Why did the partnership come together?
Pierre Syssau: First of all, this joint venture was born in the framework of a more global and long-term partnership, since the two companies have been working together since 2001.
Sven Kunath: At Volkswagen Financial Services, we have set ourselves ambitious goals for growth in the fleet sector. Maintenance products play a crucial role, as these are the kind of services most frequently requested by our customers. Staymo enables us to steadily expand our network of workshops for multi-brand business and to offer our customers better processes and competitiveness.
Pierre Syssau: At Icare, we handle mechanical breakdown warranties and maintenance cover on behalf of our partners, taking care of customer issues. Our business model is about managing any kind of car, from any brand. This is an essential asset for Volkswagen Financial Services, as it encompasses multi-brand fleets. We leverage not only the expertise of our operational platform but also data on more than three million vehicles, and this contributes to our service reliability.
Staymo enables us to steadily expand our network of workshops for multi-brand business and to offer our customers better processes and competitiveness.
RESPONDING TO THE CLIENTS' NEEDS
How does Staymo meet its clients’ requirements?
Sven Kunath: Fleet managers are limiting the number of service providers to reduce complexity, strengthen their purchasing power and cut costs. One-stop-shopping is key. At the same time, cost pressure is increasing. The larger the fleet is, the more price‑sensitive our clients, the fleet managers, become.
Therefore, major clients expect leasing companies to provide competitive offers for all brands. In order to satisfy our clients, we must be able to provide leasing and service offers for vehicles outside the Volkswagen Group.
Pierre Syssau: Clients today seek more diversity. Multi-brand expertise regarding pricing and operations of maintenance contracts is part of our DNA at Icare. Within a year, Staymo has built the capacity to offer maintenance solutions for any type of vehicle and brand (electric cars included), across a network of local workshops in any European country.
Sven Kunath: This capacity allows us to operate our multi-brand business every bit as professionally as we already do for the brands within the Volkswagen Group. The partnership is a crucial strategic step for winning and retaining large fleet clients. This multi-brand expertise is key to winning, anchoring loyalty and retaining large fleet customers. It secures the sales of the Volkswagen Group brands and supports our further growth in the fleet business.
Pierre Syssau: This joint venture also brings exciting prospects for BNP Paribas Cardif, as we are building new and unique European expertise by working hand in hand with a major player like Volkswagen!
ANTICIPATING THE FUTURE
Will this partnership continue to generate innovation?
Sven Kunath: Yes, absolutely. Mobility is changing, our customer demands are changing, so we must keep developing too. After this successful launch in France, our main focus in the coming years will be to increase our footprint and to roll out Staymo in the large European fleet markets. We are also looking at expanding our product range to new areas such as tyre replacement. I’m excited to see how the partnership continues to grow as new opportunities emerge.
Pierre Syssau: I agree a hundred percent, Sven. Staymo is naturally innovative in its approach. I believe it will become a centre of expertise for fleet car servicing and generate lots of valuable data for all models of cars, across all types of networks, in all countries. This data-rich approach will spark many additional use cases to push innovation. For example, we can improve current operations with automated claim approval based on analytics. And we could also provide brand new services such as predictive maintenance by using driving behaviour to estimate the impact on the wear and tear of the vehicle. The future is full of opportunities!