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Asset Finance Pricing Review Experteye reports on the European leasing market Colin Tourick on educating buyers Sponsored by Competition hots up in Australia’s fleet leasing market

Asset Finance Pricing Review - Bynx · 2018-12-13 · Welcome to the sixth edition of Asset Finance Pricing Review, published in collaboration with Asset Finance International and

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Page 1: Asset Finance Pricing Review - Bynx · 2018-12-13 · Welcome to the sixth edition of Asset Finance Pricing Review, published in collaboration with Asset Finance International and

Asset Finance Pricing Review

▼ Experteye reports on the European leasing market

▼ Colin Tourick on educating buyers

Sponsored by

Competition hots up in Australia’s fleet leasing market

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Lessons learntRegulators are pushing the financial services sector to make sure customers know what they are signing up for – interactive video makes that easier to evidence, while the technology offers lenders the opportunity to refine their sales process

Sometimes life outside the office can teach you a lot about your industry even if, like me, you have decades of experience. It’s easy to forget that what seems second nature to those “in the know” can be confusing, revolutionary or just downright mysterious to someone who’s involvement is more fleeting.

“And the best thing”, he said, “is that leasing costs us so much less than buying. I’ve done the sums and worked out that over the life of the equipment, leasing saves us nearly 30%.”

It was a social occasion and we were sitting with a dozen other people round the dinner table. He is the chief executive of a successful UK restaurant business. They have outlets around the UK and recently completely refitted some of them: new kitchens, equipment, counters, tables and chairs and so on. He knows I work in the leasing industry and had decided to say something complimentary about leasing, for which I was grateful. But I was stumped as to what to say next, because I knew with absolute certainty that over the life of the equipment, leasing could not possibly be saving him 30% compared with buying outright.

It’s quite possible that he didn’t have a lease at all, but that he was buying the equipment using a deferred purchase arrangement such as hire purchase or lease purchase. In which case over the life of the equipment he would be paying the full purchase price plus interest.

Or maybe he did have a lease – a finance lease – in which case the story would be much the same, and he would be repaying capital in full plus interest.

Perhaps he had found a specialist funder of kitchen equipment that would be willing to supply the equipment on an operating lease. This would indeed have meant that during the life of the lease he would have repaid less than the purchase price of the equipment. But at the end of the lease – then what? Either he would have to hand back the equipment – which would mean ripping out his kitchens. Or he would have had to extend the lease – on what terms?

This being a social occasion I decided to stay silent. If he had just made a whopping error and entered into a finance agreement without fully understanding the implications, I certainly wasn’t going to embarrass him in public by pointing it out. And I haven’t spoken to him about it since because I can’t think how best to do so.

Professor Colin Tourick

IntroductionWelcome to the latest edition of our Asset Finance Pricing Review, published in association with Asset Finance International

Changing fortunes are very much in the air at the moment. We are living in a world when the unexpected is becoming more frequent, as 2018 has testified in a number of ways. We've had the unusual summer heatwave, England's progress in the World Cup and, of course, the dramas of the Brexit withdrawal details.

Anticipating and responding to unexpected change is a key requirement for many companies, and this certainly holds true in the leasing and auto finance sector. “Dieselgate”, the development of self-driving cars, mobile apps, government backing for electric vehicles and, above all, new technology are all having an impact on the way in which cars are bought, sold and used.

Digitally-savvy consumers are increasingly happy to research and execute car purchases via their mobile phone, and want to see manufacturers, OEMs and fleet managers communicating and connecting with them using real-time online systems to track patterns of usage and costs.

However, as industry expert Colin Tourick, who is Professor of Automotive Management at the University of Buckingham, points out in his article on page 3, while today’s buyers know an awful lot about how to buy online, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they understand everything lenders have to offer. He argues that the main players in the market should be making just as much use of technology to educate people about the options available to them, as a more knowledgeable user base will translate into service improvements and better outcomes.

Our lead article (starting on page 7) is designed to offer an overview of the leasing market in Australia. While vehicle sales and pricing “down under” has some differences from the European market, it is starting to pull ahead out of the doldrums.

As ever, we also have ExpertEye’s report on residual forecasts and market summaries for the main western European market, which face some challenges over the coming months, which you can read on page 17.

And talking of change – this year sees Bynx celebrate 25 years of operations. Our rebranding, with a new logo and a fresh look for our website, is a sign of our commitment to ensuring the next 25 years are as successful as our first quarter century.

Do enjoy and your comments and opinions are always welcome.

Gary JefferiesSales and Marketing Director, Bynx

Introduction

Welcome to the sixth edition of Asset Finance Pricing Review, published incollaboration with Asset Finance International and Professor Colin Tourick.

As in all previous issues, we again put forward a host of articles from industryinsiders that serve to illuminate the more challenging aspects of asset financepricing. The purpose is to bring you valuable insights, knowledge and examples.

In any company, there are different stakeholders involved in pricing policy andexpecting sales and finance to see eye-to-eye on every issue is the stuff of fantasy.This is especially true for businesses that operate internationally and have to takeinto account the cultural, political, financial and regulatory differences within thosemarkets. In Car Wars – reconciling divergent views on manufacturer auto financepricing (pages 3-5), Bryan Marcus, regional director of VWFS Latin America,Canada and Northern Europe, offers an interesting perspective on resolving pricingdisputes – and one that doesn’t involve leather gloves and a boxing ring!

There are many ‘levers to profit’ in every asset finance business but the one thatwill have the greatest impact on the bottom line is changing your pricing policy.This is the advice of Professor Colin Tourick, management consultant and editor ofAsset Finance Pricing Review, in The pricing action plan for profit (pages 6 and 7).

There’s only one topic (other than pricing policy) that can claim joint ownership ofthe most-difficult-aspect-to-get-right-in-asset-finance title and that is settingResidual Values (RVs). But it’s not just a matter for vehicle leasing and daily rentalcompanies, states Dean Bowkett, technical director and chief editor atEurotaxGlass’s. In his article Setting Residual Values (pages 8-10), he examines thepitfalls and best practices and offers a unique perspective on how it matters forOEMs too.

Page 11 presents the results of our last Pricing Survey, which posed questionsaround how to pitch pricing at a level that delivers the most new business andhighest margins. As ever, the results surprised us. They may surprise you too orperhaps confirm your prior thinking. Either way, get in touch and give us yourperspective.

Take part in our next survey

We’re very grateful to everyone who takes part in our surveys (you can do soanonymously if you like) because they always provide us with valuableunderstanding and ideas. This time we’re asking: What is the primary considerationwhen your asset finance business sets its prices/issues a quote? You can take parthere: http://bit.ly/bynxpr5.

