Barometer 2005 Results

European Decision-makers more Confident than the French!

For the third consecutive year, the Corporate Vehicle Observatory has conducted its annual barometer with the assistance of TNS Sofres Institute. This survey was of a particular this year, as the CVO has become European by taking an interest in four new countries in addition to France -  Italy, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland. 2320 decision-makers throughout Europe were jointly questionned in January 2005.

Main Observations of the 2005 Barometer 

The morale of decision-makers –

The morale of European decision-makers  is good. The average of the 5 countries concerned demonstrated a rather positive perspective of the overall economic situation with stability for nearly half of the companies and a movement towards improvement for the others. Switzerland raced up to the forefront in optimism, followed by  Germany, Italy, France and finally Portugal. This confidence is compulsory, especially in large companies where all signals are green (up 22% on the item “improvement in the national economy”, up 34% on “improvement in the sector of economy” and up 53% on “improvement in your company”).

As for the SMEs and the VSC, the results vary more greatly from one country to another while demonstrating an overall tendency in Europe: the Swiss are the most optimistic and the Portuguese the least optimistic. French stands as an exception: where our compatriots show less confidence than their European counterparts. This can also be observed in the strong contrast between their morale with respect to the economic environment (down with respect to 2004) and that of their own company (rather stable in comparison to 2004).

Corporate vehicles in Europe –

For the five countries analysed, Portugal stood out as the most mature country in terms of corporate vehicle financing, with 56% of companies financing at least one vehicle. Switzerland, Germany and Italy offer financing in the same proportions: 47% in Switzerland, 46% in Germany and 45% in Italy. France fell behind its European counterparts with only 36% of companies financing at least one vehicle. This lowest proportion can be explained by the delay in VSC and the SMEs in terms of vehicles financing, one that has been compensated for, however, by the high level of maturity of the large companies in France.

Modes of financing vehicles –

There is no real uniformity in behaviour at European level, except in large companies where the modes of financing are rather consistent. All countries agree in stressing the strong dynamic activity of Leasing with an Option to Buy, France falling a bit in the background. The greater the size of the company, the more developed the leasing activity: SMEs tend to turn to Leasing with an Option to Buy while large companies give priority to Operational Leasing,  a formula particularly appreciated by French companies, as 87% of large companies and 31% of SMEs finance their vehicles through Operational Leasing. Traditional loans are also expected  to develop in France and Germany with regards to very small companies.

Size of financed vehicle fleet –

European decision-makers evoke a general movement towards stability in the size of their vehicle fleets, or even a slowdown within the next 3 years. This behaviour can certainly be attributed to a certain level of maturity reached in most of the countries studied by the Barometer.

Vehicles selection criteria  –

Safety is a major  criterion for selecting a corporate vehicle for 26% of decision-makers, all countries and types of companies included. A strong interest has also been observed in safety equipment, 65% of the decision makers interrogated being ready to pay more for lateral airbags or a stability control system on the vehicle (56%). In terms of road safety, making safety equipment part of the vehicle fleet remains the main preventive action taken in all the countries. Finally, the corporate vehicle remains the first advantage developed by companies as an incentive for employee loyalty.

Vectors of market growth  –

More than one company out of three is said to be ready to take out an annual contract to benefit by a provision of services (replacement vehicle, 24-hour roadside assistance, maintenance…), companies for which the choice has not yet been one of financing. This showed a good potential for market development, particularly in France, where two-thirds of companies do not yet finance vehicles.

New emerging trends –

New this year is a demonstrated interest in clean vehicles. One company out of three plans to take on clean vehicles within the next two years. In France, 33% of the decision-makers intend to acquire such vehicles. As for technological advances, European decision-makers are mainly awaiting innovations for driver's safety (74%) and comfort (53%).