Coronavirus: Demand for Thrifty’s FlexiFleet grows 50%

Thrifty Car & Van Rental is reporting significant demand for FlexiFleet vehicles from fleets wanting to adapt operations to the fast-changing economic climate.

Thrifty has seen the number of its FlexiFleet rentals increase by 50% year-on-year since the first lockdown period was eased.

Martin Wilson, managing director of Thrifty Car & Van Rental, believes that the company’s FlexiFleet product is "exactly" what is required in the current unsettled circumstances and while lockdown 2 will see many home-working, for others there will still be the requirement to work at the office or to make site visits.

He explained: "For individuals not wishing to use public transport but understandably unwilling to enter into a long-term commitment for a car, then FlexiFleet is increasingly suitable for them.”

FlexiFleet offers private customers and businesses the opportunity to rent a vehicle from as little as one month on a fully maintained basis, and then after six months swap into a new vehicle.

Users of its flexible rental service have a range of vehicles from which to choose, extending from a Ford Fiesta to a Transit Van and a fully electric BMW i3.

Wilson continued: “It makes a fully maintained car far more accessible, without the requirement for a large, non-refundable upfront payment.

"It also enables businesses to keep staff mobile and stay lawfully compliant in a fully maintained vehicle. When the vehicle is no longer required, they simply return it. This pay-on-use flexibility provides employee mobility without the lock-in required by a traditional contract hire or lease. The benefit to business in pure and complete flexibility cannot be overstated.”

COVID-19 IMPACT

Roger Hancock, executive chairman of Thrifty Car & Van Rental, said: “Like many businesses feeling the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken some difficult decisions to ensure the company was stable and better equipped to meet the new challenges presented by such a complex economic climate.

“We are all some way from discovering what ‘new normal’ really looks like but we have put ourselves in a robust and extremely sustainable place to meet the inevitable challenges ahead.

“We’ve certainly felt the pain, but as our focus here in the UK has been and remains the domestic corporate market and the flexi-fleet sector rather than inbound, airport-based business, the restrictions have lessened the impact on our bottom line.”

Hancock also said that, while Thrifty has managed the adverse circumstances of the pandemic, it is now planning for future opportunities. 

He explained: “We are currently developing our charging infrastructure to reflect the growth in electric vehicle demand and have also recently launched our new logistics technology to allow driver tracking and increase the operational efficiencies for our customers.”