In this interview, she explains how regulatory pressure, electrification and changing employee expectations are reshaping how companies manage their vehicle fleets.
BBJ: Ayvens has been operating under a single brand for more than a year now, since the legal merger of ALD Automotive and Leaseplan was completed in 2025. What tangible changes do clients experience today in day-to-day cooperation as a result of the integration?
TĂmea Pesti: Experts agree that similar integrations fail in 70-90% of cases. I am extremely proud to say that Ayvens belongs to the other 10-30%, as we have completed the legal merger, process harmonization and data migration, and moved into a newoffice without any outages.
Throughout the entire process, we took special care to identify, preserve and further develop the most effective and customer-centric practices from the two former companies. As a result, I think we have the best mobility services on the market.
Ayvens offers the widest range of solutions to its customers. Our financing options span the broadest spectrum, and we can easily switch from a fixed-rate to a floating-rate structure. Our insurance offerings are also highly competitive, and in the event of a claim, our damage management and repair teams handle issues end-to-end.
Thanks to the combined decades of experience of the two companies, our cost-control capabilities and repair quality assurance capacity are second to none. Our nationwide service network was already among the strongest, and by bringing together the two portfolios, we have been able to close any remaining white spots on the map.
BBJ: The past few years in the fleet market have been defined by uncertainty and strong cost pressure. Beyond offering more competitive pricing, where can a large fleet management provider create real added value for corporate clients today?
TP: I have been working in the fleet industry for 15 years and have never experienced a market as difficult as this one, where every factor is constantly changing, making it impossible to plan ahead. In this situation, expert support based on up-to-date market information is crucial, as our customers are also in a difficult position. Expectations are rising, ESG compliance frameworks are becoming stricter, and budget cuts are frequent across industries. Our role in this situation is to stand by our clients and help them make the best decisions possible.
Another advantage is flexibility: in this uncertain environment, most companies have chosen to extend their current contracts and continue using their cars rather than renew their fleets, or move to our short-term rental service, Ayvens Flex. We supported these bridging solutions because they are also beneficial from a sustainability perspective. However, it has a limit: Those who have used this solution in the past few years are now due for fleet renewal.
BBJ: Regulation is increasingly shaping the market from the supply side. How does Ayvens help companies approach fleet renewal as a strategic decision rather than a forced reaction to regulation?
TP: Regulations are not only shaping supply, but also increasingly influencing demand: it is no longer just the largest companies that are struggling to comply with ESG requirements; choosing the appropriate company car is a serious challenge for many enterprises. I believe that making fleet mobility more sustainable can be achieved in the long term. However, we need to look at this question from a broader perspective to avoid seeing the choice between electric and other alternative drive systems as a forced, unwanted change. Companies need to rethink their company car policies completely and optimize their habits. This requires a paradigm shift.
In recent years, the market has shifted towards larger, higher-end cars, but this trend cannot keep pace with rising prices, as companies cannot expand budgets indefinitely amid cost-cutting measures. For this reason, car usage must be rationalized, with a focus on choosing cars that are easier and cheaper to operate and service and maximizing the currently available fleet capacity. We are working on highlighting the advantages of this “right-sizing” principle to our clients.
BBJ: The idea of “right-sizing” fleets and aligning vehicles with actual usage has been discussed for some time. How open are Hungarian companies today to fundamentally rethinking their car policies?
TP: Although many companies still operate within a culture of “my car is my business card,” I am seeing more businesses open to thinking differently about vehicles.
We can do a lot for the environment simply by choosing the right color for our car: white cars have a much lower environmental impact. Vehicle specifications also matter, as higher levels of equipment require more electronics, which in turn depend on rare earth elements, something I see as wasteful when it goes beyond real needs. We should not choose cars “for show,” but rather select vehicles
BBJ: Ayvens has been operating under a single brand for more than a year now, since the legal merger of ALD Automotive and Leaseplan was completed in 2025. What tangible changes do clients experience today in day-to-day cooperation as a result of the integration?
TĂmea Pesti: Experts agree that similar integrations fail in 70-90% of cases. I am extremely proud to say that Ayvens belongs to the other 10-30%, as we have completed the legal merger, process harmonization and data migration, and moved into a newoffice without any outages.
Throughout the entire process, we took special care to identify, preserve and further develop the most effective and customer-centric practices from the two former companies. As a result, I think we have the best mobility services on the market.
Ayvens offers the widest range of solutions to its customers. Our financing options span the broadest spectrum, and we can easily switch from a fixed-rate to a floating-rate structure. Our insurance offerings are also highly competitive, and in the event of a claim, our damage management and repair teams handle issues end-to-end.
Thanks to the combined decades of experience of the two companies, our cost-control capabilities and repair quality assurance capacity are second to none. Our nationwide service network was already among the strongest, and by bringing together the two portfolios, we have been able to close any remaining white spots on the map.
BBJ: The past few years in the fleet market have been defined by uncertainty and strong cost pressure. Beyond offering more competitive pricing, where can a large fleet management provider create real added value for corporate clients today?
TP: I have been working in the fleet industry for 15 years and have never experienced a market as difficult as this one, where every factor is constantly changing, making it impossible to plan ahead. In this situation, expert support based on up-to-date market information is crucial, as our customers are also in a difficult position. Expectations are rising, ESG compliance frameworks are becoming stricter, and budget cuts are frequent across industries. Our role in this situation is to stand by our clients and help them make the best decisions possible.
Another advantage is flexibility: in this uncertain environment, most companies have chosen to extend their current contracts and continue using their cars rather than renew their fleets, or move to our short-term rental service, Ayvens Flex. We supported these bridging solutions because they are also beneficial from a sustainability perspective. However, it has a limit: Those who have used this solution in the past few years are now due for fleet renewal.
BBJ: Regulation is increasingly shaping the market from the supply side. How does Ayvens help companies approach fleet renewal as a strategic decision rather than a forced reaction to regulation?
TP: Regulations are not only shaping supply, but also increasingly influencing demand: it is no longer just the largest companies that are struggling to comply with ESG requirements; choosing the appropriate company car is a serious challenge for many enterprises. I believe that making fleet mobility more sustainable can be achieved in the long term. However, we need to look at this question from a broader perspective to avoid seeing the choice between electric and other alternative drive systems as a forced, unwanted change. Companies need to rethink their company car policies completely and optimize their habits. This requires a paradigm shift.
In recent years, the market has shifted towards larger, higher-end cars, but this trend cannot keep pace with rising prices, as companies cannot expand budgets indefinitely amid cost-cutting measures. For this reason, car usage must be rationalized, with a focus on choosing cars that are easier and cheaper to operate and service and maximizing the currently available fleet capacity. We are working on highlighting the advantages of this “right-sizing” principle to our clients.
BBJ: The idea of “right-sizing” fleets and aligning vehicles with actual usage has been discussed for some time. How open are Hungarian companies today to fundamentally rethinking their car policies?
TP: Although many companies still operate within a culture of “my car is my business card,” I am seeing more businesses open to thinking differently about vehicles.
We can do a lot for the environment simply by choosing the right color for our car: white cars have a much lower environmental impact. Vehicle specifications also matter, as higher levels of equipment require more electronics, which in turn depend on rare earth elements, something I see as wasteful when it goes beyond real needs. We should not choose cars “for show,” but rather select vehicles