LeasePlan has reported its fourth quarter and full-year 2018 results, which saw its global serviced fleet rise 4.4% while its net result was up for Q4 but down for the full year.

LeasePlan’s serviced fleet was up 4.4% to 1.82 million vehicles driven by demand for CaaS from the corporate and SME segments

The results show the serviced fleet rose to 1.82 million vehicles with strong Car-as-a-Service growth across most countries in Europe and particularly strong growth from the SME and corporate segments.

Meanwhile the CarNext.com marketplace for high used cars, which launched just over a year ago, saw B2C volumes rise 55% to 13,775 vehicles in Q4 and 65% for the full year to approximately 50,000 vehicles. Used Car-as-a-Service (UCaaS) contracts were up 60% in Q4 to approximately 1,900 and 150% for the full year to 8,000.,

The net result was up 12.9% to €71m in Q4, but down 9.2% for the full year to €424m which includes impairments in Turkey and Germany. The losses in Germany related to a number of loss-making contracts and in Turkey related to the severe depreciation of the Turkish lira and local used-car prices stemming from the recent period of exceptional economic and political volatility. The underlying net result was up 6.4% to €108m in Q4 with the full year up 8.4% to €576m.

Commenting on the figures, CEO Tex Gunning said: “These results underscore the strength of our strategy to lead the megatrend from ownership to subscription models for both new and high-quality used cars.

“Our core Car-as-a-Service business for new cars continued its strong performance in 2018, supported by the positive impact of our “Power of One LeasePlan” operational excellence program, which has now been fully embedded in the organisation. In addition, we have continued to strengthen our offering of innovative, sustainable products and services. This includes our full package EV solution – which now has been rolled out in 10 countries.

“Over the year, we also significantly grew our disruptive CarNext.com marketplace for high-quality used cars. Launched just over a year ago, CarNext.com sold close to 50,000 cars B2C and is now available for both B2B and B2C customers in 22 countries, supported by a network of 32 delivery stores. CarNext.com’s innovative Used Car-as-a-Service proposition also grew an impressive 150% to 8,000 cars, reflecting the growing demand for subscription services in the used car segment.

“Looking ahead, our leadership position across both of our businesses will be enhanced by our commitment to offering what’s next in sustainable mobility services and our Digital LeasePlan program, which we began to implement across the company in 2018. Digital LeasePlan will enable us to provide a best-in-class digital service to our customers at lower cost levels, and ultimately enable us to deliver ‘any car, anytime, anywhere