November 13, 2024
Hertz reported a staggering €1.2 billion net loss in the third quarter, driven mainly by the write-down on its fleet of electric vehicles (€0.9 billion). The results, which fell significantly short of analyst expectations, highlighted the mounting challenges of the ambitious shift towards electrification for rental and leasing companies. Hertz’s losses stem primarily from a […]
November 08, 2024
At their annual press conference, the Belgian Association of Vehicle Rental Companies Renta urgently appealed for help. Renta Chairman and Ayvens CEO Johan Portier made it clear that the second-hand market needs structural support, now. “The Belgian market is now like an island in Europe. With its heavy emphasis on company cars (B2B market) and […]
October 02, 2024
Citroën risks losing millions from the social leasing plan launched in France last year to encourage the switch to electric cars. The brand, owned by Stellantis, had until September 30th to deliver the vehicles ordered under that leasing plan. But Citroën is facing delivery delays. According to French media, if the French state prevails, the […]
September 16, 2024
As the Golden State pushes towards its ambitious carbon neutrality goal, California’s low-income residents can apply for a subsidy incentive to transition to a zero-emission vehicle. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has introduced the Driving Clean Assistance Program (DCAP), a supportive aid worth $242 million (€217,5 million) to leverage EV adoption. The program mimics […]
September 13, 2024
According to a new study by research firm Transport&Mobility Leuven (TML), the Belgian bicycle economy is worth nearly a billion euros and has experienced growth of some 90% over the past eight years. Along with the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, Belgium is one of the largest cycling countries in the world. Many car manufacturers see […]
September 03, 2024
Cyclis Bike Lease, the Belgian bicycle leasing company, has decided to partner with the German JobRad Group. The Hasselt-based company was founded in 2014. Ten years ago, the company was one of Belgium’s first bicycle leasing companies. Cyclis has been the market leader Belgium for years, with 37,000 bicycles under contract. Among them are all […]
August 16, 2024
Alarm bells are ringing on both sides of the Atlantic over the free fall of used EV prices. Studies indicate these are up to 40% lower than a comparable gasoline car. Facing surging pressure on their profits, some leasing companies are threatening to exit EV adoption and return to the drivelines that keep their business […]
June 06, 2024
Stijn Blanckaert (50) is the new Managing Director of the Belgian Federation of Vehicle Rental Companies, Renta. Its predecessor, Frank Van Gool, recently announced that he would be the new CEO of Febiac, so his place was vacant at Renta. Renta President Johan Portier hasn’t waited too long to assign its successor: “We are very […]
May 29, 2024
Despite much political debate about governmental subsidising, Belgium has witnessed a major transformation in its employee salary car fleet. The number of electric payroll cars has grown fivefold from early 2022 to the end of 2023. This shift, reported by the National Office of Social Security (RSZ), may not be to the liking of public […]
April 29, 2024
Mobility Club Touring launched a new online car platform, Touring CarSelect, that focuses on qualitative second-hand cars or immediately available stock cars. To do so, it collaborates with financial and insurance partners BNP Paribas Fortis and AG, not coincidentally their new shareholders since last year, to offer a complete and interesting package. Important second-hand market […]
April 19, 2024
Of Belgian employees who can choose to convert part of their traditional cash remuneration into another benefit via a cafeteria plan of flexible remuneration, 13% opt for a bicycle. According to an analysis by SD Worx of almost 100,000 employees, this is the first time that as many employees have chosen a bicycle as a […]
April 08, 2024
ALD Automotive/LeasePlan and Smart Europe GmbH have come to an agreement to offer the two recent Smart models, the #1 and the #3, to companies and individual buyers in a private or operational leasing formula. Both individual and professional clients are now able to lease the Smart #1 and its somewhat larger brother, the Smart […]
February 26, 2024
Lizy, the Belgian market leader in second-hand leasing, turns five and is celebrating. After expanding to France and tripling turnover in 2023, the scale-up is raising 11.5 million euros of fresh capital. “Demand for affordable electric lease cars continues to grow, a gap in the market that Lizy is filling,” the company says. Five years […]
February 19, 2024
With a market share of more than 70%, still according to the estimates of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, the French-Italian-American automaker comes out on top with 30,000 orders in the social leasing contracts in France. Renault got just over 10,000 orders, according to CEO Luca de Meo. That the difference in terms of sales between […]
February 13, 2024
In France, the social leasing plan, a state measure to give less fortunate people access to an EV for 100 euros a month, has already run out of budget. The scheme is discontinued after more than 50,000 validated orders in six weeks, or almost double what was initially planned. The Elysée Palace announced that the […]
January 30, 2024
Car sharing is increasingly popular in Louvain. In the last four years, the number of users has increased by 80%. However, Poppy discontinued service after only three months. In the meantime, newcomer BattMobility hopes to fill the gap. BattMobility only offers electric shared cars with a fixed parking space, a significant difference from Poppy’s concept. […]
January 25, 2024
