THE genie is out of the bottle when it comes to PCH. That was the view of Andy Alderson, MD of Vanarama at yesterday’s BVRLA conference in Leicester (December 06, 2018).
Speaking as part of an invited guest panel, Alderson said that PCH was going to grow. There was no stopping it.
“You can’t change consumer behaviour,” he said. “More and more people want to buy online.
“85% of the people who order a car through us have not driven it beforehand. Leasing is an enabler. It’s cheaper than buying.”
Alderson added that brokers had the added bonus of greater agility – “we can go where the market is”. He also added that the brokerage expected to do 10,000 renewals next year: “People still need vans,” he added.
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Alderson’s view chimes with that of the most recent Leasing Broker Attitude Survey 2018 which said most brokers expected demand for PCH to continue.
Director of Communications & External Relations at the BVRLA, Toby Poston, outlined some of the issues facing the fleet industry at the conference, published in a report called Industry Outlook 2019.
Poston said the report was a collective industry view on nine key subject areas:
- The long road to zero – Fleet industry opinion is united on seeing a future dominated by electric powertrains. The big questions now are not ‘if’ we get there, but ‘how’ and ‘when’.
- The last mile – The traditional ‘hub and spoke’ method of delivery is coming under pressure from cities looking to reduce the congestion, emissions and safety risks associated with large, diesel-powered vehicles. Can urban consolidation centres, inner-city micro distribution depots and e-cargo bikes and vans come to the rescue?
- Used market urgency – Electric vehicles, Brexit, diesel demonization and WLTP are all contributing to an uncertain outlook for used vehicle prices through early 2019. Current market sentiment is that any price changes will be small rather than seismic.
- Diving into data – Policymakers will come under increasing pressure to legislate for greater access to vehicle data. Meanwhile, prognostics is set to become the new must-have fleet management service.
- Brexit – Rather than just speculate over the potential for one of many ‘Deal’ or ‘No Deal’ scenario, BVRLA members are focusing on what they can do to prepare themselves and their customers for the unexpected.
- Car subscriptions – As the boundaries between rental and leasing continue to blur, car subscriptions are receiving a mixed response. Are they Car Rental 2.0 or just the emperor’s new clothes?
- Up close and personal – BVRLA members are embracing digital technology and the chance to go one-on-one with a new breed of personal and SME clients. Some companies predict that up to 50% of new business could come from these channels in the next two years.
- Urban mobility – The scale of potential Clean Air Zone non-compliance will cause some local authorities to delay or adjust their plans in 2019. BVRLA members are expecting more competition from a range of urban mobility providers and a major improvement in public EV charging infrastructure.
- Repairability – The number of accidents and repairs may be falling, but the costs associated with them are going in the other direction. New materials, sensors and electric powertrains are all having a massive impact on repairability.
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