Flexible mobility for a changing world

Do you find that the mobility needs of people at your company are changing faster than ever? As a fleet manager, you may be looking for ways to meet those needs in a way that satisfies both decision makers and employees. Athlon Flex is our flexible mobility solution that allows users to adjust their mobility choices to fit a changing lifestyle. We spoke to Dagmar Cats, Business Manager Subscription at Athlon to find out more on how Athlon Flex works and what it is that makes it so attractive in business mobility.

Dagmar, can you tell us exactly what Athlon Flex is?

Athlon Flex is a mobility option for employees. It’s really flexible, so they can choose the options that fit their lifestyle. As long as they stick to their mobility budget and the employer’s car policy, they can change their car whenever they like, or even add an e-bike. Say someone is curious about electric cars, but they’re not sure that going electric will really suit their needs. They can simply try out an EV for a month. Of course employees’ lifestyles can change as well: people move to other cities and start families. Athlon Flex allows them to upsize or downsize in just a few clicks.

The whole thing works on the subscription principle, so it’s a bit like streaming movies. The employee has a fixed budget, but within that they have a huge amount of flexibility to choose the mobility options that work for them.

Why is Athlon Flex an attractive employee mobility motivator for companies today?

Finding the best new talent can be a real challenge for companies. What is more, the Covid-19 lockdown has made us all rethink our current policies and start looking for new workspace and mobility solutions. Companies that think ahead and reshape their mobility policy will be one step ahead of their competitors when it comes to attracting the best talent.

Athlon Flex helps our customers to become the employer of choice or attract the staff they really want to recruit. The solution also allows them to offer employees exactly the degree of flexibility that the company wants to give them.

What makes Athlon Flex unique is our end-user interface. It is a way for employees to book their new car directly, doing away with complex application and implementation processes. And for customers who want to offer their employees even more, we offer the option to rent an e-bike, use public transport and save up their mobility budget to hire a car for their holidays.

What type of user is the perfect match for Athlon Flex?

Athlon Flex is an excellent match for people whose requirements are changing, or for employees who want to try out different mobility options. We have noticed that this group of users is growing, as people’s daily lives are changing rapidly and greater flexibility is becoming a real need. For these people, taking on a three or four-year lease might leave them saddled with something they don’t really want.

For example, an employee might be up for promotion and is expecting a bigger mobility budget next year. They might have a baby on the way and need a more spacious car, or they could be considering a move to a city centre apartment where they would prefer a smaller car. And then, of course, there are people who are interested in EVs but still a bit nervous about taking the plunge. All these employees care a bit less about their car configuration and are much more interested in having the flexibility to change. As a fleet manager, you may well find that more and more employees at your company fit this profile, and if so, Athlon Flex might be a good choice for you.

What is your advice for companies that want to introduce Athlon Flex?

First and foremost, fleet managers need insight into what their employees really want. Athlon helps with this through customer panels, questionnaires, interviews etc. That is why Athlon is going to launch an international survey, asking our customers all over Europe to tell us about the challenges and difficulties they are facing when it comes to flexible mobility. Based on the outcome of the survey, we will further develop our solutions to fit our customer’s needs.

At present, Athlon Flex is live in the Netherlands and we are preparing to launch it in France this year. However there are also a range of flexible solutions in our other countries, such as Rent, holiday cars and Athlon Share.

What makes Athlon the expert in this topic?

We have in-depth understanding of our customers, and we realise how their needs and those of employees are changing. Most importantly of all: we have the solutions to meet those needs! As a fleet manager or HR manager, you are welcome to consult our mobility experts. We will decide together how to create a futureproof mobility policy with an intelligent design that is simple to implement. Or simply connect with me on LinkedIn!