Arval expanded its global and UK leased fleets further in 2021 despite the pandemic, while also continuing to support fleets in their electrification journey.

Arval expanded its global leased fleet by 6.4% compared to 2020, while the UK was up 3.6% in a near flat-market

The sustainable fleet and mobility company saw its UK leased fleet rise by 3.6% last year in a near-flat market, while its global fleet grew by 6.4% compared to 2020, totalling 1,469,753 vehicles.

New vehicle orders increased by 15%, both globally and in the UK, compared to the pre-Covid period – showing strong demand from its customers.

The corporate financed fleet accounted for 1,032,065 vehicles globally in 2021, while the retail segment grew by 11% with leasing to private individuals increasing by 24%. Its mid-term rental segment rose by 20%.

Its global work was supported by expanded geographic coverage into the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, assisted by long-term partner Element.

Take-up of electrified vehicles continued to soar – 30% of Arval’s new orders were for electrified vehicles, while in the UK it was almost half (47%) of orders.

Alongside sustainability, Arval also continued to advance its work in mobility solutions. Internationally, the number of bike-leasing contracts grew by 54%, the number of Mobility-as- a-Service (MaaS) users increased tenfold, while the number of rented months with Arval mid-term rental rose by 34% (23% in the UK).

Arval credited its growth and expansion, along with the successes in sustainability and mobility, to its customer-centric approach and its Arval Beyond strategic plan, spearheaded throughout 2021.

Other notable achievements included further growth of its connected fleet, which now comprises around 400,000 vehicles, making Arval one of the three leading European players in this field. Meanwhile ‘Arval Re-Lease’, its used vehicle leasing service, is now live in seven countries including the UK.

It’s also accelerating its work in electrified vehicles; the revised objective for 2025 upwards is to lease 700,000 electrified vehicles, representing 35% of the total leased fleet. This is already well underway in the UK, where 29% of 2021 orders are for pure EVs, rising to 47% including all electrified vehicles.

Alain van Groenendael, Arval chairman and chief executive officer, said: “We developed our new strategic plan before the pandemic, with pioneering and visionary ambitions in terms of energy transition, mobility and partnerships. 2021 was a year of consolidation. We have provided as much support as possible to our clients to help them deal with Covid-19 and, more recently the vehicle shortage, and have thus reported incredible results for our activity. All in all, 2021 was an amazing year.”

She continued: “As a leader in sustainable mobility, we continued to support our clients in their electrification journey in the run up to the UK’s road transport decarbonisation agenda for 2030, while also winning accolades for our focus on employee wellbeing.”

Building on this, 2022 will see Arval continue to support its customers with specific consulting services, as part of ‘The Journey Goes On” campaign; strategic partnerships to guarantee end-to-end offers, with a state-of-the-art car sharing platform being launched early in the year with the mobility start-up Ridecell, and a unique cooperation with Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC on mobility financing solutions where

It will also further its work in connected services, to help clients optimise the use of their fleets, improve safety and accelerate their energy transition, through a range of “innovative and differentiating offers”.

And the Element–Arval Global Alliance will extend its geographic footprint further, supporting a “unique value proposition” for international clients.

“2022 promises to be a very dynamic year for Arval and for the mobility sector in general. Arval will stay the course and remain focused on its goals: we have a robust and effective plan, we have a solid foundation, with very satisfied clients and strong confidence in our future,” concluded Alain van Groenendael.