Localiza Rent a Car SA
BOVESPA:RENT3
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Good afternoon, and welcome to the Localiza Rent a Car webinar referring to the results for the first quarter of 2022. Today, with us, we have Rodrigo Tavares, CFO; and Nora Lanari, Investor Relations Officer. [Operator Instructions]
Please be advised that this webinar is being recorded and will be made available on ri.localiza.com/en, where the complete material of our earnings release is available. You can also download the presentation from the chat icon.
[Operator Instructions] We inform you that the amounts of this presentation are millions of BRL and IFRS. We emphasize that the information contained in this presentation and any statements that may be made during the video conference regarding Localiza's business prospects, operating and financial projections and goals constitute the beliefs and assumptions of company management as well as information currently available.
Forward-looking considerations are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions as they refer to future events, and therefore, depend on circumstances that may or may not occur.
Now I'll hand the floor over to Rodrigo, the company's CFO, to begin the presentation.
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Localiza results webinar. We began 2022 aware of the prolonged car supply volatility, especially in the first quarter, and the macroeconomic challenges, but motivated by the perspective of fleet growth resumption throughout the year and by the capture of new productivity initiatives and cost management that began last year. We believe that these 2 together will allow for greater rental volume and profitability in Car Rental and Fleet Rental divisions.
Our energy will be focused on 4 big initiatives: growth, management of cost and productivity, process of integration and new growth opportunities. This way, we will keep enchanting our customers and generating solid returns that will allow us to push even further in the development of the future of sustainable mobility.
On Page 2, we present important progress in the results already in the first quarter of this year. The net revenue in the Car Rental division grew 36%, surpassing BRL 1.3 billion with an EBITDA margin of 57%.
As mentioned in our last results call, after reviewing our internal process for car theft, we had significantly lower costs related to this subject, contributing to margin expansion. We believe that by intensifying the use of data science and telemetry, there will be additional opportunities to reduce the cost of fraud, nonpayment and accidents as well as opportunities to capture additional revenue through new solutions offered to our customers.
The customer experience continues to be our main priority. Despite the increase in our fleet useful life, our NPS remains at an excellent level. To maintain this, we keep managing the allocation of our cars by segment according to mix and average mileage, while investing efforts in the maintenance protocols and car preparation.
In the Fleet Rental division, we accelerated our sequential growth pace and reached the revenue of BRL 345 million with an annual growth of 23% and EBITDA margin of 64%, even though the delivery backlog is still extended. In the quarter, we kept a consistent sale pace regarding the Fleet Rental and Localiza Meoo, our subscription car.
For the consolidated results on Page 3. The company revenues achieved BRL 2.7 billion, EBITDA of BRL 1.1 billion and net income of BRL 517 million. The annualized ROIC for the quarter totaled 18.6% and the spread in relation to the cost of debt after taxes was of 11 percentage points, a result of our long-term vision and company discipline in capital allocation, in addition to the continuous pursuit for value generation, even though we're in a scenario of increasing interest rates and new car prices.
In addition, we ended 1Q '22 with net debt over EBITDA indicator at 2x and kept our AAA rating from the 3 main agencies. Localiza finds itself in a favorable competitive position to seize opportunities of growth alongside adding value, keeping in sight its strong balance sheet and the perspective for a gradual recovery of production levels from suppliers.
We started the year with expressive results on the sustainability side as well. To mention a few, we launched a program, Neutraliza, which allows our clients to neutralize the emissions during their rental period, and we updated our policies to incentivize ethanol usage. We surpassed the milestone of 1 million kilowatt hour of clean energy generated. We joined the B3 indices IGPTW and ELLAS13, comprised of companies with the best human resources practices, also generating a positive impact to the business, and ranked within the 60 best reputation companies according to the Monitor Empresarial de Reputacao Corporativa or MERCO.
Lastly, concerning the process of the union with Unidas, we keep progressing with the sales negotiation regarding the remedy established by the antitrust authority CADE and the process of integration planning.
