Slowdown of car sales could hurt leasing market

The rise of the leasing market could be affected this year by the slowdown in vehicle sales, after the leasing market experienced a major leap last year, by 54%, exceeding 4.9 billion euros. Almost 70% of the funding granted by leasing companies are used for vehicle acquisitions, a field where sales have stalled this year. According to statistics of the Automobile Manufacturers and Importers Association, in the first five months of this year, the car market went up by a mere 4%, with the full-year forecast pointing to an increase of just 5%. This slowdown comes after the car market has seen two-digit rises over the last few years, with car funding being the driver of the leasing market. “The overall feeling on the market is that vehicle leasing has slowed down due to the stagnation of car sales. On the other hand, leasing is also affected by the Rabla (junk car) programme (vehicle renewal programme i.e.), because clients can buy new cars only via bank credits, and not via leasing,” says Mircea Dihel, general manager of OTP Leasing.