In the first half of the year, German leasing companies recorded an increase of 10% in new equipment-leasing business compared with the same period in 2018.
The period saw a 13% increase in new business acquired through the leasing of passenger cars. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, car registrations were up by 3.3% from January to June, corresponding to a 9% increase in the number of vehicles leased.
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Horst Fittler, managing director of the Bundesverband Deutscher Leasing-Unternehmen (the German Leasing Association), said: “This remarkable increase is in part the consequence of the deferral in demand created by the EU’s introduction of WLTP legislation in 2017. But it is also the case that leasing in itself – and, in particular, vehicle leasing – has become a more attractive option than ever for companies.”
New IT business in the first six months of 2019 increased by 12% year-on-year. New business from intangible assets, which covers software, patents and trademarks, was up by 12%. Growth in the medical technology and commercial vehicles segments in the first half of the year was at 9% and 7% respectively.
Demand for leased machinery fell by 6% in the first half of the year. According to the industry’s trade association (the VDMA), there was a 9% drop in the value of orders placed in the first five months of the year. The VDMA has revised its prognosis for 2019 downwards, and is now predicting a fall in production of 2% for the year.
Reasons for this were ascribed by the BDL as geopolitical upheavals such as Brexit, the trade dispute between the USA and China, and structural changes in the automobile industry.
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By GlobalData“Uncertainty is poison for investments,” said Fittler.“Politicians must create a more investment-friendly climate in Germany. They need to reduce bureaucracy, improve the country’s infrastructure and introduce fiscal legislation, so that Germany can once again compete successfully on the international stage.”
The thirteenth Global Leasing Report by White Clarke Group showed 32.7% growth in leasing in Europe for the calendar year 2017. According to the German leasing association’s quarterly trend report, the value of new equipment leased or supplied on hire purchase in the first quarter of 2017 was up 10% over the corresponding quarter in 2016.
