KBC Autolease: 40 years as a beacon of trust in a rapidly evolving mobility market
KBC Autolease is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Over the decades, this leasing company has evolved from a simple car leasing company into an innovative provider of multi-mobility solutions. Reliability and peace of mind are key to what KBC Autolease stands for. This approach is appreciated by both customers and partners, earning KBC Autolease the Link2Fleet ‘Most Appreciated Leaseco’ award last year.
When the direct predecessor of KBC Autolease, Société Belge de Leasing (Sobelease), was launched on 9 February 1982, the concept of the lease vehicle was still in its infancy. Several hundred vehicles were in circulation using a closed buyback system at pioneering growth companies. The big commercial breakthrough would follow a few years later when the sector was professionalised and received greater funding. Following the bank merger of Kredietbank (KB) and CERA, 1998 brought the creation of KBC Autolease as we know it. The new company had 12 000 lease vehicles in its portfolio to begin with. Fast-forward more than 20 years, and this figure has risen to over 52 000.
Pioneering
KBC Autolease carefully keeps track of market developments and makes sure to respond with excellent service and innovative products. One such product is the pioneering development of bicycle leasing, which now accounts for a fleet of over 22 000 bikes, while KBC Bicycle Leasing works with a network of over 500 dealers. More and more people are giving serious thought to how they get around these days, and the various options offered by KBC Autolease (car, bicycle, ridesharing) allows companies to tailor their mobility policies to reflect that.
Peace of mind
Granting customers and partners peace of mind is a key part of what KBC Autolease stands for. Thanks to KBC MoveSmart, we are able to offer customers an online tool with which they can easily manage their various options. Users also have the unique possibility of using the award-winning KBC Mobile app to track their order, make an appointment with a dealer, call for help in case of breakdown and more.
When it comes to cycling specifically, we were the first player on the market to link bicycle dealers’ cash register systems with our own internal system. This straight-through process reduces administration and allows customers to receive their lease quote immediately in KBC MoveSmart, ordering their bicycle with the press of a button. Data is also shared with local dealers to tailor maintenance packages to the user’s profile.
KBC Autolease helps customers accelerate the electrification of their fleets with an all-in-one solution for electric lease vehicles. In addition to an electric car, the lease contract also includes a home charging station and a subscription with a charging card that lets you charge at home and on the road. A mobility roadmap also helps customers make their plans for electrification a success.
Future
KBC Autolease tracks market trends in order to keep experimenting and innovating. A specific example of this is the introduction of hydrogen vehicles to the fleet. In 2021, KBC Autolease put a hydrogen-powered vehicle on the lease market for the very first time. This year, KBC Autolease wants to further focus on aspects such as energy management, and will be participating in test programmes. One of these projects is looking at how in future employees could use their own electricity to charge their lease vehicles and then have this be invoiced directly to the employer (energy swapping).
In short, the key to success comes down to satisfied customers and partners who feel that KBC Autolease listens to their needs and works with them to find innovative solutions.