Driving Style: Preventing Residual Value Loss Through Real-Time Data.

At the heart of the leasing business model, the resale value of cars must be kept as high as possible at the end of the contract to ensure a comfortable margin. To this end, numerous tools are available to forecast the residual value at 3, 4 or 5 years, allowing the financial outcome of the transaction to be anticipated even before the contract is signed. Conversely, the impact of the lessee’s driving style throughout the contract on the vehicle’s overall condition — and thus on its resale value — should not be underestimated. Increasingly electrified and connected, cars are all the more fragile and potentially damaged by irresponsible driving. How can lessors ensure that their vehicles on the road are used properly throughout the lease term?

Real-time manufacturer data to support eco-driving

There’s no need to wait until the lease ends and the car is returned to take action: the real-time data transmitted by the vehicle to the manufacturer, and made available to solution providers, makes it possible to monitor and evaluate the driver’s behavior throughout the lease period.

This is where Echoes, a neutral server independent of vehicle manufacturers, provides an answer to lessors’ evolving needs. By gathering technical vehicle data from every manufacturer, Echoes collects and harmonizes this information so it can be presented in a uniform way within its dedicated CarLocate and CarFleet interfaces. Among this data is a wealth of information that can be used to assess driver behavior:

• The average fuel consumption, in liters or kWh per 100 km, which Echoes can easily compare to other users with the same profile driving a similar vehicle.
• The car’s exact location, which makes it possible to instantly detect instances of off-road use.
• Monitoring of the fuel tank or traction battery level, along with the history of recharging and refueling, to ensure the driver is following best practices.

In the near future, additional real-time data could refine this monitoring even further. For example, the vehicle’s current speed could be cross-referenced with its GPS location to ensure that speed limits are being observed. The intensity of acceleration and braking can also be calculated to assess the smoothness of the driving.

Aggressive driving, reduced residual value

So how can analyzing this data help preserve residual value? Specifically, three major risks threaten cars in the hands of careless drivers:

1. Aggressive driving inevitably ages a car prematurely. Sudden acceleration, abrupt braking and excessive speeds put undue strain on brake pads and rotors, shock absorber springs, tires, drive shafts and suspension arms. According to Bison Futé, eco-driving not only reduces the risk of accidents by an average of 10 to 15 %, but also saves several thousand euros over the vehicle’s lifetime, taking into account only tire and brake wear. Similarly, driving too often with a low fuel level risks the engine ingesting impurities at the bottom of the tank and shortening its lifespan.
2. Off-road trips damage the undercarriage. Some drivers have no qualms about driving on unpaved roads or trails in vehicles that aren’t designed for such use: the chassis side members, suspension arms and spare tire — as well as the engine compartment or exhaust system — all suffer. These incidents are all the more complicated for the lessor to manage because they may not be visible during a cursory inspection, only surfacing as a malfunction several months later — carrying the risk of a dispute after resale.
3. For electric vehicles, the issue is even more critical. Jerky, overly fast driving not only causes premature wear on the drivetrain and suspension but also reduces battery life, with the risk of an early replacement. Neglecting eco-driving multiplies charging sessions, accelerating wear on charging cables, sockets and plugs, on onboard electronics and on the battery’s control, preconditioning and thermal-management systems. Repairing these parts can cost several thousand euros, and their condition is difficult to assess by eye upon return: inspecting them requires taking the vehicle out of service and calling in a qualified technician.

Education before punishment

However, a crucial question remains for lessors: how can they use this information without violating privacy or giving customers the impression that their freedom to drive is being restricted?

• Education first: provide drivers with materials that raise awareness of eco-driving (newsletters, SMS push alerts, brochures) while informing them of the benefits for their own running costs.
• An eco-driving charter: encourage customers to use their vehicles responsibly, all the more so if that good behavior is rewarded with contract discounts or other loyalty incentives.
• Penalties, as a last resort: from financial fines to early termination of the contract, when the driving behavior puts the vehicle’s residual value at risk.

In every case, relying on a neutral server like Echoes makes it possible to monitor each driver’s behavior in real time, take the steps needed to correct course, and measure the effectiveness of those measures — with a potentially positive impact on the residual value of every vehicle.