Automotive Fleet Leasing Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Automotive Fleet Leasing Market is projected to expand from USD 27.80 Billion in 2025 to USD 42.45 Billion by 2031, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 7.31%. Automotive fleet leasing functions as a financial structure allowing organizations to utilize vehicles for a set period through regular payments, thereby avoiding the risks associated with ownership. The primary drivers behind this market growth include a strategic corporate shift toward conserving working capital by transforming upfront purchasing costs into predictable operational expenses. Additionally, the operational efficiencies gained by outsourcing vehicle maintenance and administrative compliance encourage businesses to adopt these leasing models, allowing them to remain fiscally agile and focus resources on core activities while utilizing modern transportation assets.

One major challenge hindering market growth is the instability of residual values, which complicates pricing strategies and elevates financial risk for lessors. Fluctuating asset depreciation compels leasing firms to increase premiums or implement stricter underwriting standards, potentially discouraging cost-conscious commercial clients. Despite these valuation pressures and broader economic difficulties, the sector continues to grow; according to Leaseurope, total new European leasing volumes reached approximately 454 billion Euros in 2024, marking a 3.1 percent increase from the prior year. This data indicates that the market remains on an upward path even amidst significant financial headwinds.

Market Drivers

The increasing corporate adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) to meet Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards marks a major structural evolution in the leasing industry. As organizations prioritize sustainability, lessors are compelled to shift their portfolios toward zero-emission vehicles and develop revenue streams centered on charging infrastructure. This transition encourages fleet managers to leverage lower operating costs, even amidst higher initial investments and uncertain residual values, transforming leasing providers into strategic mobility partners. According to the Arval Mobility Observatory’s 'Fleet and Mobility Barometer 2024' published in March 2024, 36 percent of companies have already introduced or plan to introduce battery electric vehicles (BEVs) within the next three years, necessitating that firms adjust underwriting criteria to fit the specific lifecycle needs of electric drivetrains.

Furthermore, the integration of advanced telematics and real-time fleet analytics serves as a vital catalyst for enhancing operational efficiency and cost management. Modern fleet operators require detailed insights into vehicle performance and driver behavior to reduce downtime and optimize total ownership costs. In response, leasing companies are embedding connectivity solutions into their contracts, evolving from simple financing providers into data-driven management services. According to the '2025 Fleet Technology Trends Report' by Verizon Connect in November 2024, 78 percent of fleets now utilize GPS tracking technology - a 5 percent rise from the previous year - enabling flexible billing and proactive maintenance. Illustrating the scale of this digital management, Ayvens reported a global fleet of 3.33 million vehicles by September 2024.

Market Challenges

The volatility of residual values poses a formidable barrier to the expansion of the global automotive fleet leasing market. Unpredictability regarding a vehicle's future worth at lease-end fundamentally undermines the financial models used by leasing companies. When asset depreciation becomes erratic, lessors face increased financial exposure, compelling them to implement defensive pricing strategies such as raising monthly premiums or tightening credit requirements to buffer against potential remarketing losses. This defensive posture directly reduces the affordability of leasing for cost-conscious commercial clients, who may consequently choose to extend the lifespan of their current fleets rather than entering into new contracts.

The impact of this instability is particularly acute in the electric vehicle segment, where rapid technological obsolescence accelerates depreciation rates. According to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, the prices of second-hand battery electric vehicles fell by more than 30 percent in 2024 compared to the preceding year. Such severe depreciation creates a significant disconnect between the book value and market value of assets, forcing lessors to recalculate risk premiums aggressively. This financial uncertainty deters businesses from committing to long-term leasing agreements, thereby stagnating overall market volumes.

Market Trends

The rapid expansion of second-life vehicle leasing is reshaping the market by establishing a circular economy for automotive assets and mitigating the financial risks associated with depreciation. Faced with volatility in residual values, particularly regarding electric vehicles, leasing companies are increasingly retaining ex-lease assets to offer them on secondary lease contracts rather than selling them into a depressed used market. This strategy extends the revenue-generating lifecycle of the vehicle and provides cost-sensitive clients with affordable access to modern fleet technology. According to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association’s 'Leasing Outlook Report' from August 2025, the volume of used car leasing agreements increased by 16.3 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year, underscoring the growing commercial viability of this asset retention model.

Simultaneously, the proliferation of electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes is fundamentally altering the demographic of fleet users by making zero-emission mobility accessible to a wider employee base. These arrangements allow employees to pay for a vehicle from their gross salary, leveraging significant tax incentives such as low Benefit-in-Kind rates to offset the higher upfront costs of electric models. This mechanism has transitioned fleet leasing from a perk strictly for senior management or essential users to a broad organizational benefit that drives widespread electrification. According to the 'FN50 2025' report by Fleet News in November 2025, the total number of vehicles funded through salary sacrifice schemes surged by 118 percent year-on-year, highlighting the mechanism's critical role in sustaining market volume growth.

Key Players Profiled in the Automotive Fleet Leasing Market

• Element Fleet Management Corp.
• Enterprise Holdings, Inc.
• Ayvens SA
• Wheels, Inc.
• Sixt Leasing SE
• Donlen Corporation
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc.
• Caldwell Fleet Solutions
• Merchants Fleet
• AutoFlex AFV

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Automotive Fleet Leasing Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Automotive Fleet Leasing Market, by Lease Type:

• Open Ended
• Close Ended

Automotive Fleet Leasing Market, by Vehicle Type:

• Passenger Cars
• Commercial Vehicles

Automotive Fleet Leasing Market, by End User:

• B2B
• B2C

Automotive Fleet Leasing Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Automotive Fleet Leasing Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

This product will be delivered within 1-3 business days.