Stuck in the fossil age

Are car leasing companies in the EU

green leaders or greenwashing?

ELECTRIC DIESEL

ELECTRIC PHEV

ELECTRIC PETROL

ELECTRIC DIESEL

ELECTRIC

PHEV

DIESEL
ELECTRIC

PETROL

ELECTRIC
Stuck in the fossil age
Are car leasing companies in the EU green leaders or
greenwashing?

October 2023

A briefing by 2
Summary
Today half of all new cars in the EU are leased, not bought. Leasing companies, owned by banks
or carmakers, are the secret giants of the automotive world. Combined, the top seven leasing
companies register 30% of new cars in the EU and hold a fleet with an estimated 9.3 million cars.
This incredible size provides leasing companies with great influence on the cars we drive and the
pace of the transition to zero-emission mobility.

The leasing sector claims that they are using their influence to drive the transition to electric
vehicles, but is this really the case? This T&E briefing is a first-of-its-kind analysis, assessing the
green leadership claims of the seven largest largest companies (with significant operational
leasing) and the sector overall. In our analysis - focusing on the EU market - we assess green
leadership using seven criteria:

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The top seven leasing giants are not green leaders

Our assessment reveals that leasing companies are not the climate champions they claim to be.
In the majority of cases they fail to meet the green leadership criteria:

● All leasing companies refused to share data on their battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake in
the EU and none have committed to a phase out date for fossil fueled cars.
● In terms of electromobility ambition, ALD | LeasePlan is the only leasing company that
has set a BEV target ahead of carmaker production plans. Arval has a weak target far
below carmaker production plans and the other leasing companies have failed to set BEV
targets.
● Alphabet is an electromobility laggard: their BEV uptake is far behind the market and they
have failed to set any BEV target.
● Volkswagen FS - the largest leasing company - refuses transparency and has failed to set
any BEV target.

Six out of seven companies are greenwashing

Moreover, our investigation reveals that all leasing companies – with the exception of ALD |
LeasePlan – are making green leadership claims that are not backed up by evidence. In other
words, leasing companies are greenwashing.

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The leasing sector is not driving the transition

We see the same trend when analysing the performance of the sector overall. Contrary to their
claims to be “driving the transition to sustainable mobility”, the sector is firmly in the passenger
seat. In seven of the eleven EU markets with available data, the sector is lagging the market in
terms of BEV uptake. Across these EU markets, the leasing sector is simply in line with the
non-leasing market (10.4% vs 10.5%) and even behind private households (11.2%).

Leasing companies can make or break the decarbonisation of the transport sector

The leasing sector and companies should change course and become the green leaders they
claim to be. This means increase transparency, commit to a phase out date for fossil fueled cars
by 2028 at the very latest, set ambitious interim targets for BEV uptake and start advocating for
policy reforms that accelerate corporate car electrification (e.g. tax reforms).

By doing so, leasing companies can make a sizable contribution to the fight against climate
change and the decarbonisation of the transport sector. Our analysis shows that if the top seven

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leasing companies commit to 100% battery electric by 2028 (new registrations), it would bring an
additional 11.9 million BEVs (+45%) onto the market. This translates to a savings of 73 million
tonnes of CO2 emissions and 181 million barrels of oil over the same time period.

The steps towards real green leadership are clear. What remains unclear is whether the major
leasing companies will take these steps or remain rooted in the fossil age.

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1. Introduction: the secret giants of the auto world
Purchasing a car outright is no longer the norm in Europe. Today, most new cars are acquired through
a leasing company that either owns the car and leases it at a monthly rate (i.e. service or operational
leasing) or sells the car on loan through a monthly payment plan (i.e. financial leasing). The rapidly
growing leasing sector now commands a 50% market share for new car purchases1 and is forecasted to
reach nearly 70% in 2030.2

Leasing companies are the new giants in the car world. Yet while much is known about car companies
– with their names, logos, and reputations considered household knowledge – the same cannot be
said for car leasing companies. A deeper understanding of this sector is particularly important now
during this transformational period in which the European car market must phase-out combustion
engines by 2035. As the main car buyer, the leasing sector has a critical role in determining the success
of this transition to electromobility. Fortunately the sector claims to support – and even lead – this
transition.

But are car leasing companies really green leaders? Or is this simply another case of corporate
greenwashing? This briefing seeks to answer these questions through a first-of-its-kind assessment of
green claims and reality. Section 1 presents an overview of the sector, its role, and sets out the
framework for this assessment. Section 2 uses the latest market data to assess the leasing sector as a
whole and Section 3 continues this assessment for individual car leasing companies. Section 4
considers the implications of green leadership in the leasing sector in terms of emission savings,
production, and feasibility and Section 5 offers conclusions from this assessment.

1.1. Leasing companies are extremely big and extremely profitable

While there are over 1,200 leasing companies in the EU,3 a small number of leasing companies that
operate across the European continent dominate the sector in terms of car volumes. This report
analyses the seven largest leasing giants with significant operational leasing: Volkswagen Financial
Services, Mobilize Financial Services, ALD | LeasePlan,4 Arval, Leasys, Alphabet, Athlon. These seven
companies oversee a fleet of 13.4 million cars globally of which an estimated 9.3 million are in the EU
(see Table 1).

1
Leaseurope, personal communication, 20 September 2023.
2
69% according to Autovista (2023). Remarketing Expert Track. FleetEurope. (link)
3
Leaseurope members minus UK, Norway, Turkey, Switzerland.
4
Rebranded as ‘Ayvens’ on 16 October 2023. In this document we still refer to the name ALD | LeasePlan. The
rollout of the new brand will happen in 2024.

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Table 1: The estimated EU fleets of the seven largest leasing companies (2022)
Leasing New Earnings Profits Profit
company Ownership Fleet vehicles (€ million) (€ million) margin

Volkswagen FS Volkswagen Group 2,741,000 913,000 26,848 3,241 12%

ALD | LeasePlan Société Générale Group 1,449,000 414,000 6,718 1,750 25%
(majority)

Mobilize FS Renault 1,989,000 568,000 1,705 584 34%

Arval BNP Paribas 1,397,000 399,000 2,121 1,062 50%

Leasys Stellantis/Crédit Agricole 751,000 215,000 - - -

Alphabet BMW 559,000 160,000 - - -

Athlon Mercedes-Benz 384,000 110,000 - - -

Source: T&E calculation. Sources and methodology detailed in Annex A.

Based on the leasing period of three to four years,5 this fleet size is equivalent to 2.8 million annual
registrations representing 60% of the EU leasing market and 30% of all new car registrations in the EU.

Figure 1: Share of new car registrations in Europe

Source: T&E calculations based on Leasing company reports on fleet size, Leaseurope on the share of the leasing
sector, ACEA on the number of new registrations, and an assumption of 3.5 year leasing period.

5
This assumption is confirmed by Arval’s average contract length of 3.5 years (link) and the 3.5 ratio between
Alphabet’s fleet and registrations (link).

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This growth of the largest leasing companies has been achieved not just by attracting customers, but
also through consolidation. The first months of 2023 were an active period in the sector that saw ALD,
the largest multi-brand leasing company, acquire LeasePlan, the second largest multi-brand leasing
company, for €4.8 billion. Leasys and Free2Move, two more of the largest leasing companies also
merged to become the fifth largest leasing company.

In terms of corporate ownership, there are three models present in the major leasing companies.
Some companies (VW Financial Services and Mobilize Financial Services) are owned by carmakers and
function as ‘captive leasing companies’ – used by the carmarkers as a channel to promote and
distribute their cars. Some companies (Alphabet, Athlon, part of Leasys) are owned by carmakers but
are ‘multi-brand’ and lease cars from multiple carmakers. And some companies (ALD | LeasePlan,
Arval, part of Leasys) are multi-brand companies that are majority-owned by banks.

