Fleet Europe Days 2025

Executive Insights on Navigating Fleet Value, Regulatory Challenges, and Innovation in the Evolving European Leasing Market

A key moment was the annual Executive discussion panel on “Delivering value for Fleet Managers”, where our CEO Tim Albertsen, alongside Jesper Lyndberg (Alphabet) , Bart Beckers (Arval), Giacomo Carelli (Drivalia) and Federico Sanguinetti (Leasys), shared insights into how they drive customer value, manage disruption, and stay resilient in an evolving and complex market.

The discussion focused on navigating the volatile European regulatory environment, including tariffs, EV mandates, and new tax regimes. The panelists also shared their strategies to address the rapid rise of EV Chinese players and their potential move into finance and insurance sectors.

They outlined how consolidation in the European leasing market is reshaping both opportunities and risks, with digital competitors emerging from leasing, OEMs, and tech sectors. On the topic of decarbonisation, leaders emphasised the need for overall stability and smarter residual value setting for EVs to support sustainability while balancing customer demands for cost and flexibility.

They also acknowledged the challenges of aligning internal sustainability goals with market behaviour, including potential adjustments in EV pricing. Finally, CEOs debated AI threats and opportunities in transforming business, agreeing on a balanced approach between AI and human intelligence, and considered how autonomous vehicle fleets will transform the leasing industry.

“Shaping the future: global perspectives”.

John Saffrett, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Shlomo Crandus, CEO of Wheels, led a thought leadership session, outlining the significant global consolidation experienced by the fleet industry, driven by the need for larger scale investments across diverse vehicles and customer segments.

This consolidation enables businesses to leverage synergies, greater data capabilities, and expertise to meet evolving client demands in a rapidly innovating market. This fast-growing market is driven by strong underlying megatrends, such as a shift from ownership to usership models, data-driven digital transformation, and a strong push towards zero-emission and sustainable mobility amid complex geopolitical, economic, and way-of-working challenges. The industry is adapting through new, more efficient business models that combine internal capabilities with external partnerships, aiming to deliver differentiated, integrated solutions.

Looking ahead, three transformative forces are shaping fleet and mobility: data and AI, connected vehicles, and electrification. Data and AI enhance fleet intelligence and customer experience, while connected vehicles create real-time communication networks that improve visibility, safety, and operational efficiency. Electrification is driven by regulatory mandates and technological advances like solid-state batteries, though client adoption varies by readiness and sustainability commitment.

The alliance between Wheels and Ayvens strengthens global reach, expertise, and co-investment in innovation, enabling enhanced data harmonisation, benchmarking, and customer-centric digital services. This partnership supports sustainability leadership and end-to-end client journeys with intelligent, seamless technology solutions across geographies.

Strengthening relationships with our clients and partners

Of course, one of the most important moments for us is meeting with our clients and partners at our booth, which was a central hub of activity throughout the event. For the second year in a row, our alliance partners Wheels, SG Fleet from Australia, and Mitsubishi from Malaysia, AutoCorp from Latam and Arrend from Central America, were also present at our side to offer clients and partners a look at how our combined expertise is helping them navigate the global challenges of today and tomorrows, across borders.

Among the multiples moments we’ve shared with our clients, we had the pleasure of hosting a discovery session of our Mobility Lab with several of our international clients. A convivial moment that enabled the participants experience the real impact of their mobility choices—and turns awareness into action. Co-created with the NGO 'The Shifters', France's leading sustainability think tank known from the Climate Fresque, the Mobility Lab is an innovative and interactive initiative designed for our clients. It incites corporates to engage, collaborate and develop a shared strategy for low-carbon mobility across departments such as HR, Finance, CSR and Mobility. Part of our global consultancy offer, The Mobility Lab is already available centrally and in 7 countries via trained facilitators.

Discover more about our innovation: The Mobility Lab