Company fleets, here's why the residual value issue is holding back the race for electric cars

The rental sector, both short- and long-term, has therefore distanced itself from the electric car and there is also a key issue: that of residual value. In fact, the business model of this sector is based on holding the value of the used car at the end of the rental cycle. It is obvious that if the market for electric cars does not take off, resale value becomes uncertain. To make matters worse, there is the price war triggered by Tesla and the 'divine' Elon Musk, who in this way has dropped an atomic bomb on the car and rental industry. If new prices fall, used cars depreciate even more, and then the bank jumps: hello bev and phev, welcome back petrol (and hybrid) cars in fleets and short-term rental.

What is the situation at this point, even in Italy? 'In long-term rental,' says del Viscovo, 'the share of Bevs is just above that of the rest of the market, while it is much higher for plug-ins, which are a compromise between being in compliance with green policies and still being able to walk. The managers who have them almost always run with the combustion engine. According to a recent survey, this is greenwashing'.

And while electrics and even phevs, the so-called plug-in hybrids, are being forced into car policy, hybrids, the full hybrids are gaining share in fleets. Here the residual value parameter is important and for years now manufacturers have been helping rental companies with discounts to compensate for the more conservative residual values of electrics and phevs. That said, what matters, however, is the fluctuation in residual value. Incentives and price list cuts put Bev cars already listed and in the fleet out of the running, with losses on the part of renters. Fortunately, these numbers are very small.

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Conversely, the residual value of unplugged hybrids is higher. "The hybrid engine," continues del Viscovo, "is a success story of technology and attracts customers in every segment. That is why unplugged hybrid and full hybrid models are the cars that everyone wants".

In the fleet sector there is also, as in the private market, an increased presence of Chinese cars, which not surprisingly focus on hybrid technologies in this sector. "Fleets," says del Viscovo, "started to evaluate Chinese cars, including DR, when traditional manufacturers were not delivering, due to problems and to keep discounts down. In general, there are concrete signs that car policies are becoming less rigid'. So it remains to be understood, especially in fleets that have an employee benefits vocation, how competitive a car made in China is compared to a classic premium German car.

Lastly, in company fleets the issue of taxation is disruptive, also to support the transition to electric mobility. In fact, Anfia, Aniasa, Federato, Motus-E and Unrae have asked the government for a review of company car taxation functional to the adoption of new technologies aimed at supporting companies in the process of renewing their car fleets and accompanying the spread of sustainable zero and low emission mobility in our country.