China’s BYD has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ayvens, the leasing and fleet management firm back by French bank Societe Generale, to try to improve its chances of taking a chunk out of Europe’s passenger and light commercial vehicle fleet market.
Through the partnership, Ayvens’ European clients will be able to access tailored electric vehicle fleet solutions — from advisory services and operational leases to end-to-end charging services — across BYD’s EV full range. White labelled full-service leasing services will also be provided by Ayvens to SME and private individuals through BYD’s dealer network.
Sign up for EV inFocus
EV inFocus: Hard news for the corporate e-mobility sector
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Operational leasing services will be initially available in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Further expansion is envisaged in additional European markets. And Ayvens and BYD will actively explore more opportunities within retail, including further developing white label operational lease cooperation.
The MoU also envisages the two companies enhancing collaboration through training programmes and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
“Together we offer diverse, accessible and appealing products with pioneering innovation to incentivise the advancement of eco-friendly lease fleets,” says BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu of the hook-up. His firm currently offers seven vehicles — the Tang, Han, Atto 3, Dolphin, Seal, Seal U and Seal U DM-I— across Europe’s C to E segments.
The deal is the second this week between a Chinese new entrant looking to break Europe and the leasing arm of a French bank, following on from Chery’s partnership with BNP Paribas. China’s OEMs may have “underestimated” the challenge of growing their brands in Europe, according to Claudio Afonso, founder of the eletric-vehicles.com news site, and partnerships with firms that can bring an existing customer base could represent a potential solution to that issue.
BYD has sold a mere 776 BEVs in Germany in the first five months of this year — admittedly more than the 141 units it managed to shift in the same period of 2023 — for a market share of just 0.55pc of Germany’s all-electric sales so far this year. In the UK, the firm sold c.2,100 BEVs Jan-May, according to consultancy New Automotive, for a slice of around 1.6pc of the UK’s all-electric pie.
Peter boasts 20+ years’ experience in energy/commodity journalism & analysis.
He is convinced the next few decades will be all about energy transition. Insider Focus is a front-row seat for the ride.
