Drivalia has launched operations in Ireland following its acquisition of ALD Automotive (formerly known as Merrion Fleet), as part of a Europe-wide expansion that will see it reach 19 countries. Its current fleet in Ireland covers 10,500 vehicles with 1,250 customers. Presently, Drivalia's core business in in operational leasing and fleet management, but it is eyeing up expansion into other areas including the short-term vehicle rental market and, in time, car-sharing schemes.
The company provides a broad portfolio of services and works with dozens of well-known brand names including Tesla, Ferrari, Mazda and MG to name but a few. It has 725 mobility stores across Europe including 1,600 owned charging points, providing a charging solution to Drivalia customers. By 2026 it plans to increase that presence to 1,400 locations and 3,500 charge points.
Drivalia sees significant potential in the transition to electrification and aims to offer several products to accelerate the switchover. These will include the option to cut short existing lease arrangements on combustion engine vehicles and move to electric. "Our goal is to democratise green mobility, making it accessible to the general public. We plan that by 2030, 80 per cent of the new vehicles in our total fleet will be green," said Giacomo Carelli, CEO of CA Auto Bank and Chairman of Drivalia.
Speaking at the company's launch, Paolo Manfreddi, CEO of Drivalia, said: "Our goal is to become one of the leading players in the new mobility sector, with a strong focus on new energy vehicles. To achieve this, we are investing to strengthen our fleet in Europe, which is set to expand to 300,000 vehicles by 2026, with over half of them consisting of electric and PHEV models. Furthermore, our electric infrastructure is projected to encompass 3,500 proprietary charging stations by the same year."
Heading up operations in Ireland is David Wilkinson, who said: "We are proud to join the strong team of Crédit Agricole Group and Drivalia. Being part of a banking group with the scale of Crédit Agricole, one of the ten largest banks in the world, will ensure that we can continue to meet our customer's needs now and into the future. I am looking forward to an exciting journey for our customers and staff."