Arval’s team changes strengthen broker relationships

How have you changed the structure of your broker team and why?

We had a team of four external Sales Managers and one internal Sales Manager, all managed by Nickie Conde, our Sales Channel Lead. Our internal Sales Manager Georgina (Dalton-Nicks) was quite desk-bound and we felt it would be far more effective for her to be in front of brokers. So, in November last year, we elevated her role to Sales Manager so we now have five external Sales Managers.

What benefits has that brought to brokers?

It has given us more time with our broker partners and the feedback from them is that they love the fact we’re interacting with them more frequently and it’s given us more opportunities to discuss campaign deals. 

How do you communicate with brokers?

Typically, we’ll have a face-to-face meeting with our largest brokers once every six weeks. We’ll spend time sitting with the sales team to understand their sales process and how we can work with them to make things easier for them. In between those meetings we’ll have video conference calls and we have a quarterly oversight meeting to discuss consumer duty.

What is the size of your broker network and how has it changed over time?

We have 62 brokers within our portfolio, with more than 74,000 vehicles. We’ve added six new brokers so far this year and we’re about to onboard two new brokers. We’ve seen growth of more than 1,000 units year-to-date and that’s down to us spending a lot of time doing tactical work with our brokers.

How are brokers involved in your used vehicle programme, Arval Re-Lease?

We have Re-Lease open to a select few brokers. We currently have six broker partners who we work with on this and we may expand that to 10 by the end of the year. That’s strategic because some of the smaller brokers don’t have the support required to sell used vehicles whereas larger brokers are able to put dedicated resources behind it. Equally, there is only a certain number of vehicles which we put through this channel as we have other vehicle disposal channels.

Is there an appetite for used EVs through Arval Re-Lease?

We’re starting to see EVs from the Covid era coming back now with limited mileage and we’re keen to keep those on the road. It’s a completely different market because they’re now going to people who have never experienced an EV before so they’re not going to pay a significant sum of money. We need to make sure that the consumer can get the vehicle at a price which is affordable and is the right product for them.

What are the key challenges for funders and brokers for the remainder of 2024?

The market has shifted significantly, and it’s going to shift even more. We are seeing discounts which are roughly where they were pre-Covid and that’s largely because there’s a lot of stock sitting around, as well as the targets manufacturers need to hit under the ZEV Mandate. The challenge that comes with that is picking the right deal and we’re being very selective in terms of how we approach this.

The other key challenge is how the Chinese brands are going to disrupt the market. They are talking big numbers and in terms of the aftermarket they have aspirations to have networks, whether that’s a joint venture or their own exclusive sites, so they’re going to have a proper set-up for the UK market. We are robust in our procurement exercises and we are carefully onboarding the right manufacturers. 

What are the opportunities for your broker partners?

Salary sacrifice is our focus for the latter part of this year. We already have some brokers engaged with that and we want to work with more.

We are also relaunching our mid-term rental solution, Arval Flex, which is for one to 24 months. It’s a good way for a driver to test and learn with an electric vehicle without committing to a three or four year lease. It also works well if you’re a corporate and you have a new starter in their probationary period and you don’t want to commit to a certain vehicle.