LeasePlan expects fleet to double to 5,000 cars

LeasePlan operational leasing company estimates the number of managed vehicles will rise to 5,000 this year, double last year's volume, with sale & leaseback as the main growth line. In the first quarter of the year, almost 1,400 vehicles entered the company's management, of which 1,000 are taken over through the sale & leaseback system. LeasePlan and ALD Automotive in March together took over a 1,500-car fleet from OMV Petrom. "Over 1,000 cars were taken over through sale & leaseback in the first quarter. We're in talks with other companies, in the FMCG industry, to take over a further several hundred cars," said Bogdan Apahidean, LeasePlan general manager. LeasePlan representatives mentioned the total value of operational leasing contracts underway stands at 30.7m euros and is set to climb to 35m euros by yearend. The average value of a contract, not including cars taken over through sale & leaseback, reaches 12,000 euros, with the value of the monthly management instalment ranging between 350 and 400 euros.