GLASS’S, the largest vehicle data provider in Europe and publisher of the industry-standard Glass’s Guide to Car Values, have aired their opinion that leasing is the ‘way forward’ for the next generation of drivers.

As such, it is likely that we should gear up for a leasing boom in 2015 and beyond.

Glass’s Head of Valuations, Rupert Pontin, said: “Since 2012, the number of buyers opting to lease their car has risen significantly.

“Consumers, especially what you might call the younger, ‘direct debit generation’ has become accustomed to buying a large range of often high-priced products and services on a pay monthly basis. Phones are the obvious example but there are many other sectors where this is now prevalent – from software to medical insurance and entertainment. Why not cars?

“As well as consumer buying habits, leasing is growing because car makers across Europe are extremely keen to keep their factories operating at somewhere near capacity. To achieve this, they have been offering extremely attractive lease deals to new car buyers since around the time of the credit crunch.”

As modern consumers are used to paying for services via monthly subscriptions – from mobile phones to insurance – greater numbers of customers are opting for car leasing and fixed overheads. As a result, buying a new car outright could become a thing of the past.