WELL, that was quite a ride! The first year of the Zero Emissions mandate, a change of government and company car tax rules plus a far-reaching court judgment to wrestle with.
At its agile and tech-savvy best, the leasing broker world took it all in its stride, adapting to the changing market, merging and creating new concepts.
As usual, we immensely enjoyed judging the entries for the Broker News Awards and gathering together in London in April to present them, but 2024 was extra special as we held our first Women in Broking Live! event, which we are repeating in 2025 along with a number of smaller events to promote mentoring.
Here’s our look back at 2024.
Unintended consequences of the law
Bam! The biggest story of the year landed in late October and will surely feed into 2025. The Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Johnson v FirstRand Bank (MotoNovo), Wrench v FirstRand Bank and Hopcraft v Close Brothers. This was essentially about dealer brokers not disclosing to private car buyers the ‘secret’ commissions from finance companies folded into their finance agreements. Lenders have indicated they will appeal.
The effect of the ruling is that dealers have to disclose the commissions they are receiving and show that the buyers have given informed consent.
However, would leasing brokers acting for businesses and fleets also have to obtain informed consent about the commission payable, even though the clients are not ‘financially unsophisticated and vulnerable’ as the judgement referred to?
Fleet Alliance’s Martin Brown and WeVee’s Paul Fagan certainly had strong views on the matter.
The broking and leasing industry swiftly got across the issues and the BVRLA created a Commissions Working Group to provide concrete direction for leasing brokers and funders. It followed input from both the Leasing Broker Committee and the Panel of Funders. Rod Lloyd, Chair of the committee, had this to say. “We are leasing brokers – the court is talking about dealer brokers with limited permissions. The three dealers – regarded as brokers because they were brokering a deal – but the principle could apply to other sorts of brokers.
“As a committee we are committed to being the conduit between BVRLA and brokers. Write to me about how you see it. The more engagement we get the better.”
The latest is that an appeal has been lodged and will be heard by the Supreme Court in 2025 and fast-tracked through.
Nevertheless it’s changed the approach for leasing brokers: PCH requires customer consent for commission; on non-reg business different funders now have different requirements. It’s certainly made leasing vehicles more complex.
The rise and rise of salary sacrifice
There’s no stopping salsac! The year started with positive figures on the rise in salary sacrifice and the only way was up for the rest of 2024.
With the extremely favourable benefit in kind tax rates for EVs (continued by the new Government), salary sacrifice schemes are close to 100% electric, said the BVRLA in its October Leasing Outlook report to the end of Q2, recording a 59% year-on-year rise.
With wobbly private demand for EVs, it’s ever clearer that the company car market is crucial for the transition, providing a pathway to future ownership and an ample supply of used EVs.
A number of brokers and funders are finding innovative ways to help their salsac clients run their new EVs. For example, Leasys UK partnered with payment solutions provider Allstar to offer customers the Allstar Chargepass, providing access to over 51,000 public chargers; The Electric Car Scheme launched ‘The Charge Scheme,’ allowing employees to slash their EV charging costs by 20-50% using salary sacrifice.
And used car salsac pioneered by lovelectric is now really taking off with brokers.Used EV values and the rise of used EV leasing
In July BVRLA CEO Gerry Keaney said that the used EV market was ‘close to market failure’ – electric vans were “in crisis” and the used EV market in freefall.But as the year drew on electric vehicle RVs (Residual Values) staged a remarkable recovery and in its October used car roundup cap hpi was recording year-to-date sales figures up by a staggering 175% compared to 2023. Private used car buyers are latching onto affordable prices and low running costs.
Quick to take advantage of this trend, a growing number of leasing brokers are giving their customers the choice of quality used EVs at a lower monthly rental.
The Electric Car Scheme has offered used electric cars through salary sacrifice since 2022, and Novuna Vehicle Solutions partnered with digital remarketing platform Dealer Auction to launch a digital marketplace for its premium electric vehicles to further support the price of used EVs.
Our Best Volume Broker 2024 Nationwide Vehicle Contracts already offers used leases to personal contract hire (PCH) customers via Lex Autolease and extended this to business users in September.
EV leasing broker loveelectric – winner of our Best EV Broker 2024 launched a partnership with leasing deals aggregator Leasing.com for leasing brokers to highlight used leasing offers.
A continued spotlight on women in broking and the first Women in Broking Live!
Throughout the year Broker News continued its profiles of women in the industry, running since 2022, and supported by Drivalia. We continued to learn about their very different journeys into the broking world and they all shared great insights.
- Hannah-Louise Kirkpatrick, Director, Harmoto Vehicle Leasing
- Justine Long, Procurement & Operations Manager, Drivalia
- Nickie Conde, Sales Channel Lead – Broker, Arval
- Tracey Whalley Operations Director, XLCR Vehicle Management
- Molly Kelly,UK Broker Sales Manager, Polestar
- Sarah Worthington, Corporate Sales Manager, Select Car Leasing
- Lauren Lawson, Strategic Account Manager, Ford Fleet Management
- Hollie Crumlish, Head of Broker Partnerships, Alphabet
- Lydia Pemberton, Account Manager Maxus Sales, Rivervale Leasing
- Lerato Barrett, Commercial Manager – Agency, Leasing & Rental, Fleet Procure
- Donna Kelly, Digital Marketing Manger, Nationwide Vehicle Contracts
It was striking how many of our Women in Broking interviewees had really positive observations on the industry, such as Fleet Procure’s Lerato Barrett: ‘The pace and energy of broker businesses is refreshing – they are often early tech adopters, have progressive workspaces and they invest in their people.’
