CarFleet n. 33 - LeasePlan

Editorial
Seizing opportunities
at a difficult time
Ho w
should
we face
what has
been defined
a horrible
year for the
car and the
economy as a
whole? Is it possible to transform
crisis into an opportunity? Judging
by the enquiry conducted by
Vincenzo Conte, who interviewed
fleet managers of car manufacturers
which are very active in our
market, as well as interviews with
figures like Massimo Mazza and
Mauro Veglia, the constructive
approach would seem to prevail. A
difficult patch like the one we are
going through may also be an
opportunity to solve problems
which have been around for ages,
and find solutions also to face the
challenges that will emerge as
soon as we come out on the other
side of the reprisal. This seems to
be the most widespread conviction
in the car sector, which studies its
market thoroughly, making the
most of existing solutions and
focusing on new ones both for the
product and on an organisational
level. On the subject of organisation,
2010 will bring a new challenge
with the renewal - or lack of
renewal – of the European regulations
for car sales and services.
Ermanno Molinari has interviewed
three members of the car sector
who are involved with the problem
in different ways: Jaromír Hájek,
managing director of LeasePlan
Italy, Vincenzo Malagò, chairman of
the car dealers' federation
Federaicpa, and Bruno Beccari,
chairman of Adira, an association
active in the car services sector.
But of course we need to reach
2010 in the best possible conditions.
The current market situation
is not the greatest, but things are
changing. First of all, companies
are beginning to win back customers'
trust; then, as regards the
company car sector, a conference
held at the end of May at the
University of Bologna provided an
occasion for some interesting pointers
towards the relaunch of the
sector from Guido Rossignoli,
managing director of Anfia
(National Association of the
Automobile Industry) and Gianni
Filipponi, secretary general of the
National Union of Foreign Car
Representatives. More specifically,
Rossignoli asked for incentives to
be extended also to renting, while
Filipponi emphasised the need to
adapt tax regulations for company
cars to European standards, reintroduce
accelerated depreciation
and launch a “Tremonti-ter” law, in
other words a measure to give tax
exemption for profits used for new
investments, including investments
in cars and commercial vehicles.
At the time of going to press,
the government appears about to
launch a “Tremonti-ter” law which
does not however seem to concern
the purchase of cars. This is a pity
because it would have been a useful
way to give a bit of respite to the
company car market besides, of
course, the economy as a whole.
And again at the University of
Bologna, on the initiative of
CarNext, focus was placed on the
used car market, which is languishing
due to adoption of incentives
in favour of the new car market.
The message emerging from the
conference is “if the government
makes any changes to incentives, it
should also remember to add some
incentives for trading used cars
with used cars”. Since our journal
is specifically for company fleet
managers, we have not forgotten
to include topics which will be of
immediate use for their everyday
work. More specifically, Veronica
Carletti looks at Fleet Balance, a
useful instrument from LeasePlan
to ensure correct balancing
between management costs,
respect for the environment and
driver satisfaction, while Cinzia
Bortolotti has compiled the halfyear
updating of the running costs
of 100 company cars, the crowning
achievement of our journal.
At this point if anyone thinks we
might have been too serious in this
issue, they ought to take a look at
the test drives of five splendid
models by Roberto Mazzanti and
the portraits of twelve novelties
straight from the pen of Lodovico
Basalù.
Happy reading!
Mauro Manzoni,
Managing Editor
CarFleet luglio 2009
11