Novuna: ‘We’re looking at every single asset class to see how we can electrify it’

It’s been a record-breaking year for Novuna Vehicle Solutions. It was named Leasing Company of the Year for 20,000-plus vehicles at this year’s Fleet News Awards, for the fourth consecutive year, and reported pre-tax profits almost three times those achieved in the previous financial year.

Part of Mitsubishi HC Capital UK, the leasing company generated pre-tax profits of £54.2 million in 2021/22, set against the backdrop of a decline in production driven by the semiconductor shortage.

Profit before tax in the previous financial year (2020/21) was £19.7m, compared with the £25.7m achieved in 2019/20, before the pandemic.

Success can be attributed, predominantly, to increased revenues from an 8% expansion in its contract hire fleet, with the addition of more than 6,000 vehicles (as well as strong residual values for de-fleeted cars over the past couple of years) to its operating fleet of more than 98,000 assets.

As a result, the fleet value of Novuna Vehicle Solutions (formerly Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions) has increased by £300m, from £1.2 billion to £1.5bn, up 21% year-on-year, consolidating its position as the seventh largest leasing company in the UK, according to the FN50.

The business has also capitalised on strong demand in the used car market, as global supply chain challenges resulted in long delivery times for new vehicles.