Leasing Association: The leasing market expanded by 14 percent last year

István Zs. Nagy explained: despite the double-digit increase last year, the amount financed fell short of the 2019 level by 2 percent. The member companies of the alliance signed just over 82,000 leasing contracts last year, which did not even reach the weak level of 2020, and fell far short of the number of 2019 approaching 100,000.

Among the big losers in 2020, large commercial vehicles and other machinery grew above average last year, while car and fleet financing and construction equipment leasing grew at a balanced rate, and agricultural machinery maintained a high level a year earlier in terms of amount financed. said the president of the association.
At the same time, István Zs. Nagy emphasized that there was a significant decline in private car purchases; The amount invested in new cars was HUF 34 billion last year, 16 per cent less than a year earlier, and the number of contracts for new cars fell by 27 per cent.

The number of contracts with private individuals for used cars also fell by 15 per cent and the amount funded stagnated, so it did not compensate for the decline in new cars, he added.

Passenger and light commercial vehicle financing, which still accounts for half of the total leasing market, was 12 per cent higher than in the previous year, while the number of contracts fell by 4 per cent. Within this, fleet financing was a successful business, with the amount of placements increasing by 17 percent and the number of units by 5 percent.

The president of the association explained that the reason for the increase in the amount financed is clearly the increase in the price of cars. Stricter environmental standards, chip shortages, higher raw material prices and the weakening of the forint contributed to this. In addition, due to global supply problems, a demand market has emerged, there would be a demand for new cars, but due to lack of inventory, it is not possible to serve potential buyers. This is also reflected in the development of the car market and the number of car lease agreements concluded, he pointed out.

Judit Vály, vice president of the association, said one of the big losers in 2020 was the financing of large commercial vehicles, where the amount funded fell 36 percent. Last year, this segment increased by 34 percent to HUF 143 billion on an annual basis, and the number of contracts showed a similar increase. Demand would also justify higher sales and financing numbers in the large commercial vehicle market, but tied-up production capacity has limited growth opportunities, he said.

In recent years, agricultural machinery financing has performed remarkably, reaching 100 billion by 2019 and has been stable since then, despite the crisis. Last year, placements amounted to HUF 109 billion, which is essentially the same as in 2020 and 2019. The number of concluded contracts decreased by 5 percent.
Construction machinery leasing, which has been performing steadily for years, was also not well affected by the general downturn. Last year, the amount financed exceeded HUF 30 billion, which is a 13 percent increase compared to the previous year, the vice president said.

Approximately HUF 190 billion of state-subsidized construction outsourcing took place in 2021, which was slightly lower than in 2020.

Almost 75 percent of the amount financed went to small and medium-sized enterprises last year, Judit Vály explained.
Responding to a question, the leaders of the leasing association said the amount financed could increase this year due to rising purchase prices, but expected a further decline in the number of contracts.

(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)