New LeasePlan management to focus on Middle East

Friday, 07 May 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Global fleet management major LeasePlan Corp, which has operations in India, will focus more on the Middle East and other Asian markets under the new Volkswagen headed management, says a company official. Last month, in a $2.3 billion deal, Volkswagen AG and two Middle East partners - Abu Dhabi state-owned Mubadala Development Co. and Saudi Arabian Olayan Group based in Athens - acquired LeasePlan from ABN Amro Holding NV. Volkswagen now holds 50 percent stake while the other two Middle East partners have 25 percent stake each in LeasePlan, which is currently the market leader in Europe. "Our plans for India were chalked out five years ago. The change in management will not see any change in our position. The Indian market is evolving and changing with greater understanding of the concept of fleet management," said Vahid Daemi, global chief operating officer of LeasePlan Corp. "The change in ownership will work towards seeking opportunity in new markets in the Middle East and Asia. China, where Volkswagen has a strong presence, and Brazil are some of the other major markets we are looking at," Daemi told IANS. On a three-day visit to review Indian subsidiary's operations, Daemi said LeasePlan, unlike Volkswagen, currently has no presence in the Middle East. In India, LeasePlan has a presence in five metros and has become the market leader in New Delhi and Mumbai in the last couple of years. "In keeping with the increasing trend of outsourcing business, we are hopeful of raising our presence in India. The fact that our new car registrations have gone up to around 35 percent is very significant for a developing country," said Daemi. The company is currently managing a fleet of around 7,000 vehicles in India, while globally it manages a fleet of over 1.3 million vehicles. Leading corporates availing LeasePlan services in India include Whirlpool, Carrier Aircon, Castrol, Alcatel, Siemens, Compaq, Nicholas Piramal, Godrej Group, Taj Group, Lucent Technologies, Alstom, Reliance Group of Industries, Bayer, Microsoft and LG Electronics. While the choice of vehicles remains that of the customer, Daemi said Volkswagen would strive to increase its market share in India. Volkswagen is currently represented in India through its Czech subsidiary Skoda Auto, while LeasePlan has had a tie-up with Volkswagen Financial Services in Germany. "The choice of our customers will prevail though we would get them to use Volkswagen also. The change of shareholders will not see any difference in operations -- only more geographical expansion in the Middle East and Asian countries," Daemi said.
Source: IANS