It’s always interesting to read how suppliers work successfully with leasingcompanies and Kwik Fit GB is no exception. In an article, Kwik Fit GB fast fitsdeliver service excellence and financial savings (pages 12 and 13) Peter Lambert,fleet director, talks us through how the fast fits concept is delivering tangible resultsfor leasing companies.

We end this Pricing Review with the latest figures on changes in residual valueforecasts, SMR costs and lease rental rates across Europe (to January 2014) frombenchmarking and research specialist Experteye.

And don’t forget to share your feedback with us and tell us what you’d like to seein future Pricing Reviews.

Gary JefferiesSales and Marketing Director, Bynx

And the best thing”, he said, “is that leasing costs us so much less than buying. I done the sums and worked out that over the life of the equipment, leasing saves us nearly 30%“

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there is no evidence that these conversations have actually taken place. But it is also the case that so much asset finance is delivered online nowadays – with little or no human interaction – that the old methods don’t work.

The question, therefore, is rather simple; if there is a problem here, how might we go about solving it?

Picture thisThe best option available right now seems to be interactive video, and it is surprising that our industry hasn’t yet fully embraced it.

This is how it might work.

Imagine you could produce 100 short videos, each no more than two minutes long, that explained your products. One video might list the full range of products you offer (loans, finance leases, operating leases, etc). A series of videos might each list the key features of just one product (for example, operating leases). Another series might go into more depth on key aspects of each product (for example, one might explain the arrangements at the end of an operating lease). Another series might talk specifically about things that could go wrong with each type of agreement (for example, what happens if the asset is damaged or destroyed mid-term). Yet another series might describe the risks the client is taking on by signing a particular type of contract (e.g. the consequences if they can’t meet the payments).

On the menuThis episode got me wondering how the chief executive of a sizeable company had managed to fundamentally misunderstand the contract he was signing. The asset finance industry has done so much work to ensure that it is treating customers fairly, only allowing customers to enter contracts they can afford, and so on. But how many clients would be able to explain the details of their personal contract purchase (PCP) agreement, and why they opted for that rather than personal contract hire (PCH)?

Marketing materials and legal agreements are plastered with warnings, reminding customers of the risks they will be exposed to once they have signed the contract. But how many customers fully understand the terms of the contracts they are entering into, the alternatives that might have been available to them, the features, benefits, advantages, disadvantages of each of the alternatives and the financial and other implications of entering into one of those agreements rather than another?

Go onto most asset finance companies’ websites and you will find a good explanation of the various financial products on offer. But there is less information available that compares one product to another, less still that helps the customer decide which will be the optimum product for their circumstances, and very little indeed that helps them work out the financial implications of each option to their particular business.

And finally, even though warnings and caveats are placed in the marketing materials and contracts, and good explanations are available on lessors’ websites, what evidence is there that customers have understood them?

For a period in my career I was sales and marketing director of one of the big asset finance companies, in which role I frequently met our clients’ finance directors. Sitting across the desk from them it always seemed to me that they were incredibly busy people with a very wide range of responsibilities, and that they only spent a small amount of time raising finance. I never really knew how much they knew about asset finance, and would have been embarrassed to ask, but I’m sure that some knew far less than others.

Asset finance companies train their salespeople to ask questions that to elicit responses that will help them help the customer understand the options and choose the right product.

But that isn’t enough. Firstly, because we are talking here about human interactions, so it’s hard to know what the customer has really understood. And

But how many customers fully understand the terms of the contracts they are entering into, the alternatives that might have been available to them, the features, benefits, advantages, disadvantages of each of the alternatives and the financial and other implications of entering into one of those agreements rather than another?

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Before entering into the agreement, the client would be required to watch the introductory video, at the end of which they would press a button that would take them to the next logic step in their own journey through the video library. So, for example, if they have decided they are most interested in an operating lease they would click the button to move on to the first video specifically dealing with operating leases. At the end of that video they would answer a question that confirmed they had understood what they had seen and heard, then click again and be taken to the next video, which would provide more details. At the end of that, they might be taken seamlessly into another short video, one the lessor deems essential for them to view, for example one dealing with the risks of that particular type of contract.

This is the interactive nature of the videos. There might be a library of 100 short videos but the client may only need to see eight of these, over a total of perhaps 16 minutes in total. The system would record the fact that that client had clicked their way through that series of videos, answering questions along the way, thereby providing the best evidence possible that the lessor had done all they could to ensure that the client knew what they were entering into.

Onward journey This interactivity could be taken much further. The client could be invited to put in key information about their business and the asset they were thinking about acquiring, and the system would take them through a financial calculator showing them the relative cost to their own business of each of the different financing products available.

Whilst such a system could be used for clients who had already started on their journey to do business with the lessor, it could also be used as an integral part of the selling process, taking the prospect along a journey that explained the options and pre-qualified them for financing.

Human beings differ widely. Our learning styles vary from person to person. Some absorb information best by listening, others prefer to read, some like to watch a presentation and others feel the need to be engaged in a process to fully absorb what is happening. (I’m in the latter group. How about you?)

It would seem that interactive video could be a good tool to ensure that clients really understand what they are being offered, and what it means to their company. And if everyone used it I might be spared embarrassing moments at social events.

Professor Colin TourickUniversity of Buckingham

Leasing on the up, Down UnderJournalist Tom Seymour takes an in-depth look at the finance and pricing challenges facing the vehicle leasing and fleet markets in Australia

The Australian car market remains one of the most competitive in the world with over 50 different brands competing for annual market share of around one million vehicles a year.

In 2017, the Australian new vehicle market reached 1.189 million, up 0.9% on the industry’s previous record year of 2016. The 2017 record year also marked a continued shift in buyer preference and market dynamics with the Toyota Hilux topping the national vehicle sales charts over a 12-month period for the second consecutive year.

Last year also marked the first full year in which SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) sales exceeded those of passenger cars. Australians bought 465,646 SUVs during 2017 for a 39.2% share of the total market, compared with 450,012 passenger cars with a 37.8% share.