These leasing companies are not only large, but they are extremely profitable. While some companies
do not disclose their financials, for every company where financial data is available the results are
astounding. Profits are in the hundreds of millions and have recently crossed into the billions for ALD |
LeasePlan and Arval. These profits are made on both the leasing services provided, the sale of used
cars (reported as €2,850 per car6), and other business ventures. The profit margins of 12%-50% for the
largest European leasing companies (and reported as 48% for the whole leasing sector7) are extremely
high compared to other sectors of the economy.8 The profit margins of European carmakers have
increased in recent years but in most cases are around 10 times lower (2%-17%).9

1.2. Leasing companies shape the car market

The tremendous size of car leasing companies is clear, and yet even these figures understate their true
impact on the car market. This is due to the nature of car leasing and the rapid turnover of cars in the
fleets of leasing companies.

A typical car lease covers a period of three or four years - compared to ten to fifteen years for private
households - before it expires. What happens to the car at the end of the lease depends on the
specifics of the contract, but if the car is not re-leased or purchased by the user then it is sold onto the
used car market. This short ownership period means that leasing companies act as a critical entry
6
ALD (2023). Annual financial information: ALD report full year 2022 results. (link) FleetEurope (2022). ALD
reports record €1.2-billion half-yearly income. FleetEurope. (link)
7
Leaseurope reports profitability of 48% across a sample of its members. Leaseurope (2023). Leaseurope Index
Q1 2023. (link)
8
For example, a 2020 survey of European service sectors showed profit margins between 0% and 4%. Statista
(2020). European service sector: financial insight (link)
9
Transport & Environment (2023). Small and profitable. (link)

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 point for new cars. Year after year, there is a continuous flow with new cars entering the market
through the leasing sector and then exiting onto the used car market.

Leasing companies therefore act as a filter through which half of new cars will pass. This filtering effect
can shape the car market in different ways. Based on the statements of leasing companies detailed in
the following sections, it would seem that leasing companies are using this tremendous market power
to drive the transition to electromobility. But is this really the case? Or just another example of
corporate greenwashing?

1.3. Our framework for assessing green leadership claims

To assess whether the claims of the leasing sector and major leasing companies are green leadership
or simply greenwashing, this briefing compiles the latest data on new registrations by leasing
companies and applies four criteria of green leadership (see Table 2). These are:

● Current uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs);

● Use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles instead of battery electric vehicles (PHEV share of EVs);
● Average vehicle CO2 emissions (all vehicles);
● Size of cars (all vehicles).

Three additional criteria are included in our analysis of the top seven leasing companies:

● Data disclosure on environmental performance;

● Target to phase-out fossil fuel vehicles;
● Target for the uptake of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).

Table 2: Framework to assess the green leadership claims of European car leasing companies
Green leadership criteria Measurement Explanation

Disclosure of data on If there is publicly available data on Without disclosure, green leadership claims
environmental performance the other six green leadership cannot be verified and are prone to
criteria. This data must cover new greenwashing abuse. The three attributes of
registrations, separate BEVs and disclosure (new registrations, EV type, and
PHEVs, and be available by market market) are necessary for comparison
(e.g. each country of operation in between companies and so that
the EU). performance is not influenced by factors
outside green leadership such as the length
of fleet turnover, the uptake of PHEVs, or
main markets of operation.

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Target to phase-out fossil fuel If there is a phase-out date for An ambitious phase-out date indicates
vehicles polluting vehicles that is more future green performance and sends a
ambitious than the EU’s CO2 signal to carmakers about demand from the
standards and European carmaker leasing sector. Many governments,10
production plans. carmakers,11 and corporate fleets12 have
phase-out dates of 2030 or earlier.

Target for the uptake of If there is a target for the uptake of An ambitious ZEV target indicates future
zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) zero-emission vehicles that is more green performance and sends a signal to
ambitious than the EU’s CO2 carmakers about demand from the leasing
standards and European carmaker sector.
production plans.

Current uptake of battery If the BEV share of new registrations To test if the leasing sector is transitioning
electric vehicles (BEV) is higher than the overall market. faster than the rest of the market. Other
types of zero-emission vehicles form a
negligible share of the market and are
sometimes reported as BEVs.13

Use of plug-in hybrids instead If the PHEV share of EV registrations Plug-in hybrid vehicles have high real world
of full electric vehicles is lower than the overall market. emissions (see Info Box 1), undermining
their purported CO2 savings and displacing
demand for battery electric vehicles.

Average car CO2 emissions If the average CO2 emissions from For combustion vehicles, this is the most
new registrations is lower than the direct measure of current emissions.
overall market.

Use of smaller vehicles If the share of small cars (segments Larger vehicles are correlated with higher
A and B) in new registrations is emissions, embedded emissions, and safety
higher than the overall market risks for other road users.
and/or if the share of large cars
(segments D and E) is lower.

10
International Council on Clean Transportation (2021). Update on government targets for phasing out new sales
of internal combustion engine passenger cars. (link)
11
Transport & Environment (n.d.). The race to electrify. (link)
12
The Climate Group (n.d.). EV100 members. (link)
13
Less than 0.0001% of new registrations. T&E calculations based on Dataforce (2023). New passenger car
registrations H1 2023.

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The focus of the four measures is on new registrations. This is because the objective is to measure
current performance and a focus on new registrations covers purchases made in the last year.
Furthermore, employing a uniform time period allows for comparability between different leasing
companies and to the rest of the car market despite the different holding periods of vehicles (e.g. a
fleet of older vehicles will inevitably have few BEVs).

INFO BOX 1: Plug-in hybrids are not zero-emission cars

PHEVs are typically advertised with test-cycle emissions in the range of 30-60g CO2/km, but analysis
of charging behaviour and real-world world emissions has revealed emissions three to five times as
high.14 The result is that real-world CO2 emissions from PHEVs, particularly PHEV corporate cars, are
more comparable to an ICE car.

There are several factors leading to high PHEV emissions:

● There is a fundamental design problem of PHEVs where the small e-motor is ineffective when
accelerating at pace and the ICE is often activated in real world use. Many models also lack fast
charging capabilities, requiring long charging times even for the smaller PHEV battery and
leading PHEV users to often drive with an empty battery.
● Testing has shown that PHEVs are being driven with greater acceleration and on longer trips
before charging than under test-cycle conditions. This driving behaviour is particularly
problematic for the corporate fleet as the cars are driven further and charged less.
● PHEVs tend to be larger and heavier than the average ICE car.
● All cars powered by an ICE — PHEVs included — continue to demonstrate a gap between
test-cycle and real-world performance despite improvements in testing procedures.

While best practices such as daily charging can mitigate these factors, modelling has revealed that
even with daily charging real-world emissions from the corporate fleet would still be twice as high
compared to the WLTP values due to the high mileage and average trip length of those cars.15 The
conclusion is that PHEVs cannot be considered a zero-emission car.

The scope of this assessment is limited along several dimensions (see Table 3). This is both necessary
in terms of feasibility of data collection but also beneficial in terms of providing clarity and relevance
of the results.

14
ICCT (2022). Real-world usage of plug-in hybrid vehicles in Europe: A 2022 update on fuel consumption,
electric driving, and CO2 emissions. ICCT. (link)
15
Institut für angewandte Ökologie, Transport & Environment, Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung
Heidelberg. (2020). Plug-in hybrid electric cars: Market development, technical analysis and CO₂ emission
scenarios for Germany. (link)

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Table 3: Scope of the assessment
Dimension Scope Explanation

Green leadership Climate change This briefing is about climate greenwashing. There
may be other environmental issues and cases of
greenwashing but this would require a separate
assessment. Bringing up other environmental
issues (recycling, tree planting) is a greenwashing
tactic.

Time period New registrations during the first The objective of this briefing is to assess the most
half of 2023 for most comparisons, recent data to form relevant and timely
full year 2022 where necessary conclusions.