To present further details of our results, I would like to hand the floor over to our IR Officer, Nora Lanari.
Thank you, Ricardo. Good afternoon, everyone. Starting with the Car Rental division, as you can see on Page 4. In the context of lower car supply and delivery during the first quarter, the number of daily rentals increased by 2.7% and revenue grew by 35.6% year-over-year, with 31.7% rise in the average rental rate as we can see on the next page.
On Page 5, we show the results of the efficient management of mix, prices and additional revenues, resulting in an average rental of 105.7% and utilization rate of 78.5% on the year-over-year comparison. And the price increase comes gradually through all segments, seeking to rebalance the return levels considering the replacement cost of cars, maintenance costs and high interest rates.
On Page 6, we show that the network of corporate -- of own stores was increased by 1 location in the first quarter to 455. The company is still working in its chain management, looking for higher efficiency level through better scalability and serving cost reduction, especially by opening stores, while the company prepares itself for the volume acceleration with car delivery returning back to higher levels.
Now on Page 7. In Fleet Management division, we see the division picking up pace sequentially as the number of daily rentals increased by 11.9% and net revenue grew by 22.8% compared to 1Q '21. In this comparison, rates have increased by 9.9%, achieving BRL 1,836 per month per rented car and reflecting the pricing of new contracts in the context of rising new car prices and interest rates.
We continue with the positive perspective to the demand and results of the Fleet Rental division and Localiza Meoo. The number of orders continues strong and has a backlog of over 18,000 cars, still impacted by the restricted production of cars.
Moving on to Page 8. We show the balance of cars purchased and sold. As expected, due to the seasonal effect at the beginning of the year added to the context of semiconductor supply restriction, car production was low, reflecting on the volumes of cars received. In this context, we bought 18,680 cars and kept car decommissioning reduced, resulting in 4,556 (sic) [ 14,556 ] cars sold, an increase of 4,124 cars in the quarter and net investment of BRL 639.5 million.
Our average purchase price was BRL 89,500, an 54.2% increase year-over-year, reflecting an even more premium mix compared to a sales price of BRL 71,500, which increased 34.9%, also reflecting a more premium sales mix, but with higher mileage. As a result, the replacement effort totaled BRL 18,000 per car, showing the importance of maintaining discipline when buying cars, managing productivity and costs and rental rates.
On Page 9, we show the used car network, Seminovos. At the end of 1Q '22, we had 127 points of sale and 14,556 cars sold, a reduction of 49.9% in volumes sold year-over-year. We kept a slower pace of sales in the first quarter due to the lower level of production and delivery by the automakers. The average price was 34.9% higher than the prices charged in the same period of the previous year and reflect the context of the sharp increase in the price of new cars, which we were able to capture in decommissionings. With a long-term view, we are keeping a robust structure for Seminovos that will be able to absorb a higher sales pace expected with production going back to normal considering our goals of fleet renewal.
On Page 10, we show the fleet at the end of the first quarter year-over-year. In Car Rental, we ended the quarter with a fleet of 219,406 cars, an increase of 5.1%, while in Fleet Rental, the end-of-period fleet increased by 12.6%. On a consolidated basis, the fleet grew by 6.9%, still reflecting the volatility in the supply chain and its effects on car production.
Moving on to Page 11. We see that the net rental revenues increased by 32.7% with a 35.6% increase in Car Rental division and 22.8% in Fleet Rental, while Seminovos was reduced by 32.4%, impacted by the lower car decommissioning and sales volume, partially offset by higher prices. As a result, consolidated net revenue of the quarter drops 3.1% year-over-year, adding up to BRL 2.7 billion.
On Page 12, we see that EBITDA grows 41.3% in 1Q '22 year-over-year, achieving BRL 1.1 billion. We highlight the quality of operational results of the company with an 18.3% growth in Car Rental EBITDA and 23.6% in Fleet Rental. As we were mentioning, Car Rental results are progressing substantially and diluting the temporary effect relevance of Seminovos tailwind due to car appreciation.