Networking is vital for everybody, but in July Broker News was very excited to take Women in Broking ‘in person’ for the inaugural Women in Broking Live! an all-female informal networking lunch event in London, supported by Fleet Alliance and MiPA. The guest speaker was Alice Altemaire, CEO of Mobilize Financial Services. She gave invaluable insight to the attendees, emphasising how women can have an impact on female representation in the industry by informal networking, sharing their experiences and mentoring others.
Lastly, Kelly Marshall Managing Director of Gateway2Lease was the winner of our 2024 Women in Broking Award, designed to raise awareness of the brilliant women we have within the broker world. Kelly started Gateway2Lease at the age of just 22 and over the last 16 years has very quietly built up a hugely impressive broking business.
Two governments, two budgets
2024 started with a U-turn. In February new tax rules announced by HMRC meant that from 01 July double cabs over one tonne would no longer be classified as vans for tax purposes but considered cars under benefit in kind rules. However, only days later it reversed the decision following pressure from farmers and the motoring industry.
In March, the spring budget brought a 2% reduction on the main rate of Class 1 NIC paid by employees but this was thought to have little impact on salary sacrifice by the leasing industry, which would have liked a reduction in VAT on public charging, a reversal of the proposed application of VED – including the expensive car supplement – to zero-emission cars.
Before July’s snap election, Labour had said that if it came to power, it would restore the 2030 date for the end of sales of new petrol and diesel cars, and that’s what happened, but at the end of November it was pondering extending the sale of hybrids until 2035.
However, while there had been a boom in plug-in hybrid car sales, the November budget signalled an end to their attraction as low-tax company cars with BIK rules which will increase by two percentage points each year from 2025’s 5% to 9% by 2029-2030. Plug-in hybrids will no longer be rated on distance travelled in EV mode; instead, those with emissions of 1-50g/km will incur benefit-in-kind tax at 18% in 2028 and 19% in 2029. The government said it was looking at the Expensive Car Supplement which tends to disproportionately affect EVs. As to those double cabs, the decision was reversed again and from 6 April 2025, they’ll be classed as cars.
2024 was the first year of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which sets a stepped minimum annual target to be met by OEMs, starting with a requirement for 22% of new cars sales and 10% of new van sales to be zero emission in 2024, rising to 100% by 2035, or carmakers face a fine per car short.
There were early warning signs that the electric van target was not going to be met, and every month brought a fall in market share, despite a boost from Ford with the launch of the new E-Transit Custom.
It seems that many fleets have decided that electric vans can’t work for them yet but several brokers have made a big effort to tackle the issue and cut through the myths and misconceptions around EVs which are swirling around the media. The Zero Emission Van Plan was launched at the Houses of Parliament in February.
In May Chris Chandler, Principal Consultant at Lex Autolease and Subject Matter Expert for electrification and alternative fuels for Lloyds Transport wrote about media myths versus facts. Broker Vansdirect launched an online resource to help businesses make the switch to electric vans, including myth busting and the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) launched a White Paper to tackle disinformation.
By November the new Government was under very public pressure from carmakers to relax the ZEV mandate rules as EV car sales stalled at a 18.1% market share. The Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed that it would consult on the speed and depth of the ZEV mandate.
Takeovers and consolidation
Our industry doesn’t sit still for a minute and 2024 saw a healthy dose of business combining. Straight into the new year Global Vans acquired XLCR Vehicle Management. Rivervale bought 1st Choice Vehicle Finance and Ian Hare’s Clear Vehicle Data business was acquired by Automotive Software Solutions.
National Fleet Services and its personal leasing arm Express Car Leasing merged to create a single entity: Express Vehicle Contracts. Inchcape PLC sold its UK dealer group to Group 1 Automotive, one of largest US retailers, for £346 million.
Alphabet, now part of BMW Finance, presented its new vision for leasing broker Partners by a new balanced and weighted performance scorecard to determine the relationship in the future.
Carwow Group completed the acquisition of GRIDSERVE Car Leasing from EV charging company GRIDSERVE, and Santander Consumer Finance (SCF) acquired fleet management specialist CLM Fleet Management.
Meanwhile digital tech provider FIRE5 Digital was bought by Jurni Leasing as part of a strategic investment.
FN50 rankings
There was movement in the FN50, the prestigious ranking of the UK’s top contract hire and leasing companies. Leasys UK moved to ninth, a one-point rise from its 2023 ranking. Then Rivervale entered the FN50 for the first time at 45 with a fleet size of 1,224 vehicles. Leaseco and broker funder Drivalia also made its first appearance in the FN50, debuting at 28 with a fleet size of 5,550.
