Full Operational Leasing Supports Domestic Market Evolution

Celebrating one year in Mexico after five years in Brazil, Bercx focused on how leasing can add value to the regular maintenance of vehicles in Mexico. He said that LeasePlan’s leasing strategy was developed over 50 years of communication with automotive companies and customers and would now be developed to its full capacity in Mexico.

In the Mexican vehicle park, only 4-5% of cars are under vehicle leasing, of which 125,000 units are under full operational leasing. As such, Bercx predicts that operational leasing will see a huge increase in the years to come. This is because Mexico’s assets culture is developing and that Mexican corporate and private clients are beginning to more carefully consider their total cost of ownership (TCO). Many leasing companies have spotted this opportunity and have now invested the Mexican market. However, LeasePlan’s 1.4 million vehicles around the world make it the global leader, allowing it to enter Mexico confidently and see a growth of 130% in its first year of operation here.

Bercx explained how LeasePlan set itself up here. First, it targeted savvier international customers to get its leasing fleet in Mexico under way. As its start-up phase finishes, it will begin to target domestic customers who will consider leasing more favorably, when they see the international portfolio LeasePlan already has in the country. One of the greatest arguments that leasing companies present to customers is that the telematics provided can provide a full diagnosis schedule for maintenance needs, based on predictions of how far each vehicle is driven by each driver. These maintenance stops can also be scheduled to happen en route for each vehicle without taking off its pre-scheduled routes.

Beyond maintenance, Bercx mentioned that leasing companies can allow for fleet management to be entirely controlled by software. “Even companies with a lot of liquidity now realize that they can spend their money in different areas than their fleets. Fleets are the second-biggest expense for companies after personnel so outsourcing this and reducing spending is a major advantage,” explained Bercx.

Making LeasePlan’s leasing options unique is that it integrates all its leasing options into one package. For example, each driver has access to all the telematics data for their own vehicles in real-time, allowing for the drivers to collaborate directly with LeasePlan to ensure that all services, such as back-up cars, general maintenance, inventory, and replacement of spare parts are all linked through one information platform, available on a smartphone. This united system allows LeasePlan to provide customers with carefully tracked data about costs, about timing, about staff performance, and about the status of each service. LeasePlan is already operating this system in Europe and will be launching this telematics platform in Mexico during 2015. Bercx guarantees that this arrival in Mexico will allow domestic and international companies get more information out of their fleet vehicles than ever before, allowing companies to better manage costs and drivers to learn how to best handle their cars.

LeasePlan has also developed a supplier integration management tool, which includes all the data about different suppliers, including contracts, pricing, and invoices. Much like its broader telematics platforms, this tool is already standard in Europe and is expected to do well in Mexico.