2020: A SUCCESSFUL YEAR OF GROWTH FOR ARVAL

• 1,381,555 LEASED VEHICLES, +6.4%* GROWTH, MAKING ARVAL THE EUROPEAN LEADER IN FULL SERVICE LEASING**
• ARVAL OUTPERFORMS THE MARKET DESPITE THE PANDEMIC
• A PIVOTAL YEAR WITH THE LAUNCH OF A NEW, AMBITIOUS STRATEGIC PLAN: ARVAL BEYOND
• IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIPS CONCLUDED WITH SIXT, CAIXABANK, UNICREDIT BANK AUSTRIA, THE ACQUISITION OF UNICREDIT LEASING FUHRPARKMANAGEMENT GMBH AND THE OPENING OF A NEW SUBSIDIARY IN COLOMBIA
• ACCELERATION OF ARVAL’S CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) COMMITMENT, REWARDED WITH THE PLATINUM ECOVADIS RATING, RANKING ARVAL IN THE TOP 1% OF ITS INDUSTRY

Arval specialises in full service vehicle leasing and new sustainable mobility solutions. Thanks to the quality of its services, its ability to react quickly and seize new opportunities, the resilience of its business and the solidity of the BNP Paribas Group, Arval outdid the rest of the market in 2020.

In 2020, Arval’s leased fleet grew by 6.4%* compared to 2019, reaching 1,381,555 vehicles. The Corporate financed fleet reached one million vehicles in 2020. The Retail segment grew by 15.7%, including 100,000 vehicles on private lease. The Mid-term Rental segment grew by 6%. Arval’s 7,200 employees serve 300,000 customers in 30 countries.

2020, a strong year despite the pandemic

During the health crisis, Arval's teams were mobilised across the world to make sure the services it offers to customers continue in a secure manner. Thanks to its robust IT infrastructure, more than 99% of Arval employees were able to work from home safely from March 2020. The company also provided nearly 350 vehicles free of charge to healthcare workers in twelve countries. In this context, Arval has actively supported its customers throughout the crisis, offering flexibility in contractual terms and contract extensions. Arval has accelerated its remarketing strategy throughout the Covid19 crisis, complementing its B2B sales activities with a Retail offer supported by a fully digital customer journey. In response to new post-lockdown mobility trends, in May 2020 the company launched “The Journey Goes On”, a pioneering service designed to help and support Arval’s customers restart their business with safe, sustainable, and cost-effective mobility solutions. 

2020 highlights

After its 30th anniversary in 2019, Arval took an important step by presenting its new strategic plan, Arval Beyond, in October 2020, preparing the company to grow steadily in a new world, based on its main strengths while rethinking its business model to respond to customer needs.

Arval Beyond translates into four different offers: mobility in addition to cars with, for instance, the recent launch of bike leasing in eight countries (360° Mobility), technology for the benefit of Arval’s customers (Connected & Flexible), strong partnerships (Arval Inside) and sustainability at the core of everything (Good for you, Good for all).

Driven by a sense of responsibility towards society and its customers, in 2020 Arval developed a strong CSR strategy to respond to environmental issues, setting up unparalleled goals for 2025: half a million electrified vehicles leased and an average reduction of 30% in CO2 emissions for its entire fleet. In 2020, Arval assumed its role as an advocate for electric mobility and grew at twice the pace of the market in terms of Battery Electric Vehicle orders, taking into account the global market per country. Arval is also actively addressing diversity issues. With the “Arval Women in Action” Career Programme, for example, Arval is convinced that the women of today will pave the way for the women of tomorrow.

Fully in line with the new offer, Arval Inside, 2020 saw the renewal or launch of partnerships forged with major partners around the globe, including SIXT (beginning with Germany, France, the Netherlands, UK and Belgium) and CaixaBank Payments & Consumer group in Spain and Portugal. A new cooperation agreement was also signed with Unicredit Bank Austria, strengthening Arval’s position in the country with the acquisition of UniCredit Leasing Fuhrparkmanagement GmbH. All of these partnerships are based on a strong focus to provide a digital customer experience and expand the range of products and services with shared, connected and electrified mobility solutions.

Arval’s growth in 2020 not only came through strong partnerships, but also through geographical expansion. The company reinforced its presence in Latin America, opening a new subsidiary in Colombia in partnership with Relsa. This confirms Arval’s growth alongside its partners in the Latin American region.

Expanding horizons in 2021 with the first year of Arval Beyond

In 2021, Arval will continue to deploy its strategy through concrete objectives. Amongst this year’s projects are:

• New services to better care for corporate needs: Mobility Hub, Mobility App, Mobility Consulting, as part of the Arval Beyond’s 360° Mobility offer.
• A renewed ambition to double the Battery Electric Vehicles orders market, backed by a transformational CSR project to be launched in June 2021 
• An ambitious partnerships programme to reach new populations and frontiers.

 “The crisis in 2020 confirmed the priorities we defined for Arval Beyond as something our customers needed. Arval is even stronger today and is leading the market in terms of performance, pioneering spirit and its CSR commitments. I am very confident about the year ahead; we have numerous projects and initiatives planned. The investments we make today will strengthen our vision through 2021 and the years to come, and we expect to exceed 2020’s performance in terms of fleet growth this year”, says Alain van Groenendael, Arval Chairman and CEO.

Arval Belgium is running smoothly!

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Arval Belgium announced a strong growth of 7.9% and almost passed the 82,000-vehicle mark at the end of 2020. This good result is due to the increase in registrations of EVs and PHEVs. Thus, Arval recorded a 93% increase compared to 2019 in the share of 100% electric vehicles in its registrations and a 122% increase in hybrid vehicles.

The exponential growth of existing mobility products such as Arval Bike Lease should certainly not be forgotten, and saw an increase of +71%.

2021 has just begun and Arval Belgium is positioning itself as one of the leading providers of sustainable mobility solutions integrating the car. Arval Belgium continues to strengthen and develop its offer, products and teams, striving to be more innovative and digital. Laurent Loncke, general manager of Arval Belgium adds: "We have been supporting our clients in the field of energy transition and mobility mix for quite some time now with our SMaRT approach and our consulting experts. Our comprehensive offer meets the demand for multimodality and electrification. 2021 will be another great year, marked by our will to change the situation and give it a more responsible dimension!"

*Growth rate for the end of the period 2019-2020 on a comparable basis.

**multibrand full service leasing