Once the VW Kombi van was the transport favoured by Kiwis travelling around Europe, but now they favour leasing a new Peugeot or Citroen to get around.
Armstrong Motor Group’s new company Peugeot Drive Europe & Citroen Drive Europe has just become the number one European self-driving holiday leasing agent for New Zealand after less than a year in business.
General manager Delwyn Sinclair, who has managed Peugeot’s European car leasing in New Zealand for 25 years, claims that the reason Drive Europe has overtaken its competitors so quickly has been due to their focus on customer service.
“While we have great prices, it is not only about price. By providing the best, tailored, around-the-clock customer service to our Kiwi customers, we’ve been able to make their European driving holidays as stress-free as possible both before and during their vacation,” she says.
“More and more of our customers are returning home and recommending us to their friends and family which is such a fantastic feeling knowing that we’ve helped enable them to create such wonderful experiences.”
European self-driving holidays are also proving to be an increasingly popular choice for Kiwi travellers looking to get off the beaten track.
Official French tourist vehicle registration figures have shown an increase of 7.5 per cent in Kiwi travellers using the service as of 31 July 2019, compared with the same time last year.
“An increasing range of self-catering accommodation options, such as AirBnB, make a European driving holiday more attractive and even more affordable than ever,” says Sinclair.
“Also, the ability to drive our vehicles into 40 countries, including many countries you cannot take rental cars into, and a zero excess insurance policy make it not only an easy choice but also a worry-free experience.”
Pricing for 2020 is due in mid-October and Sinclair recommends you begin planning now, as discounted airfares start to be rolled out for next year.
“There are some excellent deals to be had on earlybird bookings coming up for 2020 so we definitely recommend getting in touch now to be first on the list for the best deals,” she said.