Unit Offers Pay-Per-Mile Leasing

PARIS — Charging truck operators only for the miles they put on a vehicle is an idea that has been talked about by European truck leasing executives for several years.

But talk turned into action in February. To the surpise of many in the industry, Charterway, a truck leasing unit of Mercedes-Benz, introduced a new product called Pay As You Use.

“We’re putting our money where our mouth is,” said Stephen Mottershead, managing director of Charterway in Britain, where the idea is undergoing evaluation before being rolled out across Europe.

The PAYU plan has generated a lot of ink in the truck trade press and unprecedented interest from truck operators, Mottershead said. Still, the Charterway executive is not ready to claim victory just yet.

“From an awareness point of view, it’s been a very big success,” he said. “There’s been an awful lot of interest, but call me again in six months if you want to know if it’s going to be a commercial success. My gut feeling is that we are on to a winner.”

In the first three weeks after its announcement, one PAYU contract was signed, and “five other customers with up to 100 vehicles” are considering agreements, Mottershead said.

More important, Mottershead has meetings scheduled with several big shippers and private fleets — including some of Britain’s important supermarket chains — to explain how PAYU works.

“Those meetings are at the request of the customers, which is very rare,” he said.

Mottershead said the delay in introducing PAYU was caused by the lack of affordable vehicle tracking technology. Without a precise and cost-effective means of measuring vehicle usage, the system was impartial.

For the full story, see the March 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.