• ARVAL outperforms the European Market Growth in 2006

In a European automotive market showing a mere 1.1% increase in registration in 2006, 6.6% for the company vehicle segment, Arval has achieved excellent results, with 173 900 new vehicles on the road.

Arval, the international role model in Operational Leasing and corporate vehicle management, clearly outperformed in its market in 2006 by recording 7.4% growth in leased vehicles while the company vehicle fleet increased in Europe by only 3.2%, with Operational Leasing up 1%.

At the end of 2006, Arval showed a total leased fleet of 503 700 vehicles and a total managed fleet of 623 100 vehicles (up 2.7%), reinforcing its market leadership in France, and second position in Europe. Almost all countries have contributed to such growth, with development particularly strong in southern Europe: Spain (up 16.4%), Italy (up 6.3%), and Germany, where growth in the financed fleet reached close to 13% in one year.

In France, Arval’s fleet now represents 36.5% of the Group’s total, once again demonstrating strong performance. With over 65 000 cars purchased in the year and a leased fleet of nearly 185 000 cars, ARVAL has improved its leading position on the French market considerably. The Company will furthermore pursue the new commercial pathways begun in 2005 and 2006 (in the SME and very small enterprise sector) as well as the initiatives it has taken to diversify the remarketing channels of used cars (sale to users, to individuals, etc.) in order to face the market difficulties that have been penalising the sector quite heavily.

Laurent Tréca, Arval’s Chairman and Managing Director, commented on the efforts deployed by the Company to adapt to market constraints: “We do our utmost to ensure that the quality of service provided to our customers is constantly progressing in an effort to better defend our strong position. In addition to financial expertise, we also offer the broad experience we have acquired in fleet management, today perfectly mastered by our entire structure. Furthermore, we are pursuing our development in new countries with strong potential by giving priority to Eastern Europe. For 2007, Arval is relying on continued development at a strong pace”.

Arval, fully in its role as adviser to companies, also plans on intensifying its action in the field of sustainable mobility, with a view to encouraging companies to choose clean vehicles and reduce their energy consumption, hence their CO2 emission.

• Arval continues its International Development

Following Brazil and Russia in 2006, Arval has just broadened its presence in Eastern Europe. The opening of entities dedicated to Operational Leasing in Turkey and Romania will bring the number of countries up to 21.

Both countries, while quite different in terms of population and fleet, are promising markets in which Operational Leasing is in its early phase of development. By setting up these two new markets, Arval will be able to benefit from highly advantageous development potential, indicates Philippe Noubel, Deputy Managing Director of Arval.

‘‘Romania is today part of the European Union, with 20 million inhabitants, where approximately 200 000 new cars are registered each year. The number of vehicles circulating in Operational Leasing can be estimated at 25 000. In addition, this country has a strong bond with Italy, as reflected by the many Italian companies present, Italy also being an active entity of Arval.”

‘’Turkey offers other advantages, with its population of 70 million inhabitants and a number of car registrations reaching 800 000 per year. Operational Leasing fleets total approximately 50 000 cars. BNP Paribas, our parent company, has an extremely dynamic partnership in this country with the TEB bank with which we have built this development project.’’