Demand for greener vehicles speeding up

Athlon Car Lease, Avis, Dexia Auto Lease, Dockx, ING Car Lease and KBC Autolease, the first companies to sign Cleaner Car Contracts in Belgium

Brussels, Friday 11th June 2010 – Today, four car leasing companies and two short term car rental companies signed the first in what is bound to become a series of Cleaner Car Contracts in Belgium. In doing so, the companies commit to speeding up the process of renewing their car fleets in an environmentally informed way, which means that they are effectively performing better than present EU-norms require. Bond Beter Leefmilieu (BBL – the umbrella organisation for a better environment in Flanders, Belgium), which oversees the realisation of the European ‘Cleaner Car Contracts’ programme, is delighted with the positive responses it received from the Belgian car rental sector. “One third of the car rental market immediately accepted our invitation to speed up the process of greening its car fleets. We hope that the car construction sector takes notice and makes an effort to meet the green demands of these high profile car rental companies.”, says Jan Turf, head of policy at BBL.

Together, car leasing companies, short term car rental companies, and independent fleet owners represent 30 percent of the European automobile sector. Vehicles belonging to these fleets eventually find a second life on the private car market. The umbrella organisation Bond Beter Leefmilieu invites rental companies to speed up the process of greening their personal car fleets. Participating companies commit to lowering the median emissions of their newly purchased car fleet to 130 gr CO₂/km (silver fleet members) or 120 gr CO₂/km (gold fleet members) by 2012. In doing so, signees manage to reduce their environmental impact and to send a clear message to the car construction sector.



One third of the Belgian car rental sector signs a Cleaner Car Contract
Bond Beter Leefmilieu contacted the largest car (short term and long term) rental companies of Belgium toward the end of April, requesting them to join the programme. “We were surprised to see the positive responses we received from the sector. Clearly, there exists a real demand for greener personal cars. Each of the six participating companies signing in on the programme, has chosen to subscribe to the most ambitious target (gold fleet member), which means that the median emissions of their newly purchased personal cars will not surpass 120 gr CO₂/km. This is actually much better than what is presently imposed by the EU, i.e. that the standard of 130 gr CO₂/km is met in 2015,” Jan Turfs of Bond Beter Leefmilieu explains.

The six participating companies represent one third of the Belgian car rental market today. Their collective fleet is expected to comprise over 30.000 newly purchased green personal cars by 2012.

Interested car rental companies and large independent fleet owners have time to join the Cleaner Car Contracts programme until early September. It is then, that the results of programme will be made public for all of Europe.

Car construction sector must follow
“The market wants the transition to greener cars to progress twice as fast as producers are currently planning to enable. We hope that the car construction sector will recognise this shared demand and take action to meet it.”

The Cleaner Car Contracts programme serves the environment and the climate, but it is also beneficial to companies and car users. The greener the leased vehicles, the lower their costs in terms of fuel consumption and taxes. Europe can play its part by imposing more stringent CO₂ emission norms. Such a measure is bound to stimulate innovation, and this, in turn, can have a decisive impact on the accelerated transition to more economic business vehicles.

‘Cleaner Car Contracts’: unique collaboration between five European environmental organisations and the car rental sector
‘Cleaner Car Contracts’ represents a unique and joint initiative of five European environmental organisations. In Belgium, the programme is coordinated by Bond Beter Leefmilieu. Since the start of the programme, more than 96.000 new cars have been introduced by the participating companies in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. The Dutch organisation Stichting Natuur en Milieu is in charge of the programme at large.

More information on: www.cleanercarcontracts.eu

Contact: Stien Coessens, press and communication, +32 2 282 17 29, +32 497 44 62 17
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