Leasing sector could flood second hand market with electric cars

(Transport and Environment, 21 Nov 2023) If leasing companies electrify their fleets earlier, 18 million more households in the EU will have access to cheaper EVs and save on their car spending.

At current rates of electrification, 33 million households in the EU will have access to second hand electric cars from today until 2035. But if the leasing sector accelerates its uptake of EVs, this would go up by 56% – up to 51 million, a new report by Transport & Environment (T&E) finds^[. These 18 million additional households would be saving money on their car spending.

The leasing sector constitutes an important channel for cars on the used car market. Four in ten cars entering the second-hand market every year in the EU come from the leasing sector. If leasing companies electrify faster, they will accelerate the pace with which the second-hand market goes green. That’s why T&E calls upon Europe’s top seven leasing companies to commit to a phase-out of fossil fuel cars and to lease battery electric vehicles (BEVs) only as of 2028. The sector as a whole should do this by 2030.

Today, almost eight out of ten EU citizens buy their car second-hand. Around 90% of low and middle income groups buy their cars on the used car market. Even among higher income groups, the percentage is still significant (62%).

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Transport and Environment, 21 Nov 2023: Leasing sector could flood second hand market with electric cars