12th edition Automotive Congress focuses on cross-sector collaboration with theme "Crossing borders"

During the 12th edition of the Automotive Congress on May, 23, 2018 in the Evoluon, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, AutomotiveNL, Mikrocentrum and Rai verenigng will once again join forces to inform the international automotive industry about current topics such as smart mobility, green mobility, manufacturing & logistics and materials & design.

The automotive world is on the verge of major changes. Global challenges such as traffic jams, the depletion of fossil fuels and the greenhouse effect make it necessary for companies to cooperate internationally and cross-sectoral. Think of collaborations in the field of Smart Industries and Nanotechnology, but also with the top sectors Energy and Logistics; cross-sectoral cooperation is the key to global success! It is not for nothing that the theme of the Automotive Congress is "Crossing borders".

International keynote speakers and the latest developments at the expo
The automotive industry will be brought together with related sectors such as the high-tech and energy industry and government. Visitors are being updated by internationally renowned speakers from AZL Aachen University, AutomotiveNL, Edag GmbH, FEV Netherlands BV, Magna, NTS Group / Top sector HTSM, TomTom, Trescal, TU / e and Vestas about future mobility solutions and the opportunities for growth of the automotive industry. At the corresponding exhibition, 30 companies present the latest developments within topics such as smart & green mobility, manufacturing & logistics and materials & design.

Podium for innovative start-ups and student teams
In addition to knowledge sharing in the congress program and at the exhibition, start-ups and automotive student teams such as University Racing Eindhoven, ATeam, Team Fast and LightYear also present their solutions for mobility of the future. During the day, they will give demonstrations of innovative technologies in the field of electric driving, autonomous driving and sustainable materials.

Special sign moment of the Light Vehicle 2025 project
During the Automotive Congress, a special signing moment will take place. Here the participating parties in the Light Vehicle 2025 project: AMAC GmbH, AutomotiveNL, Campus Automobile Spa-Francorchamps ASBL, Flanders Make, Technifutur and Université de Liège will seal their cooperation. The Light Vehicle 2025 project has a number of objectives:
•    ensuring that the automotive sector within the INTERREG Euregion Meuse-Rhine (EMR) is actively committed to CO2 reduction by means of material and process innovation.
•    setting up an EMR innovation agenda for light vehicle design, which is supported by knowledge centers and the industry.
•    initiating cross-border demo projects with the regional industry and developing concrete prototypes before 2020.
•    communicating the results to strengthen the position of the EMR as an international top region for car innovation.
 

Avis Budget Group has announced it is adding 6,000 Peugeot, Citroën and DS vehicles to its connected car rental fleet in Europe, with an additional 5,000 expected later this year. These vehicles will operate under the company's Avis and Budget brands in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In Italy, they will also operate under the Maggiore brand.

"Leveraging the data from both connected cars and connected travelers enables us to achieve significant cost savings and margin improvements," said Mark Servodidio, president, International, Avis Budget Group.

In April 2018, 38.9% more lease cars have been registered compared to the previous year, reports RDC, totalling 14,921 units. The increase for the first quarter of 2018 amounts to 36%.

Volkswagen claims the number one spot, registering the three most popular lease cars (Polo, Golf, Up), followed by the Kia Picanto and Skoda Octavia.

Private lease accounts for around 60% of the increase in lease registrations.

The Dutch Friesland province, in the north of the country, is switching to biodiesel on a large scale. Diesel drivers can fill up their cars with biodiesel made from frying oil, and discarded plastics or rubber.

The new fuel is around 20 cents more expensive per liter but it is better for the environment.

The product is provided by the Lybian oil company Tamoil. It is the third manufacturer of biodiesel in the Netherlands.

Scientists, however, are reluctant to use plants as a source of fuel as they do not grow efficiently. Plants convert only 2% of the collected sunlight into fuel, which means it is more environmentally friendly to cover a field with solar cells.

Image: Dokkum, Friesland, the Netherlands

ALD Automotive has started a pilot programme in the Netherlands to allow lease drivers to perform their own car inspection at contract-end. Private lease customers in particular are expected to benefit from a more transparent inspection process.

The pilot uses a self scan app developed by AVN Remarketing. In between 10 to 15 minutes, customers can photograph their car's interior and exterior using their smartphone. Example photographs give an idea of damage that is considered to be acceptable, giving the driver an idea of the excess or deductible they will have to cover.

Surprise element

Frank Alofs, Operations Director at ALD Automotive, said: "In many cases, the car is returned to the dealer and the subsequent procedure is unclear. Drivers can be present at the inspection but they don't always have that possibility. This pre-inspection should remove the surprise element."

