Understanding how the future of leasing is evolving starts with the people behind the contracts, vehicles, and technology.
In a recent webinar, Martin Nørgaard Høgh from Connected Cars spoke with Harald Van Meel from the Danish leasing company Opendo about how vehicle connectivity is reshaping the industry. Together, they explored how leasing companies maximize uptime, evaluate EV residual values, and gain a competitive edge.
We’ve selected three key insights that show how Harald and his team are using connectivity to overcome common roadblocks for both leasing companies and their fleet customers.
Keeping vehicles road-ready is business critical
For leasing companies, maintaining maximum uptime for their vehicles is essential for both themselves and their fleet customers. When vehicles are off the road and located in different workshops, customer satisfaction and profitability are both at risk. Harald explained why access to accurate vehicle data is so important:
“We are the owner of the car, so we would also like to know: What is the status of the car? Is it still in good health? Does it need to go to the workshop, or to get maintained? And in that respect, it is good to get the data.”
This kind of visibility is especially important for light commercial fleets, where unplanned downtime can bring operations to a halt. With the right data, leasing companies can act before problems arise and keep their customers moving.
EV battery health data is key to predicting their residual value
Electric vehicles are changing how leasing companies assess remarketing potential. Traditional metrics like mileage are no longer enough. Today, the health of the battery plays a major role in determining a vehicle’s residual value, and accurate data is essential for making informed decisions.
“We are all struggling with the residual value of the battery electric vehicles at the moment, due to the fact that there was no historical data. So everybody makes the best estimated guess.
When we have a look upon these fleet electrical vehicles, it’s the state of health of the battery. That’s something we have never experienced before, because we were just looking at the odometer of the car.
But this is different for electrical vehicles because the battery is also a huge part. And when it has something wrong, this does not have an impact on one or two thousand euros. If we need to replace the battery, it is eight to ten thousand.
So giving us the information about the state of health of the car is also giving us a good insight on what would the residual value be for these cars.”
Battery diagnostics give leasing companies a clearer view of each vehicle’s value. With reliable data, they can reduce financial risk, time their remarketing better, and manage their electric fleets with greater confidence.
Scaling operations means reducing cost per contract
To stay competitive in the leasing market, companies need to operate with greater efficiency. Harald explained that lowering the cost per contract requires a combination of digital optimization and the ability to grow through scale.
“I think to be competitive in the market, you really need to have a low cost per contract. And the only way to reach that is optimization, get more digital tools in there, but also scale up.”
Connectivity supports this effort by enabling automation and simplifying workflows. When systems are aligned and data flows easily, leasing companies can manage more contracts while keeping operational costs under control.
Explore more in the full webinar
Other important topics were also explored in the full webinar, including how vehicle usage impacts profitability, the role of telematics in ESG reporting, the shift toward predictive maintenance, and the value of partnerships between leasing companies and connectivity providers. These areas were discussed in depth and offer further perspective on how data is transforming the industry.
You can watch the full conversation here.
Final thoughts
Harald Van Meel’s insights show that telematics is now a central part of the leasing business. It supports better uptime, stronger residual value predictions, more efficient operations, and clearer ESG reporting. Connectivity and real-time vehicle data give leasing companies the tools to work smarter and stay competitive in a changing market.
With that in mind, we thank the Opendo team and Harald for sharing his expertise and look forward to continuing the conversation about the future of fleet and leasing.