Leasing remains popular among medium-sized businesses

Cars, machinery, workwear, or office equipment: according to a recent KfW study, leasing remains a popular financing instrument for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Vehicle leasing is particularly prevalent: almost half of all new passenger cars are leased.

Renting Leasing remains an important instrument for investment financing for German SMEs. This is shown by a recent special analysis of the KfW SME Panel on the use of leasing by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to KfW Research At least one lease agreement was concluded in 2024. This means that usage remains roughly at the same level as in the last survey in 2021.

Fixed assets However, in medium-sized businesses, they are significantly more often purchased than leased: 39 percent of companies opted for a lease during the same period. "classic" investment via equity or debt capitalIn 2024, SMEs acquired capital goods worth approximately €61 billion through leasing – around 15 percent more than in 2021, when the figure was €53 billion. This means that roughly a quarter of all capital goods acquisitions were realized via leasing. The remainder consisted of purchases totaling approximately €256 billion.

On average, medium-sized leasing users closed 2024. just under two contracts (1,9) with an average volume of 51.000 euros per contract The correlation between company size and leasing propensity is clear. In 2024, around 55 percent of companies with 50 or more employees used leasing – an increase of five percentage points compared to 2021.

Micro-enterprises with fewer than five employees remain at a low level of 16 percent (2021: 15 percent). SMEs with at least 50 employees, however, make up only about two percent of the medium-sized business sector. At the same time, they account for almost a quarter of the total leasing volume (14 billion euros).

According to the KfW study, the average leasing volume per company in this size category was €312.000 in 2024 – roughly five times that of micro-enterprises (€59.000). On average, 6,7 leasing contracts were concluded per company in the largest group, compared to 1,4 for micro-enterprises.

A differentiated picture also emerges across industries.

2024 layers Service companies Up front: Around 20 percent of SMEs in the service sector concluded at least one leasing contract – three percentage points more than in 2021. 

Im Construction The use of leasing declined significantly: only around eleven percent of companies used leasing in 2024, compared to 18 percent in 2021. 

Im Manufacturing industry The share fell slightly from 21 to 18 percent.

At the same time, the industrial company With an average of 2,6 leasing contracts per company and a mean contract volume of €69.000, they show the highest figures. Services clearly dominate in terms of volume.

Of the total volume of 61 billion euros, around 41,6 billion euros were attributable to service companies in 2024 – approximately 68 percent of the total leasing volume, virtually unchanged compared to 2021. The average leasing volume per service company rose slightly from 81.000 to 84.000 euros.

SMEs in the manufacturing sector accounted for €5,9 billion, or about ten percent of the total volume – significantly more than their share of the overall SME sector, which is around six percent. Their average leasing volume per company climbed from €117.000 to €156.000, clearly exceeding the overall average of €88.000. Trading companies generated €6,9 billion (around eleven percent), and the construction industry around €3,8 billion (six percent).

In 2024, 67 percent of companies using leasing had exactly one contract, almost 30 percent had two to five contracts, and only three percent had more than five. This structure largely corresponds to the situation in 2021.

Vehicle leasing dominates

In terms of content, the market is clearly dominated by vehicle leasing.

✔️ Vehicle leasing accounted for around two-thirds of new business. Accordingly, the share of leasing in total new passenger car registrations is high: in 2024 it was 48,4 percent.

✔️ Commercial vehicles followed with 13 percent,

✔️ Office machines, IT infrastructure and software accounted for twelve percent (figures from 2022). 

Pitfalls of car leasing and how to avoid themLeasing can be attractive if you avoid five pitfalls, says specialist lawyer Tobias Goldkamp. What are they? read here

What is the difference between mileage-based billing and residual value fixing? What is the best way to prepare for the return date? Here you can read what to look out for when leasing a motor vehicle.

Strong growth in electromobility

According to KfW, vehicle leasing is particularly important in the growing electric mobility segment. For example, the share of leased vehicles in new registrations of purely electric passenger cars was 56 percent in 2024. "Leasing thus makes a significant contribution to the market ramp-up of electric mobility and to the success of the transport transition," says the study's author, Dr. Juliane Gerstenberger.

The expansion of charging infrastructure is increasingly being implemented through leasing. Other areas of application in climate protection include photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, and battery storage.  

Source: KfW Research

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