The GE-owned commercial vehicle rental specialist says that flexible rental products such as its own Advantage – which allows fleets to hire a vehicle from one to three years with unlimited mileage and no early termination fee – seem to fit recessionary thinking exactly.
Simon Cook, sales director, explained: “During the recession, we have seen a fall off in traditional daily rental in line with overall reduced activity throughout the economy.
“However, the slack has largely been taken up with flexible rental, which we believe is proving to be the recessionary acquisition method of choice for many businesses.”
He explained that during the recession, with businesses finding it difficult to forecast their van and truck needs, Advantage allowed fleets a much higher degree of flexibility than other acquisition methods such as buying or leasing. It also allowed businesses to sidestep potentially problematic areas such as future residual values while conserving cash, the latter being an especially attractive point at a time when funding was often difficult to access.
Cook said: “More than anything, businesses are still worried about cash flow. They know that it is poor cash flow that kills most companies during tough economic times.
“What flexible rental allows them to do is take on the van or truck that they need without any of the long term commitment of buying or leasing. The vehicle essentially becomes part of their fleet but the moment the need for it ends, they can hand it back without penalty. For many businesses, that is a proposition that makes a lot of sense at the moment.”
An additional benefit of flexible rental was that some of the most time consuming aspects of day—to-day fleet management was often handled by the rental company themselves.
Cook said: “For example, Advantage provides roadside assistance as part of the package together with a relief vehicle whenever one is needed. Having these issues taken care of by the rental company means that the customer can concentrate on their core business.”
More details about TLS Advantage can be found at www.tls.co.uk/