Award-winning brokers
Fleet Procure was the Headline Partner for the Broker News Awards 2024, held in April and recognising all aspects of broking with 14 category awards. Broker of the year went to Synergy Car Leasing as well as the Best Customer Service Award. See all the winners here.
Changing places
People in broking are always on the go and here are just a few of the job moves of 2024:
At Fleet Alliance Emma Lovick became the new Head of People and Culture and Paul King the new Head of Technology, coming respectively from Mangata Networks UK, a global telecommunications company and Avidity.
In March Synergy Car Leasing (our Broker of The year) announced the appointment of Will Voisey as its new Managing Director following the exit of founder Paul Parkinson. Paul founded Synergy in 2006 and after 17 successful years at the helm, he sold 100 per cent of the business to investors Newable. Paul was winner of the 2024 Broker News Editor’s Award not least for the continuous work he has done to publicise the role of leasing brokers in the wider automotive community.
Well-known automotive leasing executive Felice Di Cello became Procurement Director at Gateway2Lease, joining from Vanarama and in April Marc McLoughlin launched his new asset finance business Orca, after having successfully sold his KeyFleet leasing broker business to Greenarc in 2022 and staying a further two years.
Leasing broker funder Drivalia announced two new joiners in June, Richard Shortridge as Group Portfolio Manager (previously Genesis), and David Ross as Internal Account Manager within its Broker Partners team, from EV leasing broker specialist DriveElectric.
In August Fleet Procure appointed Lerato Barrett as Commercial Manager – Agency, Leasing and Rental after she had spent five-and-a-half years at Renault Group. After 20 years within the company, Tim Laver became Managing Director of ALD Automotive | LeasePlan UK (ALD bought Leaseplan in 2023).
There was further new appointments at expanding Fleet Procure with ex-Polestar executive Molly Kelly joining the team in December.
Other key appointments included Dave McLaughlin joining Carmmunity; Shane Pither appointed Head of Electric at Select; and Steve Atherton joining Fleet Prices.
Looking to 2025, Toby Poston will be the new Chief Executive of the BVRLA, taking over from outgoing CEO Gerry Keaney who is retiring. Currently the Director of Corporate Affairs Toby has been with the BVRLA for 16 eventful years.
The agency model of car selling – not all aboard
2024 saw some motor manufacturers edging away from what had seemed to be a wholesale move to agency sales, where the manufacturer becomes the retailer and no longer sells through dealers.
In January the giant Stellantis group pushed back its plans for a switch to retailer agency agreements until “late 2026” – at the earliest according to the UK group managing director Maria Grazia Davino (appointed 2023, and who would move to manage several European territories for BYD later in 2024).
The next month Jaguar Land Rover shelved its plans to go agency which were originally planned for the start of 2025, but will revisit the idea in 2027.
In June Auto Retail Agenda reported that Sports car maker Lotus decided to return to a franchised model following two years’ operating under agency, due to systems disruptions which had led to extended delivery times and falling customer satisfaction, but the BMW stood firm on its move to agency in 2026 with sister brand MINI moving over first, sometime in 2025.
It said it was not engaging directly with leasing brokers as BMW company car drivers and operators were already supplied via an agency agreement.
In a further development, in late November Auto Retail Agenda reported that now the Volkswagen Group was reviewing its plans to go to agency selling for its EV models. The review covered Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi and Skoda. Watch this space!
Some big birthdays and big moments
Some leasing brokers have seen it all and done it all before. Notably three blokes who set up a brokerage in 2004 have turned Wessex Fleet Solutions into a brilliant business 20 years down the line. Congratulations to Tim, Spencer and Simon (pictured above, before and after!).
While Vansdirect was another brokerage to turn 20 in 2024, another van specialist hit 25: Rod Loyd’s Low Cost Vans as it was then, now transformed into the lcv group fleet management business.
But these weren’t the only ones: Paul Bulloch’s Concept Vehicle Leasing turned 21 years as a leasing broker in February at a celebration in Surrey, then Select Fleet Solutions – Eton Office – marked 25 years after having started in 1999 as Benchmark Leasing in Windsor. Beating that, Northampton-based Alpha Contracts Leasing celebrated 27 years trading in May. Outstanding!
And big medals!
One final mention must go to Lee Duerden who was awarded the British Empire Medal for his simply outstanding contributions to charities and his local area. Lee is pictured above receiving the medal at a private investiture ceremony. A terrific benefactor.
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Broker News Newsletter 14 January 2025
Catch up on the latest leasing broker news in the 14 January 2025 Broker News newsletter
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Russell Hayes’ early career was 14 years of motoring journalism in print (for What Car?), television (for Top Gear), as well as online. Since 2007 he has authored 10 motoring history books on subjects including TVR, the Earls Court Motor Show, the Volkswagen Golf and the original Aston Martin V8 – see Russell Hayes on Amazon. However, he’s not forgotten how to be a motoring journalist and now writes for UK consumer motoring sites and an American classic car magazine – not to mention Broker News. When he’s not writing, Russell can be found in the cinema or planning his next travel adventure.