Report for the Month Year to Date Year to Date Month

December 2017 YTD Dec 2017 Dec 2016 Dec 2017

Standings Marque Volume Share Volume Share Volume Share

1 ▲ Toyota 216,566 18.2% 209,610 17.8% 17,081 16.6%

2 ▼ Mazda 116,566 9.8% 118,217 10.0% 9,102 8.9%

3 ▼ Hyundai 97,013 8.2% 101,555 8.6% 6,182 6.0%

4 ▼ Holden 90,306 7.6% 94,308 8.0% 12,179 11.8%

5 ▲ Mitsubishi 80,654 6.8% 73,368 6.2% 9,019 8.8%

6 ▼ Ford 78,161 6.6% 81,207 6.9% 5,636 5.5%

7 ▲ Volkswagen 58,004 4.9% 56,571 4.8% 5,136 5.0%

8 ▼ Nissan 56,594 4.8% 66,826 5.7% 4,581 4.5%

9 ▲ Kia 54,737 4.6% 42,668 3.6% 4,007 3.9%

10 ▲ Subaru 52,511 4.4% 47,018 4.0% 4,132 4.0%

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Toyota is the dominant manufacturer in Australia and has successfully retained a market share of over 16% for the last three years, while others have lost out. The most notable of these is Holden (GM) whose share has dropped from 10% to less than 6% in recent times.

New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland and their respective state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane make up the majority of demand for Australia’s car market.

The biggest player in the leasing industry is Toyota Fleet Management as would be expected from a brand that dominates market share in the new vehicle market. Both Toyota and Hyundai perform well in the fleet sector of the Australian market, with Ford and Toyota representing the top performers in the critical “light commercial vehicle” segment.

Australian fleet market overviewMarket research company ACA Research recently put together an in depth report on the Australian leasing market. Its overview report estimates there are 19,000 businesses within Australia that operate company fleets with more than 20 vehicles, with 2.1 million vehicles in total.

It also estimates there are 419,000 businesses that have a fleet under 20 vehicles, with the greatest proportion of that having between one and four vehicles. This highlights how important the SME sector is.

Indeed, future growth is expected from smaller fleets, while a third of larger fleets are expected to decline in size.

Just over half of businesses operating corporate fleets use a fleet management organisation (FMO). Of those that use FMOs, only 13% are very satisfied, while 52% are satisfied and 35% are less satisfied.

Dr Steve Nuttall, ACA Research research director, said: “The data clearly shows the key battleground in Australian fleet leasing is customer experience.

“All the indicators show a poor score for customer satisfaction across fleet management, fleet financing and novated leasing. Providers are failing to deliver the customer experience fleet managers expect.”

Nuttall said the biggest opportunity lies with those companies that can improve customer service and take advantage of the size of the market. There is still a very low usage of lease finance among Australian businesses, suggesting the potential for significant growth.

Plumfleet, the fleet and driver management specialist, put together research for 2018, and the views it collected echo the sentiment that fleet managers are looking for improvements in customer service.

Mat Prestney, Plumfleet director, said: “It does appear there are genuine concerns on the part of many internal fleet managers regarding the delivery of the end product and services when compared to the ‘on-paper’ value proposition presented by many leasing and fleet management operations.”

Paul Turner, ADP Global Research executive chairman, said the biggest challenge facing the Australian leasing industry is an increased urgency to diversify their product portfolios.

This is due to the potential risk that the benefits associated with novated leases could be undermined by potential changes to taxation rules.

Turner said: "For fleet management companies the management of residual value risk and resultant contingent liabilities in an ever competitive environment continues to be their principal challenge.

"The need to constantly re-evaluate their portfolios and ensure appropriate and accurate residuals is as important now as it has ever been."

Top 10 individual models (by sales volume):

Rank Vehicle Dec 2017 Dec 2016 % diff

1 Toyota Hi-Lux 3949 4086 -3.4%

2 Holden Astra 3533 155 2179.4%

3 Ford Ranger 3458 3367 2.7%

4 Holden Colorado 3222 1213 165.6%

5 Mazda3 2807 3141 -10.6%

6 Mitsubishi Triton 2645 2106 25.6%

7 Toyota Corolla 2641 2927 -9.8%

8 Holden Commodore 2229 2130 4.6%

9 Mitsubishi ASX 2128 1484 43.4%

10 Mazda CX-5 2113 1906 10.9%

State/Territory results (by sales volume):

State/Territory Dec 2017 Dec 2017 % diff

Toyota Hi-Lux 3949 4086 -10.4

Holden Astra 3533 155 -1.8

Ford Ranger 3458 3367 -3.3

Holden Colorado 3222 1213 1.5

Mazda3 2807 3141 2.3

Mitsubishi Triton 2645 2106 12.9%

Toyota Corolla 2641 2927 15.8%

Holden Commodore 2229 2130 -1.0%

Total 2128 1484 4.1

Mat Prestneydirector, Plumfleet

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Turner is also expecting the Australian fleet market to see continued consolidation with the major players growing their market share through acquisition of smaller companies rather than organic growth.

He is expecting there to be at least one major acquisition in the next 12 months which will create a combined business significantly larger than any of its competitors.

Turner believes the biggest opportunity for growth will be the increasing use of technology to innovate in the fleet sector.

He said: "Decline in profitability is an increased challenge, so the utilising of technology to do 'some of the heavy lifting' can help reduce margin squeeze, while enhancing the customer experience and providing the customer with access to meaningful information 24/7."

Part of this means fleet companies using channels like social media to help with communication and to get feedback on customers' experiences.

Back on trackThe Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows the value of the new vehicle leasing market suffered during 2009 and 2010, falling from a value of AUS$2.24 billion by value to just under the AUS$2bn mark.

Over the next five years, the new car leasing market recovered gradually before hitting a decade high of AUS$2.76 billion in 2015 and while the market dipped again in 2016, it is on its way to recovering back to that record level with a AUS$2.59bn market last year.

The latest ABS data shows there may be signs of a levelling off of demand as Q1 2018 is flat at 0.2% growth for new vehicle leasing.

The company car market managed by Australian Finance Industry Association AFIA members represents less than 10% of the total car parc. However, once SME is added into the pool the company car market is closer to 35% of the overall car parc.

AFIA members manage 690,000 vehicles approximately as at 30 April 2018. However, according to Abe Tomas, McMillan Shakespeare Group managing director fleet and financial products, this doesn’t account for some 100,000 novated leases not included in April 2014 numbers due to two members not including their numbers until July 2016.

With around 16% market share, LeasePlan is the biggest player in Australia’s fleet vehicle leasing market, ahead of Orix Australia (11.7%), Fleetcare (10.3%), Toyota Finance Australia (8.5%), SG Fleet (7.1%) and Eclipx (6.9%).

