The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) have released figures that show how leasing is helping both businesses and personal customers drive the new vehicle they want.
In their quarterly survey the BVRLA found that its members achieved year on year growth figures of 6.6% in Q4 2016 for business contracts, made up of 3.6% increase in cars and 16.2% growth in the number of vans. The survey also showed how well personal contract hire is performing, contributing 49% to the growth of the overall car fleet which expanded 12% year on year.
BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney observed “It’s great to see our members’ business lease fleet increasing, but the real growth is coming from personal contract hire. BVRLA members can tailor a personal contract hire arrangement to suit a driver’s monthly budget and include costs such as maintenance and replacement tyres, and it’s clear that more and more customers appreciate these benefits.”
Leasing is green
The environmental benefits of these new, leased cars on our roads was also demonstrated by the survey, as the average lease car from 2016 emitted only 110.8g/km CO2, over 7% less than the average new car registered last year. Keaney concluded “Once again, our members are leading the way when it comes to reducing emissions, but the data shows the first signs that CO2 reductions are slowing down. We believe this is a result of the Government’s motoring taxation strategy, and policymakers must address this issue by offering a progressive tax regime.”
Another takeaway from the data was the crucial role that leasing brokers are playing in the sector, in Q4 2016 the number of vehicles on contract with BVRLA's broker members was 26% larger than the same period in 2015, vans in particular saw 30% growth, and in the year as a whole brokers leased 27% more vehicles than in 2015. Perhaps the most interesting finding was that personal contract hire has overtaken business contracts for the first time amongst brokers, as consumers warm to idea of the simplicity of leasing their next vehicle.
BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney added: “Our latest statistics show that leasing brokers are providing more and more consumers and businesses with access to affordable vehicle finance. As a lot of the growth is coming from a new audience – small businesses and consumers who are coming to leasing for the first time.”
Leading the way
In fact, last year Leasing Options acheived growth of 40%, comfortably above the broker industry average, and Brand Manager Mike Thompson thinks that's down to always putting customers first "As the latest BVRLA figures confirm, the leasing sector and brokers in particular have experienced fantastic growth over the last 12 months. However, not all players in the market have managed to maintain their service levels during this surge in business."
That's not the case at the Leasing Options though as Mike Thompson confirmed "Through an extensive recruitment program that has significantly increased staff numbers, constant improvement to in house systems and technology, but most importantly a culture that always puts the customer first, we have built on our 5 star Trust Pilot rating increasing our score to 9.6 whilst others have fallen behind or stepped away from review sites completely."
