Expert insight: from outsider to leader, BNP Paribas Personal Finance’s strategic ambitions in Mobility

BNP Paribas Personal Finance and its partners now finance over 4 million vehicles worldwide through leasing or credit.
This achievement is the result of a long-standing strategy that has positioned mobility as a key driver for BNP Paribas Personal Finance, accounting for 44% of its outstanding loans and generating €17 billion in new production in 2025.

We spoke with Vincent Sussfeld, Deputy CEO in charge of Global Business Lines at BNP Paribas Personal Finance, who explains the company’s approach to mobility and reveals the sector’s key outlook to support partners and customers toward more responsible and sustainable mobility!

How do you view the evolution of the automotive market in recent years, and how has BNP Paribas Personal Finance succeeded in standing out?

Over the past few years, the automotive market has undergone a major transformation, driven first by the electrification of vehicles, the rise of data, and the emergence of autonomous cars. These technological shifts have also reshuffled global competition, with China and its manufacturers now playing a central role. Despite recent slowdowns, China remains the world’s largest market, with nearly 25 million vehicles sold in 2025, and Chinese production (over 32 million light vehicles) accounts for one-third of global output.

These structural changes have been compounded by the effects of COVID-19, which exacerbated imbalances between shortages and overcapacity, leading to high volatility in prices and residual values. Regulatory uncertainty further increases instability for industry players and their customers.

In this context, economic trade-offs have become decisive. The 2027 Cetelem Automotive Observatory confirms that, despite varying national sensitivities, price remains the top purchasing criterion, even as vehicle acquisition and usage costs rise.

In this turbulent period, our role is crucial: turning these changes into opportunities to support our customers and partners. To achieve this, the BNP Paribas Group has conducted a major strategic review in recent years and decided to heavily invest in mobility and automotive financing. BNP Paribas Personal Finance’s average outstanding loans linked to mobility now exceed €47 billion.

In 2026, growth remains strong (+14% as of August), driven by new agreements, even as market developments remain weak. Between 2021 and 2026, Personal Finance Mobility increased its business volume by nearly 60%, from €12 billion to €19 billion.

📌 Read the full 2027 Cetelem Automotive Observatory study

How did we achieve this result?

To reach this outcome, we went through two major transformation phases: structuring automotive financing activities before 2020, followed by acceleration between 2021 and 2025.

I’d like to focus on this acceleration period, which was marked by three key elements:

Strategic integrated partnerships, particularly with Stellantis (covering 14 brands in major European markets, including the UK and Germany) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) across 9 regions. This momentum continued in 2026 with new major commercial partnerships, such as Emil Frey in France, Geely in Spain and Germany, and Mazda in Italy. These collaborations have deeply transformed our business, benefiting all our partners and translating into real commercial successes. For example, Stellantis Bank’s production grew by 21% in one year.
Expanding our portfolio through diversified agreements and partnerships with new key players, particularly Chinese manufacturers. Since 2015, we have successfully built a joint venture with Geely Group in China, which is on track to become the #1 player in the Chinese market. Additionally, over the past five years, we have developed in-depth collaborations with the top 5 Chinese automakers, such as Chery, with whom we multiplied our production fivefold in the UK in just one year, exceeding €1 billion.
Launching BNP Paribas Mobility, aimed at providing a comprehensive offering and strengthening cooperation between BNP Paribas entities (Personal Finance, Arval, Cardif, CIB (Corporate & Institutional Banking), and Leasing Solutions). Personal Finance Mobility played a major role in this initiative, contributing 40% of the additional revenue generated between 2021 and 2025.

Our success is based not only on the strategy outlined above but also on enhancing our professionalism. We have dedicated significant resources to developing high-performance tools to support dealers and effectively monitor inventory and residual values. Leveraging our expertise from other sectors (for example, BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the exclusive partner of Apple in major European countries), we have enriched the customer journey and positioned our automotive offering in the premium segment.

This approach has allowed us to acquire the know-how and resources needed to provide a service comparable to that of a captive finance company, while benefiting from the strengths of a bank.

Beyond all these investments, it is above all the commitment of our central and local teams that has made the difference on a daily basis.

Looking ahead, what are your development challenges and objectives?

Our ambition is clear: to become the leader in mobility financing in Europe.

We continue to invest in synergies within the BNP Paribas Group, through BNP Paribas Mobility, to meet the needs of all market players—whether established or new. Our approach must combine industrialization (“one-stop shop”) and personalization (“not one size fits all”).

Our new strategic plan marks the beginning of a phase of profitable growth: critical mass achieved, reinforced legitimacy, development of new partnerships without neglecting existing ones, and adaptation to rising interest rates. Our teams are highly focused on customer satisfaction as well as the profitability of our activities, which requires strong commercial discipline, cost optimization, and rigorous risk management.

Our priorities are clear: continue building on expert and committed teams, support our partners, combine economic performance and social responsibility: do good & do well!

Indeed, beyond these financial objectives, we remain fully aware of our social responsibility: mobility is essential for our customers and must remain accessible. At the heart of our business is enabling customers to purchase a quality vehicle under good conditions. From an environmental perspective, we encourage the transition to electric and hybrid vehicles, and we are proud of the growth in our green outstanding loans, which are expected to exceed €11 billion in 2026.