Ayvens Bulgaria: Setting the standard for operational leasing 

Margarita Panchenko is a senior international executive who has held leadership roles at Société Générale and Ayvens (formerly ALD Automotive, rebranded after the acquisition of LeasePlan) at both headquarters and regional level. Her track record spans major transformation initiatives, regulatory strategy, and organisational change across global financial and mobility markets.

As the head of Ayvens Bulgaria since October 2024, she brings a strong international outlook and a clear commitment to sustainable mobility, corporate excellence, and high-performance culture. Having lived and worked in five countries, Margarita is recognised for her decisive leadership and her ability to elevate organisations operating in complex, fast-evolving environments – reinforcing Ayvens' position as a key player shaping the future of mobility.

First, it is worth reminding what "full-service operational lease" is. In fact, operational lease is well known to Bulgarian companies as a form of financing that enables them to reduce the financed amount and to recover VAT on vehicles used for business purposes. However, this doesn't offset the operational workload related to fleet management and leaves room for unexpected costs and downtime during the vehicle lifecycle. With Ayvens' full-service offer we manage the entire vehicle lifecycle end to end, covering every expected and unexpected event that may occur. This is made possible thanks to Ayvens' deep fleet management know-how built through 60+ years of experience in delivering comprehensive mobility solutions to our customers in 40+ countries. We combine scale, expertise and a true full-service approach, and continuously invest in sustainability and digitalization.

Every business that values efficiency, cost transparency and predictability, wants to reduce administrative burden and to control the total cost of operations. Regardless of the company's size or industry, regardless of the intended use of the cars (cars as a tool or cars as a benefit) or fleet size, we can provide solutions optimizing cost, reducing downtime and helping companies to achieve their sustainability targets. Our promise is simple: you do the driving – we do the rest.

Everything. I often describe it as a form of service subscription: in exchange for the fixed monthly fee our customers get a full-service package that includes the vehicle financing, maintenance and repairs, tyre management, insurance, 24/7 roadside assistance, damage handling, door-to-door and replacement vehicles, as well as full fleet administration. Access to our digital fleet management tool MyAyvens is also included, enhancing the driver experience and simplifying budgeting, reporting and control over mobility expenses.

Low and zero-emission vehicles are still not as popular in Bulgaria as they are nowadays in Nordic or Western European countries. Having supported our customers in these markets on their EV transition, Ayvens has built an extensive expertise on best practices, risks and key success factors, which we are now bringing to the service of the Bulgarian businesses – of course adapting the solutions to the realities of the Bulgarian market. We work closely with clients to assess their needs, to optimize operational processes and identify the roles that are most suitable for electrified mobility.

Our experience shows that when electric fleets are designed correctly, sustainability becomes economically effective. Partnerships like our work with AstraZeneca, where full fleet electrification reinforces global ESG commitments while maintaining predictable costs and high employee adoption, demonstrate how environmental responsibility can be successfully integrated into day-to-day business operations.

If I say that the future is digital, that statement will be outdated: we are living in a digital world, and a big part of our day-to-day activities is digitally enabled. Yet, while a fleet is an important part of almost any business, Ayvens is the first on the Bulgarian market to offer a digital portal as an integrated part of our service.

My Ayvens centralises all fleet and driver processes in one secure, intuitive platform. Fleet managers have access to vehicle data, costs, reporting, and documentation, while drivers can easily manage services such as maintenance requests and service appointments. With these digital workflows we truly put our customers in the driver's seat, replacing the hassle of fragmented communication with the freedom of connecting when and how they want.

With this powerful combination of expertise in full-service operational leasing, sustainable mobility and digitalization Ayvens is in a good position to redefine business mobility in Bulgaria. Our ambition is clear: to make mobility simpler, more transparent, more sustainable, and more efficient. When expertise, technology, and responsibility come together, we can truly move the needle and make life – and business – flow better. At Ayvens we say it with our slogan – "Better with every move".