Market Overview

According to Japan Automotive Leasing Association, the number of personal lease vehicles as of end of March 2022 (at the end of FY2021) was 496,650, 113.9% of that in the previous year. While corporate car leasing occupying 90% of entire automotive leasing market was on the decline, personal car leasing was expanding, showing opposite tendencies.

An enormous change from last research (FY2017) was the “subscription service” provided mainly by automaker-owned companies. The service had many in common with personal car leasing such as product specifications and concept, partly contributing to awareness improvement and attention gathering for personal market.

Noteworthy Topics

Average 25,000 Yen Paid Monthly by Users of Personal Car Leasing or Automotive Subscription Services

In March 2023, an online survey was held to 400 men and women nationwide in their 20s to 60s who were the users of personal car leasing or of automotive subscription services. According to the survey results, the average monthly payment at contracted shops was 24,854 yen (the average of 391 users excluding those who did not respond). When compared to last survey (FY2017), the amount declined by almost 10,000 yen, though simple comparison might not be applicable due to different statistical parameters.

When observing user average monthly payment by contracted shop, the largest amount was paid to “Dealers” and the lowest amount to “Car accessory shops”.

As the survey results indicated that “Ease of payment” and “Low in monthly payment and equality” were the popular reasons (multiple responses) for using personal car leasing or automotive subscription services, it was found out that many of users seemed to enjoy the financial advantages in the services.

Future Outlook

For FY2022 as tight supply in new cars have continued, personal car leasing (including automotive subscription service) at the time of new car purchase is in the spotlight. This as well as the lease of used cars being also on the rise, the domestic number of personal lease vehicles as of the end of March 2023 (end of FY2022) is expected to reach 560,483 vehicles, 112.4% of that in the previous year.

Furthermore, considering multiple factors hereafter such as new car sales, lease ratio when buying vehicles, and lease contract period, the domestic number of personal lease vehicles is projected to be 629,428 by the end of March 2024 (end of FY2023), and 710,294 by the end of March 2025 (end of FY2024).

Research Outline