Vehicles Passenger cars Passenger cars represent the majority of CO2

emissions from road transport and the majority of
leasing company fleets. The removal of light
commercial vehicles is also important for
comparability between companies.

Geography European Union The EU is the relevant policy space in terms of

existing legislation (e.g. car CO2 standards,
Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation, Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive) and future
legislation (e.g. greening fleets initiative, Euro 7
standards).

Leasing companies Whole sector and seven of the These seven companies were selected for
largest companies assessment as they are expected to be the largest
companies.

Types of leasing Both service leasing and financial Service leasing and financial leasing are both
leasing (where data is available) relevant to the electromobility transition. Leasing
companies include both leasing types when they
make statements about their fleet size and green
leadership.

The following sections first apply this framework to the leasing sector as a whole (section 2) and the
largest leasing companies (section 3).

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2. Is the leasing sector really a green leader?
With environmental issues commanding greater public focus, businesses across the economy have
responded by highlighting their green leadership. The European leasing sector is no exception here,
with leasing companies increasingly vocal about their role in the transition to electromobility and a
zero-emission transport system.

But corporate environmentalism has also attracted criticism for greenwashing, where the actions of
companies do not support their green claims. Is this also the case in the leasing sector? This section
reviews the performance of the EU leasing sector to test whether it is really a green leader or just
greenwashing.

2.1. Green leadership claims

Based on their statements, it is clear that the leasing sector – and the individual companies that
compose it – view themselves as green leaders. They are not just following the transition to
electromobility passively, but rather they claim to be driving the transition. As Leaseurope, the
umbrella body representing the European leasing sector, explains: “Lessors and automotive rental
firms are driving the transition to sustainable mobility and reducing transport emissions by purchasing
the cleanest fit-for-purpose new vehicles.”16 The major leasing companies echo this view of the sector.
According to Leasys, “long-term rental will be a ‘driving force’ in the transition towards electrification.”17

This positioning of the leasing sector in the driving seat of electromobility is not evidenced. When
challenged on electromobility (e.g. the conservative assumptions overpricing BEV contracts), the
response of the sector is that “Leasing companies are already the largest acquirers of EVs in Europe”
and that “We buy about half of all new vehicles and a significantly higher percentage of EVs.”18

But these statements do not evidence green leadership. First, as leasing companies acquire half of new
vehicles it is unsurprising that they are the largest acquirers of EVs in Europe. The same statement
could be said for petrol, diesel, and all other fuel types. It simply confirms that the sector is large, not
that it is green. Second, despite responding to research about overpricing BEVs, the response from
Leaseurope is about EVs, which combines BEVs and PHEVs together. In their new 2023 Annual Review,
Leaseurope reports the sector’s BEV uptake as 14% – exactly in line with the European market and
thus firmly in the passenger seat.19 More evidence is required, particularly for the EU market.

16
Leaseurope (2021). Ambitious plans for electric vehicles in Europe. (link)
17
Leasys (2023). Leasys, a new European mobility player. (link)
18
Fleet Europe (2023). Leasing industry hits back at EV overcharging claims. (link)
19
EU + EFTA + UK in ACEA (2023). Fuel types of new cars: battery electric 12.1%, hybrid 22.6% and petrol 36.4%
market share full-year 2022. (link)

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2.2. Current uptake of battery electric vehicles: The leasing sector is not
leading the market
In terms of battery electric vehicles, data for the first half of 2023 reveals that the leasing sector -
contrary to their public statements - is not leading the rest of the market. For the eleven EU countries
where car registrations are recorded by keeper of the vehicle, BEV uptake in the leasing sector is below
the rest of the market in seven countries, above in three countries, and in line with the market in one
country (see Figure 1). Combining the figures for all eleven EU countries results in a BEV uptake in the
leasing sector that is just in line with the rest of the market: 10.4% leasing compared to 10.5% in
non-leasing channels.

Figure 1: Uptake of battery electric vehicles in the leasing sector and all other channels
Source: T&E calculations based on Dataforce (2023). New passenger car registrations H1 2023.
Notes: Numbers indicate the absolute difference (in percentage points) between the leasing and non-leasing
channels. Data is recorded by the ‘keeper’ of the vehicle, which covers operational but not financial leasing.

Alarmingly, these results are not merely the result of a specific date range. Using the full year 2022
registrations yields an even worse result, with the BEV uptake in the leasing sector above the market in
eight of the eleven EU countries and uptake for the EU of 7.0% compared to 9.0% in the rest of the
market.

This comparison to the rest of the market incorporates many different channels. Analysing these
channels separately shows that while the 10.4% BEV uptake in the leasing sector is above of the
specialised rent-a-car (4.6%) and dealers and manufacturers (10.0%), it is below both true fleets
(13.2%) and private households (11.2%).

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2.3. Use of plug-in hybrids instead of full electric vehicles: The leasing
sector has a higher PHEV share than the market
While the leasing sector is not leading the rest of the market on BEVs, it is on PHEVs – and by a
significant margin. Combining the numbers for all eleven EU countries results in a PHEV uptake in the
leasing sector of 10.7% compared to 6.9% in non-leasing channels (see Figure 2) – an additional 4
percentage points which is 55% higher. Compared to each non-leasing channel separately, the leasing
sector has a higher PHEV uptake than private households (3.9%), rent-a-car (6.9%), and dealers and
manufacturers (10.5%) but not true fleets (13.9%).

Figure 2: Uptake of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the leasing sector and all other channels
Source: T&E calculations based on Dataforce (2023). New passenger car registrations H1 2023.
Notes: Numbers indicate the absolute difference (in percentage points) between the leasing and non-leasing
channels. Data is recorded by the ‘keeper’ of the vehicle, which covers operational but not financial leasing.

But this high uptake of PHEVs is not green leadership; it is the opposite. PHEVs have high real-world
emissions (see Info Box 1) and displace demand for electric vehicles from zero-emission BEVs.

As the leasing sector has a higher uptake of PHEVs than the rest of the market but is in line with the
market on BEVs, the leasing sector is therefore more oriented towards PHEVs (51%) than the rest of the
market (40%) and especially private households (26%). While the ratio of BEVs for each PHEV
registered in the leasing channel is only 1:1 compared to 1.5:1 in non-leasing channels and nearly 3:1
for private households (see Figure 3). This strong orientation towards PHEVs may explain why the
leasing sector often refers to its “EV share” (see Section 2.1) rather than reporting on BEV and PHEV
uptake separately.

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 Figure 3: Composition of EV uptake in the leasing sector and all other channels
Source: T&E calculations based on Dataforce (2023). New passenger car registrations H1 2023.
Notes: Data is recorded by the ‘keeper’ of the vehicle, which covers operational but not financial leasing.

As with BEV uptake (Section 2.2), these results are not merely the result of a specific date range. The
full year 2022 registrations result in a PHEV share of 60% for the leasing sector and 42% for all other
channels – an even greater disparity.

2.4. Average vehicle CO2 emissions: The leasing sector has higher car CO2
emissions than the market when PHEVs are accounted for
Given the high uptake of PHEVs in the leasing sector and the divergence between reported and
real-world emissions for these vehicles, the consideration of PHEVs also has a significant impact on the
comparison of average CO2 emissions. Using the reported WLTP CO2 emissions of all fuel types
registered, the leasing sector has average CO2 emissions per car that are lower than non-leasing
channels (106.9 versus 109.3 g CO2/km). This result is largely due to the fact that the WLTP emissions of
PHEVs - which are 11% of all new registrations in the leasing sector - are much lower than their
real-world emissions (see Info Box 1).

