Business Lease Slovakia, a leading leader in the provision of complex mobility for individuals and legal entities, has once again confirmed its desire to innovate and grow. It opened its new vehicle showroom in Bratislava for both retail and corporate customers. " Our ambition is to distinguish ourselves mainly by the quality, not only of the vehicles after operational leasing, but also the quality of the services that are connected with it. The new space offers the customer the opportunity to equip everything under one roof ," says Jana Smoláriková, Team Manager Remarketing & Retail Sales Business Lease Slovakia.
The company is a comprehensive mobility provider. In addition to operational leasing, it provides sales of used vehicles after operational leasing for individuals and legal entities, short-term rental, carsharing, car pooling, mobility budget for companies and their employees, as well as other forms of mobility and service provision. The new showroom offers generous space specifically for vehicles after operational leasing, the advantage of which, in addition to their young age (3-4 years) and low mileage (approx. 100,000 km), is a documented service history and history of insurance claims.
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Experience with benefits
Already last year, the division was rebranded to Cars & Care. "The name already suggests that with us, in addition to cars in 100% condition, the client will also find exceptional care, which is also in additional services, such as insurance, financing, extended warranty, purchase of an old vehicle, security systems and the like. The highlight of 2023 is the creation of a professional Cars & Care showroom, where we managed to create a completely different shopping experience for customers ," says Lucia Čišková, Executive Director of Business Lease Slovakia.
The new name reflects what the company offers to customers - the purchase of a used vehicle with the care of the Business Lease team. " We provide this care to clients not only during the leasing contract, but also when purchasing a vehicle after operating leasing. So you don't buy just any car, you buy a car from Business Lease. The old name reflected our approach, the new name carries the promise that we have taken care of the car and we also take care to find the most suitable car for the client ," stated Vincent van der Meijden, Technical Director of the Business Lease Group for Central and Eastern Europe.
The generous spaces are complemented by a customer area, so all services are in one place. The interior provides the convenience of choosing a vehicle even in case of bad weather, and also allows premium cars to be displayed, thanks to which the customer feels as if he were in a showroom of new vehicles. Our insurance broker is currently also located right in the space, clients can take out an extended warranty and customers can also arrange a meeting regarding an offer for vehicle financing. We try to make their purchase as easy as possible, as we care about their satisfaction ," adds Jana Smoláriková.
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Positive development
The company started to change its used vehicle sales strategy in 2018, innovations and pro-customer orientation made it possible to sell almost all vehicles to retail customers after operational leasing. However, in recent years, the longer delivery times of new vehicles, combined with the purchasing power of retail customers who have money for a 4-year-old car, but not for a new one, had a positive impact on the growing interest. It was there that we found space for our business in this area," Lucia Čišková points out.
While in 2018 the company sold 20% of vehicles after operating leasing to retail customers, this year it is already 83% of vehicles. In terms of absolute numbers, this is a shift from the level of 180 cars sold to the level of 858 vehicles sold to retail customers.
Today, the greatest interest is in the vehicles of the VW concern, be it Octavia, Superb, Fabia or VW Golf and Passat models. As Jana Smoláriková specifies, Hyundai or Kia vehicles are also in demand and on offer. Of course, there are others, including premium brands. " We update the range of vehicles on www.carsandcare.sk daily," adds Jana Smoláriková.
The company regularly has a customer satisfaction survey prepared, in the most recent one it received a satisfaction score of 95%. " It is the best business card for us. We have one more improvement left for this year, namely the company's new website, which we would like to present to our clients by the end of this year," adds Jana Smoláriková.
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A trend in the region? Changes will happen
As for the growth of interest in used vehicles, it should also be observed in the region. " Today, new vehicles are primarily sold to companies and leasing companies. We feel the absence of the end consumer when buying new vehicles in all EU markets. Used vehicles are more in the center of attention for end consumers and after three years of lack of supply due to production difficulties with new vehicles, we are seeing a recovery ," Vincent van der Meijden states. However, in markets with very high inflation associated with high interest rates, such as Hungary, the market for used vehicles has cooled down, he said. " In the eurozone countries, including Slovakia, the situation is better - consumers face lower inflation and thus lower financing costs ," adds Vincent vander Meijden.
However, in the coming years, the expert does not expect leasing companies to return as many used vehicles to the market as this year. “ Manufacturers have reduced the number of back orders as lower current demand and better supply of materials have significantly shortened delivery times. In addition, the number of new vehicle registrations has been declining since 2019 due to supply issues, higher taxation, increasing regulations on emissions and standard safety equipment, but also inflation and economic circumstances, " he points out. All these influences increased the price of new vehicles and reduced their sales to end consumers. The lack of used vehicles will therefore have an effect on increasing their value in the coming years. For consumers, vehicles after operational leasing are an ideal choice, because their purchase is absolutely safe, they are young, the mileage is guaranteed, they are well maintained and they have a complete transparent service and insurance history.
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