A CUSTOMER -centric approach along with a visionary and robust strategic plan, Arval Beyond, has the route to successes for the sustainable fleet and mobility company in the past year.
Arval’s 7,500 employees provide services to more than 300,000 customers across 30 countries. In the UK, Arval has around 750 employees serving more than 87,000 customers, from sites in Swindon, Manchester and Birmingham.
2021 highlights
Throughout 2021, the company put its Arval Beyond strategic plan into action, with a number of remarkable achievements in line with Arval’s ambition to become a leader in sustainable mobility. Considerable progress has been made on each of the four Arval Beyond pillars, as follows:
- 360° Mobility: Arval’s Mobility as a Service offer has been deployed in four countries, with more than 3,000 users of the Arval Mobility App in the Netherlands already. In addition, Arval Mobility Consulting has been launched to support customers in their energy transition, as well as the Arval Mobility Hub to integrate mobility solutions into a single area of Arval customers’ premises. E-Bike leasing is now operational in 10 countries (including the UK), with great deals being signed with Arval’s customers in several countries (+54% leased bikes compared to last year). The driverless taxi trial has been extended in France.
- Connected: Arval’s connected fleet now comprises of around 400,000 vehicles, making Arval one of the three leading European players in this field.
- Arval Inside: Arval’s partnerships have gained significant momentum in 2021. Beyond the existing agreements with banks (CaixaBank in Spain and Portugal, UniCredit Bank Austria, Erste Bank in Slovakia, etc), the company continues to work with automotive players in the frame of international partnerships (Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Sixt, Astara, Emil Frey France, MG and Volvo Cars). Furthermore, in conjunction with its historical partner Element, Arval extended its geographic coverage to include three additional Baltic countries: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
- Good for you, Good for all: To provide even better support to its clients in their energy transition, Arval has revised its objective for 2025 upwards to lease 700,000 electrified vehicles, representing 35% of Arval’s total leased fleet. In the UK, we are already well advanced on this goal, with 29% of 2021 orders pure EV and 47% including all electrified vehicles. ‘Arval Re-Lease’, its used vehicle leasing service, is now live in seven countries including the UK.
“We developed our new strategic plan before the pandemic, with pioneering and visionary ambitions in terms of energy transition, mobility and partnerships. 2021 was a year of consolidation. We have provided as much support as possible to our clients to help them deal with COVID-19 and, more recently the vehicle shortage, and have thus reported incredible results for our activity. All in all, 2021 was an amazing year,” said Alain van Groenendael, Arval Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Lakshmi Moorthy, Arval UK Managing Director, said: “2021 was a strong year for Arval UK, despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic and the resultant supply issues impacting the automotive world. We grew our fleet by 3.6% in a flat market, consolidating our position as number 3 in the FN50 rankings. As a leader in sustainable mobility, we continued to support our clients in their electrification journey in the run up to the UK’s road transport decarbonisation agenda for 2030, while also winning accolades for our focus on employee wellbeing,” said
Challenges and goals for 2022
2022 will herald a transformation of the mobility sector within a changing environment. In this context, Arval can draw on its solid foundation, with the backing of BNP Paribas Group, combined with its agility. Its performance in 2021, with remarkable organic growth despite the challenging landscape, offers tangible proof of its resilience and capabilities.
In 2022, Arval will continue to support its customers with:
- specific consulting services, as part of “The Journey Goes On” campaign, will assist customers with planning ahead and finding the most appropriate sustainable solutions in view of the current situation in the automotive sector
- strategic partnerships to guarantee end-to-end offers, with a state-of-the-art car sharing platform being launched early in the year with the mobility start-up Ridecell, and a unique cooperation with Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC on mobility financing solutions where Arval will provide the leasing and fleet management component of its alliance with BNP Paribas Group
- connected services, to help clients optimise the use of their fleets, improve safety and accelerate their energy transition, by developing a range of innovative and differentiating offers
- the extended geographic reach of the Element-Arval Global Alliance and a unique value proposition for Arval’s international clients
