Vauxhall, Vivaro, vans

The new Vauxhall Vivaro – likely to contribute to Lex’s increase in light commercial deliveries

THE surge in demand for vans has helped Lex Autolease achieve a 17% growth in new fleet deliveries in the first six months of the year.

The performance of the light commercial vehicle division of Lex Autolease – including investment in new product development such as ‘Driveaways’,  purpose-built vans designed specifically for professional trades persons – has been a key factor behind the growth.

Having added 10,000 vehicles to its fleet since last December the Lex Autolease anticipates even more growth in the van sector in the coming months as well as significant expansion in the SME market.

Surveyor with Mercedes Citan

Lex Autolease says growth has come from SME market demand

Tim Porter, Managing Director at Lex Autolease, said: “Our key growth objective is to add 100,000 vehicles to the fleet during the course of the next five years. To achieve this target we will continue to make investments across the business to enhance our product and service capabilities.

“Much of the growth this year has been driven by commercial vehicles. This segment is a good indicator of the health of the wider economy and we expect to see further progress in this area as business confidence continues to rise.

“The SME market also offers significant growth opportunities. Our research indicates that three quarters of small businesses prefer to buy vehicles outright rather than lease.

“Lex Autolease and the industry as a whole needs to do more to educate these small firms on the benefits of leasing. By choosing to lock their capital into depreciating assets rather than investing in their business they risk missing out on the growth opportunities presented by the recovering economy.”

During the first half of the year Lex Autolease opened a new multi-million pound site in Coventry to manage the “de-fleeting” more than 70,000 vehicles each year that are returned to the company following the end of their leasing agreement.

These are then sold on to the general public.

Lex Autolease is a supporter of Business Car Manager’s Small Fleet Leasing Awards 2014, with Steve Cocks part of the judging commitee.

 

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