Vehicle leasing is one of those things that sounds like a chore, something that your company accountant chats to you about at the end of a dull meeting. However, it’s far more important than that. Far more interesting too. Company car fleets are of huge importance – not only do they help to keep the nation’s businesses up and running, they’re also important bellwethers at a time of huge changes in the motoring world.
Irish-owned NiftiBusiness is one of the leading lights in the vehicle leasing world, and it’s an independent company taking on – and beating – global giants when it comes to providing vehicles to companies here.
Catherine Guy is chief executive at NiftiBusiness, and according to her the company’s secret success sauce is simple: it’s about having the right people and giving them the right encouragement. “I think our growth over the past few years has come about as a result of the refocusing of the business with strong people and the creation of an independent, Irish-owned brand. When we did that, the knowledge that the investment was being made into the business, the knowledge that we were going to be doing it under our own brand, provided us with a great opportunity to come out and refresh ourselves, refresh the messaging, and engage and attack the market with more energy.”
Guy has led a big expansion of NiftiBusiness, attracting big investment from AIB and Nissan Ireland, as well as taking over the former Gowan leasing operations. That might not be the only takeover in NiftiBusiness’ future. “It’s definitely a part of our future that we’ll look for opportunities to consolidate,” said Guy.
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Indeed, the ambition for NiftiBusiness is for it to grow exponentially in the next few years, she says. “It’s about growth. It’s about development. There is a very clear place and position in the market for us right now, but our ambition is to always be moving the business forward. So, that means we’re constantly in the trenches, constantly competing, as is everyone – it’s a very competitive market.”
NiftiBusiness currently has 45 employees, but clearly that’s going to have to grow, and as Guy puts it, the emphasis is on being a trusted Irish business leasing and fleet management operator, with local market knowledge and fast-reacting customer service.
“I think our customers are entitled to assume that there’s going to be a baseline of professionalism, a baseline of service, a baseline of product that’s there, regardless of whether we’re an Irish company or not” says Guy. “No one is going to give us a gift of their business just for the sake of patriotism, but what we can do is offer something that the others can’t. That’s the speed of decision making and reaction. We’re a team that all sits together and works together, we have an entirely open-plan office, and so we can make the decisions that need to be made really quickly.”
The second thing the company can bring is a tremendous level of customer service, Guy says. “We all have a very strong connection to what’s going on with our customers, and when there’s a problem – and inevitably there will always be problems and issues that crop up and need to be fixed – we are on it, and there is someone here that our customers can talk to, to have any issues resolved.”
It’s not just about working from the top-down with clients either. NiftiBusiness’s style is to make sure that the end-user, the people who are actually out and about driving the cars and vans that they provide, are also happy. “We ask drivers for feedback on a regular basis and we’re consistently getting nine out of ten on our customer satisfaction scores” says Guy. “So, the drivers are happy. Now, drivers aren’t necessarily the decision makers in a given company but if you’ve got happy drivers, the fleet manager is going to be more comfortable and the contrary is also true. Our account managers and relationship managers are here to make sure that everyone involved is comfortable and satisfied with what we’re doing, so it’s very much about the personal connection.”
NiftiBusiness is also taking a lead when it comes to the switch to electric vehicles. The subject of leasing and using lower-carbon vehicles is very much at the forefront of every deal being struck, while still being mindful that not every company is ready for a wholesale switchover to an electric fleet.
“From the time of the rebrand to NiftiBusiness in 2020, we planted our flag very firmly in the electric vehicle (EV) and alternative fuels space” says Guy. “At that time, it wasn’t something that everyone was thinking about, but of course it’s become far more important since, especially with the Government’s carbon reduction targets. We’ve grown quickly in the EV space, and we are actively promoting the switch to electric driving, and that does come with blips and so on, which is inevitable in the adoption of any new technology. That means that we have to be far more forensic with it, far more precise in how we encourage our customers to adopt electric vehicles. We can work out for them what the difference would be in terms of emissions, in terms of costs, and we’re very sharp on making sure that there’s an appropriate charging infrastructure set up both at the business premises and preferably at the drivers’ homes too, as that’s a factor that can make EV use pretty much hassle-free. Seventy per cent of the quotes we give have an EV option included, and people are looking at it. Not everyone’s ready to jump in 100 per cent just yet, but equally everyone’s starting to dip a toe in the water now.”
Those dipped toes will make bigger waves, eventually. “I’m not sure that the broader car market simply follows what’s going on in the business leasing market” says Guy. “But certainly, it’s influential.”
NiftiBusiness’s influence is likely to grow too. Guy says that the current business plan runs up to 2028. “We want to keep it interesting, we want to keep innovating, to see what’s new and what else is out there, and what else we can add for our customers. But the simple plan is scale.
To find out more about what NiftiBusiness can do for your fleet visit niftibusiness.ie