Leaseurope has reported a 3.4% year-on-year rise in equipment and vehicle leasing for the first half of 2012, to reach 112bn, in spite of severe contraction in the troubled southern markets.
Taken separately, vehicle leasing grew by 3.5% to over 70bn, while equipment leasing was up 2.6% to over 37bn. The results were driven up by the UK, Europe’s second largest market and Russia, the fourth largest, posting higher than 10% increases across both sectors, with the Baltic and Nordic regions following suit.
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Germany and France, Europe’s largest and third largest markets, both saw weak growth, with German equipment business shrinking by 3.2% while its vehicle market grew by 6.2%. In France, equipment leasing grew 3.7% but its vehicle business, not including car hire, shrank by 2.4%.
In Southern Europe there was a marked contraction, with Greek, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese equipment and vehicle leasing all contracting by at least 19%, and the Portuguese and Greek vehicle leasing markets shrinking by 48.8% and 66.6% respectively.
Jurgyte Bucye, Leaseurope’s adviser in statistics and economic affairs, said: "The weak European economy continues to influence the leasing business. European equipment investment is forecast to remain almost flat in 2012 and the European Commission only expects a return to healthier growth levels in 2013."
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