Trends in the markets for financial services

We assume that automotive financial services will prove highly important to global vehicle sales in 2025 in synergy with the development of the vehicle markets. We expect demand to rise in emerging markets where market penetration has so far been low. Regions with already established automotive financial services markets will probably see a continuation of the trend towards achieving mobility at the lowest possible total cost. The shift from financing to lease contracts that has begun in the European financial services business with individual customers will continue. Integrated end-to-end solutions, which include mobility-related service modules such as insurance and innovative packages of services, are likely to become even more important. Additionally, we expect that demand will increase for new forms of mobility, such as rental and car subscription services, and for integrated mobility services, for example refueling and charging. Dealers will remain important strategic partners. The seamless integration of financial services into the online vehicle offering will become increasingly important. We estimate that this trend will also persist in the years 2026 to 2029.

In the mid-sized and heavy commercial vehicles category, we are seeing robust demand for financial services products in the emerging markets. In these countries in particular, financing solutions support vehicle sales and are thus an essential component of the sales process. In the developed markets, we expect to see increased demand for telematics services and services aimed at reducing total cost of ownership in 2025. This trend is also expected to persist in the period 2026 to 2029.