If estimates for the real-world emissions of cars are used (for all fuel types),20 then the result reverses
with the leasing sector recording higher average CO2 emissions per car (137.7 versus 131.8 g CO2/km).
Finally, if PHEVs and BEVs are removed to only focus on the CO2 emissions of internal combustion

20
Applying factors of 1.36 to ICE emissions for private registrations and 1.42 for corporate registrations and 2.9 to
PHEV emissions for private registrations and 4.875 for corporate registrations. Figures are based on ICCT (2022).
Real-world usage of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: A 2022 update. Page 11, Table 3. (link) and ICCT (2019). From
laboratory to road: A 2018 update. Page 41, Table 26. (link)

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engine (ICE) vehicles, again, the leasing sector has higher average CO2 emissions per car (131.2 versus
129.7 g CO2/km).

Figure 4: Comparison of average CO2 emissions per car by three measurements

Source: T&E calculations based on Dataforce (2023). New passenger car registrations H1 2023.
Notes: Data is recorded by the ‘keeper’ of the vehicle, which covers operational but not financial leasing.

When PHEVs are accounted for, either by using estimated real-world emissions or excluding them and
focusing on emissions from other ICE vehicles, then the CO2 emissions of cars in the leasing sector are
higher than those in non-leasing channels. Part of the explanation for this result lies in the fact that
cars in the leasing channel tend to be larger and heavier and thus – all else equal – also more polluting.

2.5. Use of smaller cars: The leasing sector registers larger cars than the
market
Beyond vehicle powertrain, there are environmental issues related to the size of the vehicles
registered. While half of the cars in the non-leasing channels are in the small segments (A&B: 49%),
only one-third of leased cars are in the small segments (32%). Instead, the leasing segment has a
higher share of medium (C: 46% vs 36%) and large (D&E: 22% vs 15%) cars (see Figure 5).

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 Figure 5: Composition of EV uptake in the leasing sector and all other channels
Source: T&E calculations based on Dataforce (2023). New passenger car registrations H1 2023.
Notes: Numbers indicate the percentage difference (in relative terms) between the leasing and non-leasing
channels. Data is recorded by the ‘keeper’ of the vehicle, which covers operational but not financial leasing.

Based on registration data, it is clear that the leasing sector specialises in larger and more
resource-demanding vehicles. As an illustration, among the ten most common registrations in the
leasing channel, six are in the C segment (three B segment, one A segment), whereas in the
non-leasing channel only one is in the C segment (eight B segment, one A segment) (Table 4).

Table 4: The ten most commonly registered cars to the leasing and non-leasing channels
Top model - non-leasing Segment Top model - leasing Segment

1 Dacia Sandero B - Small car Skoda Octavia C - Compact car

2 Peugeot 208 B - Small car Peugeot 3008 C - Compact SUV

3 Renault Clio B - Small car Renault Clio B - Small car

4 Toyota Yaris Cross B - Small SUV Toyota Corolla C - Compact car

5 Renault Captur B - Small SUV VW Tiguan C - Compact SUV

6 Dacia Duster C - Compact SUV Peugeot 208 B - Small car

7 Peugeot 2008 B - Small SUV Fiat Panda A - Mini car

8 Citroen C3 B - Small car Peugeot 2008 B - Small SUV

9 Fiat Panda A - Mini car Peugeot 308 C - Compact car

10 Toyota Yaris B - Small car VW Golf C - Compact car

Source: T&E calculations based on Dataforce (2023). New passenger car registrations H1 2023.

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2.6. Summary
The actual performance of the leasing sector in the EU stands in sharp contrast to claims of green
leadership. Beneath the surface of the sector’s EV uptake, the sector is only leading the rest of the
market on PHEVs, which have high real-world emissions. Considering full electric vehicles, the leasing
sector is only leading in three of the eleven countries where data is available.

When PHEVs are accounted for, the leasing sector’s CO2 emissions are higher than the rest of the
market, as are the leasing sector’s emissions for ICE cars. In addition to focusing on PHEVs, the leasing
sector is also focused on larger cars that are more resource intensive.

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3. Are the largest leasing companies really green leaders?
This section extends the green leadership framework from the leasing sector as a whole to each of the
top seven leasing companies. It may be the case that behind the sector’s overall performance there are
some leasing companies that are green leaders and others that are simply greenwashers.

3.1. Assessing the green leadership of the top seven leasing companies
To assess green leadership, the same framework is applied (Table 2) including the three criteria related
to data disclosure and ambitious target setting. However this assessment is hampered by poor data
disclosure on environmental performance – a form of greenwashing itself. Despite green leadership
claims, even the most basic data disclosure is patchy to nonexistent. Only one of the seven companies
has reported its BEV uptake of new registrations.21

As such, the seven leasing companies were contacted to submit data on BEV, PHEV, and EV uptake.22
Only two leasing companies (Arval and Leasys) responded to this request with data disclosure.
Additional data was sourced from national vehicle registers which record information on vehicle make,
model, fuel type, emissions, and other characteristics. In France, the national vehicle register records
both the keeper and owner of the vehicle (thus covering both operational and financial leasing) and in
Italy, the national vehicle register records the keeper of the vehicle (thus covering operational leasing).
This information for two large car markets allows for a partial assessment of green leadership in light
of the poor data disclosure by leasing companies.

Taken together, the compilation of sources to assess green leadership includes:

● Data disclosure from leasing companies in annual reports or public statements.

● Data disclosure from leasing companies in response to our request.
● French data on H1 2023 registrations (January-May) provided by NGC Data.
● Italian data on H1 2023 registrations (January-June) provided by Dataforce.
● For comparison, the carmaker production plans from LMC Automotive’s Global Hybrid &
Electric Vehicle Forecast.23

These data sources are considered reliable. The NGC data was confirmed by leasing companies in a
previous T&E report24 and the Dataforce data is cited by leasing companies themselves.25

21
ALD Automotive (2023). LinkedIn post September 2023. (link)
22
Leasing companies were contacted in August 2023 with reminders in September 2023.
23
As detailed in Transport & Environment (2022). From boom to brake: Is the e-mobility transition stalling? (link)
24
Transport & Environment (2023). Electric vehicles: Leasing giants lag behind in France. (link)
25
Leasys (2022). Leasys is once again leader in long-term rental in Italy. (link)

A briefing by 21
 Is
Captive leasing company fully
owned by the Volkswagen Group.
Largest EU leasing company with a global
fleet of 4.8 million cars (an estimated 2.7
million in the EU).
Massive profits stand at €5.7 billion
(an estimated €3.2 billion in the EU).

a green leader?
What they say What they do

VWFS refuses to share any relevant data (no data on new

the
“We are driving Good data registrations, no data on the EU market, and no data by EV type).
ro-emission
transition to ze
disclosure?

mobility.”
VWFS has no phase-out date for polluting cars.
End to fossil
fuel cars?
g from
“We are evolvin
r to a
a sales promote
stainability VWFS has no target for the uptake of BEVs.
promoter of su BEV
ter of
or even promo
ambition?

obility in
sustainable m
n Group.” VWFS has mixed performance on BEV uptake. In Italy, BEV
the Volkswage uptake is leading the market (6.2% vs 3.8%), whereas in France
Higher BEV
uptake? BEV uptake is lagging the market (11.0% vs 15.0%).

VWFS also has mixed performance on the share of PHEVs in

stematically its EV leases. In Italy, the PHEV share is lower than the market
“We are also sy
s of BEVs Lower PHEV (36% vs 55%), whereas in France the PHEV share is higher than the
increasing sale share of EVs?
market (41% vs 36%).
ric vehicles)
(battery elect
agen
for the Volksw VWFS has higher average CO2 emissions than the market (even
without accounting for PHEVs) in both France (111 vs 99g CO2/km)
Group.” Lower CO2
and Italy (126 vs 120g CO2/km).
emissions?

VWFS has a higher share of large segments than the market in

Lower share France (15% vs 13%) and Italy (18% vs 11%).
of large cars?

Conclusion
VWFS is not a green leader, it is the quiet giant of the leasing sector. The company has not set any target for the transition
to zero-emission mobility and does not disclose data on its environmental performance. Based on national registers, the
company leases cars with higher CO2 emissions than the market.

