The start point for the best source of fleet information |
Thrifty reports big growth in FlexiFleet rental take-up
Date: 16 November 2020 | Author: Sean Keywood
Rental firm Thrifty says it has seen a 50% year-on-year increase in take-up of its FlexiFleet service since the end of the first UK coronavirus lockdown.
The service allows customers to rent a vehicle for as little as one month on a fully maintained basis, and then after six months swap into a brand-new vehicle.
Thrifty says one of the advantages is a fully refundable deposit, rather than a big commitment up front.
Managing director Martin Wilson said FlexiFleet would continue to have advantages amid the current unsettled period, and during the second English lockdown.
He said: ""For individuals not wishing to use public transport but understandably unwilling to enter into a long-term commitment for a car, then FlexiFleet is increasingly suitable for them. It makes a fully maintained car far more accessible, without the requirement for a large, non-refundable upfront payment.
"It also enables businesses to keep staff mobile and stay lawfully compliant in a fully maintained vehicle. When the vehicle is no longer required, they simply return it.
"This pay-on-use flexibility provides employee mobility without the lock-in required by a traditional contract hire or lease. The benefit to business in pure and complete flexibility cannot be overstated."
Reflecting on Thrifty's 2020 in general, executive chairman Roger Hancock said: "Like many businesses feeling the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken some difficult decisions to ensure the company was stable and better equipped to meet the new challenges presented by such a complex economic climate.
"We are all some way from discovering what 'new normal' really looks like but we have put ourselves in a robust and extremely sustainable place to meet the inevitable challenges ahead.
"We've certainly felt the pain, but as our focus here in the UK has been and remains the domestic corporate market and the flexi-fleet sector rather than inbound, airport-based business, the restrictions have lessened the impact on our bottom line.
"We are currently developing our charging infrastructure to reflect the growth in electric vehicle demand and have also recently launched our new logistics technology to allow driver tracking and increase the operational efficiencies for our customers."