The latter two companies were among several parties preparing bids for the LeasePlan subsidiaries when LeasePlan’s Dutch parent company pulled out of selling its Australian and New Zealand business last year. The lender had been contemplating quitting, but in the event, the global leasing giant decide to retain the business following a strategic review by investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Tomas commented: “There was speculation around what that pull out could mean for the market. However, since that happened there has been no further movement with the big players. I still expect there to be some smaller players being bought as they find it more difficult to be smaller fish in larger ponds.”

Consolidation in the market has remained fairly static since Leaseplan’s change of heart. The next big development for the industry will be the arrival of GM Financial, General Motors’ global captive finance company, into the Australian market early next year.

Abe Tomasgroup MD McMillan Shakespeare

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

3,000,000

2,000,000

1,000,000

0

Motor cars and station wagons – new (AUS$'000)

Light trucks – new (AUS$'000)

AUS$

Australian Bureau of Statistics motor lease finance by value 2008 – 2017

YEAR

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The move will allow Holden to offer more finance options including access to exclusive, competitively priced finance products and services like Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) financing.

GM Financial in Australia will operate under the name of Holden Financial Services from October 2018. It has begun hiring and expects to start operating with more than 30 people by year-end.

Operating lease is still dominant across major corporate and government fleets. Chattel mortgages are most popular for SME’s as this funding form allows them to fund the 10% GST (goods and service tax) with the funder and gives them vehicle ownership so can depreciate in their books.

There is still a lot of opportunity for growth in the vehicle leasing market in Australia, with Custom Fleet estimating that it takes up 1.9 million vehicles out of a total market of around 11 million or just 0.2% of the market.

The Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) figures show there are 475,000 vehicles funded in Australia and 216,000 managed. Operating leases still form the majority of leases held by AFIA members.

NovatedNovated leases have become an increasingly popular form of vehicle utilisation over recent years in Australia. A novated lease is an agreement between the employer, the employee, and the finance house.

The obligations to meet the repayments under the lease sit with the employer, with the employee salary sacrificing a portion of salary to cover the lease rental. A novated lease can be structured as either a finance or operating lease. The employee has the right to take the vehicle with them if they change jobs. Also, novated leases can provide other advantages to employees through their remuneration package.

Ben Selwyn, ACA Research account director, said: “In our recent corporate fleets insight research we looked at take-up of and usage of novated for fleets with 20+ vehicles.

“We found that while they are a regular topic of conversation with 66% of employees offered it, take-up remains much lower than one might think.”

Novated leases have been around for over 30 years, but according to Tomas, only represent under 10% of the fleet market and as a result there is still an opportunity for growth.

Tomas said: “Novated leasing remains a growth product however, given its tax based nature employees find difficulty in understanding the benefits. Novated leasing grows circa 3-4% annually so it is stable but has high growth prospects.”

Tomas said novated leases are welcomed as a retention tool by staff. Company cars are considered a tool of the trade, predominantly used for business, so for benefit drivers, most corporates and government fleets push those to a novated lease.

Tomas said the exception to this are expat company car drivers at senior levels who generally will not take a novated lease given total lack of understanding so benefit vehicles are still provided to them.

Selwyn said 14% of those surveyed viewed novated as their preferred means of financing.

For the businesses that do offer novated leases, they typically make it available to just under half of their employees, with managers, professionals and sales workers the three groups who are most likely to have access.

Selwyn said: “Just under two-thirds of businesses prefer to use vehicle finance for their fleets, typically looking at leasing as the preferred option.

“This comes through in the more detailed results, with finance leases and novated leases making up two of the top three preferred finance options.”

Selwyn highlighted the debate within the industry on whether novated leasing has reached its peak or if it will continue to grow and take over the role of the traditional company car.

Tomas predicts that as new IFRS16 lease accounting rules come into play at the start of 2019, there may be a shift from companies using operating leases to novated contracts. This is due to novated leases remaining off balance sheet.

Grey fleet managementPrestney believes the biggest growth opportunity is in driver and grey fleet management, an area Plumfleet as seen “significant growth” in since launching into the space in 2014. This covers situations where the company does not supply a car directly to the employee, but provides incentives for purchasing vehicles which are used in the course of the employee’s work.

Company car provision as a staff recruitment and retention tool is still a major factor in Australia. However, Prestney said there is a tend to move to vehicle allowances as it offers the flexibility staff are looking for.

He said: “Many organisations are shifting their fleet operations from tool of trade and/or benefit vehicles to vehicle allowances and, with this shift, are seeking to ensure they meet their obligations under Australian Workplace Health and Safety law.”

Plumfleet’s 2018 survey showed that the majority of respondents said they “never” undertake driver risk profiling for vehicle allowance and grey fleet drivers. In the same vein, over 70% of fleets said they do not require drivers to confirm if they are medically fit to drive.

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Telematics and connected carsPrestney said: “Telematics have become more important to Australian fleet operators over the last two years as increased competition and product development has enhanced the value proposition.

“We expect the role of in-built systems provided by the manufacturer to not only further enhance the role of telematics going forward, but to also put pressure on the medium-term viability of third-party-provided telematics solutions.”

Tomas said that while telematics are widespread in the heavy good vehicle sectors that depend on meeting tight schedules and the need to manage “cost per km” or “cost per hour”, this approach is yet to spread to new car fleets.

He explained: “Vehicle fleets are only beginning to embrace telematics since costs have reduced, although the cost per km for most vehicle fleets remains high so take up is sub optimal.

“We are seeing a lot of innovation in this area and expect more to come from standard fit options from OEMs.”

This includes things like General Motors’ OnStar which is available through the Holden brand in Australia and launched the service a year ago.

Leonard Tham, Custom Fleet director mobility and strategic partnerships & head of marketing, said the telematics market in Australia is very fragmented, with multiple aftermarket providers offering solutions.

While there are applications that leverage the technology, there's nothing that has been done at scale at the moment.

Tham said the biggest challenges facing the market will be innovation from new mobility providers.

He said: "Uber has been a huge success here. There are a few others like Ola and Taxify, but their share of the market is small.

"A few OEMs are trailing subscription  models, but only in a pilot stage at this point. Shared car ownership is still small, but there is a company called Car Next Door that has entered the market. There is also only one car sharing operator at scale called Goget."

Part of this is a fleet specific application of OnStar which Holden says will be able to provide a range of services to assist companies to promote a safe workplace when employees are in vehicles as well as full telematics capability.

Prestney said: “Customers are likely to feel more comfortable with this type of telemetry due to the fact it avoids third-party costs and does not have the ability to negatively impact the vehicle’s warranty.”

