still wider implications. For perhaps the firsttime, ‘globalisation’ is having a real impact

on business and the business model – andforcing organisations to rethink their costsand cost models. One area which is show-ing signs of suffering is the level of carsbeing provided within fleets – Figure 1 shows how in the EU15 the mix of new carsales has changed in recent years.There is a distinct polarisation in the mar-ketplace with the importance of smaller,less expensive and cheaper to run carsincreasing in popularity at the expense oflower middle and mid-size cars. This changeis, in part, due to ‘model inflation’ – morevalue for money packed into an ever smallerpackage and, in part, due to the need to cutcosts.The higher level of cars is being heldbecause they are principally run by execu-tives – but we will not go there.The increasing price of fuel, growing aus-terity measures and a need to protect jobs,as well as businesses needing to protectflexibility, is likely to drive growth in terms ofdaily rental in the corporate sector. The costof providing low mileage company cars,

when expressed in terms of business use isescalating to an unacceptable level. It maywell pay an organisation handsomely toevaluate the possibility of renting se -nior/middle management perk cars if suchtraditional drivers need a ‘car for business’on an occasional basis – and give a salaryincrease as recompense. There are someexamples starting to come through in theUnited Kingdom.

These notes have examined a wide range ofissues. The exact position of the fleet in theEuropean context may require further refine-ment. Each of the changes may not have adifferent effect on different markets in whichyou operate. The concept of ‘one size fits all’disappeared with the last recession. Thistime its ‘bespoke fleets for markets’.In summary – recovery from recession isoffering the fleet executive a once in a life-time opportunity to upgrade the fleet andbring it in line with future needs rather thanpast provision. The question is – ‘are youdoing it?’ – look at the questions in theFigure 2 for starters – how does your busi-ness measure up?

n

49



“ Recession and Recovery is a two part exercise.”

• What is the new business model/car fleet requirement post recession?

• What employees should no longer qualify for a company car?

• What new employees/job grades justify a company car in future?

• What models will be most fit for purpose in future?

• What are expected mileage/fuel requirements in future?

• When will changes be introduced/is short-term leasing needed?

• What is the most cost-effective way of providing future fleet demand?

• What contract periods should be sought for future fleets?

• Can the fleet/elements of the fleet be downsized?

• Who will managed/what management structure for the future fleet?

• What steps need to be taken to ensure drivers are still happy?

Figure 2; Checklist for Fleet Restructuring Post Recession

FEU053_51_Market_Flash_FEU053_p48-49 15/03/11 21:24 Page49

There are, naturally, various factors thatimpact on the price of oil, both posi-tively and negatively. The first of these

factors is, of course, the economy. When theeconomy grows, consumption will increase.In that case, a barrel of crude oil will logicallybecome more expensive. In addition, sup-ply and demand play a role, and this rela-tionship is not always easy to estimate. The major oil companies have been unableto increase oil production to any greatdegree, despite heavy investments. This istrue first and foremost of companies ope -rating in countries that are not members ofOPEC, the cartel of oil-exporting countries.OPEC has therefore increased its marketshare again and consequently acquiredgreater control over the oil market. Newsources of oil have been found in places thatare (more) difficult to exploit, with the resultthat production is more expensive andinevitably the price goes up. On the demandside, the picture is clearer, because this isshowing an upward trend mainly as a result

of the sharp rise in demand from growthmarkets such as China and India. Accordingto the US Department of Energy, this yearthe world will consume an average of 88 mil-lion barrels of crude oil a day. Consumptionhas never been so high.

Middle EastTighter supply and higher demand auto-matically lead to price rises. The question is,however, how high can the price of oil go?In practice, this is difficult to predict, as inaddition to supply and demand, other fac-tors play a role, the most significant of whichis probably the geopolitical situation. Crudeoil is taken to its destination in huge tankersand a disruption in tanker traffic can haveserious consequences for the oil price. Thisbecame clear when political and socialunrest broke out in the Middle East in the firstfew weeks of 2011. The price of Brent - the North Sea variety ofcrude oil – immediately rose to over 100 dollars a barrel. The difference com-

pared with West Texas Intermediate – theleading American variety – at once increasedto more than 10 dollars. This meant thatthe oil market is taking into account the factthat supplies in Europe in particular may beat risk. Most of the oil used in Europe comesfrom the Middle East. If the Suez Canalwere to be closed, the price of oil couldinstantly go through the roof. Oil dealers’worst nightmare, however, would be if SaudiArabia were to be confronted with the sameproblems as Egypt. Saudi Arabia is theworld’s biggest oil producer. The above cocktail of factors means that itis difficult to assess how oil prices willdevelop. The mechanisms that operatebetween the exploitation of oil to its trans-portation and then processing may not fal-ter at any time, otherwise the price of oilgoes up. This means that oil is always of par-ticular interest to speculators, whose beha -viour is completely unpredictable. Forinstance, it became clear after the eventthat speculators played a major role in therecord price of 140 dollars per barrel ofcrude oil reached in the summer of 2008. Itis impossible to say to what extent specu-lators again have the oil market in their graspat the moment. Nevertheless fleet managers do better tokeep an eye on the trend because fuel costsaccount for between 20 and 25% of theTotal Cost of Ownership of a fleet. Moreexpensive fuel means higher costs, ofcourse, but on the other hand cars arebecoming increasingly economical.Nevertheless, it seems advisable where pos-sible to integrate long-lasting and fuel effi-ciency cars into the fleet, because if theprice of oil were to fall, then you recordtwice the profit.

n

Jos STERK

Fuel consumption is, of course, a major factor in fleet management. Fleet managers do, however,attempt in vain to estimate the oil price trend. But which factors actually determine this price?

Fuel

50

FleetEurope Mag

azine 53

Risk of considerably higher oil price remains

INDUSTRY Automotive

As you can see, the oil price hit a peak in mid-2008 at the start of the financial crisis.Thereafter the price per barrel fell again, but in 2009 the price of Brent oil crept steadilyup again.

Light Crude Oil (Pit)

130.00

110.00

90.00

70.00

50.00

30.00

FEU053_50_Fuel_Flash_FEU053_p50 15/03/11 21:21 Page50

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