Although the auto and asset finance industry has coped well with uncertainty so far in 2016, continued uncertainty seems likely to have an increasingly damaging effect on the outlook for the industry.

So says White Clarke Group as it publishes its latest global asset and auto finance survey.

The report shows that finance companies are responding to changing customer attitudes towards usage rather than ownership with new offerings, such as mobility options in the auto finance sector. The firm added that the industry is well placed to capitalise on these trends “providing it invests in the technology and new skills required to thrive in a new digitally dominated world”.

White Clarke Group added: “Many lenders in the asset finance industry have successfully made the transition to a ‘new normal’, where economic shocks and political uncertainty have become part of business life. Lessors have responded by keeping a firm control on costs, streamlining and upgrading operations and pushing forward with innovations. They have done much to get their own house in order, and rising volumes of new business in many key markets has shown that the new approach seems to be working.

“Strong growth has been recorded in parts of Eastern Europe, where a new consumer class is starting to lease vehicles and new business ventures are looking for long-term funding. Despite setbacks in countries such as Brazil, the South American leasing market recorded a 17% growth in 2015. But as 2016 draws to a close, the issue now is how to ensure that external pressures, including tight new regulations and changes to accounting rules, do not undermine that progress.”

The latest global asset and auto finance survey is available to download at: http://www.whiteclarkegroup.com/news/view/shifting-political-plates-shake-global-asset-and-auto-finance-market