LeasePlan carries on a tradition of innovation in the post-ownership era.

What’s next? That’s the question Top Gear’s Richard Hammond asks in a new LeasePlan campaign, lit up with a three minute web video that grabbed more than three million views in fewer than 30 days from its YouTube launch. Hammond’s big splash serves as a reminder that LeasePlan has a history of being at the fore when it comes to fleet management.

A Dutch company, founded in 1963, LeasePlan is now in more than 30 countries and employs more than 7,000 people. With 50-plus years of longevity, the company must have been doing things right. For one, they’ve never been shy about embracing change.

Next step forward

LeasePlan’s new Any Car, Anytime, Anywhere program is clearly another step forward. Fundamentally, the program delivers mobility as a service on an extremely flexible basis.

According to LeasePlan’s CEO, Tex Gunning, the new approach positions LeasePlan for rapid evolution. “The long-term trend of moving from car ownership to usage via subscription—it’s just exploding right now. People get all kinds of things via monthly subscription, from shopping baskets to aftershave. They’re used to this model to get their music, to arrange their travel. And they’ll also want any car, anytime, anywhere. That’s why I think the growth in our industry will be very strong over the next five to ten years—in all market segments: big corporates, SMEs, private lease, and in the mobility platform market,” he says.

Basil Marcus, Director of Business Development and Marketing for FOSS National Leasing, LeasePlan’s Canadian operator, contrasts the new approach with the classical model of a 36 or 48 month lease. “This plan brings the terms down to as little as one hour. It gets into car sharing and flexibility,” he says. It also provides for commercial vehicle sharing on as short as a one month term—ideal for project work or seasonal businesses. “Millennials and post-recession people have a fear of ownership. But they still need to get around,” Marcus says.

From ownership to subscription

Optimism likely understates Gunning’s outlook on the leasing business at present. “As we move from ownership to subscription, the industry will only grow faster. Look at mobility platforms like Uber and Lyft. They all need cars, but none of them want to own their fleets—so that’s an exciting opportunity. The risks for our industry are limited,” he says.

“We compare ourselves to trends in other industries. Look at Spotify for instance—it has disrupted the whole record and CD industry by delivering any music, anytime, anywhere. AirBnb says you don’t have to go to hotels anymore. You can get any stay, anytime, anywhere. Uber—any taxi, anytime, anywhere,” Gunning says.

“What you’re going to see in the fleet and lease industry is that we’ll be moving in the direction of any car, anywhere, anytime.” The Any Car, Anytime, Anywhere plan is available to Canadian international customers working through LeasePlan in Europe—and not yet available directly through FOSS and LeasePlan in Canada.

According to Basil Marcus, there are plans underway to provide many of the Any Car, Anytime, Anywhere features to Canada through FOSS, however, no launch date has been set as yet.