Lars Henner Santelmann, chairman of the management board of Volkswagen Financial Services, said: “Together with our strategic partner TÜV SÜD, we will bundle and further develop our mobility offers for fleet customers. The strong international focus of FleetLogistics, in particular, excellently complements our own global financial services activities."

FleetLogistics will remain an independent brand, with the aim of creating a complete range of products and services in which travel and fleet management are combined.

The completion of the transaction is subject to approval by competition authorities.

Patrick Fruth, CEO mobility division TÜV SÜD, said: “This strategic partnership enables us to deliver significant added value to our fleet customers. We have resolved to transfer the existing business model to intermodal mobility.

“To this end, we will be able to offer additional services from the joint venture in the future. We have also agreed to retain the brand neutrality of the vehicle portfolio and the independence of leasing companies.”

As part of the deal, CarMobility, a wholly-owned subsidiary of VWFS, will be transferred to FleetLogistics.

CarMobility has been operating in Germany as an independent fleet management company since 2006 and had around 40,000 contracts on its books at the end of 2018.

Santelmann added: “CarMobility has developed very positively in Germany over recent years, has built up a large customer base and has established many new products in the market.

“But in order to continue this trend, we need economies of scale that can only be effectively achieved by expanding our business internationally. That is exactly what is now feasible by bundling activities at FleetLogistics."

FleetLogistics was founded in 1996 and employs around 360 people worldwide. Its clients include large national and international fleet customers, with a total portfolio of around 200,000 vehicles.

Its services are divided into three main areas: fleet management, fleet consulting and fleet reporting.