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Wheels Now Offers Vehicle Leasing and Fleet Management In Japan

20 January 1999

Wheels Now Offers Vehicle Leasing and Fleet Management In Japan Through Interleasing Partnership

    DES PLAINES, Ill., Jan. 19 -- Wheels, a leader in automotive
fleet management, has expanded its global coverage, offering vehicle leasing
and fleet management in Japan through its exclusive U.S. membership in the
Interleasing network of partners.
    Interleasing, a partnership of premier fleet management and leasing
companies working together to serve the needs of international vehicle fleets,
has just added Mitsui Auto Leasing, Ltd., Tokyo, to its network.  Mitsui is
the 20th Interleasing partner, joining companies in the United States, Canada,
Australia, South America and all countries of Western Europe.
    Mitsui manages 45,000 passenger cars and light duty trucks in Japan,
making it one of the top five independent vehicle-leasing companies there.
For automobile fleets, the company offers fixed-rental, full maintenance
leases and a full range of services, including vehicle maintenance, collision
repair management and fuel credit card programs.  Services can be customized
to suit individual fleet needs and added at a client's discretion.  Mitsui
Auto Leasing is a subsidiary of Mitsui, Ltd., which has interests in leasing,
vehicle distribution, insurance and banking.
    "The Interleasing partnership has grown rapidly in response to the needs
of our international customers for global vehicle fleet services," says
Fernand Daemers, manager of the Interleasing International Coordination Center
in Brussels, Belgium.  "In the last four years, our partnership has expanded
its coverage from nine countries in Europe into a global network of
2O partners.  We're actively continuing our expansion."
    "Japan is very important to our organization because it has a
sophisticated fleet market infrastructure," says Dennis LaLiberty, Vice
President of International Marketing for Wheels, the U.S. Interleasing
partner.  "There are many big fleets operated by large Japanese companies,
many of which have ties to related companies in other parts of the world."
    An electronic communication network and a database of country-specific
fleet market information support Interleasing partners.  By working together
and in conjunction with key suppliers, Interleasing, which now has an
estimated fleet size of 545,000 vehicles, offers support and advice to help
clients increase fleet effectiveness and control fleet operating costs
throughout the world.
    Wheels Inc., which pioneered the concept of auto leasing in 1939, provides
a full range of specialized services to help corporations manage their vehicle
fleets.  Wheels, which has 550 employees, manages more than 170,000 vehicles.
Its holding company, Frank Consolidated Enterprises, currently ranks as one of
the largest private companies in the U.S., with more than $1 billion in
revenues.