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BusinessCar Power List 2015

Date: 08 October 2015   |   Author:

 

10 - John Pryor (Down three)

Association of Car Fleet Operators - Chairman

It's been a successful first full year in charge of the
fleet operators' association for the Arcadia Group man, who oversaw the recent 'A day at the taxes' seminar session. The association continues to lobby both behind the scenes and publically on behalf of business car operators.

9 - Gerry Keaney (Down one)

British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association - Chief executive

The top man at the BVRLA has been in place for two and a half years, and the organisation is making increasing noise around the issues affecting its rental and leasing company members. The association claims membership is at a record high.

8 - James Taylor (Down two)

Vauxhall - Fleet sales director

It's a crucial period for Vauxhall, with the all-new and much-improved Astra hitting the market now, and the company will be looking for a sales boost from its biggest-selling fleet model, which was fourth overall in fleet registration terms last year. Vauxhall recorded a 2.6% fall in fleet volumes last year as it moved away from less-profitable business to improve residual values, but is still secure in second place in the UK business car market.

7 - Richard Schooling (Down two)

Alphabet GB - Chief executive

It's been another year of good growth for what is currently, until Arval completes the acquisition of GE Capital's European business, the UK's number three leasing company.  The firm has strengthened its broker, car-sharing and e-mobility operations this year.

6 - Matt Dyer (Down two)

Leaseplan UK - Managing director

Dyer has nearly 18 months under his belt leading the UK's current number two leasing company, and it'll be close between Leaseplan and Arval as to who will sit behind Lex Autolease once Arval takes on GE Capital's numbers late this year. Leaseplan itself, which claims to be the world's biggest fleet management and driver mobility company, was acquired in July, with Volkswagen and a German investment banker selling their shares to a consortium of Dutch and Danish investors for £2.6bn.

5 - Nick Themistocleous (New entry)

Ford - Director, fleet operations

 Taking over from Phil Hollins, who moved to a European LCV role, at the beginning of this year, Themistocleous came into fleet from his previous sales district manager job just as the new Mondeo and facelifted Focus were hitting the market. His busy year hasn't let up with the facelifted C-max and new S-max and Galaxy all having hit the market this summer. A quieter 2016 should allow him to take stock, with the UK's biggest fleet brand focused on niche products such as the Edge SUV and new Mustang next year.

4 - Benoit Dilly (Up 10)

Arval UK - Chief executive

It's a jump into the even bigger time for Arval, with the deal to acquire GE Capital's European fleet management arm set to go through by the end of 2015. That will add 160,000 units to Arval across the continent, including around 47,500 here, which could put the BNP Paribas-owned firm second in the UK.

3 - Tim Porter (Down one)

Lex Autolease - Managing director

The UK's dominant leasing firm continued to grow its enormous fleet during 2015, passing the 300,000 mark - more than double the size of any rival. And Porter is targeting 400,000 by 2018, which would be around the same current figure as the next three leasing firms combined.

Growth of 2-3% across all the regular channels will account for part of the new 100,000 units, but commercial vehicles, SME activity, more investment in digital activity, and two new initiatives aimed at so-called mega fleets and those with service-level agreements around response times - dubbed business critical - will also play a key role.

2 - George Osborne (Down one)

Government - Chancellor

From an aggressive tightening of the BIK bands in the April Budget to a complete and controversial reworking of the VED system, automotive taxes seem to be in the Government's cross hairs as it seeks to address the country's financial issues.

The BIK issue in particular could alter the fleet landscape, as the chancellor has opted not to shift the lower bands, giving fleet drivers almost no opportunity to move downwards and mitigate their tax payments. Combine that with the rate of increase in percentages paid to the taxman, as most bands move by three percentage points a year in April 2019, and you have a nation of company car drivers staring down the barrel of big hikes in their monthly payments to the Treasury.

It will also be interesting and of great significance to the industry to see what happens with fuel duty, if and when pump prices start climbing again.

1 - Patrick McLoughlin (Up 15)

Government - Transport secretary

Even before the small matter of the Volkswagen scandal and the renewed spotlight it has cast on vehicle emissions and the testing system, McLoughlin was set to rise up our list of importance thanks to the level of investment announced in transport infrastructure over the coming years.

A £6bn pot, to deal with local road maintenance and improvement between 2015-21, was revealed late last year as part of a £15bn investment in 100 new road schemes, the specifics of which are now being released under the Road Investment Strategy plan.

The DfT is also investing £6.6m in improving the hydrogen infrastructure as the first cars begin to appear on UK roads, £1m in new car clubs across 15 projects, and £100m in the development of driverless cars.

Looking ahead, the changes to the plug-in car grant that are expected in the next six months could shape the way electric and plug-in hybrid cars are adopted over the next few years, with a stepped system expected where full electric models get a larger share than plug-ins. All this and we haven't even mentioned the HS2 high-speed rail link.

But the response to the VW emissions scandal will be a critical moment for the entire industry. How and when a more 'real-world' test cycle is adopted is of crucial significance, and will to some extent define the next generation of motoring taxes and vehicle manufacturer development priorities. It'll need to be well-signposted and introduced with sensitivity to avoid any massive overnight impact on new or used buying decisions and the huge residual value knock-on effect.

Time will tell if that actually happens, but it's certain that McLoughlin, now more than three years into the job, which is a rarity for a transport secretary, has a far-reaching and almost unprecedented influence on the UK automotive and therefore the business car sector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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