Hire, mergers filed, now consolidation takes place

With the long merger season almost over, the rental market is now moving forward with consolidation and reorganisation of ideas. With a fleet of millions of vehicles managed by a few large players, integration has become a key factor in the race to offer electrified and data-driven mobility solutions. See the case of Ayvens, which resulted from the acquisition of LeasePlan by Ald Automotive in 2023. With that transaction, it immediately became the largest rental company in Europe, with a total fleet of 3.4 million vehicles in 42 countries around the world and the largest multi-brand electric vehicle offering. This leadership is stable and still continues today, but with different numbers. At the end of 2025, the total fleet managed by Ayvens had decreased by 3.2 per cent compared to the year before, but with the share of electric vehicles in new registrations rising to 43 per cent and, above all, with profitability growing by almost 46 per cent in 2024.

Behind it is Arval, with a leased fleet approaching 1.9 million vehicles in 28 countries by the end of 2025. In its case, the transformation operations are not yet complete. After months of indiscretions and indirect announcements, the Bnp Paribas group company is now close to acquiring Athlon, the rental company that has belonged to Mercedes-Benz for the past ten years. The German manufacturer had in fact taken it over in 2016 from the Dutch bank Rabobank, quickly leading it to become one of the leading rental operators, with around 400,000 vehicles in 20 countries. The deal, which is now at an advanced stage, is expected to generate millions of euros in cash for Mercedes-Benz and strengthen Arval's position as Europe's second-largest operator in terms of managed fleet, well in excess of 2.2 million vehicles. The deal is expected to be concluded in the second half of this year.

With the acquisition of Athlon, Arval will be able to strengthen itself throughout Europe: not only in the western and southern markets, where it has traditionally been most present, but also in the northern countries. On the third step of the podium is Leasys, the joint venture between Stellantis and Crédit Agricole, which boasts a fleet of more than 900,000 vehicles in eleven European countries and aims to reach one million by the end of 2026, with the goal of operating at least 25% low-emission vehicles.

According to Dataforce's analysis, in the first months of 2026 it was Leasys that showed the most significant growth in Italia, with registrations up 32.5% in the first quarter, although these are still provisional figures and we will have to wait until the end of the half-year for more significant consolidated numbers. Arval, on the other hand, registered almost 18 thousand vehicles, some 700 fewer than in Q1 2025, while Ayvens exceeded 17 thousand.

Off the podium was Volkswagen Leasing, up 5.4% on last year and close to 14,000 new plates, thanks mainly to Audi models. Alphabet, of the Bmw group, registered 6,300 vehicles, doubling the 2025 levels (again, verification will be needed for consolidated numbers), while Drivalia, a subsidiary of CA Auto Bank, posted the highest growth rate among the main operators: over 200% more registrations than in Q1 2025.