Bridgestone Signs 300,000 Tyre Deal with LeasePlan

An agreement sealed at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show paves the way for Bridgestone to supply passenger car tyres to Europe’s largest leasing and fleet management operator. The preferred partner deal between the tyre major and Leaseplan is estimated to be worth 300,000 tyres a year, which will be supplied to authorised service providers in a number of countries. The respective national Bridgestone companies will agree the product mix and volumes with local LeasePlan fleet operators in each market, and Bridgestone has highlighted the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain as priority markets.

Commenting on the LeasePlan agreement, Mr. Kenji Shoda, director Sales & Marketing Bridgestone Europe said “we are very happy to start working with the biggest lease company in Europe. This pan-European deal will guarantee central sourcing, a better administrative flow and professional reporting.”

Brit Schönenberger, LeasePlan Supply Services’ managing director, spoke of the mutual benefits the agreement is expected to bring: “As Europe’s number one in leasing and vehicle management we are pleased to link up with the largest tyre and rubber company. This will give both our companies excellent opportunities to leverage our scale, increase efficiencies and to further improve our services to the benefit of our clients. We look forward to a successful relationship on international and local level.”

According to Bridgestone, the agreement is an important step in its strategy to develop its retail customer mix and achieve a stronger presence with leasing companies’ authorised dealer networks. Bridgestone’s stated aim is to develop its directly-owned sales channels – and the First Stop European network with 1,600 dealers in 23 countries – as official service providers to leasing and fleet management companies.