Light Vehicle Leasing Market in the United States, Forecast to 2023

The Penetration of Electric Vehicle Among Company Car Fleets is Lower Than Retail Channel, as Concerns Over Total Cost of Asset Operation has Slowed Down Uptake

Company car registrations increased from 2013 to 2018, spurred by a strongly performing industrial sector. While utility vehicles comprise a major part of company fleets in the US, growth in various sectors of the economy has driven demand for new vehicles and fleet renewals. Financial leasing is the dominant leasing solution in the US. This is attributed to the standalone fleet management services provided by many leasing service providers, such as Element Fleet and ARI, which has motivated corporate companies to opt for financial leasing rather than depend on operational leasing.

Vehicle leasing is seen as a solution to the growing number of challenges faced by companies, with regard to their mobility needs. Amongst others, these include challenges associated with vehicle funding, fleet maintenance, and, more importantly, residual risk handling. Businesses in the present market conditions are focused on their core products/services and seek to outsource all other support activities. Mobility is a significant department - starting from fleet purchase to remarketing at a competitive price - and for each of the segments in the value chain, unless an expert team is on the job, issues such as cost spikes, utilization mismatches, irregularities in fleet maintenance, and risks of dips in residual value can crop up. Leasing the fleet enables hassle-free mobility, on-demand mobility, and fleet after-service facilities, amongst other benefits. This has driven the growth of the leasing market, given it a structure, and regulated the ecosystem. This study sheds light on the market size across passenger vehicle (PV) and light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments and provides sales/parc data for the total market and fleet and company car (true fleet) segments. The company car segment is discussed in detail, with a focus on the actual development and the growth potential of financial lease, operational lease, and outright purchase.

The analysis takes into account historical data and current market conditions and insights and opinions from market participants to provide a five-year outlook on growth opportunities (over the 2018-2023 period). In addition to market data (PV and LCV) for both new registrations and portfolio, the study provides actual competitor data (portfolio) for the leading leasing service providers in the country. Competitor data is available for both the leasing segments (operational and financial) for the base year, 2018. The evolution of any industry depends on transformational trends that are linked to the macroeconomic factors of the region and the emerging business models that reflect innovation in mobility solutions, such as rental, car sharing, integrated mobility, and alternative power-train. The study covers these evolutionary trends that are expected to shape the market. For leasing providers and other companies that share the leasing ecosystem, interest lies in the growth opportunities that they need to leverage and the strategic imperatives that aid in their pursuit of growth and success. Overall, the study provides a 360-degree understanding of the leasing space (region-specific) and offers a detailed account of the key trends, market overview, and outlook.