The Car Rental division EBITDA margin increased by 14.2 percentage points year-over-year, achieving 57.1%. The great performance is owed to the increase in revenue due to higher volumes and rental rates and greater operational efficiency through lower levels of default in car theft. There is also the effect of a larger recognition of PIS and COFINS credits, the result of a study that led to the reduction of the fiscal useful life of the car, subject to the 2 technical opinions issued last year, which cover about 90% of the RaC fleet.
Despite the expansion, some effects still have a negative impact on the EBITDA margin, especially the maintenance line due to the auto parts inflation and the progressing fleet average age and expenses linked to integration planning and union process with Unidas, adding up to BRL 12.12 million in the quarter, a 7.9% -- BRL 7.9 million in that division. Finally, margins have been impacted by continued investments in technology and data, preparing the company for the next growth cycle and more prominent presence in the mobility ecosystem.
Moving on to the Fleet Rental division. The EBITDA margin had a slight increase compared to 1Q '21, especially due to the addition of contracts with higher contribution margins and the dilution of Localiza Meoo fixed costs with the expansion of the fleet. We have a relevant car delivery backlog and maintain a consistent sales pace in both Fleet Management and Localiza Meoo, which should contribute to accelerating growth and further diluting costs as vehicle deliveries progress.
As mentioned, the tailwind of Seminovos remains this year but becomes less relevant towards the EBITDA, accounting for only 14% of the company's total volume line. In the annual comparison, the margin rises from 13.5% to 15.5%, a reflex of better prices even with a smaller volume of car sales. As a result, the consolidated EBITDA margin for rental revenues achieves a level of 68.1%.
On Page 13, we see that in RaC the annualized average depreciation per car advances sequentially to BRL 2,044 per car. Adding cars with higher price levels and lower volume of sales in the Car Rental division results in a small dilution of fixed costs, explain the progression of depreciation in this division.
On Fleet Rental division, the average annual depreciation showed stability in the comparison with 4Q '21 at BRL 1,284 per car, reinforcing that depreciation in both business division tends to continue advancing as we renew and expand the fleet as we still have a large part of the fleet 100% depreciated considering the strong price of cars increase in the past 2 years.
On Page 14, we can see that consolidated EBIT in 1Q '22 achieved BRL 952 million, representing an increase of 34.4% year-over-year. The EBIT margin of the Car Rental division was 53.1%, stable compared to 1Q '21, even with the depreciation progression and car sales reduced volume, offset by the EBIT increase. In the Fleet Rental division, the EBIT margin was 71.5%, an increase of 5 percentage points year-over-year, mainly explained by the EBITDA growth and greater Seminovos results from this division.
Net income for the quarter, on Page 15, grew 7.3% compared to 1Q '21, reaching BRL 517.4 million. The EBIT variation mentioned above was partially offset by rising financial expenses of BRL 204.7 million due to the increment of CDI and debt, in addition to the positive mark-to-market which occurred last year -- in the first quarter last year impacting the basis of comparison. The increase in the debt cost reinforces the discipline of capital allocation value.
Another point worth of being highlighted in profits is the smaller Seminovos effect in EBITDA composition, only 20%, with a trend of continuous reduction, offset by growing margins in both rental divisions. The company is gradually restoring the balance of the results composition, highlighting sustainability and resilience of the business and management.
We show a cash consumption of BRL 735.1 million on Page 16 for the first quarter of 2021 (sic) [ 2022 ], explained mainly by the reduction of BRL 617.8 million in automakers account and the fleet renewal and growth in the context of more expensive cars.
As we can see on Page 17, net debt increased by BRL 1 billion, ending the quarter at BRL 8 billion.
On Page 18, we can see that we ended the quarter with a strong debt profile and strong cash position, including the issuance of BRL 1.5 billion in debentures made in April. The company has almost BRL 7.2 billion in cash. In the pro forma analysis, the total of the gross debt, 20%, is pre-fixed, guaranteeing the profitability in Fleet Rental and the other [indiscernible] indexed to the CDI and the rest, CDI plus 1.69%.
