Small and medium-sized enterprises and rent-a-car in Byd's plans for growth in Italia

The choice is to support the rental channel at 360 degrees, therefore fleets, private individuals and rent-a-cars, strengthening the focus, in particular, on the world of SMEs. This is the vision of Alessandro Grosso, Byd's number one in Italia, behind him a career in the BtoB, remarketing and Stellantis Used sector. 'Private individuals,' he reflects, 'are already 30% of the rental market, and SMEs represent an interesting opportunity. Here there is an all-Italian problem of customer management, because dealers often do not push this solution, car manufacturers not even because they should have too widespread a network, but we need targeted work on communication, with trade associations, and on financial instruments,' Grosso reflects.

The Chinese car manufacturer is present in the fleets of more than 500 large companies in Italia, and this channel was Byd's first entry into the Italia market. "We have a consolidated team," explains Grosso, "of a dozen people divided by channels. Car List and rental companies were therefore the main channel of entry into the Italia market, with Arval as the captive but active partnerships with other companies as well. "To the SME channel," Grosso announced, "we will dedicate two people who will work with dealers and brokers. Small and medium-sized companies, if they are healthy, will buy and even at higher margins; this is a fast-growing sector, as demonstrated by the fact that rental companies are gearing up. A lot of expertise is needed in this sector to handle the tax issue and new technologies'. As for private individuals, 'this is an interesting market segment, attentive to new technologies,' argues Grosso, 'willing to give up ownership in exchange for a low down payment and a fixed instalment. In 2026, the choice is also to push rent-a-car, short-term rental, 'to circulate and show the cars', to promote the Chinese carmaker's technologies and then to valorise them through buy backs and the Remarketing channel. In Davide Grosso's vision, 'this is a potentially very profitable business'.

In general, the policy on fringe benefits is pushing new comers, Grosso reasons, and a further boost could come from the choices Europe will make on fleet electrification. 'Our first customer in Italia was a fleet customer, so the channel is strategic for us,' adds Grosso. "We had a model, the Seal U DM-i very oriented to the sector, so with this car we made our first important volumes in Italia." The technology most present in the fleet channel is the super hybrid, with a focus, Grosso explains, on residual value and brand positioning. "We are very attentive to this channel for three reasons: because customers are very predisposed towards technology, they are not afraid of the three-year deadline, and finally because we work well with commercial operators who believe in our technologies," adds Grosso. Among the novelties of the Chinese company is the Denza brand, 'Byd's technological manifesto', thanks to 'flash charging', the ultra-fast charging mode. The brand will be distributed from June and will have its first dealers in Europe by next month, three in Italia, 12 by the end of the year.