Financial-leasing activity remains concentrated in transport rather than productive machinery. Passenger cars represented 45.2 per cent of leased assets at the end of the first quarter, while trucks and buses accounted for a further 35.9 per cent. Construction machinery contributed 7.3 per cent, agricultural equipment 3.4 per cent and production machinery only 2.4 per cent.
The structure suggests that Serbian companies are using leasing principally to renew fleets and logistics capacity. That is consistent with the importance of road freight, construction and distribution, but it provides a weaker signal of broad factory automation or manufacturing-capacity expansion.
Commercial companies accounted for the overwhelming majority of leasing customers, while entrepreneurs represented 7.1 per cent. The relatively small share of production equipment indicates room for banks, leasing companies and equipment manufacturers to develop longer-tenor products for industrial machinery, particularly where export contracts or multinational customers provide predictable cash flow.
Higher energy and imported-equipment costs could slow discretionary fleet replacement. Construction demand associated with Expo 2027 should nevertheless support leasing for trucks, cranes and specialist machinery through the next several quarters.