Ultra low emissions are a hot topicAustralia currently has no tax incentives on low carbon-emission vehicles and this is a hot topic with green groups that want to encourage electric vehicle take up. According to Plumfleet’s fleet survey, around 53% of fleets do not have an environmental policy in place for vehicle choices, while just under 40% do and the remainder were either unsure or they specified “other which represented environmental guidelines, rather than a formal policy.

Prestney commented: “Despite the prevalence of environmental factors and trends impacting on the Australian fleet market over the last 15 years it is interesting to note that the majority of respondents don’t have a policy in place.

“One major contributing factor may be the absence of a direct tax of legislative requirement like they have in the UK and Europe.”

EV adoption in Australia is very limited (less than 0.5%) of new vehicle sales.

Tham said: "Challenges include lack of government incentives, infrastructure and vehicle choice.

"However, we'd expect sales to increase with the introduction of new models in the next 12-24 months as well as better battery and charging technology."

Tomas said the fleet view on electric is positive but the pricing differential remains too large still. He said: “The only uptake is very highly conscious green groups or government related green groups that must use EV.”

However, there is also appetite from government fleets with Queensland recently committing to electrify its “QFleet” of 10,000 vehicles over the next 10 years.

Within Queensland’s fleet, it is thought that petrol-powered vehicles account for about 50% of total vehicles, with diesel making up the rest. Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni said he hoped the government’s plan might encourage potential buyers of electric vehicles to make the switch because of the increasing infrastructure around charging.

De Brenni stated: “Our Electric Vehicle Transition Strategy makes the Queensland Government the most electrical vehicle capable jurisdiction within Australia.

“By being an early adopter of these technologies, our investment will help establish electric vehicles in the private fleet and consumer markets.”

The plan for Queensland follows a commitment from August last year to install 18 electric charging stations between Gold Coast and Cairns that would be known as the Queensland Electric Super Highway.

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De Brenni said that while EVs have a considerable upfront cost, the long-term savings for a fleet or individual driver can be significant alongside the obviously lower emissions.

The Government claims it costs about AUS$4.50 in electric costs per 100km compared to approximately AUS$13.72 for the petrol equivalent.

Used carsThe used car market is very mature in Australia, so Tomas said as a result it is “stable and predictable” to help manage vehicle lease lifecycles.

Tomas said: “Data sources are very transparent at retail level via online platforms like carsales.com.au and gumtree.com.au and auction houses provide data to all fleet managers so there is the ability to take more granular views on models and specifically contract term and mileage.”

The large scale import of used cars into the Australian market is not permitted by the government, so this is not a factor on pricing.

A fleet market ripe for innovationThe one to 20 vehicle segment remains the largest sector of the Australian fleet market.

However, Prestney said there has been little progress made into servicing the needs of these fleets from a leasing and fleet management standpoint.

Prestney said: “These SME organisations typically rely on more ‘traditional’ financing and management structures when it comes to their fleets and, as such,

the value proposition of the larger leasing and fleet management companies has not held much appeal.

“To put it bluntly, in our opinion, the Australian leasing and fleet management industry is stale with little consolidation or product innovation having taken place in the last five years.

“Customers appear to either accept mediocre levels of service from their providers, adopting a ‘set and forget’ approach, or bring the operation of their fleet in-house with the view that an internal fleet manager will deliver better results.”

Tham pointed out: "Most SMEs (under 20 vehicles) don't use fleet management organisations (FMO).

"There are approximately 400,000 of these businesses in Australia. Fleets over 20 vehicles or more account for about 20,000 businesses. From an FMO perspective yes, there is growth to be had but requires a different approach to the enterprise fleet."

Tham said government outsourcing to leasing companies has been increasing as a trend over the last two to three years. There has also been opportunities to release capital through sale and leaseback arrangements.

It's these two areas that Custom Fleet believes will be the two biggest growth markets, SMEs and sale and leaseback opportunities.

Prestney said an increasing number of Australian organisations are opting to right-size their fleet size and costs.

He said: “A by-product of this process is an ever-increasing reliance on pool fleets. Car sharing services and shared ownership models have not had the same cut-through in our market when compared to the Europe and the UK experience.”

Tomas agreed SMEs are currently under utilising fleet managers and there is going to be more growth there as they realise a manager can bring cost savings to their business.

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The Takata airbag scandalAustralia’s automotive industry was hit by a compulsory recall following an investigation into faulty airbags by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in September last year.

Assistant Minister Michael Sukkar said the government believed the voluntary recall was insufficient from a safety perspective.

Approximately 1.7 million vehicles within Australia have already had their defective airbags replaced.

“The ACCC’s investigation established that Takata airbag inflators without a desiccant (or drying agent) or with a calcium sulphate desiccant have a design flaw and over time the

ammonium nitrate propellant can degrade, leading to potential misdeployment of the airbags and a risk of causing serious injury or death to vehicle occupants,” the report found.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said those with the Takata Alpha airbags installed are at the most “immediate” risk. The ACCC believes that more than 27,000 of the dangerous Alpha airbags are currently yet to be replaced.

The Takata airbag scandal extends to various models of Toyota, Mazda, Honda, BMW, Chrysler, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and several others. The faulty airbags have already been associated with 20 deaths globally and more than 180 injuries.

Keep calm and carry on While the Australian leasing market seeks to build from a low base, on the other side of the world, the six key players in the more mature European market are experiencing challenges of their own

The European economy outperformed even the European Commission’s expectations in 2017 as growth continued to gather momentum through the second half of the year. The eurozone saw quarterly GDP growth of 0.7% and 0.6% in Q3 and Q4 respectively, resulting in a full year rise of 2.4%. This mirrored the growth seen in the wider EU 28 region, according to the European Commission’s latest economic forecasts.

2018 is expected to see a similar level of growth, rising 2.3% as the move from economic recovery to expansion continues, but with Brexit taking place in 2019 there is expected to be a small slowdown with growth dropping back to 2%.

Consumer spending remains a key driver of growth across the region as employment prospects continue to improve thanks to sustained levels of job creation. Spending remains a little tempered though as the relatively high level of unemployment eases the pressure on wage increases. Low interest rates, readily available lending and moderate levels of inflation are also favourable for investment.

Global GDP outside of the EU is forecast to rise by 4.1% in 2018 and 2019 creating further export opportunities which is good news and will support the expected strengthening of domestic and export demand over the next couple of years.

It is stating the obvious but Brexit remains the biggest threat to the economies of both the UK and the remaining EU27 as trade between these soon to be divorced partners is so significant.