The efficient management of the cost of debt, maintaining protection for long-term contracts and fleet rental and prioritization of CDI plus instead of percentage of CDI makes Localiza well-positioned competitive-wise to the snare of higher interest rates.
On Page 19, we can see that the net debt over EBITDA ratio for the last 12 months was at 2x, a level that's comfortable to finance our short-term growth with third-party capital.
I would like to turn the floor back over to Rodrigo to present our ROIC spread.
Thank you, Nora. On Page 20, we present the evolution of the ROIC spread versus the cost of debt. In 1Q '22, we see an increasing spread that achieved 12.6 percentage points for the last 12 months. We emphasize that despite the high level of short-term returns, the current context highlights the importance of thinking about the complete rental cycle in decision-making as well as the replacement cost of the cars. That is why we maintain our discipline in capital allocation and in managing cost and productivity. It's certain that we are making the decisions with a long-term view aiming at growth with value creation.
We're now open to answer your questions.
[Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Bruno Amorim.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
Actually, I have 2 questions. The first one is about theft. So can you give us further detail about the measures that you're taking and why there's such a quick improvement focusing on the theft levels in the first quarter? I know this is a long-standing problem. I know that you've been investing in this constantly. So I'd like to understand better why such a strong improvement in the first quarter?
And the second question is about the Seminovos dynamics. When we compare the average price of the cars booked on your balance sheet and we consider dividing the amount of the fleet by the size, and when we compare that to the sales price for the quarter, it seems like the current sales price would already be enough to guarantee expressive gross profit in Seminovos, not to mention that the average price underestimates the future sales price given the recent change in the mix. So my question is, is that analysis correct? Do you see it that way as well?
And secondly, why increased depreciation in that context, even considering smaller number of car sales vis-a-vis historical levels and cars that are already purchased in current prices? You also mentioned depreciation. But given that extra that you have in the balance sheet, aren't you being too conservative by increasing depreciation now?
Bruno, Rodrigo speaking. About theft, as we mentioned in the last quarter call, it's work that we've been working on for many quarters. We basically revolutionized the way we see fraud and theft, be it through the evaluation processes in fraud, the algorithms. Our fleet is much more connected. The Rent-a-Car fleet is -- a high percentage of the RaC fleet is connected. And as I mentioned in previous calls, we shortened the -- we lowered the bar in recognizing that. We've always had that, but now the process is even stricter, giving us to realize that faster in the past quarters of the backlog of cars in that situation.
In December, we had already seen a different situation, and that went on to the first quarter. I even mentioned that our vision was -- would be of an expressive lower reduction of 70%, 80%, but we achieved even more than that. And that's the result of long-term work. And we already had that experience of being realized in the first quarter.
So it's the use of technology, use of other devices, algorithms, credit assessment in real time, fraud assessment in real time, many different factors explain that about Seminovos. In fact, given the fact that we extended the useful life a little, we do still have cars with a lower book value, enable us to give -- or giving us a longer tailwind.
The Seminovos prices for this quarter have already been benefited by a more premium mix. And since we've been allocating these cars per segment and especially car apps that are mainstream cars and -- you extend the useful life of those cars a little longer. That led to a decommissioning mix that was more premium in the first quarter, which partially explains that price increase.
We've also been investing a lot in preparation to guarantee higher allocation of those cars in the retail segment. So we do have a heavier framework, but we're maximizing the efficacy of that framework to add value to the cars and directing them to an audience that will pay for them in a better way.
And depreciation, that's individual according to each vehicle. For cars that have already been depreciated, we don't have to have any additional depreciation, but all new cars that have a higher capital base. And with an expectation of higher depreciation, we are anticipating that depreciation, and it wouldn't be conservative. We just believe that that's the best estimate given the market situation that we see right now and given that the higher fixed cost of Seminovos expected during the decommissioning period.