What they should do

Target a 2028 phase-out date Disclose the number of BEVs, Improve their performance by
for polluting vehicles with PHEVs, and the average leading the market in the uptake
intermediate BEV targets. CO2 emissions in their new of efficient and zero-emission
registrations. vehicles.
 Is
Multi-brand leasing company majority-
owned by Société Générale bank.
Formed from the merger of the two largest
multi-brand leasing companies in Europe.
Profits are increasing year-on-year
and stand at €3.1 billion (an estimated
1.7 billion in the EU).

a green leader?
What they say What they do

ALD | LeasePlan publishes data on new registrations by EV type for

Good data its operations, but refuses to share data for EU markets.
obility is disclosure?
“The future of m
first mover in
electric. As the
transition,
the powertrain End to fossil
ALD | LeasePlan has no phase-out date for polluting cars.
continue to
we [ALD] will fuel cars?
et in the shift
lead the mark
vehicles.” ALD | LeasePlan’s target of 40% BEV uptake in 2026 is higher than
to low emission the uptake for the EU’s car CO2 standards (23%) and carmaker
BEV production plans (37%). Their 2026 target also includes a
ambition?
commitment to reduce the PHEV share of EV registrations to 20%.

gy is bold
“Our EV strate ALD | LeasePlan reports a BEV uptake of 19.3% in H1 2023, which
s, going is higher than the European market (14.3%). This is confirmed in
and ambitiou
the market Higher BEV Italy (4.3% vs 3.8%) but not in France (11.9% vs 15.0%), generating
beyond what uptake? a mixed performance on BEV uptake.
casts
currently fore
d of just
for 2030. Instea
ALD | LeasePlan reports a 41% share of PHEVs in its EV leases in H1
s, we want to 2023, which is higher than the European market (34%). This is
following trend Lower PHEV
confirmed in France (59% vs 36%) and Italy (70% vs 55%).
nd make the share of EVs?
lead the way a
as smooth
transition to EVs ALD | LeasePlan has higher CO2 emissions than the market
our clients.”
as possible for when PHEV are accounted for in France (128 vs 118g CO2/km) and
Lower CO2 Italy (150 vs 143g CO2/km). This same finding holds for ICE cars in
emissions?
France (134 vs 129g CO2/km) and Italy (133 vs 130g CO2/km).

ALD | LeasePlan has a higher share of large segments than the

Lower share market in France (23% vs 13%) and Italy (17% vs 11%).
of large cars?

Conclusion
ALD | LeasePlan is not a green leader. While the company has mixed performance on battery electric vehicles (BEVs)
and good ambition for 2026, there is no phase-out date for polluting cars. Moreover, the company leases large cars
with higher CO2 emissions than the rest of the market.

What they should do

Target a 2028 phase-out date for Disclose the number of BEVs, Improve their performance by
polluting vehicles. PHEVs, and the average orienting away from large vehicles
CO2 emissions in their new and PHEVs.
registrations.
Mobilize F.S. has a much lower PHEV share of EVs than the market
in France (2% vs 36%) and Italy (1% vs 55%).
Arval has shared data with T&E on new registrations by EV type
for its European operations, but refuses to share H1 2023 data
on its operations in EU markets.
Leasys's fleet target of 50% 'green vehicles' by 2026 has no BEV
sub-target and includes plug in hybrids and even mild
hybrids.This target also contrasts with the 2030 100% BEV target
of parent company Stellantis.
 Is Main markets are Germany and
the UK (42% share).
Multi-brand leasing company
fully owned by BMW Group.

a green leader?
What they say What they do
our ambition
“We exceeded Alphabet publishes its EV uptake in new registrations across its
e electrified
of increasing th operations, but refuses to share data for EV type and for the EU
f new Good data
vehicle share o disclosure? market.
last year”
business by 31%

3 to be Alphabet has no phase-out date for polluting cars.

“We expect 202 End to fossil
f solid fuel cars?
another year o
ularly for
growth, partic Alphabet has no target for the uptake of battery electric
ehicles.”
fully electric v BEV vehicles (BEVs).
ambition?

l is to
“Our clear goa
Alphabet reports that in 2022 their BEV uptake in Germany is
rrent market around 12%, which is much lower than the market in Germany
outpace the cu (17.8%). The same result is found in France (7.8% vs 15.0%) and
grow faster
growth, i.e. to
Higher BEV
uptake? Italy (2.5% vs 3.8%) where Alphabet lags well behind the market
icles than
in electric veh and other leasing companies.
t itself.
in the segmen Alphabet reports that in 2022 their PHEV share in Germany is
are actively
Our customers around 50%, which is higher than the market in Germany (43%).
wards
transitioning to
Lower PHEV The same result is found in France (69% vs 38%) and Italy (74% vs
f their fleets,
share of EVs?
55%).
electrification o
arkets up to
and in some m Alphabet has higher average CO2 emissions than the market
orders are
40% of vehicle (even without accounting for PHEVs) in France (103 vs 99g CO2/
ominantly Lower CO2
electrified, pred emissions? km) and Italy (128 vs 120g CO2/km).
hicles.”
pure electric ve
Alphabet’s share of large segments is twice as high as the
Lower share market in France (24% vs 13%) and Italy (25 vs 11%).
of large cars?

Conclusion
Alphabet is not a green leader, it is the slowest mover on electromobility. The company has not set a target for the transition to
zero-emission mobility and is lagging behind the market and other leasing companies in the uptake of zero-emission vehicles.
Moreover, the company leases large cars with higher CO2 emissions.

What they should do

Target a 2028 phase-out date Disclose the number of BEVs, Improve their performance by
for polluting vehicles and PHEVs, and the average leading the market in the uptake
intermediate BEV targets. CO2 emissions in their new of efficient and zero-emission
registrations. vehicles.
 Is Main markets are Netherlands,
Germany, Belgium, France, and Italy.
Multi-brand leasing company fully
owned by Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

a green leader?
What they say What they do

g
u r goa l is to be an inspirin Athlon publishes its uptake of EV types in its fleet, but refuses to
“O
sustainable share data for new registrations and for the EU market.
frontrunner in
Good data
disclosure?
ke action on
mobility and ta
isis.”
the climate cr Athlon has no phase-out date for polluting cars.
End to fossil
fuel cars?

obility:
“Pioneer in E-M Athlon’s target of 50% EV uptake in their fleet by 2025 has no BEV
xpert in
Athlon is the e BEV sub-target and no target for new registrations.
lly friendly
environmenta
ambition?

have been
transport. We Athlon reports a BEV uptake of 9.2% in 2022 across its European
erience and
building up exp s fleet, which is higher than the European market (8.7%) based on
electric vehicle
expertise with a three-four year turnover. However data on new registrations
ng them to the
since introduci Higher BEV reveals that Athlon has lower BEV uptake than the market in
in 2008.” uptake? France (7.7% vs 15.0%) and Italy (2.8% vs 3.8%).
leasing market
Athlon reports a PHEV share of EVs of 50% in 2022 across its
European fleet, which is higher than the European market (43%)
Lower PHEV based on a three-four year turnover. This is confirmed in the H1 2023
contributes to
“Athlon actively
share of EVs?
registrations in France (72% vs 36%) but not Italy (52% vs 55%).
y accelerating
the EU goals b Athlon has higher CO2 emissions than the market when PHEV
to a flexible,
the transition are accounted for in France (132 vs 118g CO2/km) and Italy (154 vs
fe fleet.”
electric and sa
Lower CO2 143g CO2/km). This same finding holds for ICE cars in France (131
emissions? vs 129g CO2/km) and Italy (135 vs 130g CO2/km).

Athlon has a higher share of large segments than the market in

France (20% vs 13%) and Italy (34% vs 11%). Athlon also has the
Lower share lowest share of small cars of all major leasing companies in both
of large cars?
countries.

