Car leasing statistics span several different measures: new business, signed contracts, outstanding portfolios, penetration and customer mix. The figures below cover Europe, Italy and Volkswagen Financial Services markets, with periods and scope stated for each measure.
Key Car Leasing Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- In 2024, Leaseurope members generated €454 billion in total new leasing volume across 32 European countries.
- In Europe, new leasing volume rose 3.1% from 2023 to 2024 among Leaseurope reporting members.
- In 2024, newly signed European leasing contracts increased 3.0% in the Leaseurope reporting sample.
- At 31 December 2024, the European outstanding leased-asset portfolio was €1,008 billion among Leaseurope reporting members.
- In 2024, automotive leasing represented 75% of new leasing volume for Leaseurope members in Europe.
- European automotive leasing generated about €338 billion of new business in 2024.
- In 2024, European passenger-car leasing grew 4.4% among Leaseurope reporting members.
- In 2024, European commercial-vehicle leasing grew 5.7% among Leaseurope reporting members.
- In 2024, vehicle leasing increased 12.7% in the Mediterranean European cluster.
- In 2023, Italy recorded 78,947 new car financial-leasing contracts.
- In Italy, car financial-leasing contract count increased 18.9% from 2022 to 2023.
- In 2023, Italy recorded €11.030 billion in car operating leasing and long-term renting.
- In 2024, equipment-and-vehicle leasing penetration was 28% across 23 European reporting countries.
- In 2024, consumers represented 22% of new equipment-and-vehicle leasing volume in the Leaseurope reporting sample.
- In 2024, SMEs represented 70% of new private-sector leasing volume in the Leaseurope reporting sample.
- At year-end 2023, 9.7% of Italian companies had at least one active leasing contract.
- In 2023, one-third of new green cars in Italy were leased.
- In Italy, leasing accounted for 69.9% of new electric commercial vehicles in 2023.
- Volkswagen Financial Services signed 11.1 million new financing, leasing, service and insurance contracts worldwide in 2024.
- Volkswagen’s leased-and-financed-vehicle penetration rate was 34.1% of Group deliveries in its Financial Services markets in 2024.
Contents
- European car leasing market scale and 2024 trends
- Passenger-car and commercial-vehicle leasing data
- Car leasing adoption and penetration measures
- Business, consumer and public-sector participation
- Electric and green car leasing statistics
- Volkswagen Financial Services regional contract data
European Car Leasing Market Scale and 2024 Trends
Leaseurope’s 2024 annual statistical enquiry covers leasing associations in 32 European countries. Its members generated €454 billion in total new leasing volume in 2024, while the number of newly signed contracts increased 3.0% from 2023.
Leaseurope associations represented about 1,000 leasing firms and more than 600 short-term rental companies in 2024. Leaseurope estimated that its members represented approximately 94% of the European leasing market, but that estimate includes automotive, equipment and real estate rather than cars alone.
| European measure | 2024 result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| New leasing volume | €454 billion | Leaseurope member associations |
| New leasing-volume change | 3.1% vs 2023 | Reporting members |
| New-contract change | 3.0% vs 2023 | Reporting members |
| Outstanding leased-asset portfolio | €1,008 billion at 31 December | All leased assets |
| Portfolio change | 4.9% | All leased assets |
Source: Leaseurope — Key Facts and Figures 2024. The annual survey uses a homogeneous reporting sample; growth is not adjusted for inflation and may reflect exchange-rate movements.
The largest country or regional figures in the supplied comparison were €101.2 billion of new leasing volume in the UK cluster and €81.5 billion in Germany in 2024. These totals cover all leasing asset types, so they should not be treated as car-only market sizes.
Passenger-Car and Commercial-Vehicle Leasing Data
Automotive leasing made up 75% of Leaseurope members’ total new business volume in 2024, equal to about €338 billion in the European reporting sample. Automotive includes passenger and commercial vehicles, so the figure is broader than passenger-car leasing.
The two main vehicle segments both grew in 2024:
- European passenger-car leasing increased 4.4% from 2023 to 2024.
- European commercial-vehicle leasing increased 5.7% from 2023 to 2024.
| Market or cluster | Vehicle-leasing result | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Mediterranean European cluster | 12.7% increase | 2024 vs 2023 |
| Germany | 0.3% decline | 2024 vs 2023 |
| Italy | 2.5% decline | 2024 vs 2023 |
| Central and Eastern Europe | More than 10% increase in total new leasing volume | 2024 vs 2023 |
The Central and Eastern Europe result is reported as a threshold rather than an exact point estimate. Germany and Italy are Leaseurope comparison results; the Italy figure differs in scope and period from the separate Assilea report.
Assilea reported that Italy’s 2023 car financial-leasing volume was €4.519 billion, based on automotive data processed from UNRAE. Italy recorded 78,947 new car financial-leasing contracts, up 18.9% in number and 35.3% in value from 2022.