Forecast Car ResidualsRise as Optimism Returns

Changes in residual value (RV) forecasts, SMR costs and lease rental rates to January 2014Forecast residual values Forecast service, Current rental rates

maintenance and repair costs

3 month 12 month 3 month 12 month 3 month 12 month

change change change change change change

France +0.2% +1.7% +0.7% +2.1% +2.0% +1.9%

Germany +0.9% +0.4% +0.8% -2.7% -0.8% -2.5%

Italy +1.1% -0.9% -0.1% -8.2% +1.9% +0.6%

Portugal +0.7% -2.6% +0.2% -2.7% -1.2% -4.9%

Spain -0.1% +1.0% -1.4% -4.1% -0.9% -1.3%

UK +2.8% +7.3% -0.1% +0.4% -0.2% +4.0%

It appears that fleet lessors across Europe arebecoming increasingly optimistic about futureresidual values. To end, January we sawlessors increase their forecast RVs by 2.8% inthe UK, 1.1% in Italy, 0.9% in Germany, 0.7%in Portugal and 0.2% in France. Spain reportedthe only reduction and this was by just 0.1%).

These figures are collated by Experteye’sEuropean Leasing index survey which tracksforecasted residual values (RV), servicing,maintenance and repair (SMR) costs and rentalrates in six European countries using datasupplied by major leasing companies.

Looking over the past 12 months we can seethat at one extreme forecast RVs rose by 7.3%in the UK, and at the other extreme they fell by2.6% in Portugal.

Forecast SMR costs have also stabilisedsomewhat over the last three months, havingsuffered significant falls in Spain, Portugal, Italyand Germany in the previous nine months.

Rentals seem to have stabilised somewhat tooin the last three months, having been quitevolatile in the UK, Portugal and Germany inparticular in the previous nine months.

Professor Colin Tourick is a management consultant, former MD of Citibank's fleet leasingbusiness and a 34 year leasing industry veteran

Editor: Professor Colin Tourick Editor in Chief: Brian Rogerson© Asset Finance International, 2013. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may be downloaded from Asset Finance International and are intended only for the individual use of thenamed individual who has registered to receive it. Contents are for informational purposes only. No liability will be accepted for any omis­sions or inaccuracies. No copying, whether whole or in part, transmission by any forms or means, electronic or otherwise is permitted.

• The comparisons are for vehicles with a contractduration of 36 months / 90,000 KM• Twelve month comparisons show change sinceFebruary 2013• Three month comparisons show change sinceNovember 2013. • Rental rate changes compare the rates in effect atthe time of the survey with those in effect three ortwelve months ago.

• RV and SMR changes show the change inparticipating leasing companies' forecasts of residualvalues and maintenance costs over the period.The Experteye European Leasing Index reports ontrends in leasing company forecasts, plus currentrental rate movements, covering representativeversions of up to 250 vehicles in the six markets.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018e 2019e

6

4

2

0

-2

-4

-6

EU (28 countries)

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Portugal

United Kingdom

Source: European Commission, OECD and the IMF

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Room to growEuropean car sales statistics show there is capacity for further growth. The overall average for the EU28 and EFTA3 was 29.8 cars per thousand head of population for 2017 which is the second highest it has been since the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union in 2007 when sales were at 31.6 per thousand before they started dropping during the economic crisis, hitting a low of 23.8 per thousand in 2013.

The main cause of the rise from 2013 to 2017 has been the 26.5% increase in new car sales against an EU population which has grown by just 1.1% over the same period according to The World Bank’s latest data.

Only Luxembourg (89.4), Iceland (61.0) and Belgium (47.9) saw more new cars registered per capita than Germany (41.7) in 2017. Aside from 2009 when the Germany government introduced a scrappage scheme to stimulate the car market, pushing up per capita sales to 46.5, 2017 was the second-best year this century. Whilst new car sales are forecast to rise in Germany for the next couple of years, the per capita sales do indicate that there is little natural headroom for growth and that sales may have to come at a price.

For the period 1990-2017 the average for the EU28 and EFTA3 is 31.59 per capita compared to 30.1 for just this century, although part of the decline is due to the EU accession of less motorised nations. This means there is a natural capacity for a circa 1.1% increase in total car sales across the region, with countries like Italy, Spain and France as obvious targets due to the significant decline they saw during the economic crisis which they have still to yet fully recover from. It is also worth remembering that a number of countries, such as Poland, have transformed their economies during this century and with this increasing domestic wealth there is further scope for car ownership to grow significantly.

New vehicle salesThe “war on diesel” has seen diesel share of the new car market fall from 49.5% for Western Europe in 2016 to around 43% in 2017, a level last seen in 2003. The media reporting of “dirty diesel” has pushed buyers away from replacing what are dirtier older diesels with clean and efficient Euro 6 engines and instead encouraged the sale for petrol powered vehicles which has resulted in the first increase seen in CO2 emissions since almost the start of the century in a number of countries. Thanks to political grandstanding the downward trend shows no sign of stopping and we may soon be back to the circa 32% diesel market share we saw in 2000.

Ireland is the latest country to announce in its Project Ireland 2040 plan - a proposal for no non-zero emission vehicles to be sold in Ireland from 2030 and no NCT certificates (MOT for UK readers) will be issued for non-zero emission vehicles after 2045. A noble plan but one that seems to neatly gloss over how they will fund the required upgrade to the domestic electricity network, produce electricity in a way which doesn’t substitute internal combustion engine emissions with electricity generation emissions and achieve in less than 13 years what Norway have been unable to achieve in 21 years despite it being one of the most electric vehicle promoting countries in the world.

The 3.3% growth for the EU28 and EFTA3 car market was just marginally behind our 3.6% forecast for 2017. Going forward whilst January got off to a flying start with sales rising 6.8% we expect the growth rate to slow down during the year with 2018 ending just under 3% over 2017 levels with a further circa 2% rise in 2019 before the market starts to contract into 2020.

Our prediction of LCV growth being in line with new car sales for the whole of 2017 were just about spot on as sales rose 3.2%. The move from recovery to growth in the European economy can be seen in the 8.1% rise in LCV sales in January but as we saw in 2017, this is likely to ease back again during the course of the year. But that growing economy should mean LCV sales outperform the car market this year and is more likely to grow by around 5% in 2018 and 2019.

Residual valuesAs expected RVs have remained relatively stable at an overall level across most of Europe and this is going to continue through 2018 and 2019 but the devil is in the detail. Petrol RVs have been on the rise as RV setters see the change in the demand in the new car market, whilst diesel RVs have remained stable in some markets and falling in others. As 2018 progresses we expect to see this divide widen, however with diesel making up the majority of fleet vehicles we expect the overall impact will be a fall in the RV Index of a percentage point or two this year and again in 2019.

