2019: ANOTHER YEAR OF DYNAMIC GROWTH FOR ARVAL
· +9.1%* FLEET GROWTH, OUTPERFORMING THE MARKET
· DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN MOST GEOGRAPHIES
· STRONG GROWTH IN THE RETAIL BUSINESS
· ELECTRIC VEHICLES TAKE UP, WHILE DIESEL DECREASES IN TOTAL FLEET
· A PIVOTAL YEAR IN 2020 WITH THE PRESENTATION OF A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN ON MARCH 26, 2020: ARVAL BEYOND
2019, another year of strong growth for Arval
Arval is the specialist in full service vehicle leasing and new mobility solutions. Thanks to its full best in class range of services, delivered in 29 countries by more than 7,000 employees, Arval outperformed the market in 2019 and is one of the fastest growing leasing companies in the world. 2019 generated excellent growth for the company, and intensified market shares: Arval is the overall market leader in the countries where it operates.
In 2019, Arval leased fleet grew by 9.1%* overall, reaching 1,298,404 vehicles. The number of vehicles ordered increased by 8% year-on-year, totalling 380,982 vehicles. The number of endof contract vehicles sold was up by 6% year-on-year, totalling 269,830. Most of Arval geographies have double-digit fleet growth: +20.8% in the Nordics, +19.3% in Central Europe, +16,2% in Benelux & Southern Europe. Arval biggest countries in terms of fleet (France, UK, Spain and Italy) grew by +7.3%.
In terms of client segments, last year, Arval grew across all of them, with +7% in the Corporate & Public segments and +25% for the Mid Term Rental fleet. In 2019, the Retail fleet showed a very strong growth (+14% vs 2018), within which the private lease fleet increased by +42% vs 2018, closing the year just below the 300,000 mark.
As part of a rapidly evolving industry and in line with its strong CSR commitment, Arval moved one-step ahead towards energy transition with two main trends in 2019: the decrease of diesel share in Arval fleet to 75%, and the acceleration of the take-up of electric vehicles. Also, for the 4th year in a row, Arval was awarded the gold recognition level on the EcoVadis CSR platform, rating it among the top 2% best companies in the "Renting and leasing of motor vehicles” industry. This excellent performance confirms the success of Arval in its daily mission: offer people the possibility to have a positive impact on society, their communities, and preserve the planet.
Overview of 2019 highlights
In 2019, Arval celebrated its 30 year-anniversary, a recognition of its long-term know-how and expertise. With the arrival of a new Chairman and CEO, Alain Van Groenendael, 2019 was both a year of completion and new dynamics to prepare the future.
In response to the ways in which business transportation is rapidly changing, the Corporate Vehicle Observatory became the Arval Mobility Observatory in 2019, to provide independent research to understand and anticipate changes in the world of mobility. By joining the MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) Alliance last year, Arval reaffirmed its willingness to build tomorrow’s integrated mobility solutions together with partners. Arval also opened 4 “hubs”, serving as testing labs on cutting edge topics: Connected Cars, Energy Transition, Mobility and Autonomous Cars.
Finally yet importantly, Arval changed its brand platform and tagline for “For the many journeys in life”. A way to show that Arval believes its role goes well beyond car leasing, embraces new mobility means, and answer to the new challenges of a fast pace changing industry.
On the road to 2020, a pivotal year for Arval
2020 will aim at setting the ground for Arval Beyond, Arval’s future strategic plan, making the company ready to grow steadily in a new world, based on its main asset but reinventing its business model.
Arval will present its new strategy, Arval Beyond, at the occasion of an International Press Conference in Houten (Netherlands) on Thursday, March 26th, 2020.
2020: innovating further
Arval capitalizes more than ever on its SMaRT (Sustainable Mobility and Responsibility Targets) approach to support its clients managing their energy transition. Electric Vehicles are a key part of this methodology because they offer a relevant alternative to more traditional mobility solutions in many cases. Arval has indeed a strong ambition in this matter for 2020: growing at twice the pace of the market, when it comes to EV registrations. Beyond EVs, Arval is convinced that new mobility options are possible and pertinent: not only car-sharing, bike-sharing, ride-sharing but also autonomous shuttle, Arval’s latest innovation inaugurated by Arval France recently.
2020: reinforcing the geographical presence
In 2020, Arval will keep on developing its footprint over the world. Early January, Arval opened offices in Colombia, strengthening its presence in this fast growing LATAM region. 2020 is also the 25 year-anniversary of the Element-Arval Global Alliance, the longest standing strategic alliance in the fleet management industry. The Element-Arval Global Alliance is the worldwide leader in fleet management and currently manages more than 3 million vehicles in more than 50 countries worldwide across North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.
“Thanks to the commitment of our employees, Arval is ready to change and adapt to its customers’ evolving needs thanks to new services, especially based on mobility. We have exciting times ahead of us: Arval will accompany its clients in all their journeys, through cars, of course, but not only! I will be very pleased to share with you our new strategic plan, Arval Beyond, on March 26th ”, comments Alain Van Groenendael, Arval Chairman and CEO.
*Growth rate end of period 2018-2019 on a comparable basis