2021: a remarkable performance for Arval

• 1,469,753 leased vehicles, +6.4%* organic growth
• +15% new vehicles orders vs. 2019 (pre-Covid period)
• Arval continues to outperform the market despite the pandemic and the current situation in the automotive sector
• Major achievements for the Arval Beyond strategy in its first year
• Important partnership agreements established
• Geographic expansion into three additional countries through the Element-Arval Global Alliance

Arval specialises in full-service vehicle leasing and new sustainable mobility solutions. Thanks to the quality of its customer-centric approach and its visionary and robust strategic plan, Arval Beyond, once again in 2021, Arval excelled compared to the rest of the market. An outstanding performance in view of the challenges associated with the pandemic, the shortage of semi-conductors and a challenging overall context in the automotive sector.

In 2021, Arval expanded its leased fleet by 6.4%* compared to 2020, totalling 1,469,753 vehicles. The new vehicles orders increased by 15% compared to the pre-Covid period, reflecting the strong demand of its customers. The Corporate financed fleet amounted to 1,032,065 vehicles in 2021. The Retail segment grew by 11% with leasing to private individuals increasing by 24%. The Mid-term Rental segment rose by 20%. The transformation related to mobility solutions and sustainability initiated with Arval Beyond has begun to bear fruit: the number of bike-leasing contracts grew by 54%, the number of MaaS users increased tenfold, the number of rented months with Arval Mid Term Rental rose by 34%, and 30% of Arval’s new orders were for electrified vehicles.

Arval’s 7,500 employees provide services to more than 300,000 customers across 30 countries. Arval Belgium also experienced strong growth of 7.2% in 2021 and had 87,629 vehicles in its fleet at the end of the year. The share of 100% electric vehicles (BEV) even increased by 219%. Arval Belgium now has more than 3,000 BEVs in its fleet. The number of bicycle leasing contracts also grew strongly, by 45%.

Throughout 2021, the company put the Arval Beyond strategic plan into action, with a number of remarkable achievements in line with Arval’s ambition to become a leader in sustainable mobility. Considerable progress has been made on each of the four Arval Beyond offers, as follows:

• 360° Mobility

Arval’s Mobility as a Service offer has been deployed in four countries with already more than 3,000 users of the Arval Mobility App in the Netherlands. In addition, Arval Mobility Consulting has been launched to support customers in their energy transition, as well as the Arval Mobility Hub to integrate mobility solutions into a single area of Arval customers’ premises. E-bike leasing is now operational in 10 countries, with great deals being signed with Arval’s customers in several countries (+54% leased bikes compared to last year). The autonomous shuttle trial has been extended in France.

• Connected

Arval’s connected fleet now comprises around 400,000 vehicles, making Arval one of the three leading European players in this field.

• Arval Inside

Arval’s partnerships have gained significant momentum in 2021. Beyond the existing agreements with banks (CaixaBank in Spain and Portugal, UniCredit Bank Austria, Erste Bank in Slovakia, etc), the company continues to work with automotive players in the frame of international partnerships (Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Sixt, Astara, Emil Frey France, MG and Volvo Cars). Furthermore, in conjunction with its historical partner, Element, Arval extended its geographic coverage to include three additional Baltic countries: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. 

• Good for you, Good for all

To provide even better support to its clients in their energy transition, Arval has revised its objective for 2025 upwards: to lease 700,000 electrified vehicles, representing 35% of Arval’s total leased fleet. “Arval Re-Lease”, its used vehicle leasing service, is now live in seven countries.

In 2021, Arval designed and executed its new and ambitious global CSR strategy. As a result, since June 2021, one tree has been planted for each electrified vehicle leased by Arval: the company’s first international biodiversity project. As of the end of 2021, 71,000 trees have been planted.

“We developed our new strategic plan before the health crisis with pioneering and visionary ambitions in terms of energy transition, mobility and partnerships. 2021 was a year of consolidation. We have provided as much support as possible to our clients to help them deal with the health crisis and, more recently, the vehicle shortage, and have thus reported incredible results for our activity. All in all, 2021 was an amazing year.”

- Alain van Groenendael, Arval Chairman and CEO

2022 will herald a transformation of the mobility sector within a changing environment. In this context, Arval can draw on its solid foundation, with the backing of BNP Paribas Group, combined with its agility. Its performance in 2021, with remarkable organic growth despite the challenging landscape, offers tangible proof of its resilience and capabilities.

In 2022, Arval will continue to support its customers with:

• specific consulting services, “The Journey Goes On”, to assist customers with planning ahead and finding the most appropriate sustainable solutions in view of the current situation in the automotive sector,
• strategic partnerships to guarantee end-to-end offers: with a state-of-the-art carsharing platform being launched early in the year with the mobility start-up Ridecell, and a unique cooperation with Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC on mobility financing solutions where Arval will provide the leasing and fleet management component of its alliance with BNP Paribas Group,
• connected services to help clients optimise the use of their fleets, improve safety and accelerate their energy transition, by developing a range of innovative and differentiating offers.
• the extended geographic reach of the Element-Arval Global Alliance and a unique value proposition for Arval’s international clients.

“2022 promises to be a very dynamic year for Arval and for the mobility sector in general. Arval will stay the course and remain focused on its goals: we have a robust and effective plan, we have a solid foundation, with very satisfied clients and strong confidence in our future.”

- Alain van Groenendael

"In Belgium, we will continue to roll out the Arval Beyond strategic plan. We expect our customers to further electrify their fleets. Moreover, we see the demand for alternative mobility solutions increasing. Therefore, in 2022, we will focus even more on product innovation by relaunching our car-sharing solution, rolling out second-hand leasing and launching a MaaS solution in the autumn."

- Laurent Loncke, general manager of Arval Belgium

In addition to its activity results for 2021, Arval will release its annual financial results to the press on 7 March 2022.

^{_{*Growth rate for the end of the period 2020-2021 on a comparable basis.}}