Leaseurope, the trade association representing the European leasing and automotive rental industries, released the results of its preliminary survey of the European leasing market for 2014.

The survey finds that new leasing business in Europe expanded by 8.4% in 2014 reaching its highest annual rate of growth in volume since 2007.

Growth was observed across all main asset categories covered in the survey, particularly for vehicles with new leasing volumes in this segment rising by 12.4% on 2013. The equipment leasing segment saw a moderate increase of nearly 1.0%, while real estate leasing picked up by 7.6% in 2014, witnessing the first year of growth since 2010.

While growth of the European leasing market is firming, it is uneven across countries.

Nevertheless, most of national leasing markets saw positive results in 2014, which is an improvement compared to 2013, where just under half recorded negative performance. An increase in new business volumes in 2014 was largely driven by Europe’s four largest economies. It is also worth noting that some of the leasing markets in Southern Europe saw double digit growth.

Commenting on the figures, Leaseurope’s adviser in Statistics and Economic Affairs, Jurgita Bucyte said “Against the backdrop of faltering European equipment investment throughout 2014, it is particularly encouraging to see that our industry is able to gather momentum across the board. Businesses were keen to use leasing to invest in a wide range of assets, particularly in vehicles. This trend supports the findings of our latest Business Confidence Survey, which demonstrates a positive sentiment in the leasing market for new business growth. While near-term European investment is likely to be subdued and some degree of economic uncertainty remains, equipment investment growth is projected to gradually pick up, which should bode well for the leasing business in 2015.”