A weekly roundup of fleet news from around
Europe
Alphabet UK to integrate ING Car
Lease
Go deeper with GlobalData
Alphabet UK has announced the appointment of a
full-time integration team to manage the transition of ING Car
Lease into the European fleet lessors’ UK structure.
Alphabet International, BMW’s multi-marque
fleet management company, acquired ING Car Lease from Dutch bank
ING in July for €637m, and made moves to integrate the businesses
after the deal was finalised following regulatory approval in
September.
Since then, Norbert van den Eijnden, head of
Alphabet International and Ed Frederiks, former chief executive of
ING Car Lease, have led the merged company, operating solely as
Alphabet, as joint-CEOs.
Ian Tilbrook, currently managing director of
ING Car Lease UK, will manage integration in the UK. Three other
ING Car Lease UK board members will join the Alphabet UK board as
part of the integration team.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataCommercial director Greg Taylor assumes
responsibility for all existing customer retention and development.
Bryan Stringer joins as operations director for ING Car Lease
business and Ross Pridmore will manage risk within the leasing
portfolio.
Alphabet UK chief executive Richard Schooling
said: “This is the start of an exciting new era for Alphabet. By
pooling our expertise and experience with our ING colleagues we
will have more capacity to develop innovative and pioneering
solutions to meet the present and future trends and challenges of
business mobility.”
First fleet deal for ING business
partner
Prior to integration, ING Car Lease UK secured
a contract to provide facilities management group Aramark Workplace
Solutions (AWS) with its first fleet.
The agreement, secured for an initial
four-year term, will see AWS, which previously owned its fleet,
lease 40 cars and vans from ING Car Lease (and subsequently
Alphabet) in a contract hire deal which also includes full
maintenance, European breakdown cover, accident management, as well
as lead-in and short-term hire solutions.
The deal cements a previous working
relationship as AWS is the planned preventative maintenance service
provider for the ING Group, ING Car Lease’s former parent bank,
across a number of locations.
Leasedrive enters the
Matrix
UK fleet management firm Leasedrive has landed
a three-year deal to manage the fleet of Matrix Group, a company
which helps businesses and public sector organisations reduce their
energy consumption.
The agreement is to supply contract hire,
accident management and grey fleet management services on a sole
supply basis and was drawn up to bring Matrix’s fleet policy in
line with its recent expansion, according to a statement from the
two companies.
Leasedrive commercial director Roddy Graham
said: “The Matrix Group is expanding rapidly and its fleet policy
had not grown in line with recent expansion.”
Graham added that the deal’s structure
addresses the group’s duty of care concerns and said the move away
from a cash allowance and mileage reimbursement approach to
business mileage could see the fleet ultimately increase to around
200 vehicles.
Simon Oldfield, finance director at the Matrix
Group, said he was impressed by Leasedrive’s approach: “It
undertook extensive profiling before we jointly drew up the
recommended new fleet approach, which will result in our eligible
employees driving newer, safer and more economical cars appropriate
to their job positions.”
Leasedrive, previously Leasedrive Velo, is the
UK’s largest independent privately owned fleet lessor, managing a
fleet of more than 45,000 vehicles.
Electric vehicle test for
Centrica
Engineers at Centrica, which owns British Gas,
are trialling an electric Citroen van leased from Hitachi Capital
Commercial Vehicle Services (CCVS).
The three-year contract is part of a plan by
Centrica to make its fleet environmentally friendly. The company
hopes to have more than 1,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in its fleet
by 2015.
The converted Citroen Nemo van will be driven
by staff based at British Gas’ two main national distribution
centres. The outcome of the trial – judged on criteria including
how often the vehicles need charging and their costs – will help
the company decide how it to use EVs in its fleet.
Most British Gas engineers work from home and
drive short distances locally, making EVs suitable for work use,
Centrica believes.
Hitachi CCVS, a division of Hitachi Capital,
already provides company cars to the utility.
Colin Marriott, fleet general manager at
Centrica said, “We are highly ambitious in our strategy to
introduce EVs into our fleet and this partnership with Hitachi
Capital is a key step towards our goal. We are keen to learn more
about EVs from a fleet operations perspective and are excited about
embracing this new technology.”
grant.collinson@vrlfinancialnews.com
