Ford and ALD Automotive create new fleet-management service
17 July 2020
17 July 2020
Ford and ALD Automotive have signed a shareholder agreement to create a new fleet-management business called Ford Fleet Management. The company will provide integrated leasing and management solutions across Europe.
Both commercial and passenger vehicles will be offered through the service, utilising Ford’s dealer network, direct contact, and digital platforms. Ford Fleet Management will begin operating in the UK by the autumn, subject to approval from the relevant authorities. Other selected markets look to follow after this initial launch.
Best-in-class
The new fleet-management service will leverage both companies’ understanding of their customer base, as well as product and mobility services. Utilising this knowledge, they aim to deliver the ′best-in-class vehicle uptime.’
Both parties contribute particular expertise to the new venture. Ford brings product knowledge and connected-vehicle capability while ALD Automotive has experience with globalised scale, full-service leasing and fleet-management.
In an emailed statement to Autovista Group, a spokesperson for ALD Automotive explained that the new service is an extension of a long-standing partnership between the two companies. ′We have been supporting Ford with our white-labelled services for the past 15 years through the Ford Lease product for SMEs in over 15 countries in Europe,’ the spokesperson said. ′We will jointly continue to offer and expand the reach of Ford Lease through Ford’s dealer network, in addition to services provided through Ford Fleet Management.’
ALD Automotive sees this new phase in its relationship with the vehicle manufacturer as an opportunity to support the development of full-service leasing for commercial vehicles in Europe. It has certainly picked a good partner, as Ford is one of the biggest players in the European commercial-vehicle sector.
It sold more than 380,000 commercial vehicles in 2019 in 20 European countries, reaching a 13.8% market-leading share. In the first half of 2020, the company remained in this position, and in Q2 managed to grow its market share year-on-year in Europe to 13.8%, up from 13% in Q2 2019, despite disruption caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
′The commercial-vehicle market is a growing business. Ford intends to strengthen its market-leading position as Europe’s number one commercial vehicle brand by opening up additional opportunities, which include Ford Fleet Management with ALD Automotive,’ the emailed statement concluded.
A successful relationship
′This new business marks a significant step in strengthening our position as Europe’s leading commercial-vehicle brand by providing new opportunities for us to serve our customers through fleet-management,’ said Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe.
′With ALD Automotive’s scale and experience in the full-service leasing market, Ford Fleet Management offers a one-stop-shop for our customers, helping them more efficiently run their businesses by saving both time and money.’
′ALD Automotive is pleased to be extending the reach of its services with Ford, which will notably support the development of full-service leasing for commercial vehicles in Europe,’ added Tim Albertsen, chief executive officer at ALD Automotive.
′This initiative, which leverages our leading position in the full-service vehicle-leasing segment in Europe, fully reflects our capacity to create long-standing leasing partnerships and is a natural extension of our successful relationship with Ford.’