Web Media family: Mainstream specialty media
Audience: 4,105,966
Media subject: Auto-Moto-Cyclo
Date: October 22, 2024
Journalists: Lionel Bret
Number of words: 841
Country: FRA
Source: www.caradisiac.com
Chinese manufacturers are going to flood business parks
Throughout the duration of the Paris Motor Show 2024, fleet managers came to carefully examine the latest manufacturers, but also to identify the new opportunities available to them. An update with Daniel Vassallucci, CEO of Optimum Automotive, a platform for fleet management.
The curtain has just come down. For a week, the Paris 2024 Paris Motor Show was the epicenter of all automotive attention. Those of the general public, whose enthusiasm for the car remains strong. But also those of companies and fleet managers.
As part of the greening of their fleets, these professionals came to examine the new electric models and take an interested look at the nine Chinese manufacturers present. An opportunity to take stock of the business fleet market with Daniel Vassallucci, CEO of Optimum Automotive, a platform for fleet management present in 30 countries.
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The greening of fleets is slower than that of the private sector. How do you explain it?
Switching from all-thermal to all-electric is not done in a snap. A lot of technical but also human parameters must be taken into account. It may seem easy at first, but it is extremely complex.
Before setting their sights on a model, fleet managers manipulate data packets in order to find the vehicle that fully meets the needs. Then there is the question of the cost of owning the car and its residual value.
However, today, we can see very well that an electric car is very quickly technologically outdated. This does not really encourage you to invest heavily in it.
So, according to you, a company would not have an interest in greening its park?
Fleets are being electrified. With caution and rationality. Several signals to the contrary have cooled the ardor of investors. The abolition (VP) and the decrease (VUL) of government aid to businesses is one of them. We also have a problem of exemplarity and continuity in the actions taken.
For many years, we have been under strong pressure to green the park in order to circulate in the urban centers concerned. In the end, many agglomerations have backed down, others have adapted or even relaxed the conditions of access to their ZFE.
Look at the recent cacophony around the CAFE standard (European manufacturers disagree with each other about its entry into force, editor's note), which I think will be postponed. All these rule changes and uncertainties are pushing businesses to wait and see.
However, studies¹ show that the cost of ownership of electric power is almost as competitive as that of thermal energy.
Electric is competitive compared to thermal energy, in terms of use, because maintenance costs are lower than an internal combustion engine. But it is still more expensive to buy and in the event of an accident or incident, the repair cost is greater than a thermal one (+29% according to a Solera study, editor's note). In addition, their level of repairability is much lower than their thermal equivalent.
If you add their big discount on the second-hand market and the increase in rental prices charged to businesses by LLD renters, the TCO (total cost of ownership) of electricity is finally no longer so competitive.
Weren't you worried that the public authorities would put in place sanctions against companies that do not comply with their legal obligations in terms of greening their fleets?
The company's market is electrifying, but it is not yet mature. A balance between supply and demand is being created. Including at the level of commercial vehicles, where the real challenge of greening is.
We notice that when it comes to renewing LGVs, such as Kangoo or Partner, companies are going electric. Given the investments made by manufacturers, given the environmental standards in force, this will happen, it is a matter of time. I don't think sanctions should be added to it.
Should we expect to see new manufacturers emerge?
We equip several thousand VTCs in Paris with telematics. After going to Mercedes, Toyota and then Tesla, we have been seeing their fleet mutate to Chinese models for a year now (BYD/Uber on 1000 cars, editor's note).
LLD rental companies are currently signing huge partnerships with Chinese brands. With the structuring and multiplication of distribution networks, the entire ecosystem is being organized.
We are going to have a real surge of Chinese vehicles in the years to come. For fleet managers, it's a way to lower carbon emissions with a compressed total cost of ownership.
Currently, Chinese manufacturers are setting the pace of the market.
#gestion_de_flotte, #IA, #plateforme, #mobilité