Next question is from Lucas Barbosa.
Okay. My question is about nonrecurring -- actually, margin evolution that happened in the first quarter. We saw significant margin evolution in RaC and GTF. Can you quantify that? In RaC and Fleet Rental -- Fleet Management there was an effect of advertising expenses, marketing expenses, fleet decommissioning. But can you quantify what you've seen and each effect? That would be great.
Nora speaking. The RaC margin was 14.2 percentage points year-over-year. And there's a number of effects that explain that. There's the fact that the revenue, 31.1%. So the average rental rates increased 12.2%, but the prices go up. In addition, you have the effects of the improvements that we have been signaling since last year. First, bad debt, probably 4 points of effect of that. In the first quarter last year, it was still high and lower during the year. There's probably 2 points from the PIS and COFINS credit effects. In the first year, we weren't accounting for those accelerated credits, and that started happening as of 3Q last year.
There's profit sharing with a lower provision. We have a little less third-party services. And in the maintenance line, you can see an improvement. But I'd like to call your attention that, that improvement is mainly focused on theft as we've been mentioning, because maintenance per se is still going up because lower price, costs and aging of the fleet. So that line is getting an improvement of 1 percentage point in margin. Did I answer your question?
Yes, very clear, Nora. If you allow me, I have a second question.
Go ahead.
So how do you see the delivery of cars, brand-new cars in 2Q compared to what you expected for the first quarter?
Well, the second quarter -- this is Rodrigo speaking. The second quarter starts off better than the first, right? We still have volatility. There was the Ukraine war. Things that we didn't expect. That said, we have a sequential improvement: February better than January, March better than February, April already showing better than March and so on. And that should happen in the quarter.
There are still some uncertainties, but it is a quarter of much different deliveries and much higher than the first quarter already.
Okay. Clear. So far nothing that would make you consider lower your perspectives for the second quarter in terms of deliveries?
No, we don't have any signs for that in the second quarter. For the year, we don't have any expectations of lowering the volumes in the year. If there are any lower volumes expected in the second quarter, we believe it will be offset by the third. But there are still many uncertainties associated to that.
Next question is from Fernanda Recchia from BTG Pactual.
Congratulations on your results. I have 2 questions. The first one, I'd like to have more information about theft. I know you have many initiatives. So I'd like to know if you've already captured all the benefits of those initiatives? Or will we have an effect of that in the upcoming quarters?
And the second one. In RaC use, there's a small drop compared to the other quarters. I'd like to know what is the reason for that effect?
About thefts, we're never satisfied until -- if we still have at least one car that's being stolen, we're not going to be satisfied with that. So that said, we have had a relevant reduction and there are other effects. The car prices go up, the fleet is more premium. So even with all those initiatives, you have a mix that's more valuable. So in that sense, any theft would have a higher impact.
That said, we've advanced a lot, but we still room to -- we still see room for improvement. The next frontier that we have to revolutionize here is accidents. We really have to use everything that we know in technology, in our internal processes to try to lower that number, because it doesn't add value to us or to our customers. So our next focus, in addition to improving our gains in theft, is to try to improve our efficiency and gains in the costs with accidents.
About RaC use, it's a relatively small variation and could be explained by the mix. Every time you have a mix that's focused on daily use, the use drops a little. So we don't see any huge factors. Obviously, Omicron did have a one-off effect, but we didn't see anything really that's really out of the ordinary in this quarter.
Next question is from Victor Mizusaki from Bradesco BBI.
Okay. So our next question will be from Filipe Nielsen from Citi. Victor, we'll get back to you later.
I have 2 questions. One is about the union with Unidas. I'd like to understand if you have any updates, a more detailed update about the advances in negotiations, how things have advanced with the main buyers that you've been evaluating? And if you could give us some names and also understand about the acquisition?