Conclusion
Athlon is not a green leader. Despite calling itself a pioneer, the company has now settled. The company has not set any target
for the transition to zero-emission mobility and is lagging behind the market in the uptake of zero-emission vehicles. Moreover,
the company leases cars with higher CO2 emissions than the market when plug-in hybrids are accounted for.

What they should do

Target a 2028 phase-out date Disclose the number of BEVs, Improve their performance by
for polluting vehicles and PHEVs, and the average leading the market in the uptake
intermediate BEV targets. CO2 emissions in their new of efficient and zero-emission
registrations. vehicles.
3.2. Cases of greenwashing
These company profiles reveal that not only is the green performance of leasing companies poor, there
is widespread greenwashing with egregious examples for six of the seven companies (Table 5).
Table 5: Cases of greenwashing by European leasing companies
Claim Reality

VWFS claims to be “driving the VWFS is driving clients towards high-emission vehicles. They have much
transition to zero-emission higher CO2 emissions in H1 2023 compared to the rest of the market in
mobility.”26 France (111 vs 99g CO2/km) and Italy (126 vs 120g CO2/km) in H1 2023. VWFS
is also lagging the French market in terms of BEV uptake (11% vs 15%).

ALD | LeasePlan claims their “EV ALD | LeasePlan has no 2030 target. Its new “PowerUP 2026” target of 40%
strategy is bold and ambitious, BEV for 2026 is higher than the EU’s car CO2 standards (23%) and above
going beyond what the market carmaker production plans (37%).
currently forecasts for 2030.”27

Mobilize F.S. claims “the aim of Mobilize F.S. is holding the Renault Group back with its low BEV uptake.
reaching the ambitious target of Mobilize F.S. reports an EV uptake of 5.5% in Europe for H1 2023, which even
a Zero CO2 in line with Renault if every EV is a BEV is well behind the Renault Alliance (9.4%) and European
Group Sustainability Strategy.”28 market (14.3%).

Arval claims to be “committed Arval’s share of EVs is not twice the market rate (36.4% vs 21.7% in H1 2023)
to growing our share of EVs at and its EVs are mostly PHEVs (57%). In France, Arval’s largest market, the
twice the pace of the market.”29 company’s BEV uptake is lagging well behind the market (8.5% vs 15.0%).

Leasys claims its “aim is to lead Leasys has a BEV uptake of only 2.3% in its main market of Italy (H1 2023),
the transition to electric lagging behind the market (3.8%) and all other major leasing companies. Its
mobility”.30 2022 performance, prior to the merger with Free2Move, was even worse
(1.0%).

Alphabet claims that its “clear Alphabet’s BEV uptake is lagging behind the market in all markets analysed.
goal is to outpace the current This includes their reported 2022 uptake in Germany (12% vs 17.8%) and in
market growth, i.e. to grow their H1 2023 registrations in France (7.8% vs 15.0%) and Italy (2.5% vs
faster in electric vehicles than in 3.8%).
the segment itself.”31

Athlon claims its “goal is to be Athlon trails behind the market with a BEV uptake of only 7.7% in France (vs.
an inspiring frontrunner in 15.0%) – the lowest of the major leasing companies – and 2.8% in Italy (vs.
sustainable mobility and take 3.8%) in H1 2023.
action on the climate crisis.”32

26
Volkswagen Financial Services (2023). MOBILITY20230 - A part of the Volkswagen Group strategy (link)
27
ALD Automotive (2023). Sparking a Sustainable Future: Annie Pin's Vision on World EV Day. (link)
28
Mobilize Financial Services (2022). Sustainability Manifesto. (link)
29
Fleet Europe (2020). “Arval committed to grow EV share at twice market pace”. (link)
30
Leasys (2021). Report and consolidated financial statements: December 21 2021. (link)
31
Fleet People (2023). Markus Deusing, CEO of Alphabet. (link)
32
Athlon (n.d.) Sustainability & CSR at Athlon. (link)
4. What if the leasing sector became a leader?
If leasing companies really did act in accordance with their statements and became green leaders,
mobility in the EU could look very different. In this section, we model the impact of green leadership
by focusing on pathways of BEV uptake (which in turn determine average CO2 emissions, particularly
as the BEV share grows).

4.1. Modelling the impact of real green leadership in the leasing

Here we model a ‘green leadership scenario’ with a phase-out of polluting vehicles from new
registrations of the top 7 leasing companies (i.e. 100% ZEV) by 2028 and the rest of the sector by 2030.
This scenario is compared to the level of BEV uptake required to meet EU’s car CO2 standards: 23% in
2025 and 58% in 2030.

To reach this phase-out date an exponential growth rate is used which leads to higher changes in
future years, which aligns with expectations about planning decisions (Figure 6).

Figure 6: The baseline uptake of ZEVs compared to 2030 and 2028 green leadership ambitions
Source: T&E calculations.

Another change over this time period is that the size of the leasing sector and its share of new
registrations is expected to grow, reaching 69% in 2030.33 Other key inputs and modelling assumptions

33
Autovista (2023). Remarketing Expert Track. FleetEurope. (link)

A briefing by 30
used in the modelling including fleet size, baseline ZEV uptake, the number of kilometres driven, the
CO2 emissions per kilometre, and the additionality of ZEVs are described in Annex B.

The modelled results show that for the 2028 green leadership scenario, 11.9 million additional BEVs
will be on the road compared to the baseline market development by 2030 (+45% more in comparison
with the baseline scenario). This displacement of polluting cars by BEVs translates to a savings of 73
million tonnes of CO2 emissions and 181 million barrels of oil over the same time period (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Results of green leadership ambitions in terms of BEVs, oil savings, and CO2 savings
Source: T&E calculations.
Notes: Cumulative results to 2030

4.2. Why 100% full electric in 2028 is feasible

There are two common objections when leasing companies are challenged on their green leadership:
first, that there is not enough BEV production to achieve high ambition, and second, that the leasing
companies are just the ‘middleman’ and should not determine vehicle choice for their clients. Neither
of these objections withstand scrutiny.

On BEV availability, there are at least four reasons why this line of argumentation should be left
behind. The first is that production bottlenecks related to microchips and critical raw materials are
already receding. The disruptions made headline news throughout 2021 and 2022, but less well known
is the 2023 recovery.34

34
ACEA (2023). New car registrations: +21% in August; battery electric exceeds 20% share for the first time. (link)

A briefing by 31
Secondly, just based on the public announcements by European carmakers, production will exceed
the EU’s CO2 standards, reaching 30% of the market in 2025, 54% in 2028, and 77%% in 2030.35
Carmakers like Stellantis, Volvo, Mercedes, Ford, and Renault Group have already announced they will
be 100% BEV in 2030.36 If all of the top seven leasing companies went 100% BEV in 2028 it would still
only reach 65% of carmaker production plans, clearly showing that supply is not a hard constraint.
There is no reason why leasing companies should lag behind carmakers, nor for leasing companies like
Mobilize FS, Leasys, and VWFS to be less ambitious than their associated carmaker; on the contrary,
they should lead.

Third, even the level of ambition in carmaker production plans can be increased as these plans are not
set in stone and respond to demand that carmaker’s anticipate in the market. If leasing companies
announced clear and ambitious targets, this would indicate a higher demand for BEVs, causing
carmakers to increase their production plans. This feedback cycle between supply and demand can
repeat through multiple iterations as more and more leasing companies show real green leadership
and carmakers respond by increasing the ambition in their production plans.

And fourth, while the previous three points have dealt with supply at the market level, this does not
constrain the choices at the level of an individual leasing company. Sales of BEVs in the EU are now in
the millions of vehicles37 meaning there is no constraint on the sector and certainly no constraint on
any individual company to pursue green ambitions.

