Screens on the wall, screens on the floor, colorful sets, the Crédit Agricole stand at the Munich Motor Show (September 5-10) is full of effects to compete with those of its immediate neighbors in the center of city exhibitions, Chinese manufacturers BYD. or the German Mercedes.
After showing its ambitions at the Paris Motor Show last year, the bank completes its financing offer this year with a portfolio of services, grouped under the brand Crédit Agricole Mobility Services, a new entity of Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance.
A branch of automotive services.
This consumer sector also announced the creation of a 50/50 joint venture with the company Opteven to expand warranty and maintenance, an offer that aims to be European for its customers.
“We mix all the products,” Giacomo Carelli, CEO of CA Auto Bank and Drivalia, explains to BFM Business. The objective is to retain the customer throughout the process of acquiring and then maintaining a vehicle.
“Tomorrow we may have customers who want to try Drivalia [l’entité location courte, moyenne, longue durée, abonnement et autopartage de Crédit Agricole, NDLR]for example with a subscription, and if you like the car, you can buy it from a dealer with financing from CA Autobank[la organización de financiación de créditos, nota del editor]explains Giacomo Carelli.[l’organismedefinancementcréditNDLR”détailleainsiGiacomoCarelli[l’organismedefinancementcréditNDLR”détailleainsiGiacomoCarelli
“We also have a home delivery service, that is, the customer can choose the car they like on the Internet, and we can make deliveries in all French cities,” continues the manager. CA has also acquired a stake in HiFlow, a vehicle delivery company.
Third pillar of its mobility strategy, Crédit Agricole Mobility Services must help Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance achieve its goal of allocating 50% of its turnover in 2025 to the field of mobility.
“A quite natural profession for bankers”
At the Munich Motor Show, Crédit Agricole is not the only one present. Representatives from Arval (BNP Paribas) and ALD Automotive (Société Générale) also move through the corridors.
Banking groups have always been partners in the purchase of cars, through traditional credit. But in recent years, a favorable environment has whetted their appetite beyond auto loans.
“It is a quite natural profession for bankers: they operate mainly in a subscription economy, which allows them to obtain regular income thanks to a set of services and thus maintain a long-term relationship with their clients,” explains Pierre de Brabois, consultant by Wavestone. .
“This is how they diversified into insurance, then into mobile telephony and now into mobility. Banks feel comfortable with this type of service,” underlines our expert. All the more convenient as they have been offering long-term rental deals for fleets for a long time. Offers that are increasingly being developed among individuals.
The leasing boom
According to the latest data from AAA Data, in August, 53% of new vehicle registrations in France were made through leasing. In this world of rental, Crédit Agricole plays the role of challenger, if we take into account the number of vehicles it currently manages worldwide: 800,000 per turnover, when Arval (BNP Paribas) rents 1.6 million and ALD Automotive (Société Générale) about 3.5 million. since the acquisition of Leaseplan.
These three big players are also facing captives from some big manufacturers, who also offer long-term rental deals. Crédit Agricole also trusted Stellantis, with which it partnered at the end of 2021, to manage the group’s long-term rental offer to the 14 brands.
With the rise of electric cars and new manufacturers, Crédit Agricole managers see a real opportunity to gain market share.
“People are going to desecrate the purchase of a car,” explains Stéphane Priami, general director of Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance. “Buying a car will become something habitual, like changing a phone, and they will be interested in the price, the use, the utility.” The CA has thus established a partnership with Tesla, but also with the new Vietnamese manufacturer VinFast.
Source: BFM TV