How do you plan on selling the cars? Will you sell only the older cars to renew -- for fleet renewal? Or are you considering selling newer cars to guarantee a better price? What do you -- how are you balancing that out? That's the first question. Then I'll move on to the second one.
Rodrigo speaking. First of all, the process is ongoing, according to schedule. We've been advancing in negotiations. Obviously, it's always hard to give a more accurate date in M&A. But it's still according to schedule. Interest is strong. We have negotiations, in the plural, as it's a high-quality asset with many people interested.
About divesting the fleet, there is no hand picking. We're going to think about the fleet in rent-a-car of Unidas, because in operational terms, we're talking about a very high percentage of that fleet. So in operational terms, that's not feasible. And in addition, we are committed to deliver a sustainable business that reflects the Unidas rent-a-car performance in its essence.
And just a follow-up to your answer and then I'll go on to the next question. Do you have a date in which you expect to conclude that transaction? How is the time line going?
And the next one is a follow-up to Fernanda's question. I understood that use drops a little, but it doesn't have many significant effects. So I'd like to understand the impact to pricing and rates and how you see that going forward as the fleet or car supply renews itself.
Well, about the time line, we still have time. We're working to speed that up according to the forecast and the process to divest. It's hard to precise -- or give you more accurate information about the time line.
About use versus price, our entire strategy and attitude has been to transfer the least we can to consumers. Brazilians' income hasn't been increasing according to inflation and much less according to prices. So we have to be a buffer in that according -- or through our efficiency. So cars with lower depreciation. And if we can maintain that -- we also have a lower need to actually transfer these rates to consumers. And use reflects the exposure of the segments, as I mentioned. In daily rates, the use drops a little more.
Let's try to go back to Victor Mizusaki, Bradesco BBI. Can you unmute please?
Hello? Can you hear me now?
Victor, yes, we can.
Okay. Great. Congratulations on your results. I have 2 questions. The first one is pretty much related to the fleet and average rate of -- average age of RaC. When we consider the historical age in terms of -- for Localiza in renewal, for the first quarter what percentage of the fleet could we consider? Is that the normal level of Localiza pre-pandemic?
And the second question is about what Rodrigo mentioned that in the first quarter you sold a more premium mix of cars vis-a-vis company fleet. Could we consider that the car sales mix matches the fleet mix that you bought in the first quarter given that we saw an increase in the first quarter?
This is Rodrigo speaking. I'll start off with the second one. Well, the decommissioning process is a technical decision and not associated to the mix that we're buying. So it's a more premium mix mainly because of the factor that I described. So the allocation in between segments extends the useful life of mainstream or 1,000 cylinder cars a little longer. And that's why you have a higher share in decommissioning of premium cars. But then that goes into -- the regimen reflects the fleet.
About the extension of useful life, that's complex math. You switch maintenance with -- and -- because you're trying to satisfy our customers. And what we see in that is NPS. So we -- with the change in protocols that we applied and processes, we see that our NPS is at absolutely normal levels compared to a time when our fleet was, like you mentioned, at a normal range. And when we see that, that impacts customer satisfaction, we may make a different decision. But right now, we don't have any problems related to that and especially because we're able to segment that fleet. And to different types of customers, we can offer different types of products that meet their needs better.
And now Nora speaking. Victor, that reflects the first question about average age of cars. Today, it's at 16.7 months. One year ago, 1Q '21, it was 12.6. And historically, it's closer to 7. But as Rodrigo mentioned, with the intelligence of allocation per car according to mileage and segment has enabled us to have important advances in many of the different Rent-a-Car segments without affecting the company's NPS.
I have another question about those 2 points. So Rodrigo, given what you mentioned about the NPS, can you say that there's a structural change in the industry and that you can maintain that average age and -- extended average age in RaC compared to historical ages? Is that the actual new scenario?
And second, can you talk about the purchase mix? You mentioned -- well, the 2 things aren't connected, but we saw price increase of the average car bought in RaC. Could you tell us about the -- what was the mix effect? What was actual -- absolute price increase?