After the Stellantis Group, Renault, and Hyundai, Volkswagen will also offer cars in the French ‘social leasing’ project, President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to provide electric vehicles for less than 150 euros a month through a lease with purchase option. Four models will be offered by the end of January, from the small Volkswagen E-UP (€89/month) […]
January 22, 2024
In France, the first vehicles have been delivered within President Emmanuel Macron’s social leasing plan, a measure to lease a European electric car at 100 euros per month for those on the lowest incomes. The first vehicles were provided by the Stellantis Group, known for brands such as Peugeot, Citroën, etc. So far, about 91 […]
December 15, 2023
French President Emmanuel Macron has launched his promised ‘social leasing’ system for electric cars at 100 euros monthly for those on the lowest incomes. In doing so, he is fulfilling an election campaign pledge that takes effect on January 1st. It would involve at least 20 000 to 25 000 deliveries in 2024, but after […]
October 18, 2023
For the Belgian car market, 2023 will probably be the year that electrified cars took over. A positive side-effect is that the average CO2 emission of these new cars landed under 90 g/km for the first time. Meanwhile, the split between individual buyers and company cars gets bigger and bigger. The same is true for […]
October 16, 2023
The merger between ALD Automotive and LeasePlan continues under the new name of Ayvens. The company, owned by Société Générale, will start rolling out its revamped identity in major markets at the start of 2024. Belgium is scheduled for the second quarter of next year. “This new brand identity not only ensures that 15 700 […]
October 06, 2023
Sales of new speed pedelecs fell 31,4% in Belgium in September compared to the same month last year. This is reported by sector federation Traxio. In September, 1 212 speed pedelecs were sold, compared to 1 767 in the same month last year. However, on the second-hand market for speed pedelecs, a clear increase of […]
September 15, 2023
Leasys, the 50/50 joint venture between multinational automotive company Stellantis and the French Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance, is a multi-brand leasing company operational in eleven European countries. This week, Leasys Belgium was officially presented. The new company intends to take advantage of the changes in the market and maximize its presence. According to the press […]
September 05, 2023
ALD Automotive/LeasePlan introduces B2B car sharing in Belgium with Moovee, specializing in shared mobility. This way, the European leader wants to offer companies affordable, flexible, and green transport solutions for their employees. Cars are stationary 95% of the time. So, sharing a car is a sustainable way to optimize car use. The leasing company offers […]
August 03, 2023
Leasys, the new pan-European operational leasing company created by French Crédit Agricole’s daughter CA Consumer Finance and car manufacturer Stellantis has finalized the takeover of the operations of ALD Automotive and LeasePlan in Luxembourg and Portugal. This way, an additional 30 000 vehicles are added to their jointly managed fleet, now totaling 828 000. The […]
August 02, 2023
In May of this year, vehicle lease company ALD Automotive announced that it had successfully acquired 100% of LeasePlan, one of the world’s leading fleet management and mobility companies. More than enough reasons for us to talk with Johan Portier, the new Country Managing Director of ALD Automotive/LeasePlan in Belgium. This transformative acquisition represented a […]
June 16, 2023
Partena Professional’s latest survey reveals some interesting insights on the trends and evolutions of Belgian company cars. As the share of diesel power is, for the first time, matched by fully electric models, plug-in hybrids showed a substantial rise in 2023. Also, on average, company cars for men are 18% more expensive than for women. […]
June 13, 2023
Walloon public offices, municipalities, and provinces should now be legally required to pay their leased vehicles’ registration tax in Wallonia. This is part of an ongoing fight from the Walloon government to bring back losses from leased vehicles registered in Flanders. Wallonia is pushing back. Finance Minister Andrien Dolimont (MR) is taking legal action to […]
May 23, 2023
Vehicle lease company ALD Automotive announced that it has successfully acquired 100% of LeasePlan, one of the world’s leading fleet management and mobility companies, from a consortium led by TDR Capital. This transformative acquisition represents a step-change that positions the combined group as the leading global sustainable mobility player with a total fleet of 3,3 […]
May 09, 2023
Belgian employees with flexible remuneration are increasingly opting for cycling. This emerges from an analysis by HR service provider SD Worx of so-called cafeteria plans, a personalized pay package with extralegal benefits that companies now offer. More than one in ten employees opt for a bicycle, for example. Individual pension savings and extra holidays also […]
March 29, 2023
Velocity Truck Rental & Leasing has placed a large order of 200 electric Freightliner trucks, which will mainly be used in Southern California. The Freightliner eM2 medium duty and eCascadia heavy-duty e-trucks have a driving range of up to 230 miles and will be offered to Velocity’s fleet customers, including a charging service. Daimler Truck’s […]
March 02, 2023
The ten biggest leasing companies in Europe, managing today a fleet of 12 million vehicles, are ‘overcharging’ electric cars systematically on average by 57% or €233 per month, and €8 370 over 36 months, compared to a similar vehicle on gasoline. They claim lower resale values based on uncertainty on battery degradation, among others. Still, […]
