In recent years, we have been looking into our personal crystal ball every few months and trying to predict who will be the next big hits in the fleet vehicle market. The forecast, if we may pat ourselves on the back, has been pretty accurate to this day. But the prediction is becoming more difficult every year. Fleet vehicles and leasing companies are now surprisingly open to employee demands. Not only is the variety of choices available greater, but many employers now allow for "personal" choices such as jeepneys, recreational vehicles, vehicles with engines other than the standard, and even, mercifully for the traveler, vehicles in unusual colors.
It is true that there are still fleets that strive for all employees to fall in line, give up personal identity, and assimilate into the larger collective, but fortunately the policy of one size (1.6 sedan) and one color (white) for all is disappearing.
So who will be the next hits in this market, which has a turnover of about 14 billion shekels a year? This time we went with some choices that seem safe and predictable - but with room for surprises.
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Dacia Lodgy: Category-breaking price
Take, for example, the Lodgy minivan, which will be positioned at the forefront of Dacia's new models in Israel. For a price similar to that of a supermini (around 90,000 shekels, according to unverified estimates), institutional customers will receive a true multi-purpose vehicle. The Lodgy is as long as a typical station wagon, but it has a respectable wheelbase and seven seats in three rows, with the third row offering, according to Renault, the best legroom and headroom in its category.
When you give up some of the seats, you get a commercial vehicle with the potential to be used as a utility vehicle and transporter. In a five-seat configuration, the cargo volume is 827 liters, and when the two rear rows of seats are folded, the volume jumps to more than 2,600 liters - like in the league of dedicated commercial vehicles.
The engine range includes old and familiar units such as the Megane's 1.5-liter turbo-diesel, with outputs of 90 and 110 horsepower, and the old 1.6-liter gasoline engine. Alongside them, the car will also be offered with a new 1.2-liter turbo-gasoline engine, which offers plenty of torque and excellent fuel economy.
So it's true that the Lodgy - and other Dacia models - will come with a manual transmission only and only the bare minimum of trim, interior design, and equipment. But in times of belt-tightening, and with a value in use that promises to be hundreds of shekels lower than that of comparable models with seven seats, we wouldn't be surprised if the joke is on the competitors.
When in Israel? Early 2015, or maybe a little before that
Skoda Fabia 2015: German specs, Korean price
Skoda owes most of its meteoric rise in recent years in Israel to its fleets. The fleets have put aside image and prestige considerations and opened the doors to Skoda for all levels of employees - from senior managers to junior employees. From there, sales have also trickled down to private customers. Therefore, the launch of the new Fabia is expected to make waves in the local market, especially if the aggressive pricing policy of the outgoing model continues.
The 3rd generation Fabia is based on the Volkswagen Group's new modular MQB platform, which also serves the Volkswagen Golf and Polo, the Skoda Octavia, the Seat Leon, and more. Thanks to that modern platform, the 3rd generation Fabia is forty kilograms lighter than its predecessor - it weighs less than a ton in the base version - but is also stiffer and stronger.
The design is still modest, to say the least, but the specs show it's slightly shorter but significantly lower and wider than its predecessor, giving it a more aggressive and sporty stance. The wheelbase has only grown by five millimeters, but Skoda claims that thanks to a fundamental change in the interior design, the car is much more spacious.
The main innovations are in the engine department, headed by a new 1.4-liter turbo-diesel engine, which in its "greenest" version records an average fuel consumption of about thirty kilometers per liter and lower emissions than a hybrid car. This engine will also be offered in an automatic version with a DSG gearbox, but the local bestseller will be, as before, the 1.2-liter turbo-petrol engine, which will also be offered with a DSG option. In Europe, at least, the car will also be available with a three-cylinder, one-liter engine, but it is doubtful whether it will reach us.
When in Israel? In the first/second quarter of 2015
Honda Civic USA: A tourist from a parallel world
""Well, what could possibly be new about the Honda Civic and what is its relevance to the fleet?", you're probably asking. Well, two things: The first is that for the first time in many years, a Honda Civic made in the United States, with strictly American specifications, is landing in Israel, to be sold alongside the familiar European Civic; the second innovation is that the corresponding importer of that Civic is none other than Alber, one of the three largest leasing companies in the Israeli market.
Last year, Alber decided it was strong enough to overcome opposition from the established auto industry and decided to start parallel imports. The business is currently still in the pilot phase, with low-profile imports and marketing designed to keep the operation under the importers' radar screens.
But the start of imports of the American Civic, with pricing that cuts the price of the European Civic from regular imports by several thousand shekels, is no small matter. This is a Japanese family car, with extensive penetration potential in the Israeli market. The car itself is the new generation of the Civic, which has been sold in the United States since 2013 and has not yet reached Europe. Externally, the car has a more pronounced nose design than that of the European car, wheels with a different design, and an updated tail. The passenger compartment also contains several design changes, mainly in the center console.
The engine is the same familiar 1.8-liter as the European car, but the transmission is a new-generation CVT with a shift that should be smoother and with seven different speeds. The car has a relatively high level of equipment even in the base grade, although the final specifications are not yet fully finalized.
When will we have it? On paper already. But at this stage, at least only for private individuals or for limited orders.
Hyundai i20 2015: Out of the box
The late Hyundai Getz was never an impressive car. It was a square box with cheap quality materials, a rough and noisy engine, an outdated gearbox and rather questionable dynamic ability. But it was spacious, and above all, incredibly reliable and cheap, which charmed institutional customers who were able to receive impressive discounts on it. The bottom line was a groundbreaking car from a business perspective - one that put Hyundai deep into the offerings of leasing and rental companies in Israel, and placed the Getz, and later the i20, at the top of the sales chart in the super mini segment.
The interior design is in line with the sophisticated look of Hyundai's latest generation models, and includes, among other things, a large touchscreen as standard, and the rest of the usual entertainment and safety gadgets. The car itself is more spacious than its predecessor, and Hyundai claims dynamic capabilities in the European league - a claim that will have to be tested in the field.
In the engine department, not all details have been released yet, although in the Asian markets, where it has already been launched, a new-generation 1.2-liter gasoline engine and a 1.4-liter turbo-diesel engine are offered. It can be assumed that at least initially the car will come to us with the engines of the existing i20, but this will be only a prelude to the small turbo gasoline engines that the company is currently developing for all its models.
When will we be there? Early 2015
The full article in G Magazine