Well, Victor, Rodrigo speaking. What is going to be normal in RaC isn't actually the important thing. The important is that we develop the competency and the muscle to extend car useful life, and at the same time, guarantee the customer satisfaction and experience. That gives us options. So at some point, you may see that depreciation in the first year will be lower. You'll have car supply. And then you can speed up that cycle. In other moments, you might believe that, "Okay, depreciation in the second year won't be so prejudicial."
So the important thing -- it's not to say if that's the new normal that it's going to be 12, 16, 17, 18 months. But the important thing is that we've developed these competencies and that gave us the option to decide what's best depending on market context. So I think that's the main point.
Second, about the car mix. It is, in fact, more premium in the purchase. So it's a more premium mix. And that reflects -- also a reflection of what automakers are making. In the second quarter and the second half, mainly, we should be -- see an increase again of the carmakers that might balance out that mix. But the first quarter reflects a portion of a regular price increase of cars and a more premium portion of that.
Next question is from Regis Cardoso from Credit Suisse.
Congratulations on your results. There are some topics if you can comment. So the performance of the quarter and your expectations looking forward in between segments and maybe a higher focus on Meoo, Uber and the mix in one-off rental rates and corporate. The app drivers, in general, or Uber drivers recently went through a downturn in the affordability with higher gas prices, higher cars, lower demand.
And Meoo, it seemed like there was a high repressed demand, so a high backlog. But on the other hand, we were in doubt about if that would be a firm backlog in the context of taking too long for car delivery and car inflation prices.
So could you talk about the performance of the segments? And then I'll ask the second question.
Nora speaking. That's sensitive information in terms of competition. But in the first season in the third quarter and fourth quarter, you do -- you have more rental in -- short-term rental for individuals. But we made it clear when we reported fourth quarter that we want optionality and we want to move in between segments according to demand.
So going forward -- and historically, you have the end of the first quarter seasonality and usually long-term segments gain more relevance in that mix. And fourth quarter -- and then you see short-term increasing. In relation to the demand, as you mentioned, we've been very careful since the launch of Zarp in lowering our cost to serve drivers in a way that we will be able to transfer less prices in what they see in new car prices. The new car prices in the past 2 years grew almost 40%. The interest rates for financing, which was 18% last year, and now it's close to 28%.
So we want to give them a feasible option for app drivers so they can continue to work if economics are a little tighter, especially in gas -- high gas prices. But we do see some platforms increasing their prices, lowering their take rate. We saw that Taxi started increasing their rates in some regions. And we're giving them some slack. And we really believe in that segment. We continue to invest in that product.
For Meoo, the replacement would be buying their own car. And then the same reference is valid. Price -- car prices are much higher and interest rates are as well. So we believe that in that context, that would expedite that cultural change of owning a car and moving on to renting a car. So we still see a robust demand in that, not only in fleet management, but also in Localiza Meoo.
Obviously, we can't show of that in the figures yet because of the backlog. But that's still very relevant. We're still talking about something over 18,000 cars.
Great, Nora. If you allow me, I have a second question. The industry -- the OEMs had a very weak start this year, not only in licensing and also sale. And based on empirical evidence -- if you go to a dealership, for instance, it seems like that significant increase in car prices that we mention are already having an effect in the retail channel and selling new cars.
So I'd like to understand your -- how you see that production, smaller output in the beginning of the year? Is there a demand effect? Or is it just supply restriction? Or if it's demand, meaning if the direct retail channel is weaker and has negative elasticity, would that be an opportunity in your opinion starting now in 2022 to buy more cars to expedite fleet renewal and better commercial terms? And what are your expectations for capital needs for fleet renewal? I believe that's a trend in the industry overall, net debt is growing every result.
Rodrigo speaking. The first quarter is usually weaker in seasonality terms, but there's less supply than what we demand. There was Omicron and even less workers in the beginning of the year, still lack of supply of components. But the main aspect was the supply as well. And there's also a crippled effect, which is not built, but you don't lose it there at the carmakers. But they're not fully completed. So as the components arrive, they deliver the cars. I'd say a supply restriction.
