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If you were to move to another country, could you envision yourself and your family commute to work/school and go about your daily chores without a car?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 86 percent of Americans drive a car (or carpool) to get to work. In contrast, only 5 percent use public transportation. Considering that most foreign professionals have well-paying jobs and are accompanied by their families, it is likely that an even higher percentage commute to work compared to the average American.
As illustrated by the above statistics, car services are some of the most important needs to address for professionals on international assignment. One could argue that supporting assignees with convenient transportation solutions is just as important as helping them find a nice place to live.
However, solving daily mobility needs is often neglected in the Global Mobility industry.
In fact, we researched over 70 relocation management company websites and found that less than 3% mention car services such as airport transfer, car rentals, car leasing, and daily chauffeur service. Although they may still offer it upon request from clients, very few relocation companies proactively offer to assist with the assignees’ transportation needs.
In most cases, when transportation is coordinated by an RMC it’s because the client made it a requirement since they realize that employees need a convenient way to get to work and go about their lives.
On a positive note, since only 3% are proactively concerned about their clients’ transportation needs, there is an opportunity for RMCs to offer more support than their competitors.
When a RMC decides to support assignee transportation needs, they may gain and retain clients.
The 3 big tangible things when establishing a person abroad are:
Transportation is by many RMCs classified as an ancillary or value-added service. But is it a value-added service for the assignee to be able to get to work or to drive their kids to school? Many of us who use a car on a daily basis most likely see our car as a necessity. So having a clear sales/service strategy for addressing the assignee’s transportation needs should also be a necessity.
Benefits for RMC include:
Read more about using transportation as a sales tool here
Why do RMCs avoid assisting assignees with their car needs?
Intimidation may be the main reason relocation agents refrain from guiding assignees in this area. Even for experienced RMCs, the task of securing local transportation may seem daunting – and often rightfully so.
To accommodate assignee mobility needs, a variety of car services are required. For this reason, ExpatRide has a global network of over 100 suppliers in 170 countries, and each month we are adding more.
Another reason RMCs don’t prioritize transportation is that they don’t always have realistic ideas of assignee transportation needs.
For instance, ExpatRide had a meeting with a Relocation Management Company where we presented all of our transportation services. At the end of the presentation, a director with the RMC questioned the need for mobility services since she claimed that “expats carpool.” Our salesperson asked the director how she had gotten to the meeting that day whereupon she answered: “by car”.
It may be a bit presumptuous to assume that the mobility needs of expats would be any different than our own.
Let ExpatRide Handle Transportation
Regardless if you have one or 500 assignees in need of a transportation solution, we can help!
Working closely with our clients and partners, we get involved in the early stages of establishing the global mobility program for all aspects of car transportation. Aligning customary transportation across continents, budgets, allowances, self-pay, approved vehicles, individually tailored solutions, and centralized direct billing arrangement across all services:
Expat Car Leasing
Airport Transfer
Rental Cars
Chauffeur Service – Daily and long term
Armored Vehicles with security trained driver
Car Leasing
The majority of companies (86%) cover their international assignees’ costs through a monthly car allowance.* However, regardless if the assignee is reimbursed by their company or not, it can be challenging to secure a lease because of the lack of local credit history.
Luckily, ExpatRide is able to work around that problem by collecting other documents that demonstrate that the assignee is credit-worthy.
The documents needed to work around the credit system vary between countries, but commonly, some or all of the following are required:
Please check the country pages for more information about documents required for each country. You can also find an Essential Checklist for Leasing a Car as an Expat here.
Airport transfer
When safety and comfort are top priorities, airport transfer is the best option after a long flight. A professional chauffeur awaits the employee and their family, helps them with their luggage, and brings them to their destination in a business-class vehicle.
Many are surprised to learn that airport transfer is more affordable compared with renting a car at the airport due to high airport taxes and fees.
Car rentals
Making sure that your assignees have convenient and safe transportation options available to them from day one is essential for a successful relocation.
According to the preferences of the employee, ExpatRide can schedule rental car pick-up at a location close to the accommodations.
Daily Chauffeur service is the best option in certain locations that have challenging or dangerous driving conditions.
For safety reasons, a local, professional chauffeur is provided to take the assignee to work. Such locations include parts of Asia (India, China, Singapore), South America (Brazil), and Africa (South Africa, Nigeria).
Car and Driver can be completely customized to the assignee’s schedule. ExpatRide is also able to provide armored vehicle with professional security drivers upon request.
Assignees love ExpatRide:
Salvador, New York
ExpatRide LEASE customer:
“We want to thank you for all the hard work and effort you put into getting our car!
This car will help us in discovering all those beautiful spots that await us during our stay in New York.”
Scott, Texas
ExpatRide LEASE customer:
“Service was excellent, Nick made for a very smooth process and was there at every step to answer any questions. I was very impressed and will certainly recommend.”
Ana, Montreal
ExpatRide CHAUFFEUR customer:
“It was very good to have someone picking us up at the airport. My husband and kids were with me, and it helped tremendously – we had a lot of luggage with us, and the kids were tired. The service was perfect, thank you!”
Isabelle, Boston
ExpatRide CHAUFFEUR customer:
“My experience with the airport transfer was great! The driver was punctual, very nice, and helpful. He also made sure that I was good to go. I would definitely recommend your services!”
J.Park, China
ExpatRide CHAUFFEUR customer:
“Mr. Xing provided excellent service as the corporate assigned driver. He is diligent, very punctual on schedule, has super good attention to detail taking care of the foreign passengers’ convenience, and has very good communication skills (both Chinese and English). His exceptional service helped me very effectively commute to work and supported my family to move around the unfamiliar foreign city without any trouble or inconvenience.
I am leaving and going back to Korea soon and am so sorry that I will not see Mr. Xing again but I like to share my feedback on his wonderful service, dedication to the customer, and kindness to the people he supports.”
Do you have any questions? Or would you like some suggestions on how to address car services on your website?
Contact us to find out how we can help. Email: CARS@ExpatRide.com or visit www.expatride.com
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