Leasing company Arval has introduced a new dashboard tool designed to help customers navigate recontracting options for their company vehicles.

The firm says the tool has been created in response to demands from customers for greater flexibility when they need to deviate from their original contract terms.

Head of consultancy Shaun Sadlier said there was an increasing demand for recontracting.

He said: “This can sometimes refer to simply lengthening or shortening contracts or changing the mileage parameters. More often though, it refers to the way that we monitor whether vehicles are, over time, staying within the expected parameters of their lease contract and, if it is clear that they aren’t, suggesting options to the fleet operator.

“For example, if a customer has taken a 36 month/75,000 mile lease and, after 12 months, it is clear that a car is more likely to total 60,000 miles, you can look at perhaps increasing the length of the contract or reducing the annual mileage allowance. 

“Similarly, if it became obvious that you were going to overshoot the mileage by some distance, there is the option to reduce the contract length or increase the payments.”

Sadlier said all this can be done in conjunction with other in-contract measures, such as swapping cars across the fleet to balance out mileage extremes. 

He said that, historically, recontracting often meant reviewing and analysing large amounts of data, but that Arval wanted to make it clearer and more accessible with the introduction of the new dashboard tool.

He continued: “This is all about transparency and choice. If a customer wants to understand the implications of extending contracts, for example, then the new dashboard tool will provide them with the means to look at the overall financial impact on their whole fleet, assisting them in making informed decisions.

“We will always provide consultative support where it is needed, helping customers to work through the implications of contract changes, but we believe that the kind of openness this technology creates will be widely welcomed. 

“The fact is that we, as a company, work less and less in a world where the initial lease agreement is the final word. We increasingly provide an approach where there is a higher degree of contract flexibility to meet customer needs over time.”