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Vehicle rental and leasing sector expands further in 2016

The vehicle rental and leasing industry continued to grow in 2016, with increases in both the number of cars and vans in the business leasing sector.

BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney

BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney reported a 16% rise in membership at its annual Industry Conference

According to the results of the BVRLA’s latest quarterly leasing survey, the number of cars and vans for both contract hire and finance lease has grown by 5.2% year-on-year, with the car fleet increasing by 2.2% and the corresponding van figure up 13%.

The figures were released by the BVRLA as it reports a 16% rise in membership at its annual Industry Conference today (1 December).

Speaking at the National Conference Centre in the West Midlands, BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney revealed that the BVRLA now has 908 members – an increase of 128 from the end of 2015.

Keaney said: “The association has now welcomed its 900th member, and we are fast approaching a combined fleet size of five million vehicles, which has never happened before. In the last three years, both membership and fleet size have grown by more than 30%, which corresponds with the growing strength of the industry which is now more influential than ever.”

The majority of new members have come from the leasing broker sector, which grew by 40% to 308.

The overall growth in membership has had a corresponding impact on the number of vehicles that members are responsible for. The number of vehicles on members’ fleets has now passed 4.7million, and more than 3.8 million of these are cars.

The quarterly BVRLA research also showed the overall size of the BVRLA car leasing fleet has increased by 10% year-on-year. Personal contract hire accounts for nearly 60% of this growth, which was a key discussion topic at the Industry Conference.

Today’s conference is also running sessions on Brexit, business car taxation, the economy, emissions, future mobility models, the grey fleet and residual values. Delegates are also being presented with a copy of the BVRLA’s Annual Review, which includes the association’s achievements in 2016 and more detail on its plans for the year ahead, which sees the BVRLA celebrate its golden anniversary.

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.