The number of cars leased by members of the Association over the past year increased by a record 13 percent in the crisis year. Leasing companies of the professional association during this period (which is 80 percent of the non-banking market) registered 14,819 units of cars in Ukraine. This result demonstrates the power of leasing as a tool that in a pandemic and economic recession was able to increase volumes in the dominant segment.
The key indicator of the state of the market – the level of leasing penetration (Penetration Rate) in sales also reached a record level and in the segment of cars was 13%, and for commercial – 11.6%, while in the previous two years it was 9% and 8, 6%.
If you look at how events developed during the year, at the beginning of the year it seemed that the growth of the transport segment would be unattainable. Thus, in the 2nd quarter of 2020, the level of vehicle registrations by leasing companies fell by 26% compared to the previous quarter under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn caused by it. But already in the third quarter, leasing began to recover, and the volume of registrations increased by 57% compared to the 2nd quarter, and by 15% compared to the first. At the end of the year, leasing recorded its position: vehicle registration volumes in the 4th quarter increased by 1% compared to the third quarter.
The above data are optimistic, but can we expect the upward trend to continue in the future? To assess this, let us turn our attention to the EU markets, where Ukraine’s economy is gradually integrating.
According to the European Federation of Leasing Associations Leaseurope, on average in Europe leasing finances 28% of new vehicles and equipment. Such penetration is more than twice the level of leasing penetration into the transport sector of Ukraine. Thus, it can be argued that the market of leasing services in Ukraine has the potential for further growth and can increase its share of penetration into transport markets at least twice.
According to the Association, today the leaders of the transport segment of the leasing market are OTP Leasing (with a share of 25%), ULF Finance (21%), Avtocredit Plus (11%), VIP-Rent (7%), and FUIB (6%). ). The top four have maintained their leading positions from the previous year.
Traditionally, the most active leasing in Ukraine in the segment of passenger cars. The share of vehicles of this type among all registered leasing companies is 76%. Trucks accounted for 11% of all new registrations, and light commercial vehicles for about 7%. There are other types of transport, but the share of each of them is less than 2.5%.
This structure of the transport segment of leasing services is quite stable. The Association does not observe significant changes in it compared to 2019.
Among the vehicles registered by leasing companies in 2020, 75% are new vehicles and 25% are mileage vehicles. In 2020, there is greater activity of players in the market of used transport. Thus, the number of companies that added used vehicles to their fleet increased from 3 to 8 per year. But this did not affect the ratio of new equipment to that used in the general market.
Traditionally, legal entities occupy the largest share among clients of leasing companies in the transport sector – 75%. Agreements with individuals had a share of 25%. Also, 90% of the transport registered by leasing companies was provided to customers on the terms of financial leasing, and only 10% – on the terms of operational. These ratios have not changed significantly compared to the previous year.
Among passenger vehicles, the most popular cars for leasing were Renault cars. The share of this brand was 22%. Toyota (11%), Peugeot (9%), Skoda (6%), VW (5%) were also among the five most popular brands.
In turn, the level of leasing penetration in the TOP-10 brands for sales in 2020 varies from 3 to 32% depending on the brand. Thus, 32% of all Peugeot in Ukraine were registered on lease terms. Also a significant percentage of penetration in the brands Renault (17%), Skoda and VW (14% each), Hyundai (10%).
In general, the fleet of members of the Association consists of 93% of new cars and 7% of used equipment. During the year, the fleet of leasing companies grew by 19%.