The objection that leasing companies are ‘just a middleman’ also misunderstands the role of leasing
companies in the market. First, leasing companies have a significant influence over vehicle choice
from their advertising, to their partnerships, to their consulting, to their pricing. And this is implicitly
acknowledged by leasing companies already. Five of the seven companies profiled in this report
already have targets that refer to their future drivetrain composition, so these companies do not
approach the market with complete neutrality. The issue is that the targets are weak and include
PHEVs, but the fact that targets can direct the actions of leasing companies is already implied.

Secondly, the size of leasing companies gives them tremendous market power to take an active role in
their vehicle offers. Again, this point is acknowledged by leasing companies. ALD commented after
their recent acquisition of LeasePlan that “greater scale will give the new ALD more pricing power with
car manufacturers.”38 Arval has similarly explained to its investors that “as Arval orders 380,000 cars

35
Transport & Environment (2022). From boom to brake: Is the e-mobility transition stalling? (link)
36
Transport & Environment (n.d.). The race to electrify. (link)
37
ACEA (2023). New car registrations: +21% in August; battery electric exceeds 20% share for the first time. (link)
38
Gregory, A. (2022) ALD wants to take on the captives after successful rights issue. GlobalCapital. (link)

A briefing by 32
per year, it has a significant purchasing power”.39 This market power is further enhanced by the record
profits that the sector is posting (see Section 1.1).

And third, just as the ambitions of leasing companies are lagging behind carmakers, the same is true
for leading corporate fleets. Major corporate fleets including AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola, IKEA, Uber and
Unilever are even calling on the European Commission to introduce a regulation to make all new
corporate cars fully electric by 2030, which shows that there is a clear demand.40

Whether it is compared to carmakers on the supply side or corporate fleets on the demand side, there
is simply no reason for leasing companies as the powerful intermediary to be the laggards in the
electromobility transition.

39
Arval (2022). Arval investor presentation. (link)
40
Open letter regarding the European Commission Greening Corporate Fleets Initiative: Accelerate the
electrification of fleets in Europe (link).

A briefing by 33
5. Conclusions and recommendations
This report is the first time that the green leadership claims of European leasing companies are
assessed. Given the sheer scale of these companies and the prominence of their green claims about
‘driving the transition to zero-emission mobility’, this scrutiny is well overdue.

Based on our four-criteria framework for green leadership in the leasing sector, the results for the EU
market revealed that:

1. Whereas green leadership implies BEV uptake that is much higher than the market, the 10.4%
BEV uptake in the leasing sector is just in line with non-leasing channels (10.5%).

2. Whereas green leadership implies a low PHEV share of EVs, the 51% PHEV share in the leasing
channel is higher than non-leasing channels (40%).

3. Whereas green leadership implies low average CO2 emissions per car, when PHEVs are
accounted for, the 137.7g CO2/km real-world emissions are higher than non-leasing
channels (131.8 g CO2/km). Similarly the 131.2g CO2/km emissions of ICE vehicles is also
higher than the non-leasing channels (129.7 g CO2/km).

4. Whereas green leadership implies smaller cars, the 46% share of medium (C segment) cars and
22% share of large (D and E segments) cars is a higher share of medium and large cars than
non-leasing channels (36% and 15% respectively).

For the top seven leasing companies that represent 62% of the sector, the same framework was
applied with three additional criteria for data disclosure and ambitious target-setting. The results
revealed that:

1. Data disclosure is poor. All seven of the leasing companies failed to provide data on their new
registrations in the EU market by EV type. There is no question that this data is available, but
they chose not to disclose it. Without this data, green claims are just claims and cannot be
verified. At the extreme, some of the largest leasing companies do not report any data on
environmental performance (VWFS, Leasys). Without data disclosure, comparisons were made
based on national registers available in France and Italy.

2. Phase-out dates are non-existent. All seven of the leasing companies have failed to set a
phase-out date for polluting vehicles. This is in contrast to several carmakers and fleets with
2030 phase-out dates – including carmakers that own some of these leasing companies.

3. BEV ambition is low. Some of the leasing companies have no targets at all (VWFS, Alphabet,
Mobilize F.S.) and some leasing companies have targets below European carmaker production

A briefing by 34
 plans (Arval, Leasys). ALD | LeasePlan is the only leasing company that has a BEV target above
European carmaker production plans.

4. BEV uptake is generally low. All seven of the leasing companies have a lower BEV uptake than
the market in France and three of the leasing companies (Leasys, Alphabet, Athlon) also have a
lower uptake than the market in Italy. ALD | LeasePlan and Arval disclosed a higher BEV share
across their European operations than the market (while Mobilize F.S. disclosed a lower share),
however these companies did not disclose the equivalent EU figures upon request.

5. The PHEV share of EVs is high. Six of the seven leasing companies have a higher PHEV share
than the market in France and four of these leasing companies (ALD | LeasePlan, Arval, Leasys,
Alphabet) also have a higher PHEV share than the market in Italy. Reported data by leasing
companies based on their own scope does not change these findings.

6. Average car CO2 emissions of new registrations are high. Six of the seven leasing companies
have a higher average real-world car CO2 emissions (i.e. accounting for PHEVs) than the market
in France and Italy. Five of the seven leasing companies have higher average car CO2 emissions
for ICE vehicles (i.e. excluding PHEVs and BEVs) than the market in France and Italy.

7. Leased cars are in larger segments. Five of seven leasing companies have a higher share of
cars in large segments (D&E) than the market in France and Italy.

Considering both the sector and brand results, the conclusion is that rather than one or two major
leasing companies pulling down the environmental performance, poor environmental performance in
the leasing sector is systemic. Unlike the other main actors in vehicle procurement (e.g. leading
carmakers, leading fleets), there are no obvious green leaders among the top leasing companies that
are distinguishing themselves from their peers or even outperforming market trends.

This weak environmental performance by leasing companies stands in sharp contrast to their claims of
green leadership – also ubiquitous across the companies. A central conclusion of this research is that
the green leadership claims of the leasing sector and nearly all major brands are simply greenwashing.
Some of the greenwashing cases detailed in this report (Table 5) are clearcut and egregious. There may
also be a broader greenwashing trend for some of the owners of leasing companies (banks and
carmarkers) as they have been accused of greenwashing for other parts of their operations.41

Based on these results, several recommendations for leasing companies emerge:

● Target a 2028 phase-out date for polluting vehicles with intermediate BEV targets;

41
E.g. recent lawsuits against BNP Paribas (link) and VW Group (link).

A briefing by 35
 ● Disclose the number of BEVs, PHEVs, and the size and average CO2 emissions of new
registrations in each market;
● Improve their performance by leading the market in the uptake of efficient and zero-emission
vehicles;
● Advocate for policy changes that incentivise and enable the transition to electromobility.

For the leasing sector to truly take the position of the green leader progress will need to be made on
each one of these recommendations. While policy advocacy is frequently overlooked as a corporate
action, the effects can be powerful. In the UK, where benefit-in-kind taxation heavily favours BEVs, the
leasing sector has a BEV uptake of 40.9% in H1 2023 compared to 10.0% in the non-leasing channels.42
Leasing companies should be advocates of similar changes in other markets.

The steps towards real green leadership are clear. What remains unclear is whether the major leasing
companies will take these steps or remain rooted in the fossil age.

