Key opens up used truck profits
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• Truck and trailer leasing specialist Key Leasing plans to increase its revenue from used truck leasing by as much as 10% as more operators switch to Leasing secondhand vehicles.
According to finance manager Jonathan Andrew, KL's Keytruck used vehicle leasing business — which currently accounts for around 5% of all profits generated from leasing — could eventually account for some 15%. "We're just looking at the tip of the iceberg right now," he says. "It's a real growth area."
Andrew describes the used vehicle leasing business as "cradle to grave" vehicle management which, he claims, is unique to Key: "I don't think any other company can do it — no other leasing company has a used truck division."
Key's attack on the leasing market will be strengthened by the end of next spring when it moves into a new Elm site at Carrington near Manchester, which will incorporate its Cheadle offices.
The 2.8ha development will include a large used vehicle display area for trucks and trailers to "consolidate all our business activities under one roof", says Andrew. Vehicles returning from lease will be refurbished and either re-leased through the Keytrucks scheme or sold on into the used vehicle market by KL's used truck division.
Used truck manager Malcolm Taylor reports a growing interest from Key's customers in leasing good quality used vehicles; particularly from those in the own-account sector.
All vehicles sold through the Keytrucks scheme are under three year's old, painted in the operator's livery, inspected by the FTA and are covered by a warranty.
Most Keytruck vehicles have been operating through Key Leasing with blue-chip companies, says Taylor, "although they won't all be ex-lease as we buy a large number of secondhand vehicles ourselves".
Information on Key Leasing's vehicle movements, including those trucks returning from lease, is continually fed via computer to the used vehicle division, allowing Taylor to forecast future used vehicle stock levels. "That's a tremendous advantage for me," says Taylor, "as I can predict my stock up to three years in advance."