History
Leaseurope, the European Federation of Leasing Company Associations, was founded in 1972. Since April 2006, Leaseurope is an umbrella body representing both the leasing and automotive rental industries in Europe.
A growing sector with a growing need for representation
In the 1950’s and 60’s, the leasing sector was still establishing itself in Europe. The more the industry developed, the more leasing practitioners realised that there was a need for a separate representative entity and a platform to discuss common concerns for the industry.
The first attempts to establish Leaseurope were undertaken in 1968 when representatives of European leasing companies within the consumer lending federation decided to set up a separate working group. This idea continued to grow into a life of its own and in 1971, 100 leasing CEOs met in Salzburg and decided not to set up just a separate working group, but instead their own federation. On 3 May 1972, European leasing practitioners formalised this idea by signing the statutes for the European Federation of Equipment Leasing Company Associations: Leaseurope.
As the industry was relatively new, there was a lack of information about leasing. The goal of members was to be able to meet with practitioners from around Europe to share best practices and market information. Additionally, Leaseurope was a vehicle to promote the leasing product and make European policymakers aware of the benefits of leasing.
Representing automotive rental
In April 2006, ECATRA (the European Car and Truck Rental Association) joined forces with Leaseurope, meaning that leasing and automotive rental were henceforth represented within one Federation. Leaseurope welcomed 15 new member associations from the automotive long and short term rental industries and the Automotive Steering Group was established to steer our work in this area.
The story of our logo
As part of the corporate branding policy adopted in 2008, Leaseurope defined a new strong visual identity, including a logo that reflects more suitably the many voices and gathering forces that shape its membership. The logo consists of two elements:
- Leaseurope wordmark, the name of a well-established entity, which provides a firm foundation.
- Leaseurope brandmark, which symbolizes the communities Leaseurope represents coming together to speak with one voice. The symbol complements the wordmark by adding an element of dynamism.
Founding members
There were 13 founding Member Associations of Leaseurope that represented the equipment leasing associations from:
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland
We are pleased to say that these national associations have been joined by many more in the fifty years since.
“It is clear that more was achieved than what we could have hoped for when we initially set up Leaseurope.” - Mr. Fritz Peter, Leaseurope’s Founding Chairman