42
BVRLA (2023). Leasing Outlook. (link)

A briefing by 36
Further information
Stef Cornelis Griffin Carpenter
Director, Electric Fleets Programme Senior Analyst
Transport & Environment Transport & Environment
stef.cornelis@transportenvironment.org griffin.carpenter@transportenvironment.org
Mobile: +49 17664772691 Mobile: +32 488 56 72 83

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Annex A: Sources and methodology notes for Table 1
Leasing New Profits Profit
company Ownership Fleet vehicles Earnings (€ million) margin

Volkswagen FS Volkswagen Group A, C, D A, C, D B, C, D B, C, D E

ALD | LeasePlan Société Générale Group F, D F, D, G H+I, J, D H+I, J, D E

(majority)

Mobilize FS Renault K, G K L, K L, K E

Arval BNP Paribas M, N, D M, N, D, G O, N, D O, N, D E

Leasys Stellantis/Crédit Agricole P, Q, D P, Q, D, G - - -

Alphabet BMW R, S, D R, S, D, G - - -

Athlon Mercedes-Benz T, U, D T, U, D, G - - -
A - Volkswagen Financial Services (2023). Volkswagen Financial Services close financial year 2022 with very good
result. (link)
B - Volkswagen Group (2023). Results of Operations. (link)
C - Converted to Europe based on the “Europe/Other Markets region” of “customer financing/leasing” as
reported in Volkswagen (2022). Group Management Report: Volkswagen Group Financial Services. (link)
D - Converted from Europe to EU by removing UK leases as reported in FleetNews (2022). FN50 Listing. (link)
E - Calculated as profits/earnings.
F - European passenger car fleet of 1.9 million confirmed by ALD, Personal communication, 5 October 2023.
G - Conversion between fleet and new registrations based on 3.5 years.
H - ALD (2023). Annual financial information: ALD reports full year 2022 results. (link)
I - LeasePlan (2023). LeasePlan Annual Report 2022. (link)
J - Converted to Europe based on F and ALD | LeasePlan (2023). Half-yearly financial information: ALD | LeasePlan
reports first half 2023 results. (link)
K - Mobilize Financial Services (2023). Annual Report 2022, page 9. (link)
L - Mobilize Financial Services (2023). Business Report 2022. (link)
M - Arval (2023). Arval: 2023 Half-Year Results. (link)
N - Converted to Europe based on value by region in Arval (2023). Consolidated Financial Statements: Year ended
31 December 2022, page 44. (link)
O - Arval (2023). Arval: 2022 Full-year Results (link)
P - Leasys (2023). Leasys: A new European mobility player. (link)
Q - No operations outside of Europe, see Q page 177.
R - Alphabet (2023). Alphabet reports further rise in demand for sustainable fleets. (link)
S - 1% was deducted for the unknown share of Alphabet operations in China, see Alphabet (n.d.) About Alphabet.
(link)
T - Athlon (2023). Sustainability & CSR Impact Report 2022. (link)
U - No operations outside of Europe, see U page 8.

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Annex B: Methodology for calculating CO2 saving potential of
faster electrification by leasing companies
For the impact on the emissions, ZEV sales and oil consumption of a faster electrification of leasing
companies in Europe, an ad-hoc model has been developed for the purpose of this project (sharing the
main assumptions and parameters of the T&E’s EUTRMmodel43).

EUTRM, T&E’s car fleet emission mode

EUTRM makes use of the most recently available data such as the 2021 car fleet composition44 and the
latest car activity forecast from the European Commission (EC)45 to model the turnover of the whole
car fleet on EU27 roads. It is based on historical data on fleet behaviour (e.g. fuel consumption,
emissions, car retirement age, mileage changes depending on car age) and scenario inputs (e.g. car
activity, electric cars sales share), the model’s outputs include the fleet composition and the
associated CO2 emissions until 2050.

Fleet size modelling

The EUTRM tool has been used to model the forecast of new passenger car registrations in EU-27 (see
previous point). This forecast follows the latest LMC automotive data and is in line with the expectation
that car activity will grow in line with the European Commission’s expectation that passenger
transport activity will continue growing in the future.

The EU27 car fleets CO2 emissions are predominantly determined by the following parameters:

● Transport demand (number of kilometres travelled in passenger-km): Overall transport

demand impacts the number of kilometres driven by car, the higher the demand the higher the
car fleet kilometres driven. A broad range of measures can be aimed at reducing the distance
travelled, for instance by providing a better distribution of services within cities and avoiding
urban sprawl.
● Modal split (split in distance travelled between car and other transport modes): Car activity
can be reduced by shifting transport demand from car to active mobility and public transport.
● Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) uptake (percentage of ZEV in the fleet): Resulting from the
sales of new ZEVs, the uptake of ZEV in the overall car fleet defines the percentage of car
activity with zero tailpipe emissions46.

43
T&E (n.d.) Transport emissions: modelling and analysis. (link)
44
ACEA (2023). Vehicles in use, Europe 2023 ( link)
45
EC (2021). EU Reference Scenario 2020 (link)
46
Direct tailpipe emissions.

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 ● Energy consumption (energy consumed per km): Energy consumption depends both on the
specific characteristics of cars (e.g. size, weight, engine power) and their use in real world
conditions such as driver behaviour and speed.
● ICE lifespan: The shorter the lifetime of ICE cars, the faster the transition toward cleaner, lower
emission solutions.
ZEV uptake
Under the baseline scenario, T&E modelled the minimum sale of new ZEVs required to meet the
standards set in the car CO2 Regulation. The methodology was described in the T&E 2022 car CO2
report.47 The new scenario includes the latest development on the zero and low emission vehicle
benchmark agreed in the final regulatory text as well as update of the 2021 reference parameters.

Under the scenario for cars affected by the faster electrification, the sales of new leasing ZEVs required
to the final target (2030 - 100% ZEV) have been applied. An exponential growth has been applied
between these two key points, as the delivery of new ZEVs is expected to increase close to the target
points.

Additionality effects on the private market

In addition to the direct impact on the private leasing market, the increased uptake of ZEVs in the
corporate market causes more ZEVs entering the private channel after four years through the
second-hand market. This situation has a positive impact, as the electrification of the private market
will be accelerated and therefore the demand for ICEs is lower, bringing emissions reductions and
affordable second-hand ZEVs.

Affected new registrations

Under the scenario of faster electrification for leasing companies, the new ZEV uptake curve has been
applied to vehicle registrations under a leasing agreement for the top 7 and then for the whole sector.
For the percentage of registrations under a leasing agreement, Autovista's forecasts48 up to 2030 have
been used. These data are provided on an aggregated basis for both corporate and private
registrations. In order to be able to disaggregate these data and perform the calculations for the two
channels separately, actual data from France and the Netherlands on the weight of corporate leasing
in total leasing have been used.
Km driven
For the use of the km driven in the model, a distinction has been made between corporate and private
cars. Within the corporate channel, a further distinction has been made depending on the type of

47
Transport & Environment (2022). From boom to brake: Is the e-mobility transition stalling? (link)
48
Autovista (2023). Remarketing Expert Track. FleetEurope. (link)

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registration (True fleets, Dealer & Manufacturer, Leasing & LTR and RAC). The distance in km used in the
model is based on different sources,49 with a distance of 12,000km for the private channel and
27,000km in the corporate channel (true fleets and leasing & LTR).

Survival curve and km driven curve

The new fleet composition created with the faster leasing electrification is aged through the
application of survival rates and adjusted for the fact that older vehicles are typically driven less than
newer ones.

Historical survival rates for all vehicle types are estimated from TRACCS50 and are adjusted for import
and export activity. Using the estimated bilateral trade matrices the total amount of exports as a
percentage of vehicle sales was estimated and then applied to discount the survival rates of vehicles.
Likewise, the total amount of imports as a percentage of total vehicle stock was estimated and then
applied to inflate the survival rate to account for the replacement of vehicles of varying ages. The
average survival rates estimated from the five years of available TRACCS data are assumed to hold for
all time periods.

Average annual distance travelled per vehicle (measured in km) was collected for all modes from
TRACCS. Projections of average annual distance travelled per vehicle for LDVs are calculated based on
vehicles per capita (VPC). The higher the number of vehicles per capita the smaller the average annual
distance travelled per vehicle. The initial distance driven is differentiated by corporate and private
cars, assuming that true corporate fleets, corporate rental cars and leased corporate cars are driven
2.25 times more km than private.

49
Dataforce (2022), Element Energy & BEUC (2021), Ricardo-AEA (2014)
50
TRACCs (2013) is a transport database by EMISIA S.A. Available at this link

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