FCA launches Leasys, its mobility service and long-term leasing company, in Germany

7 August 2017

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has introduced Leasys, its mobility services and long-term leasing company, to the German market. 

Leasys will be offering full-service leasing in cooperation with FCA Bank on the German market with its Fleet Management offer and other mobility services for commercial and private customers. The company states that an ′innovative long-term rental product, tailored to the new requirements for flexible mobility,’ will follow by the end of 2017.  

The introductory offers for commercial customers in Germany are based on a term of 48 months and 10,000 kilometres per year and include servicing, wear, fuel card and damage management. 

′The launch of Leasys in Germany is a big challenge because long-term leasing has not yet really taken off as a private or commercial mobility solution in Germany,’ Giacomo Carelli, CEO of Leasys Italia, as well as Chairman and CEO of FCA Bank, said in a German FCA press release on 3 August.  

However, FCA is convinced that Leasys will be able to hold its own in the market as a ′mobility pioneer’ thanks to its ′flexible and innovative solutions.’  

Founded in 2001 in Italy, Leasys is the market leader there in long-term leasing with 54,008 long-term rental contracts in 2016. The company is already active in Spain, France and the UK and seeks to be active in the medium to long term in all countries where FCA Bank already operates.  

Leasys has also strengthened its European expansion by taking over the contract hire business of FCA Fleet Services UK. According to a UK press release, also issued on 3 August, ′FCA Fleet Services UK (today Leasys UK) has seen rapid growth in the past two years, thanks to demand from the SME market as well as the growth in Personal Contract Hire solutions. They have recently passed a significant milestone: achieving a fleet size of more than 9,000 vehicles.’ 

Alex Hughes, Managing Director of FCA Bank Group UK, said: ′The launch marks a further step change in the business, broadening its appeal across the UK Fleet Market, from Pan-European corporate fleets, to serving the FCA dealer network and supporting businesses across the UK to find the right leasing solution.’ 

The news from Leasys comes less than a fortnight after Citroën announced that its ′Rent’ concept is being rolled out in Germany, which seeks to offer short or long term car rental directly from dealers themselves instead of from car hire partners such as Sixt or Avis. 

As carmakers fear a potential loss of sales due to the rise in alternative mobility solutions, they are increasingly launching their own mobility services to counter the competition and to introduce a new revenue stream to dealerships.

Photograph courtesy of FCA