Leasing electric cars is booming

Leasing electric cars is booming

According to the Association of Austrian Leasing Companies (VÖL), the commercial leasing rate in Austria was 69.8 percent in 2020 - this corresponds to an increase of 10.9 percentage points compared to the previous year. What's particularly pleasing is that more and more companies want to make their fleet more environmentally friendly. Renato Eggner, managing director of the country's third largest fleet management provider Raiffeisen-Leasing Fleet Management (RLFPM), demonstrates this trend with figures for the first quarter of 2021: "Already every third contract that is concluded with us is for an electric vehicle. In the first three months, demand for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) increased by around 120 percent compared to the previous year, and that for plug-in hybrid and full hybrid vehicles (PHEV/HEV) even by around 180 percent.” The reasons for this are the attractive funding opportunities, the constantly growing range of models suitable for everyday use and the ongoing expansion of the public charging infrastructure.

Electric cars as used cars

The increasing number of electric vehicles in domestic companies is also increasingly having an impact on the used car market. “On average, company cars are exchanged for newer models after four years, which means that young and well-maintained electric vehicles come onto the used car market for private individuals – at significantly more affordable prices,” explains Eggner. RLFPM offers these young used cars to interested dealers via the online sales portal Raiffeisen CarStore. In this way, RLFPM wants to make a contribution to more environmentally friendly vehicles on domestic roads.