FCA’s funding operation Leasys has launched a pay-as-you-go contract hire plan for corporate and private customers.

Called Leasys Miles, it is initially available on the Fiat 500 and Doblo Cargo.

A company or driver pays only for the miles driven, on top of a monthly instalment of £99 for the 500 or £149 for the Doblo, with the first 500 miles offered free of charge.

The monthly fee includes road fund licence, roadside assistance, GAP waiver and subscription to the Leasys App, but excludes servicing and maintenance.

Leasys Miles uses telematics technology to track monthly mileage and calculate payments. It costs 19p per mile for the 500 and 25p per mile for the Doblo.

FCA claims the cost of running the 500 is around two thirds of the price of the average daily London commute of £15.25, although this doesn’t take into consideration the monthly £99 membership fee.

For example, someone travelling 5,000 miles a year would pay £179 a month (membership and mileage), although Leasys says a typical monthly payment is around £137. And, unlike a standard PCH, there is no initial upfront rental, which for the Fiat 500 Hybrid saves around £1,300. Standard contract term is 48 months.

Sebastiano Fedrigo, Leasys UK managing director, believes the new mobility package is a secure and flexible solution. The timing is ideal as daily mileages have fallen due to the coronavirus pandemic, while social distancing has dissuaded many people from using public transport.

“The idea is to be able to satisfy peoples’ need for mobility in urban areas and especially if they have a fear of using public transport,” Fedrigo says. “That’s why we started with the hybrid because it is better for the environment.”

Fedrigo says Leasys Miles is “outperforming our expectations” and he is confident other brands within the FCA Group will also introduce pay-as-you-go in the coming months.

“This is most cost-effective for customers who do lower mileage than a standard leasing contract,” he says. “By Q1 next year, we expect Leasys Miles to be offered across the FCA range.”

The new solution is being enabled thanks to data data from Targa Telematics. Massimiliano Balbo di Vinadio, VP for sales at Targa Telematics, explained: "This is a paradigm shift: the information on the use of a vehicles becomes the real value to implement a truly innovative commercial solution.

"Our know-how and technology enable this new approach, which profoundly evolves mobility perspectives. 

"We provide customers with our expertise, our automotive-specific IoT platform and a wide selection of software modules and microservices, to create new mobility products with extremely short lead times and with appeal, performance and stability to provide fulfilling experiences for users in the digital age."

More articles on: