Charles Willmer

Charles Willmer

The leasing of vehicles is still a growing market, with probably 35-40 per cent of new vehicles each year being leased to business and Government users, says Charles Willmer (pictured), managing director of LeasePlan New Zealand Ltd in Market Rd, Remuera.

"Our view is that leasing to our core market has growth to the same levels as mature European markets of 50 to 55 per cent."

The main trend he sees is organisations looking for more than just a "maintained lease" (where finance and a fixed maintenance package was all they wanted) to a more managed process for all vehicle costs, administration and driver liaison, as businesses look to opt out of vehicles.

"We all thought drivers being packaged up would really dent the market a few years ago but this has proved otherwise as it is found to be more expensive and employees prefer working for employers who provide a hassle-free way of getting a motor car rather than the money, which puts it all back on them."

When the Fringe Benefit Tax legislation is finally passed, it will have little effect on the growth of leasing, he says.
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Less than if they owned them, and the cost varies according to the type of motorcar and the use they get out of them, says Willmer.

Lease packages popular trend with businesses The leasing of vehicles is still a growing market, with probably 35-40 per cent of new vehicles each year being leased to business and Government users, says Charles Willmer, managing director of LeasePlan New Zealand Ltd in Market Rd, Remuera.
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Honesty the catchcry for Charlie's brand campaign Aside from launching new drinks and branding in New Zealand this month, Charlie's has sent samples overseas as it readies to export, says Charlie's Group Ltd chief executive, Stefan Lepionka.

LeasePlan NZ Ltd's managing director Charles Willmer says there is still "a big chunk" of business in New Zealand which plumps for ownership."There's a big section of corporate New Zealand which says if there's a third party coming along making money out of it, why don't we retain the money ourselves?

"Now, they probably still own their canteen, buy their photocopiers and those sorts of things, as well," he says.Nonetheless, many businesses can clearly see the advantages of leasing, particularly in respect to controlling cashflow.

"The outsourcing of risk is the benefit," says Willmer."Risk management which gives no surprises for either your customers or your shareholders."Willmer says another benefit for companies who lease is avoiding the problems involved in getting rid of a fleet of vehicles at the end of their useful life.
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Lease Plan NZ Ltd's Charles Willmer agrees there is little left in leasing in the way of 'grey areas' for taxation, although he believes that while consecutive leases (one by one by one) are becoming more black and white, he believes there is still a degree of 'tax aggression' about them.
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"This allows a company to basically walk away from their fleet management from day one and get on with what they do well, their core business," says Willmer.

Charles Willmer

The leasing of vehicles is still a growing market, with probably 35-40 per cent of new vehicles each year being leased to business and Government users, says Charles Willmer (pictured), managing director of LeasePlan New Zealand Ltd in Market Rd, Remuera.

"Our view is that leasing to our core market has growth to the same levels as mature European markets of 50 to 55 per cent."

The main trend he sees is organisations looking for more than just a "maintained lease" (where finance and a fixed maintenance package was all they wanted) to a more managed process for all vehicle costs, administration and driver liaison, as businesses look to opt out of vehicles.

"We all thought drivers being packaged up would really dent the market a few years ago but this has proved otherwise as it is found to be more expensive and employees prefer working for employers who provide a hassle-free way of getting a motor car rather than the money, which puts it all back on them."

When the Fringe Benefit Tax legislation is finally passed, it will have little effect on the growth of leasing, he says.
...
Less than if they owned them, and the cost varies according to the type of motorcar and the use they get out of them, says Willmer.

Charles Willmer

The leasing of vehicles is still a growing market, with probably 35-40 per cent of new vehicles each year being leased to business and Government users, says Charles Willmer (pictured), managing director of LeasePlan New Zealand Ltd in Market Rd, Remuera.

"Our view is that leasing to our core market has growth to the same levels as mature European markets of 50 to 55 per cent."

The main trend he sees is organisations looking for more than just a "maintained lease" (where finance and a fixed maintenance package was all they wanted) to a more managed process for all vehicle costs, administration and driver liaison, as businesses look to opt out of vehicles.

"We all thought drivers being packaged up would really dent the market a few years ago but this has proved otherwise as it is found to be more expensive and employees prefer working for employers who provide a hassle-free way of getting a motor car rather than the money, which puts it all back on them."

When the Fringe Benefit Tax legislation is finally passed, it will have little effect on the growth of leasing, he says.
...
Less than if they owned them, and the cost varies according to the type of motorcar and the use they get out of them, says Willmer.

"There is a trend for senior executives, especially CEOs, to move to package deals that include a vehicle," says LeasePlan managing director Charles Willmer."This total cost of employment can be broken down however the recipient chooses."The approach provides managers with more personal flexibility in selecting a vehicle.

On the other hand, Willmer also knows several senior executives who switched back to driving a company-provided car.They simply didn't want "to deal with hassles such as registration, maintenance and insurance - they'd rather just pick up the vehicle and run with it", he says.
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"Don't look at the buy price, look at the total cost of ownership," says Willmer.
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Having capped many vehicle running costs with a competitive operating lease, the next step is to seriously consider fully outsourced fleet management and, according to Willmer, there are two key benefits that come into play.

The first benefit involves utilisation.Fleet management companies, through long-term relationships with their clients, can identify ways to better utilise vehicles by lowering the size of fleets and reducing costs."Once you've driven down unit costs, the next challenge is to reduce the total number of units," says Willmer."Our main focus is to drive down our customers' fleet operating costs, even if that means we downsize the company's vehicle requirements."

The second major benefit is the potential for lowering the accident rate.Fleet management companies can analyse the accident statistics - the where, when, who, and why of these incidents, and provide a solution to drive the accident figures down."With one client we identified one brand of vehicle in their fleet that was experiencing twice the rear-end collision rate of other vehicles due to its poor rear visibility," recalls Willmer.