Industry Outlook panel reflects the positivity of the room

THE final panel of the day at the BVRLA Leasing Broker Conference (21 June 2023) was chaired by Paul Parkinson of Synergy Car Leasing and chair of the BVRLA Leasing Broker Committee.

On the panel were:

• Mark Evans, ALD Automotive
• Steve Cocks, Lex Autolease
• Geeta Badhan, Central Vehicle Leasing
• Paul Gordon, Gofor
• Steve Tigar, loveelectric

Paul was keen to elicit the business temperature among the panel, starting with Central Vehicle Leasing’s Geeta Badhan.

Geeta reported that her mainly PCH business was reflecting the general lack of fizz in personal leasing. However, the business was embracing new technology and was looking to introduce AI to drive down complaints and to improve efficiency.

She added: “Products are now about new technology and I want to drive prices down. So the new Chinese models, powered by technology from east, can shake up the monopoly of existing OEMs.”

Steve Cocks, director of broker division at Lex Autolease, emphasised the changes to the manufacturer landscape by adding:

“While stock shortages have caused some OEMs to reassess their broker involvement, the market’s dynamics have attracted new entrants eager to capitalise on their extensive market reach and digital capabilities.

“Brokers have proven their value, demonstrating flexibility, resilience, and the capacity to navigate a rapidly changing landscape. As the industry continues to evolve, brokers will remain essential components of the market ecosystem.”

The SME market has certainly been the focus of loveelectric’s Steve Tigar, which he describes as a “huge market to go for”. Admitting his ‘newbie’ status to the market having only been 18 months in the business, he says he brought his tech entrepreneur focus to the market. So that meant automation. Or so he thought.

“When we launched we had automated everything in tests but when we went live it didn’t really work – so customers need handholding in a way that tech couldn’t do. That was certainly a learning.”

Paul then switched to what Mark Evans and his ALD team was focusing on.

“It’s EV timescales – are we on track?” replied Mark.

“We have good pointers on what will happen. Government figures say 28 % of market will be EV in the next few years – so it’s coming – the challenge is how we take corporate EV demand into the personal space over the next few years. One way may be the growing market in second life leasing which would make EVs more accessible to private users.”

Certainly several brokers are already experimenting with used EV leasing or have an established business already offering EVs with a more attainable monthly rental.

Another way to make EVs more accessible for private individuals is through company salary sacrifice schemes.

Paul Gordon from SME and fleet management brokerage Gofor was hugely optimistic about salary sacrifice but said the journey hadn’t been easy.