Italy also recorded €11.030 billion in car operating leasing and long-term renting in 2023, with 382,366 contracts. Contract count increased 23.9% and value increased 30.3% from 2022.
The source groups operating leasing and long-term renting, so those figures are not identical to financial leasing.
Source: Annual Leasing Report – Abstract 2024-23 Data. Assilea distinguishes financial leasing from operating leasing and long-term renting, while its total automotive category includes cars, commercial vehicles and industrial vehicles.
Car Leasing Adoption and Penetration Measures
Penetration statistics measure leasing against a defined investment base, not the share of people who lease a car. Leaseurope reported a 17% total leasing penetration rate of investment across 23 European reporting countries in 2024, where investment means equipment plus non-residential construction and civil engineering.
For the narrower equipment-and-vehicle base, leasing penetration was 28% in 2024, up from 27% in 2023. This measure excludes real estate and is therefore more relevant to vehicle and equipment financing than the broader 17% measure.
Italy’s 2023 measures provide a separate national view:
- Automotive leasing accounted for 60.6% of Italy’s new leasing business by volume.
- Italy’s total new leasing financing reached €34.808 billion.
- Italy signed 762,884 new leasing contracts.
- New leasing volume increased 8.8% from 2022 to 2023.
- New-contract count increased 13.0% from 2022 to 2023.
- Italy’s total lease portfolio was about €68 billion in 2023, down 4.5% from 2022.
- Leasing penetration of GDP reached 1.9% in 2023.
- Leasing represented 7.9% of total investment in Italy in 2023.
These Italian penetration and portfolio measures cover all leasing asset categories, not cars alone. They are therefore useful for understanding the financing environment around car leasing, but they should not be read as household car-leasing adoption rates.
Business, Consumer and Public-Sector Leasing Participation
Leaseurope’s 2024 client mix for new equipment-and-vehicle leasing volume shows a business-led market. Consumers represented 22% of new volume, while the private sector represented 74%; public authorities accounted for 3%, and other customer types for 1%.
Within the private-sector volume, corporations accounted for 30% and SMEs for 70%. These percentages describe volume shares, not the number of customers or contracts.
Italy’s client data points to an even stronger small-business presence by customer count. SMEs made up 95.7% of new leasing clients by number in 2023, and at 31 December 2023, 9.7% of Italian companies had at least one active leasing contract.
| Participation measure | Result | Population and period |
|---|---|---|
| Consumers’ share of new equipment-and-vehicle volume | 22% | Leaseurope members, 2024 |
| Private sector’s share of new equipment-and-vehicle volume | 74% | Leaseurope members, 2024 |
| Corporations’ share of new private-sector volume | 30% | Leaseurope members, 2024 |
| SMEs’ share of new private-sector volume | 70% | Leaseurope members, 2024 |
| Public authorities’ share | 3% | Leaseurope members, 2024 |
| Italian SMEs’ share of new clients | 95.7% | Italy, 2023 |
| Italian companies with an active leasing contract | 9.7% | Italy, 31 December 2023 |
The European and Italian figures use different denominators: Leaseurope reports new equipment-and-vehicle volume, while Assilea reports Italian clients and companies across new leasing contracts. That distinction matters when comparing participation.
Electric and Green Car Leasing Statistics
Italy’s 2023 data links leasing with lower-emission vehicle categories. Approximately one-third of new green cars were leased; Assilea defines green cars as battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles.
The strongest reported leasing share was for electric commercial vehicles: leasing accounted for 69.9% of new electric commercial vehicles in Italy in 2023. This is a commercial-vehicle measure, not a passenger-car leasing rate.
The two figures answer different questions. The one-third estimate describes the share of new green cars leased, while 69.9% describes leasing’s share within new electric commercial vehicles; neither should be generalized to all electric passenger cars.
Volkswagen Financial Services Regional Contract Data
Volkswagen Financial Services reported 11.1 million new financing, leasing, service and insurance contracts worldwide in 2024. Its total contract portfolio stood at 28.5 million at 31 December 2024, and leased-and-financed vehicles represented 34.1% of Group deliveries in its Financial Services markets.
These are company portfolio statistics rather than total regional market statistics. Unless identified as customer financing and leasing, the regional totals combine financing, leasing, service and insurance.
| Region | New contracts in 2024 | Total portfolio at 31 December 2024 | Customer financing and leasing |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 1.5 million | 4.3 million | 1.7 million |
| Europe and other markets | 7.9 million | 20.4 million | 7.3 million |
| South America | 0.9 million | 1.7 million | 0.7 million |
| Asia-Pacific | 0.8 million | 2.2 million | 1.2 million |
The customer-financing-and-leasing column is narrower than the total contract figures but still combines financing and leasing. The other regional columns include all Financial Services products reported by Volkswagen.
Source: Volkswagen Group Annual Report 2024 — Financial Services. Volkswagen’s regional contract figures combine financing, leasing, service and insurance unless explicitly labeled customer financing and leasing; they are not estimates of total regional car-leasing markets.