Private lease drivers in particular may find the self scan app useful as they often have questions about the contract-end procedure and the costs they may incur.

Image: an ALD driver uses his smartphone to perform a self scan of his car.

“People would rather go to the dentist than deal with used car salesmen,” said Ewout van Jarwaarde, senior vice-president Remarketing at LeasePlan. Consumers needn’t despair anymore, because LeasePlan has launched CarNext, the company’s new service to give their used cars a new lease of life.

In the first place, CarNext.com is a web portal where consumers can browse through the company’s entire used car portfolio. On top of the website, CarNext also operates delivery stores. Five are already operational in the Netherlands but up to around 50 are planned for the whole of Europe. “It is our goal to stay the Number One retailer of 3- to 4-year old used cars in Europe,” said Erik Henstra, managing director for LeasePlan in the Netherlands. In the first quarter of 2018, CarNext reports having sold 10,500 cars.

Extended warranty

The cars CarNext offers can be bought outright or they can be financed through LeasePlan. For small businesses, CarNext is also offering lease formulas. Starting in the summer of 2018, flexible private lease formulas will be available, too. Around the same time, the company will also launch additional services like extended warranties and service agreements. These services are the first steps towards a future that is reflected in the company’s baseline: Any car, anytime, anywhere.

Well over 90% of CarNext customers research their purchase online through a powerful search engine that reveals all relevant data, including the vehicle’s full service history. Once they have made up their mind, they can go and view their car in the flesh in one of the delivery stores or they can have it delivered to their doorstep for a small fee. A car that’s for sale in a CarNext branch across the border can also easily be ordered online.

Non-negotiable

To date, CarNext is operational in 11 countries. That number should go up to include all of LeasePlan’s European markets in the next few years.

All cars are covered by a six-month warranty and a 14-day money-back guarantee. “It’s like an extended test drive,” said Ewout van Jarwaarden. Prices are all-in and non-negotiable, which should make the shopping experience more enjoyable than what you can expect at a traditional used car dealership. Or indeed than a visit to the dentist’s.

Image: CarNext.com delivery store in Breukelen, the Netherlands

Over the last couple of years, private lease has been growing in popularity in the Netherlands. Recently, the average lease prices have started going up, reports the Dutch car leasing association VNA.

In 2017, private lease represented 60% of growth for the lease market in the Netherlands. Professional lease accounted for 27% of growth, LCVs for 13%.

Today, an estimated 860,000 cars on Dutch roads are leased, a large portion - more than 100,000 - in private lease.

The most popular web searches for private lease cars include the Kia Stonic (pictured), Hyundai Kona and Seat Arona. For financial lease, more people are interested in premium cars like Mercedes or Tesla.

More expensive and longer terms

Whereas until a couple of years ago, many private lease drivers opted for a monthly spend of €300 to €400, more drivers are spending €300 to €400 each month today. Lease terms have also increased, often to three years.

The Dutch consumer watchdog points out private lease has a number of disadvantages compared to buying a car outright. Financially, a private lease is seen as a loan, which limits the available income that can be spend on other things like a mortgage. Additionally, private leases are still more expensive than buying, especially for people that do not have to take out a loan.

Image: Kia Stonic (source: Kia)

ALD Automotive has introduced the My ALD app in the Netherlands. As of now, Dutch drivers of ALD lease vehicles can communicate directly with the lease company. The app offers a rich feed of service messages, making the ALD experience even more user-friendly. 

My ALD gathers all relevant information in one handily accessible location: car mileage, damage report forms and a virtual glovebox containing the vehicle's official documents; but also practical information on the location of the nearest partnered service station, and emergency aid in case of breakdown. 

“In fact, My ALD is a personal mobility assistant”, says Lonneke van der Horst, Marketing and Strategy Director at ALD Netherlands. “The app allows drivers to make arrangements or perceive information faster than ever before. On top of that, it comes with an all-new user experience, which has been rolled out in other ALD markets as well”. 

Gertjan Sybrandi (pictured), head of facility services and mobility at Stedin, has been elected as Dutch Mobility Manager of 2018 at the Fleet Mobility Live event in Rotterdam. 

The two other finalists for the prize were Eric Versluis (Rabobank) and Randolph Delwel and Leen den Bakker (IBM). 

The jury not only lauded Sybrandi's as a good listener, realist and bridge-builder but also for his ambitious plans to transform his corporate fleet into a fully electric one by 2020. As part of that scheme, no new fossil-fuel cars have been added to the fleet since the start of this year. 

