Lombard order book continues to grow

A string of large deals won by
Europe’s major commercial vehicle lessors and manufacturers,
involving hundreds or – in some cases – thousands of vehicles, is
fuelling some optimism within a largely shattered sector.

The latest is a major deal between Lombard
Vehicle Management (LVM) and GreenThumb, a UK lawn-treatment
business, to fund and supply a fleet of 800 vans on exclusive
basis.

Under the terms of the agreement, the first
230 vehicles are to be delivered this year and run on contract
hire, and are expected to reduce fuel consumption by 15 percent and
CO2 emissions by 25 percent over GreenThumb’s existing fleet.

This is not an isolated deal for the UK
lessor, which prefers not to call this a “revival” of its CV
business, having already signed many large deals despite the
recession.

Indeed, over the last 12 months, LVM has won
some very notable deals, including one involving 2,000 vans for
British Gas, and one to fund 3,000 vans for the AA.

The latter alone, for the AA’s core roadside
assistance fleet, had an asset value of £48 million (€55 million),
a large part of the £60 million of business that Lombard wrote for
AA in 2009.

Matt Dale, general manager at Lombard’s Van
Sales Unit, said: “Some businesses have understandably deferred
decisions on new fleets until the economic situation becomes more
predictable.”

“However, many have also deferred because they
have realised a growing need to develop the most robust, efficient
and sustainable fleet strategies possible.

“This process takes time and, for a large fleet, the wrong
strategy could be extremely costly, so the fleet solutions
developed for many businesses have not been ready for
implementation until now.”

Dale explained that despite a significantly
shrunken UK van market, with light commercial vehicle (LCV)
registrations down more than 30 percent last year, Lombard only saw
a slight reduction in LCV orders, and the company’s book continued
to grow.

He was also optimistic about the future for
the whole sector.

“With the current economic outlook still
unclear, leasing may well be the best option in the future for
these fleets,” Dale added.

“Businesses have begun to realise this, and
the leasing industry should benefit as a result.”

Antonio Fabrizio