Obviously, the lower demand offers an opportunity and a risk. An opportunity, like you mentioned, is an increase in direct sales that we can see. Even in a lower quarter like the first, you see that the direct sales share was relevant. So we do expect that with the increase in production, those volumes may move towards direct sales. And the risk is that there's the sale of used cars. Since retail is slower, you -- it's higher for you to decommission the fleet. That's another reason why we maintained our framework. We maintained our best professionals here. And we are focused on slowing that car sale.
Do you have any expectations for capital needs during the year or even credit?
Well, you can see that by our cash flow. We decided to anticipate some of the funding. And we believe that the year is comfortable according to what we had planned. Our balance sheet also allows for that type of leverage. It's very deleveraged according to any metric. It makes us feel confident that we won't have any issues in funding our growth or renewing the fleet.
Congratulations again on your results.
Next question is from Rodrigo Faria. It's in writing. I'll read his question. Congratulations on your results. Can you give us some sensitivity about how much leverage would increase if you would like to lower the average age of RaC by half?
And a second question is, how did the sales channel mix of Seminovos behave in 1Q 2022?
Rodrigo speaking. It's not an easy question to answer. I'll see what I can do with some of the figures. When you look at the replenishment cost from 18,000 to 20,000 -- I'll say it's 20,000 just to make the math easier. If we renew 20,000 cars, that's BRL 2 billion. And that compared to EBITDA of last 12 months of a little over BRL 12 million, that would be half.
So if I renew today, right now, without increasing our EBITDA, 100,000 cars, that would be half times the EBITDA, increasing our indebtedness from 2 to 2.5. That would be more than enough to decrease our useful life in -- more than less than half. So that shows the robustness of our balance sheet and how much we're prepared not only to renew our fleet, but also to grow.
About your second question. Once again, our Seminovos strategy has been to preserve our competencies. And with that -- even though the useful life of a car is extended and even though retail isn't that weak, we're reaching levels, record levels. So investing more in car preparation and taking advantage of that strong difference between retail and wholesale prices so we can concentrate our sales and efforts on the high value-added customers.
Next question is from Bruno Amorim. Do you have another question?
No, I'm sorry. I do not have another question.
So our next question is from [ Igor Araujo ].
Congratulations on the results. It's just a follow-up from the last questions. About your relationship with automakers, what has changed in the past year to this first quarter? We know that the scenario is very hard to deliver cars. So I'd like to know what changed.
And second question, if you can comment -- you mentioned potential additional revenues coming from the investments in data science and telemetry and providing customer services. Could you give us some flavor about what type of services you would provide for customers? That would be great.
This is Rodrigo speaking. About the relationship with carmakers, there's no change in that. We have very long-term, decades long, and that continues. The relationship is excellent with automakers. And now with lower restrictions from the pandemic, we've been traveling more and interacting more frequently with them. I believe that is what changed.
All of top management is involved in that: myself, our CEO and even the Chairman in that relationship. So the relationship is still excellent. We've preserved what we've always had in the past. And now with lower restrictions coming from the pandemic, it's much more in person. I'd say that's the only thing that changed.
We've been long-term partners. We understand the supply restrictions right now, and we know it's temporary. It could take a little more, a little less. And we're here not just for a couple of months. We're here for years. And we will continue to partner with them.
The second question about new products and services. We are always looking to service our customer needs and listen to them. So that comes from protection. So for windows, that we could offer other services connected to that. We're always listening to them and looking to increase our services mix. In telemetry, that's much more internal than external. We're developing that skill so that we can turn that into another service line. And we currently use it internally to not only lower our theft costs and accidents, but also towing and fleet movement, trying to streamline our logistics.
Now to conclude, I'd like to hand over to Rodrigo Tavares.
Once again, thank you all. Have a great day.