Image: Twitter

The Fleet Europe Awards – to be held in Hamburg on 19 November 2014 - represent the highest opportunity for international fleet professionals to get the recognition they deserve for bringing new solutions and management improvement to the market and to their company. There are multiple reasons to participate in the Fleet Europe Awards. We sum up the 6 most important ones.

1. Personal Recognition
The Fleet Europe Awards gives you the recognition and the reward you deserve, from your peers and from international suppliers.

2. Team recognition
Winning an award is a way of showing your fleet team that all the hard work they have put into improving fleet management has been worthwhile, and has been recognized at an international level. 

3. Professional development
Feedback from the jury provides guidance and support from experts.

4. Benchmarking
Through third-party recognition, you will be able to benchmark your fleet management against others, and share your best practices with peers.

5. Meet other industry achievers
All nominees will be invited to attend the Awards ceremony in Hamburg on 19  November 2014. This is a great opportunity to network, and share ideas and knowledge.

6. Internal communication
Winning an award, of course, is excellent news for internal communication throughout the company.

Discover the Rules & Regulations and Apply Now!
For more information send an e-mail with your contact details to Laetitia Fernandez (lfernandez@nexuscommunication.be)

The EU estimates that 5 to 12 percent of used cars sold inside EU countries have been clocked. For cars that leave the EU, this percentage goes up to a staggering 30 to 50 percent.

The EU Commission is considering calls to draft new laws to combat mileage fraud. Much to the satisfaction of industry data and technology company Cap hpi, which has led industry support for MEPs who have called for new legislation to combat odometer fraud.

3 pillars: registering, criminalising and monitoring

The proposals are based on 3 pillars: regular readings and national data registers, making clocking a criminal offence, and monitoring how OEMs protect odometers against manipulation.

“In Belgium and the Netherlands where readings are collected more frequently than elsewhere, odometer fraud has been almost eradicated”, said Barry Shorto, head of industry relations at Cap hpi. “Even though clocking has a negative impact on road safety, only six EU countries recognise odometer manipulation as a criminal offence. We fully support calls for mileage alternation or clocking to be made liable to prosecution.”

Registering data regularly and nationally

 Thanks to national mileage data registers, to be made accessible across borders, buyers of a used car should be able to verify the accuracy of its odometer reading, regardless of the EU country in which it was previously registered.

Recording odometer readings could also be made mandatory at each periodic technical inspection, each service, maintenance and repair operation carried out, and at every other garage visit, starting with the vehicle’s first registration.

Restoring faith while saving €6-9bn

“If the EU Commission turns our recommendations into draft laws, it could provide an annual benefit of 6 to 9 billion euros and restore consumers' trust in the used car market”, said EU rapporteur Ismail Ertug.

“Moreover, it would contribute to road safety. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate true European added value by protecting consumers”, he added.

Following the adoption of the legislative initiative resolution in the European Parliament on May 31st (577 votes in favour, 32 against, 19 abstentions), the EU Commission will have to table a legislative proposal or justify why it has not done so.

DirectLease and J&T Autoleasing welcome a new brother into their family: their Dutch mother company, ICLH (International Car Lease Holding), has acquired the Belgian lessor WestLease.

'Westlease is a valuable expansion of our activities ', said Eric Berkhof, CEO of the Dutch holding. 'We are mainly represented in Antwerp and Brussels, whereas Westlease predominantly operates in Kortrijk and Namur. Moreover, Westlease also has leasing activities in France and Luxemburg, areas we currently do not cover.' (source: DeTijd.be)

Westlease operates a fleet of 5,000 vehicles and holds 1 percent of the market. With the acquisition, ICHL expands its fleet to 20,000 vehicles and a 5-percent market share in Belgium.

Picture copyright: Westlease, 2018

AlphaCity, the corporate car sharing solution offered by Alphabet, has been extended to include EVs and LCVs.

"We're looking at every customer who needs LCVs in its fleet," said Christoph Wachtmeister (pictured), Product Manager AlphaCity at Alphabet International. "That means our existing customers as well as new ones in health care, couriers and logistics companies but also in the public sector."

The average corporate customers that subscribe to AlphaCity include business parks and hotels. Although the service is strictly B2B, customers can decide whether they want to open the scheme for private as well as business use by their employees.

Multi-brand

At the same time, AlphaCity is no longer exclusively available for BMW and Mini vehicles and now includes multiple makes.

