Drivalia, a mobility provider from CA Auto Bank Group, enters the domestic short-term car rental market. The company, present in 15 European countries, offers a range of products, from electric car sharing to innovative car subscriptions and car rentals for a variety of periods.
In the Czech Republic, it will initially focus on short-term loans in the area of assistance services. The first step is the announcement of a cooperation with the Central Automobile Club of the Czech Republic (ÚAMK), one of the most important providers of roadside assistance in the Czech Republic, which will use Drivalia vehicles as replacement cars for drivers in difficulty.
"Our advantage is the advanced digitalisation of the entire process, which enables, among other things, integration with the systems of assistance providers. Smaller entities cannot offer them such convenience, so our ambition is to become their preferred supplier," says Peter Škoda, director of car remarketing at Drivalia Lease Czech Republic, a leading leasing company, and one of the managing directors of its sister company Drivalia Czech Republic.
"Due to the tradition that ÚAMK carries, we hope that the cooperation with Drivalia will lead to the satisfaction of our clients, for whom we will together provide mobility in case of any problem with their vehicle. The purpose is to ensure that our clients reach their destination without further worries," says Zdeněk Dufek, who manages the ÚAMK partner network.
Drivalia's latest move completes its product portfolio, which now includes all possible variants of vehicle usage times. In the case of classic operating leases, which are its dominant product in the Czech Republic, the length of the contract is in the order of years, most often three to five years. Drivalia Lease Czech Republic will continue to specialise in this traditional operating lease.
Sister company Drivalia Czech Republic will focus on shorter leases. For short-term vehicle rentals, it is one or several days, for medium-term rentals it is months.
In five Western countries (including its home country Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal), Drivalia is a major player in the short-term lending category. The Czech branch has its proven know-how at its disposal.
For the needs of assistance services and other customers, the company will build a total of six sites located across the country, which will allow it to deliver a vehicle in any region according to the client's request. The first office opened in Prague at the Václav Havel Airport.
For short-term rentals, it will use the fleet of vehicles it already offers for medium-term rentals. The fleet structure corresponds to the composition of domestic corporate fleets in terms of brands, motorisations, equipment and drive types. There are also commercial vehicles and electric cars.
The company expects demand for shorter leases to continue among its existing clientele, especially companies with larger fleets that require the most flexible solutions. By the end of this year, it plans to fine-tune its sales channel for corporate customers and will start preparing an offer for private buyers early next year.
European mobility provider Drivalia introduced itself in the Czech Republic last summer when it took over the local branch of the multinational leasing company LeasePlan. It is the leading company in the field of full-service leasing of company cars with more than 30 thousand vehicles in its customer portfolio in the Czech Republic. CA Auto Bank, the owner of Drivalia, belongs to the Crédit Agricole group, the tenth largest bank in the world.
In conclusion
Drivalia is owned by CA Auto Bank S.p.A., a universal bank wholly owned by Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility, which operates as an independent and multi-brand player in the vehicle financing and leasing and mobility sectors. It provides a complete range of credit and leasing solutions as well as insurance services. The credit products, leases or rentals and mobility financing provided by CA Auto Bank are specifically designed for dealer networks, private customers and corporate fleets. CA Auto Bank is represented in 18 European countries and also in Morocco with a total of more than 2,600 employees. Through the Drivalia brand, it provides a full suite of solutions: from electric car sharing to innovative subscriptions and car rentals for a wide variety of periods.
Drivalia addresses mobility in all its aspects and provides innovative plans that combine flexibility, digital usage, on-demand access and sustainability. In June 2019, it launched Mobility Stores, physical stores where customers can access all of the company's services. With the opening of the first fully electrified Mobility Store at Torino Caselle Airport in 2020, followed by many more, Drivalia has also become a key operator in the field of sustainable mobility. In fact, with more than 1,800 charging stations installed in all its stores, Drivalia has the largest private network of charging stations in Italy. The electrification project continues in the other European countries where Drivalia operates.
More information: www.ca-autobank.com, www.drivalia.com
The Central Automobile Club of the Czech Republic (ÚAMK) continues the tradition of the Czech motoring organisation founded in 1904. It provides mobility for more than 80% of customers when buying a new vehicle across all brands in the Czech Republic, and is also significantly represented among clients of leasing companies. In caring for customers, it is not limited to the Czech Republic, but benefits from synergies with its partners across Europe, including the ADAC partner car club in Germany with 22 million members and the Austrian OAMTC, which ensures the satisfaction of nearly 3 million members. The IAMC is also an integral part of international motoring structures, including membership of the FIA and exclusive representation in ARC Europe, the world's largest assistance company.
Read more: www.uamk.cz
