Strong second-hand market
The energy transition is continuing in the car lease country: a quarter of the fleet of LeasePlan, one of the largest lease companies in our country, is now electric. Second-hand cars also remain quite popular, the company reports.
The European vehicle fleet of leasing company LeasePlan grew by 8 percent in the past quarter, compared to last year, to more than 1.9 million cars. Of that 1.9 million, a quarter is now fully electric – with good reason. The company thrives on the demand for EVs (with a favorable addition in the Netherlands) and the current state of the lease market. Net profit increased by more than 12 percent compared to a year earlier, to 472 million euros. Over the first nine months of this year, profits even rose by 49 percent.
This is partly due to the strong second-hand market. The residual values of cars that come out of the lease are quite high, allowing LeasePlan to sell them for a lot of money when the company no longer needs them. This solid residual value is undoubtedly due to the long and uncertain delivery times when ordering a new car. LeasePlan expects the high residual values to remain for a while and is reaping the benefits.
LeasePlan is no longer the largest for a while
Although the company is doing well, it lost its position as the largest leasing company in the Netherlands for the first time in decades. Volkswagen Pon Financial Services took over and passed LeasePlan. The fresh lead of Volkswagen’s lease branch does not seem to last long: LeasePlan will be taken over for 80 percent this year by the French ALD, for the sum of 4.9 billion euros. ALD Automotive is also an established name in the lease world and is merging with LeasePlan in the Netherlands. When the takeover is complete, the new company will be the largest lease company in the Netherlands.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl