Hungarian leasing market on top

The European leasing market had a significant growth of 9.6 % in 2017, while the Hungarian market grew by 18 %., according to the Hungarian Leasing Association. Leaseurope’s preliminary data show that last year the European leasing companies signed new contracts worth 333.8 million euros, which is a 9.6 % growth over the previous year.. The vehicle financing went up by 9.3 percent, continuing the expanding trend of the last eight years . Machinery and equipment leasing grew by 12.9 %. At the same time, the real estate leasing market was weak with a 3.8 % decline.
Leaseurope’s chief analyst Jurgita Bucyte said that equipment leasing had become one of the main drivers of market upturn in some countries. On average in Europe the growth rate of the leasing of assets have exceeded the asset investments on a which shows the popularity of leasing. The European economy has stabilized, giving positive prospect for the European leasing sector. Hungary’s 18 % market growth is twice as high as the European average was in 2017. The Hungarian market has also performed well in the region as : in Slovakia the growth was 6.6%, 7.3% in Austria, 0.1% in the Czech Republic and 15.7% in Poland, based on preliminary data of Leaseurope. Zoltán Tóth, Secretary General of the Hungarian Leasing Association said: „In Hungary – as well as in Europe – the vehicle and asset leasing were in the focus. In 2017 in Hungary 40 % of car sales were realized in some leasing construction.
The Hungarian Leasing Association expects an increase of vehicle financing similar to the European trends, due to the economic growth and increased investments of small and medium-sized enterprises. Last year the asset financing in machines accounted for 66 billion forints, showing annual growth of 39 %.

Source: www.lizingszövetség.hu, www.leaseeurope.com

Long-term leasing is the most popular

Long-term leasing is more popular than ever, according to Balázs Székely, the managing director of Rentasystem, reflecting the data of Hungarian leasing market’s performance in 2017. “ This is a very flexible way of financing and it has almost become the norm in our fast-paced world. The costs saved by leasing can be allocated to marketing, HR or even technological development. There are more and more people who prefer not to buy. ”
In 2017 Rentasystem’s performance was twice as good as the market growth and increased its placements by 50%. One of the most significant benefits of a long-term leasing is that the car, machine or other asset is only used for for just a few years before replacing it to a newer model. . Also, companies do not have to be prepared for unexpected repair or maintenance costs, and not to mention other convenience services. According to analysts, this year will also be favorable for the leasing market, but it can not be excluded that the pace of growth will be somewhat more moderate and the figures will be getting closer to the European level. Overall, the prospects are cheerful, the European economy is on a growing track, so investments will be expanded, which is likely to have an impact on the further expansion of the leasing market.
Source: www.rentasystem.com

New report highlights terror risk faced by rental vehicles

The danger of rental vehicles being used as weapons of terrorism, and how to deal with this threat, is addressed in a new report commissioned by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA). The report highlights a number of areas where the association and rental companies hope to work with law enforcement agencies and government policymakers to reduce the terror risk.
Low-tech, lone agent attacks have seen terrorists use rental vehicles to run over pedestrians in Nice, Berlin and London, killing or injuring hundreds of innocent people. The ‘pay-as-you-go’ nature of daily rental makes hire vehicles vulnerable to this type of attack, and threatens the convenience of a service which involved about 15.5 million transactions last year in the UK.
Among the recommendations in the new report are calls for an industry-led compulsory national accreditation scheme that would require all vehicle rental businesses to meet minimum standards in terms of their counter-terrorism security practices and procedures.
The BVRLA is also asking the government to support its negotiations with insurers to provide a fair way to pool the risk associated with hire vehicles being used as weapons of terror. But the association is also keen to avoid any measures that cause undue disruption to businesses or customers, or that involve significant extra costs.
Rental companies also need to step-up their training of staff in counter-terrorism awareness, said the BVRLA, and it wants its members to publicise their support for the national counter-terrorism campaign. It has also pledged that the vehicle rental industry will work with government and law enforcement organisations in embracing new security technology and sharing best practice with other countries and industry sectors.
BVRLA chief executive, Gerry Keaney, said, “We are committed to working with different parts of government and law enforcement to debate and develop strategies to help detect and mitigate the risk from terrorism. Through effective collaboration, we will develop more effective ways of sharing information, embrace new security technology and will share best practice with other countries and industry sectors.”
Source: www.fleeteurope.com