New passenger car sales per thousand population

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

20

1120

1220

13

2014

2015

20

1620

1720

18f

2019

f20

20f

2021

f20

22f

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0

EU (28 countries) France Germany Italy Spain Portugal UK

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0

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2322

France After hitting a peak of 77.3% market share in 2008, the diesel market share has fallen to 52% in 2016 and 47% in 2017. With total new car sales growth of just 2.5% for January 2018 this gives an early indication of a full year growth of around 1.8% to around 2.15 million with petrol continuing to take market share from diesel.

The economic growth is continuing to improve new commercial vehicle (CV) sales with 2017 ending up 6.9% for all CVs and 7.1% for light commercial vehicles (LCVs). France remains the largest LCV market in Europe with sales 10% higher than fourth and fifth placed Spain and Italy combined.

Whilst sales for all forms of new electric and electric hybrid vehicles (BEVs, PHEVs and HEVs) grew by 33% in 2017 over 2016, (106,515 vs. 80,150), they still represented just 5% of new car sales. France also slipped from second to third place behind Germany which saw sales of alternative fuel types, excluding gas, rise by 85% in 2017. Whilst we expect sales of all

forms of EVs to continue enjoying high percentage levels of growth it is not likely to exceed 10% of the total car market in the next couple of years.

After strong growth in the RV index during the first half of 2017 we can now see values starting to plateau as RVs settle into a typical seasonal pattern overall. Petrol RVs are expected to see stronger growth in 2018 and 2019, particularly near major conurbations like Paris where the threatened 2025 diesel ban looms closer. Even amongst models where diesel makes more sense such as the larger SUVs, we expect petrol values to grow more as diesel remains flat or even a small decrease.

As far as segments are concerned SUVs, particularly premium brands, are expected to continue to enjoy some of the highest RVs. RVs across all segments should rise a little more in 2018, potentially by as much as 3.5% for petrol values with diesel RVs flat and for small segments falling by 1-2%.

GermanyAs we have seen elsewhere, diesel new car sales took a beating in Germany as the market share fell from 45.9% in 2016 to 38.8% in 2017. Whilst this downward trend is likely to continue it is worth remembering that before the diesel incentivisation started, the diesel market share in 2000 was 30.3%k and is likely to end up around the same level, or 1-2% lower, in the next year or two. Whilst petrol has been the biggest winner of the fall in diesel car sales, electric vehicles of all types also saw an 85% uplift in sales, rising from 59,459 in 2016 to 109,853 in Germany in 2017. This still makes EVs only 3.2% of the total car market but it is rising rapidly and 2018 could see Germany overtake the UK to become the largest EV market in Europe by volume, although well behind Norway’s 52.2% by market share.

LCV sales rallied a little in the second half of 2017 ending the year up 4.9%, although medium and heavy

CVs over 3.5T fell by 0.9%. Overall 2018 is expected to continue the new LCV sales trend but the rate of growth is expected to fall by a percent.

After the fall in RVs in Q2 we are seeing overall levels plateau with small movements in most segments and for most brands. Diesel RVs are being set marginally lower, particularly for smaller vehicle segments, whilst EVs and hybrids are starting to see values being increased.

Whilst there is room for RVs to increase, the likelihood of further day registrations and big discounting on new car prices will curb the appetite of any RV setters to make bold increases between now and Brexit. This means RVs may fluctuate a little but overall are likely to remain flat.

2010

03

2010

07

2010

11

2011

03

2011

07

2011

11

2012

03

2012

07

2012

11

2013

03

2013

07

2013

11

2014

03

2014

07

2014

11

2015

03

2015

07

2015

11

2016

03

2016

07

2016

11

2017

03

2017

07

2017

11

125

115

105

95

85

75

EU Average France European Sentiment Indicator

RV Index: 36 months / 90,000 kms

Source: European Commission – Economic Forecasts; Expert Eye AG – RV Index20

10 0

3

2010

07

2010

11

2011

03

2011

07

2011

11

2012

03

2012

07

2012

11

2013

03

2013

07

2013

11

2014

03

2014

07

2014

11

2015

03

2015

07

2015

11

2016

03

2016

07

2016

11

2017

03

2017

07

2017

11

125

115

105

95

85

75

EU Average Germany European Sentiment Indicator

RV Index: 36 months / 90,000 kms

Source: European Commission – Economic Forecasts; Expert Eye AG – RV Index

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2524

Italy New car sales rose by 7.9% in 2017, making a total of 1.97 million which is an increase of 144,605 cars. It is worth noting that 80% of the increase came from self-registrations which rose by 52% to 335,000 in 2017 according to Dataforce. The Italian industry association ANFIA also said the 2017 increase was “due to incentives by manufacturers and dealers, as new-car demand remained weak.” In fact, 2017’s result is still 21.2% lower than the peak of just under 2.5 million seen in 2007 which underlines how far the new car market still has to go and the reluctance for car owners to invest in new cars.

The concerns around the economy and the rate of growth is also clearly impacting fleet buyers with commercial vehicle sales down 2.3% last year, whilst

LCV sales dropped by 3.4%. This means the Italian market fell almost as much as the UK (-3.6%) making it the second worst performing LCV market of the top 12 countries by sales volume.

Despite concerns over the economy and the impending election, Italian RV setters remain relatively optimistic about the used car market in three years’ time with RVs enjoying a flat to marginal increase during the second half of the year. Barring a significant change in policy following March’s election there is little evidence to support anything other than that approach to continue throughout 2018 and into 2019 with overall RVs remaining flat to a small 0.5% to 1% rise at most.

Source: European Commission – Economic Forecasts; Expert Eye AG – RV Index

2010

03

2010

07

2010

11

2011

03

2011

07

2011

11

2012

03

2012

07

2012

11

2013

03

2013

07

2013

11

2014

03

2014

07

2014

11

2015

03

2015

07

2015

11

2016

03

2016

07

2016

11

2017

03

2017

07

2017

11

125

115

105

95

85

75

EU Average Italy European Sentiment Indicator

RV Index: 36 months / 90,000 kms

2010

03

2010

07

2010

11

2011

03

2011

07

2011

11

2012

03

2012

07

2012

11

2013

03

2013

07

2013

11

2014

03

2014

07

2014

11

2015

03

2015

07

2015

11

2016

03

2016

07

2016

11

2017

03

2017

07

2017

11

125

115

105

95

85

75

EU Average Portugal European Sentiment Indicator

RV Index: 36 months / 90,000 kms

Source: European Commission – Economic Forecasts; Expert Eye AG – RV Index

Portugal New car sales rose 7.1% in 2017 totalling 222,134. Total sales per thousand head of population in Portugal, 21.6, is well below the EU and EFTA average of 29.8 and whilst high new car taxation limits the growth somewhat, there is still plenty of room for further growth. Whilst new car sales for January 2018 were down 2.1% in total this is not an indication of the market going into reverse. The local industry body ACAP announced that there was a technical problem which prevented vehicle registrations being issued even though dealers were able to pay the tax. Once the situation is fully resolved we expect to see an uplift as the market catches up. For the whole year we expect new car sales to rise around 4%-5%.

