Undercover Investigation: Leasing Corporations Push Clients To Decide For Fossil & Hybrid Vehicles In France

A brand new undercover investigation commissioned by inexperienced group Transport & Setting (T&E) exhibits that gross sales employees of leasing firms in France not often promote battery electrical vehicles to clients, in contrast to a few of their German counterparts.

In France, leasing firms aren’t advising their clients to modify to battery electrical automobiles (BEVs), regardless of claiming to be inexperienced mobility leaders and supporting their purchasers to modify to zero emission applied sciences. Gross sales employees in Germany push fleet managers to transition to electrical vehicles extra usually. These are the findings of an undercover investigation revealed by T&E and carried out by a enterprise intelligence unit by way of thriller calls to Europe’s largest leasing firms.

Within the calls, the investigators pretended to be firm managers eager to lease a fleet of vehicles for his or her employees. T&E scripted three situations the place the corporate’s state of affairs — fleet measurement and required mileage — ought to have simply enabled them to go electrical. It was subsequently anticipated that battery electrical automobiles (BEVs) would systematically and instantly be suggested to the client as the best choice — as leasing firms declare. Investigators made in-depth calls to Europe’s high seven leasing firms (Arval, ALD-LeasePlan^[1], Athlon, Mobilize Monetary Companies, Volkswagen Monetary Companies, Leasys and Alphabet)^[2]. 29 calls have been accomplished — 12 in France and 17 in Germany.

The outcomes of the investigation reveal that leasing firms aren’t simply “middlemen” between company fleet managers and carmarkers, however moderately they actively steer fleet managers throughout their gross sales calls. This steerage, nonetheless, factors away from zero-emission mobility in lots of circumstances.

Polluting applied sciences provided in majority of circumstances by leasing firms in France

Opposite to the inexperienced management claims made by leasing firms, in nearly all calls in France, the leasing firm gross sales employees promoted polluting applied sciences similar to plug-in hybrids or inner combustion engines to their potential clients. In a single name, a salesman is on the report saying “one of the best compromise is a petrol-based engine.” Solely two calls in France resulted in rapid and concrete suggestions to go for battery-electric automobiles.

These revelations in France are notably regarding as France is the most important marketplace for the 2 largest multi-brand leasing firms, ALD I LeasePlan (now Ayvens) and Arval, accounting for 22% of their entire fleet within the EU^[3]. Plug-ins and ICE vehicles proceed to flood the French firm vehicles market as a result of such suggestions, T&E says.

The investigation additionally revealed that, in a number of circumstances, gross sales employees actively discouraged purchasers to go for an electrical automotive with false details about efficiency, together with the drawbacks of battery vary and charging. One leasing worker claimed that “at a family socket it’s going to take you 30 hours to recharge it to 100%.”

Moreover, leasing employees weren’t effectively knowledgeable on electrical automobiles, claiming that hybrids have the identical tax advantages as electrical automobiles. That is not the case as of 2023, since hybrid vehicles aren’t eligible for the French eco-bonus anymore and aren’t taxed as favorably for depreciation and benefit-in-kind. In lots of circumstances, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have been offered as “clear” automobiles, despite the fact that analysis exhibits they pollute simply as a lot as petrol and diesel automobiles in real-driving circumstances^[4].

“A veil has been lifted: regardless of claiming to be inexperienced leaders and assist their clients go electrical, leasing firms in France proceed to push diesel, petrol or hybrid vehicles. That is dangerous for the local weather, but additionally for French firm fleets. They’re being suggested to lease the most costly options in the marketplace. Through the course of the lease, battery electrical vehicles are by far the most cost effective resolution for fleets in France. Leasing firms aren’t providing their clients an goal and knowledgeable selection,” explains Stef Cornelis, Director of the Electrical Fleets Programme at T&E.

Leasing firms in Germany general extra favorable to electrical vehicles

German gross sales employees spontaneously offered battery electrical vehicles because the beneficial car for his or her potential buyer in 9 out of 17 calls. Within the remaining circumstances nonetheless, employees remained impartial on the completely different applied sciences together with providing petrol and diesel vehicles as a viable choice. This regardless of the inexperienced claims of the leasing firms and the use circumstances which made it very straightforward to advise electrical vehicles. Leasing employees dismissed plug-in hybrids nearly persistently, stating that gas consumption and excessive working prices made them much less enticing decisions.

Among the many leasing firms working in Germany, T&E finds that Volkswagen Monetary Companies (VW FS) is the least proactive in providing battery electrical automobiles to clients, particularly when in comparison with a few of their counterparts in Germany. Gross sales employees at VW FS left the selection within the palms of the client and nonetheless provided petrol vehicles as an choice.

“Our investigation exhibits a number of good examples of leasing firms actively selling BEVs. Leasing employees can steer their clients to a selected automotive expertise, though in lots of circumstances in Germany, they select to not orient them in direction of electrical vehicles. If leasing firms are the inexperienced leaders they declare to be, they need to persistently promote and advise fleets to go for EVs. They need to shut the hole between their inexperienced statements and gross sales methods.” explains Stef Cornelis.

Within the EU, the seven largest leasing firms investigated oversee a fleet of 9.7 million automobiles. Analysis by T&E^[5] has discovered that leasing firms aren’t the inexperienced leaders they declare to be. The group calls upon these firms to step up their ambition and cease leasing polluting vehicles on the newest by 2028. This initially must be translated into how they advise their clients on electrical automobiles.

^[1] Rebranded Ayvens on 16 October 2023. On this launch, we nonetheless discuss with the title ALD Automotive I LeasePlan. The rollout of the brand new model will occur in 2024.

^[2] In France, the investigators managed to achieve 5 out of seven firms – all however Leasys and Alphabet. In Germany, investigators reached all seven.

^[3] Newest out there knowledge by nation from ALpD and Leaseplan 2022 annual report.

^[4] https://www.transportenvironment.org/uncover/plug-in-hybrids-2-0-still-not-a-solution-for-the-climate/

^[5] https://www.transportenvironment.org/uncover/leasing-giants-called-out-for-greenwashing-and-low-ambition-on-electric-cars-in-new-investigation/