"Our focus lies on remaining dedicated to fulfilling individual client requirements. Therefore we want to offer a wider range and portfolio to satisfy these requirements. With this next step it is also possible to reach new target groups," said Mr Wachtmeister.

Electric LCVs

As AlphaCity is a tailor-made solution, electric LCVs are also possible. Additional services such as charging cards and other charging solutions can be added. AlphaCity is already operating a purely electric fleet for a corporate client in Spain.

Another innovation is that AlphaCity bookings can now also be accessed through the AlphaGuide app.

Today, AlphaCity is available in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the UK and Austria. More countries are expected to follow in the future.

Image source: Alphabet

Starting 1 June 2018, Gaëlle Humbert follows into the footsteps of Thibault Paland als general manager for RCI Benelux.

Ms Humbert entered RCI Banque in 2002, taking on the role of Financial and Administration Manager in Hungary three years later. In 2009, she took on a leading role in the United Kingdom before moving to the Republic of Ireland in 2012. In July 2017, she was appointed project leader and vice president for the European territory.

Image: Ms Gaëlle Humbert (source: Renault Media)

Each year, Fleet Europe publishes the Fleet Europe Taxation Guide, a structured overview of all relevant information on company car taxation in 23 countries in Europe.

This guide is developed in close collaboration with PwC and includes information on taxation in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. In the online version, we also included information on Bularia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Buy the Taxation Guide now!

Would you like to see what has changed compared to last year? Here's a handy overview of all major changes per country.

Austria

No significant changes.

Belgium

• Increase of registration tax and annual circulation tax tariffs 
• Deductibility of fuel cost from the corporate income and the individual tax basis is linked to the CO2 emission of the car.
• “Fake hybrid cars” will be excluded from favorable tax regimes in the future.

Czech Republic

No significant changes.

Denmark

Increase of annual circulation tax tariffs with reduced rates for electric cars and increase of tax due on private use of company cars. 

Finland

No significant changes.

France

• Supplemental tax for vehicles with high CO2 emissions has been increased 
• Further limitation of depreciation basis for polluting cars.

Germany

• New test procedure for CO₂ emissions can result in significantly higher CO₂ based vehicle taxes. 
• Annual vehicle tax will be reduced in case of the implementation of the toll system for passenger cars.

Greece

No significant changes.

Hungary

• Preferential tax rates were introduced relating to hybrid and electric cars.

Ireland

• New Benefit in Kind rules for electric cars and vans

Italy

• Expiry of preferential amortisation rules

Luxembourg

• Investment tax credit regime eligible for certain types of “zero emission” vehicles. 

Netherlands

• Changed tariffs for private motor vehicle tax and road tax

Norway

• Traffic insurance tax increases car insurance cost
• Changed rules for the calculation of the benefit in kind of the private use of a company car

Poland

• Changed rates for tax on transportation means

Portugal

• Changed rates for vehicle registration tax (ISV) and annual vehicle tax (IUC), 

Romania

• Car tax refund granted to certain types of low-polluting vehicles is not available any more.

Russia

• Changed rates for recycling tax. 
• Vehicles accounted for as fixed assets generally subject to property tax unless the former exemption from property tax is continued based on a regional decree.

Spain

• Subsidies for the purchases of electric and LPG/gas vehicles (“Plan MOVALT”) available if application is made before 30 June, 2018.

Sweden

• Changed rates for the calculation of vehicle tax
• Potential change of interest stripping rules may have significant impact on financial leases
• Congestion tax paid by employer is deemed taxable benefit

Switzerland

• Deductibility of travel expenses can be limited for cantonal taxes

Turkey

• Substantial change of the calculation methodology for motor vehicle tax (Tax Law published in the Official Gazette on December 5, 2017)

United Kingdom 

• Changed rates of vehicle excise duties
• Changed rules on writing down allowances for cars according to their CO2 emissions 
• Amended rates for the calculation of the benefit in kind of the private use of a company car 

Bulgaria

No significant changes.

Estonia

• Heavy goods vehicles subject to road toll
• Fringe benefit taxes for company cars are tied with a car's power capacity

Latvia

No significant changes.

Lithuania

• Changed rules for the use of foreign registered cars and registration obligations. 

Slovakia

• An ongoing programme to support the purchase of electronic cars is continued since the allocated budget resources have not been used up in 2017.

Slovenia 

No significant changes.

Insurance and asset management company AXA and Fixico, a platform for cosmetic car repairs, have started to provide AXA's customers in Belgium with a fully digital damage handling proposition. 

The new service is aimed at improving convenience and reducing costs and time, which should improve customer satisfaction.

