Alphabet International saw growth in both its operational lease portfolio and overall order volumes in 2017 while also outperforming the new car market on uptake of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Alphabet now has 680,000 vehicles in its portfolio

New 2017 figures show the leasing and fleet management giant grew its operational lease portfolio by 5.5%, to 680,000 cars and light commercial vehicles, while its order volume increased by 4% to more than 240,000. Meanwhile the firm also expanded its customer base by 10% to over 86,000 companies.

The results also show a strong performance for local subsidiaries in Spain and Belgium, which each broke the 50,000th vehicle mark in their respective portfolios.

Take-up of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) gained ground, growing by 51% in total – this compares to an overall increase of 36% in the EV/PHEV market over the same period. In total, Alphabet introduced 11,000 EVs and PHEVs, which equates to a 5.2% market share of all EV/PHEV registrations in the 12 relevant countries.

The firm said it would continue its focus on providing clients with tailor-made solutions “as an increasing number of companies look to adopt new mobility forms and practices within a framework that fits their business requirements”.