ALD Automotive is allowing EV or hybrid vehicle lessors in Romania to switch to a conventional vehicle, for a limited period of time, to accommodate areas where EV charging may not be fully developed, Auto Finance News has learned.
This offering allows lessors to swap the car easily, which can “take away any concern they may have over charging infrastructure over the journey,” John Saffrett, ALD’s chief administrative officer, told Auto Finance News.
ALD Automotive, a leasing and fleet management provider, launched its leasing product for electric and hybrid vehicles to its commercial clients in Romania, earlier this month.
“There has been an increasing interest in EV and hybrid vehicles, driven by OEMs expanding their range, government legislation, and increasing environmental awareness among our clients,” Saffrett said. “We provide consulting to help them understand the benefits of those fleets, and we provide a full-service lease product on those fleets — which can also include the charging station being fitted on the company’s premises, and that can be added to a lease contract also.”
Paris, France-based ALD offers the commercial EV leasing product “in a number of other countries,” Saffrett said, and has plans to roll it out into other countries this year as market demand continues.
“Often, the charging infrastructure in the country is a big block on that [expansion],” Saffrett said, referring to certain countries that do not have — or have limited — EV charging stations. “Once that starts to mature, customers start to become more receptive to EVs and hybrids, and the potential to lease them,” he said. “The second factor that really drives it is, when there are some government legislation, or incentives, to encourage the uptake of EV and hybrids. So as countries mature in that space, we will launch the product.”
Additionally, ALD is considering other “innovative solutions that help us improve services to our clients,” Saffrett said, such as wireless EV charging power mats. “The traditional charging infrastructure of having a station installed in the garage, and having a cable plugged into back of the car is a little bit intrusive, but obviously as new technology emerges with power mats, we will adopt those and provide them as part of the product to our client also,” he added.
ALD Automotive offers leasing and fleet management services for 1.4 million vehicles across the globe to a mixture of clients, which include both direct-to-consumer and to commercial fleet leasing for businesses.