"As market leader in the Belgian damage insurance market, AXA is the frontrunner in providing customers with the most innovative solutions available. We have found a strong partner in Fixico, to bring a superior digital claim handling solution, via our brokers, to our customers. We are proud to be the first insurance company in Belgium to offer this innovative solution and be able to help thousands of customers," said François Lecomte, Chief Retail Officer at AXA Belgium.

Derk Roodhuyzen de Vries, CEO and co-founder, Fixico, said: "There is room for improvement and reinvention in the damages handling space, which is still characterised by inefficient and outdated practices and by limited transparency for all stakeholders: customers, insurance companies, brokers and body repair shops." He added: "This is the stepping stone to a fruitful and strong cooperation."

Fixico offers an online platform that digitises and streamlines the car repair process and is in use by car owners, insurers, fleet management and leasing companies who can obtain, compare and select the best offers for car damage repairs. Fixico is currently active in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and operates a network of 1,500 repair shops. To date, it has processed around 150,000 damages.

Image source: AXA

Marijke Bron has been appointed the new Sales Director at ALD Automotive in the Netherlands. She works alongside Pravin Chaturi, who was appointed at the head of the indirect sales channel earlier this year.

Ms Bron has experience in the global logistics, telecommunications and multimedia industries.

Image: Marijke Bron (source: ALD Automotive)

If you're a business, you lease cars. If you're a private customer, you buy one. That accepted wisdom has been turned upside down by private leasing. Examining the phenomenon, Dataforce sees a “big wave” coming at the industry. 

Focusing on operational leasing contracts (rather than financial leasing contracts such as Hire Purchase, which are very widespread in the UK especially), Dataforce looks at the evidence from three key markets for the private lease phenomenon: the Netherlands, Italy and the UK.

50% increase
Following the above definition, the Private Lease share of the total market in those three countries has increased from 0.9% for the first five months of 2015 to 2.1% for the same period in 2018. In terms of total volume, that corresponds to an annual increase of around 50%. 

Growth has been remarkable especially in the Netherlands, where Private Lease has attained 10.6% of the Total Market in the first five months of this year. 

Accountancy rules
“This (rate of growth) might just continue next year”, says Dataforce analyst Julian de Groot: “New accountancy rules in 2019 dictate that in principle you need to put cars under operational lease on the company’s balance sheet. As that might restrict the financing opportunities of companies, we will probably see a shift from company cars to employee-centred mobility budgets. That seems to be the perfect opportunity to get a Private Lease contract”.

Interestingly, the general trend towards Private Lease is not affecting all car brands to the same degree. In the three countries selected, Kia is the surprising leader in the Private Lease segment. 

Top scorers
In both 2017 and 2018, the Asian brand has managed to register more of its cars under Private Leasing than any other brand. Kia's market share for YTD May 2018 is 12.5%. The next best-performing brands in the Private Lease segment in the three markets combined are Volvo (9.3%) and Toyota (7.3%).

Looking at Private Lease as a share of total brand sales, the top scorers among the luxury brands are Volvo (13.2%), Maserati (8.2%), Ferrari (8.0%), and Jaguar (6.4%). Volvo's excellent performance is due in large part to its car subscription strategy. For volume brands, the largest shares of Private Lease sales are for Kia (7.8%), Toyota (3.6%) and Smart (3.4%).

Interesting disparity
Unsurprisingly, Kia also has the two top models in the Private Lease market: the Sportage (4.4%) and the Picanto (3.7%), followed by the Toyota Aygo (2.5%). Also doing well is the Volvo XC60 (1.9%).

As for customers most likely to snap up a Private Lease deal, Mr De Groot sees an interesting disparity: “It's either the customers of mini-sized cars or large-sized SUVs and passenger cars that seem to be more interested in Private Leases, relative to the market average”. 

Since 2017, the Japanese Hitachi Capital Corporation has owned both Noordlease and Leasevisie. Now, both companies have been merged under the name Hitachi Capital Mobility.

Hitachi Capital Corporation already operates a leasing company in the UK (70,000 contracts) and Poland (10,000 contracts). In the Netherland, the company controls a fleet of 17,000 vehicles.

Hitachi Capital Corporation aims to increase its global footprint in the coming years.

Customers of Dutch mobility platform Radiuz can now also use Greenwheels cars (pictured ). Radiuz, a subsidiary of Autobinck, has added the corporate car-sharing services offered by Greenwheels, a subsidiary of Pon, to the range of options included in its mobility card. Greenwheels offers shared cars for corporate mobility at 1,700 locations throughout the Netherlands.