Fernando de Querol Cumbrera
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A growing number of drivers in the Netherlands divert from the classic form of vehicle ownership to a tailor-made mobility solution that fulfills their individual needs. Aside from the aforementioned shared mobility initiatives, most drivers prefer a business leasing solution. In the Netherlands, business leasing is known as operational lease, in which a leasing company owns the vehicle, or financial lease, in which case the driver owns and continues to own the vehicle after the lease contract expires. While major lease companies such as Leaseplan cater to the daily commute needs of business owners and employees, a different group of drivers looks towards car leasing solutions for their personal travel needs. These drivers increasingly opt for private lease, which is essentially long-term car rental. Based on a contract duration of roughly four years and a maximum annual mileage, drivers who do not want to deal with the hassle of owning a vehicle - or cannot afford to purchase one - can lease a car for a couple of hundred euros per month.
Vehicle preference
Three distinctive patterns can be observed when looking at the Dutch driver's preferred leased vehicles. First, business lease drivers prefer to drive luxury business cars. While a stylish German car exudes success, a Tesla represents avant-garde environmental consciousness; both are highly favorable attributes in the corporate world. This is reflected in the rankings of popular corporate lease cars. Second, private lease drivers often have a purely financial motive for their choice of transportation. The leading private lease passenger vehicles are therefore small city cars such as the Kia Picanto and Opel Karl, which can be leased for a low monthly rate of less than 200 euros. Finally, the most pervasive trend in consumer preference is electrification. Sales figures for Tesla, as well as of other plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV), show that more and more Dutch drivers are jumping on the electric bandwagon.
