Hungarian Leasing Market Up 2%, Contracts Down 7%

The amount financed on the Hungarian leasing market totaled HUF 429.11 billion in the first half of the year, up 2% year-on-year, while the number of contracts decreased by 7%, the Hungarian Leasing Association informed MTI on Monday.

The organization added in a statement that adjusted for last year's one-off HUF 50 billion real estate leasing transaction, the results show a 15.7% increase in the amount financed.

According to the leasing association's latest second-quarter report, the domestic customer base is now almost exclusively dominated by the corporate sector. The share of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is 75%, that of large corporates 18%, and the share of residential customers has continued to decline, with this segment now representing only 5.4% of the domestic market.

Retail cars (other than fleet financing) accounted for 38% of lease financing, fleet vehicles for 11%, and productive assets and real estate for the remaining 51%.

The number of new passenger cars placed on the market fell slightly in the first six months, but the amount financed rose by 20.7% to HUF 120.7 billion. The share of leasing in new passenger cars has been steadily rising, standing at over 27% in the last two months, compared with 18% in the last quarter of 2022, the statement said.

The number of new light commercial vehicles on the road increased by 14%, which also led to a spectacular 44% increase in lease placements, reaching HUF 41.2 billion. The penetration of leasing for small commercial vehicles has fluctuated slightly over the period, but has averaged over 34%.

The leasing of agricultural equipment increased by 17.7% to reach a value of HUF 68.73 billion; the share of leasing in this segment is around 10%. The amount financed for construction equipment decreased by 21% to HUF 10.92 billion in the first half of the year.

After a high number of individual transactions last year, the real estate segment has returned to its previous level this year, with a total of 51 leasing contracts for residential and HUF 1.2 billion for non-residential property.

In the statement, the association highlighted the shift in the currency of leasing transactions, with euro-based financing accounting for 42% of the market in 2023.