In Germany France and Italy national predominate

Unify a fleet of cars in several countries is impossible. The coordinate is difficult. For Pascal greenhouses, Associate General Manager of the ALD Automotive Group rental, "no company knows impose the same vehicles everywhere." Those that are attractive to commercial in France are not Germany and vice versa. In addition, manufacturers do not have the same presence nor, therefore, the same price everywhere. In Germany, France, and Italy, national predominate. Elsewhere, the Germans take the top of the keypad and competitors operate the price lever to return to the field. Pascal Van Beversluys, Director France GE Capital Fleet Services, adds that "used vehicles differ everywhere." For example, gasoline engines are much more present in the countries of the East. "The management of this patchwork of models is a puzzle. Not because the taxation, as each country superimposed three layers of taxes, always different: on the vehicle, the company and the driver.

Multi-country approach

It is therefore that, says Pascal greenhouses, "gaps in rents offered by long period rental, from one country to another, on a comparable car model can go from the simple to the double". Rents are higher in Northern Europe, where car taxes is the heaviest. in Britain, where opportunities are selling less well; or Spain, where the cost of insurance is high. They are lower in France or Germany, where there is more competition between manufacturers and thus discounts. There are large disparities in a national market, weight of the builders, but because of the opportunities to rent: "residual value" (estimate, at the beginning of lease, the term of a vehicle resale value) represent 60 of the price catalogue in the Denmark or Finland, 45 France and 35 in Great Britain.

Yet multinational corporations do not drop the arm and multiply the calls for tender and international agreements. Because a multi-country approach, explains Patrice Leroy, expert in automotive fleets to cabinet Expense Reduction Analysts, brings together volumes to "negotiate with manufacturers new car prices and the cost of maintenance, but also with suppliers of tyres, oil tankers, short rental period for replacement vehicles, even with the insurers"... In addition, observes Pascal greenhouses, a company which operates a fleet of more than 1,000 cars in a country has a real potential to negotiate. But it is not the same argument which has been implemented with a small fleet. An international agreement extends its ability to negotiate with all countries where it is present.

At the same time as the swelling of the volumes of purchases, an international approach allows reduction of the number of suppliers, relative homogenization and an economy of scale of the "process", and a consolidation of the data to monitor the cost and the excesses. "Companies have need of a"reporting"consolidated", said Edouard Rance of ERCG.

Until recently, international companies sought rather to negotiate rebates multi-country first with builders, then with long rental duration, which applied discounts obtained from manufacturers. These "tripartite agreements" remain but the practice tends to be reversed due to a more sophisticated full cost approach ("total cost ownership"). The constructor is more the only economy that counts. Companies are therefore Turning first to the large rental before negotiating with manufacturers. As a landlord, says François Piot, General Director of Arval and President of the French Union of the profession "brings a global vision of the costs and centralized response". The companies the also choose based on the extent of its international coverage. Seven or eight years ago, only LeasePlan had this international capability. Today, ADL, Arval, GE or even ING him were also acquired. Remains that international confined mostly to Europe. "We have less than 10 of overall contracts", admits Jean-Pierre Barthe in LeasePlan, who explains that the US market is very different: "the client there stand lots of risks are assumed by the rental companies in Europe."

Review the rent

An international agreement written in English has authority over national agreements. It sets rates of margin on interest, the management of the rental fees, opens a guarantee of the customer covering the payment of its subsidiaries, defines for the rental levels of service, the purpose of contract management, volume bonus... A European Agreement reference two or three rental and national agreements may complement by others. Because the price of rent is not frozen for the duration of the agreement (three to four years), but for six months. Beyond, the revisions of residuals or the entry of new models in the "car policies" clients are swing rents. Each new vehicle road becomes referenced rentals competitive.

Enterprises are looking more and more to take advantage of these variations. "Each rental may be the best in each country and each car," said Philippe Bottequin, Fleet logistics, that represents a new family of actors in rapid growth. Independent rental companies, builders and banks, our role is to play the competition between providers. "Apart from the leader, nationals of the same type, including ERCG, France, are federated in a European network, EuroFleeting, whose slogan is:"Local Management, Global View ".