An influx of extra funding to
the fleet world will be the contract hire sector’s biggest issue in
the year ahead, says the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing
Association (BVRLA) in its predictions for 2011.

More banks, it asserts, are
on the verge of committing funds to the vehicle rental and leasing
market.

It also foresees smaller
leasing companies working together, using combined strengths to
present convincing funding cases to potential lenders.

Meanwhile, Leasedrive Velo
Group is peering into the future, predicting further industry
consolidation – quite apt given its own merging with Masterlease UK
in December.

Leasedrive also emphasises
the significance of Leaseway Vehicle Rental becoming the first
major contract hire company to call in the administrators at the
end of last year.

In 2010, it argues, a number
of contract hire companies either closed to new business, downsized
or divested their fleets, and struggled for funding. Further
consolidation in 2011, it concludes, seems inevitable.

Both the BVRLA and Leasedrive
also predict a significant increase in outsourcing. The BVRLA
suggests fleet management, either as part of a vehicle funding
agreement or on its own, will grow, with more organisations
deciding they haven’t the expertise or the inclination to manage
their fleets in-house. This trend is already noticeable in public
sector organisations hit by spending cuts, the association points
out.

Leasedrive anticipates a
steady rise in fleet management specialists, as more medium- and
large-sized organisations turn to fleet outsourcing.

The crystal ball gazers at
both organisations also agree on the increasing popularity of
salary sacrifice, with the BVRLA asserting that this appears
attractive to people who used to take cash instead of a car, rather
than being a substitute for the traditional company car
market.

Leasedrive links the issue with lower-emission vehicles.
With a buying trend towards more fuel-efficient and lower-polluting
cars, the most popular vehicles are proving to be among the 600
models available with CO2 emissions of 120g/km or less,
with employees taking advantage of the reduced benefit in kind tax
brackets, the fleet provider says.