Features
10 déc 19

Fleet Latam Outlook 2020: a maturing environment

As we step into 2020, some of the fleet management and mobility trends to keep an eye out for in Latin America next year are last-mile mobility, electrification, and upcoming changes in Argentina which could highly affect vehicle acquisitions.

Last-mile mobility

In terms of last-mile mobility, it has really taken off in Brazil, especially in the country’s largest city of São Paulo where bike-sharing and e-scooter sharing continue to grow.  Among the companies operating in the city are station-based bike-sharing service Tembici and dock-less bike-sharing service Yellow Bike (Grow Mobility), as well as e-scooter sharing companies Lime, Scoo and Grin (Grow Mobility). 

Most recently (December), Uber started offering electric scooters in the neighboring city of Santos and its e-bike sharing service Jump is just around the corner. São Paulo is already home to Uber's world's largest municipal ride-hailing car fleet.    


Uber e-scooters and Jump e-bikes in San Diego, now on the way to Brazil (source: Shutterstock)


While bike and scooter sharing solutions are more catered for B2C, there is a growing number of leasing and mobility companies in Latin America that have recently launched similar offerings for both the B2C and B2B markets. Expect this to continue in 2020.

Fleet electrification

Regarding electrification, the strength of its implementation really depends on the country. However, in general, the move toward electric vehicles (EV) and hybrids is growing in the region.
Due to its lower-priced cars, one country which should be evolving more quickly toward electrification in 2020 is Mexico, more so with hybrid vehicles. For instance, while the Toyota Prius hybrid is approximately US$33,000 in Brazil, it is only about US$22,000 in Mexico, and this is without government incentives or a corporate discount.

To push the change, OEMs have been launching more models throughout all of Latin America lately. Among the full-electric vehicles most recently launched in the region are the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt, and Renault Zoe.

The vehicle leasing industry is also giving more attention to EVs, considering the opinion of Kent Bjertrup who is Regional Director (Latam) for international corporate mobility solutions company ALD Automotive.

“We need to strengthen standards that favor clean technologies, expand electrification programs, develop national and municipal electric mobility strategies, and create public-private partnerships,” says Mr. Bjertrup.

Finally, Fleet LatAm would like to highlight the economic situation in Argentina which saw its inflation and benchmark interest rates both reach approximately 60% earlier this year. In 4Q19, however, they have fallen to 50% and 40% respectively. Although still quite high, it’s a breath of fresh air to see the numbers dropping.

President Alberto Fernández just took office on Tuesday (10 December), replacing president Mauricio Macri. Whether or not the new administration can find a way to continue bringing the numbers down in 2020 is unknown but if accomplished, this will certainly affect car acquisition strategies in the country and the automobile market in South America.  

Argentina is home to the second-largest automobile market in South America, only behind Brazil. The economic health in these two countries is crucial to the entire continent.   

Fleet LatAm

Meanwhile, next year, you can continue to count on Fleet Latam providing you with vehicle fleet and mobility insight through digital media, magazines, and events like the second edition of the Fleet LatAm Conference to be held in September in Mexico City. 
 


Feet LatAm Conference & Training 2019 in Mexico City (source: Fleet LatAm)

Besides being informed through ongoing news updates, feature articles, analysis, case studies, and interviews on our digital platforms (including a monthly newsletter), stay tuned for upcoming magazine editions.  Following the launch of the Fleet LatAm Directory 2020 which is coming out in December (2019), the next three editions of Fleet LatAm are scheduled for launch in March, July, and December (2020).

Finally, besides webinars and other training sessions, the two main events in 2020 to look out for are: Global Fleet Conference in May for Global Fleet Managers (Rome); and Fleet LatAm Conference and Training in September for both Global and Latin America Fleet Managers (Mexico City). 

More information to come soon, and if you have a question or a suggestion don't hesitate to contact us

Authored by: Daniel Bland