Company Bike gets 5,000 ZF workers on bikes

In a collaboration, the bike leasing specialist Company Bike has been able to win over 5,000 employees at the technology company and automotive supplier ZF for a company bike within just over a year. Additionally, the Friedrichshafen-based company focuses on electromobility and supports sustainable mobility solutions for employees with further projects. The current societal issues of health and climate protection bring dynamism to the mobility transition, according to the provider. The supplier group is active at numerous locations in Germany alone. The goal of the tech company is to create clean and safe mobility that is automated, comfortable, and affordable. Sustainable mobility solutions should also be created for their employees. In addition to an in-house carpooling exchange and bus shuttle services at larger locations with multiple plants, they promote the use of public transport with a subsidy. The company also creates incentives for the use of electric or hybrid vehicles – for example, by installing private wall boxes for company car drivers and charging stations in employee and visitor parking lots. For the past 13 months, Friedrichshafen has also enabled employees to lease bikes via salary conversion through Company Bike.

“Bike leasing meets the spirit of the times! It promotes health, protects the environment, and offers the opportunity to try out alternative mobility concepts. The great interest of the employees is reflected in the consistently high order numbers," says Petra Haberl, who is responsible for the program.

Increasing employee motivation and satisfaction was one of the most important points for a bike leasing program. She sees well-trained specialists as the foundation, and it is essential to retain these employees through benefits and to more easily attract new qualified workers. At ZF, almost 90 percent of employees use an electrified bike. This is also because tax advantages are more noticeable when leasing high-quality e-bikes, and all employees – thanks to low monthly rates – can afford such a pedelec. In addition, numerous electric bike drives also feature ZF technology.

The Munich bike leasing specialist has developed its concept specifically for corporations and medium-sized businesses. The company was trusted to manage the locations uniformly and to respond individually to the desires, praises Petra Haberl. The concept's combination of simple digital handling of all processes through the online portal and comprehensive personal support was also well received, as were the versatile return processes.

"This way, we can be sure that no bike fleet accumulates on our premises if, for instance, an employee leaves the company before the contract period ends,” Haberl reports from experience.

At the same time, it was important for ZF to offer a program that is also attractive to employees – from individual bike consultations, personal delivery directly at the company location to mobile repair services. Advice and quick support were also important factors.