The registration issue has also impacted LCVs which are recorded as having dropped 5.4% in January 2018 compared to a 10.4% increase for the whole of 2017. With the Portuguese economy improving we expect investment in new plant and equipment will also

see LCV sales rise although it’s very unlikely to be a double-digit growth again this year.

Whilst the EU and EFTA average growth rate for EVs was 46% in 2017, Portugal saw some of the strongest growth, rising 74% to 8,774 vehicles.

Once again RVs remained resolutely calm, in part thanks to the Portuguese used car import taxation system. Despite the significant turnaround in Portugal’s economy the rate of growth is slow and whilst investment and spending are on the increase we don’t believe it will be enough to entice RV setters to become overly optimistic with RVs. Overall, we expect diesel used values to hold their value, although smaller diesels will fall during the year. As the demand for petrol increases so will used values, but we think RV setters will hold a cautious line with petrol RVs rising only by a percentage or two whilst diesel RVs will drop by a similar amount.

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2726

UKNew car sales decline became steeper during the second half of 2017 with the full year ending 5.7% down on 2016 as consumer spending saw buyers avoiding the tempting offers from OEMs. The SMMT predict 2018 to be another tough year with a full year forecast of a 5.6% drop with a further 2.1% in 2019 but this seems a little optimistic and somewhere between 6% and 7% seems more realistic for 2018 and a 4% fall in 2019. As we have seen in the other major European car markets, diesel’s share is falling sharply and in January 2018 it was just 35.9% of all UK car sales compared to 45.2% in January 2017. Whilst this is slightly above where diesel sales were in 2004, it is still significantly higher than the 14.1% market share diesel had in 2000.

The UK remains the EV car capital of Europe with all EVs selling 119,821 units in 2017 which is 9.1% more than second place Germany and 4.7% of the UK’s total new car market.

With the construction industry contracting and business investment slowing it is unsurprising to have seen new LCV sales go into reverse over much of the tail end of 2017. The market ended the year down 3.6%. The SMMT 2018 forecast is for sales to drop a further 2.6% in 2018 and 3.1% in 2019 and early indications seem to support those falls.

Whilst the RV index has seen some volatile movements during 2017 this was due to factors like the snap general election and the resulting swing to the left which caught most pundits by surprise and compounded the uncertainty around Brexit. But it should be noted that the market has also been correcting itself from an overheated set of values set during 2015 which was when it was first confirmed there would be a Brexit referendum. With new car sales falling by the latter part of 2018 we could well be in a position where it becomes a good time for RV setters to start edging RVs up a percentage or two to benefit from the potential used car shortage in 3-4 years’ time.

Spain New car sales gained further momentum during the second half of 2017 and rose 7.7% for the whole year. Whilst this is less than the double-digit growth seen in the three previous years it shows that as the Spanish economy grows, so does its appetite for new cars. However, new car sales are still 23.5% lower than before the crisis and cars sales per capita are still just 26.6/per thousand compared to an average of 34.6/per thousand for the first seven years of this century. This means there is still ample room for further growth, stimulated by the rising economy and supported by manufacturers who will be keen to replace volume lost in countries like the UK, by offering additional subsidies for Spanish car buyers. Whilst January 2018 saw sales rise 20.3%, this level of growth is not expected to be maintained across the rest of 2018. From the data we have, the best case is for sales growth of around 14% with a worst case of 5% should issues like Catalonia and Brexit cause market unease.

A growing economy and rising business and consumer confidence are key indicators of a market

where commercial vehicle sales are going to rise and Spain certainly meets that equation. LCV sales rose 15.5% in 2017 as Spain overtook Italy to become Europe’s fourth largest LCV market. This momentum has continued into 2018 and full year sales are expected to see a high-teens level of increase.

Used car values have fully recovered in Spain and the same can now be said about the level of RVs being set. Most of the movements we have seen during the latter part of 2017 were typical adjustments for seasonality and model lifecycle. Whilst the economic output over the next 2-3 years is very positive this doesn’t seem to be having an influence on RV setters, many of whom will still remember just how quickly and badly the market turned just 10 years ago. With this in mind we expect RVs to remain fairly static at least during the early part of 2018 however, should the market continue to enjoy prosperity and new car sales growth there may be some competitive pressure to move RVs up a percent or two later in the year.

For a full copy of the latest ExpertEye European Automotive Industry Report and more details of the reseach, go to http://experteye.com.

Data and analysis for the ExpertEye report is compiled by Dean Bowkett, managing director, Bowkett Auto Consulting.

2010

03

2010

07

2010

11

2011

03

2011

07

2011

11

2012

03

2012

07

2012

11

2013

03

2013

07

2013

11

2014

03

2014

07

2014

11

2015

03

2015

07

2015

11

2016

03

2016

07

2016

11

2017

03

2017

07

2017

11

125

115

105

95

85

75

EU Average Spain European Sentiment Indicator

RV Index: 36 months / 90,000 kms

2010

03

2010

07

2010

11

2011

03

2011

07

2011

11

2012

03

2012

07

2012

11

2013

03

2013

07

2013

11

2014

03

2014

07

2014

11

2015

03

2015

07

2015

11

2016

03

2016

07

2016

11

2017

03

2017

07

2017

11

125

115

105

95

85

75

EU Average UK European Sentiment Indicator

RV Index: 36 months / 90,000 kms

Source: European Commission – Economic Forecasts; Expert Eye AG – RV Index

Source: European Commission – Economic Forecasts; Expert Eye AG – RV Index

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Editor: Pat Sweet Editor in Chief: Brian Rogerson

© Asset Finance International, 2018. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may be downloaded from Asset Finance International and are intended only for the individual use of the named individual who has registered to receive it. Contents are for informational purposes only. No liability will be accepted for any omissions or inaccuracies. No copying or transmission, whether whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, is permitted.