How Bike Leasing Is Powering Germany’s Cycling Boom
Written by: Maxime Renson | October 17, 2025 | Time to read 7 min
Bike leasing has shifted from a niche perk to a national movement reshaping German mobility.
More about the Author: Maxime Renson, General Manager at Upway
Graduated in engineering and business, I spent 6+ years at Uber across six countries before joining Upway’s founding team in 2022 to launch the U.S. business. Outside work, I bike, run, play golf and padel, and swim with my son.
Bike leasing is quietly reshaping how Germany moves. Supported by government tax incentives and employer partnerships, the system makes owning an e-Bike more affordable than ever, encouraging workers to choose cycling for both commuting and leisure. Germany’s push for greener transport has found a powerful ally in bike leasing— here’s a deep dive into the promising policy that may soon be spilling across borders and inspiring more people to hop on bikes.
What is bike leasing?
How does bike leasing really work?
Employers across Germany choose whether to offer bike leasing or not. Many large companies offer it as an employee benefit to attract talent, and they’ll partner with a bike leasing company. Followers of pro road cycling— or casual viewers of the Tour de France— will recognize the sponsor Lease-a-Bike which is one such company popular in Germany and other European countries.
The employee can select a bike from a bike shop and the leasing company purchases it. The employer is actually the lessee, signing an agreement with the employee that allows them to use the bike for private use and riding to work. The employee pays a leasing rate for the bike each month which is deducted from their gross salary, i.e. before tax and social security contributions. This big tax advantage is the key to why bike leasing, even over time, costs less than buying the bike directly. Certain employers may also subsidize or pay for part of their employee’s leasing cost.
The typical lease lasts for around 3 years, after which the employee has the option to buy the bike. The cost varies but it’s normally quite a sweet deal, somewhere around just 18% of the original price of the bike. After all is said and done, employees can end up with the bike after the lease having saved around 30% to 40% compared to retail.
Bike leasing is powering Germany’s e-Bike adoption
Growing demand for bike-friendly employers
Perhaps what we are seeing is a cultural shift, or at least reinforcement, of the positive sentiment for cycling encouraged by the German government via the bike leasing schemes, which are essentially individual tax breaks.
Young people are especially interested in bike leasing
Some of the most promising data around bike leasing is the high interest among the younger generation. Leasing company Lease-a-Bike reports that among workers aged 18-29 years old, 76% are interested in a company bike. The next generation of workers can start cycling to work— and for leisure— with financial support from their employer.
In recent years, flexible financing options across all sectors has increased among consumers and young people are especially attracted to these types of payment plans. The GfK-NIQ E-Bike Monitor 2024 by Nielsen showed that, “currently, most of the e-Bike financing is done through personal savings. However, there is a growing interest in employer-sponsored leasing programs… especially among Gen Z, the interest in leasing and financing is high”. This all bodes well for strong cycling participation in the future.
There are still roadblocks to cycling growth
Bike leasing isn’t a silver bullet to encourage cycling and e-Bike adoption, however. In a similar way to government-incentivized bike leasing, cars are also heavily subsidized in Germany which may detract from cycling commute rates. Considering the widespread availability of bike leasing from one’s employer, awareness of the option is actually relatively low.
The complicated nature of a bike lease as a financial tie to an employer is also different to direct subsidies or vouchers for electric bikes which may be a simpler way to accelerate e-Bike use. It’s worth exploring the differences between bike leasing and other strategies like Cycle to Work schemes in the UK, cycle commute allowances in Belgium, and direct e-Bike vouchers across the US.
Bike leasing looks like the way forward
On the heels of a turbulent couple of years for the bike industry, bike leasing emerged as a budding and highly positive element. Despite the broader market downturn, leasing and similar alternative initiatives like bike sharing, subscriptions, and used bike sales have remained strong, continuing to grow and create jobs.
The Cycling Monitor Germany 2023 report stated that “the bicycle or pedelec is the means of transport with the greatest potential for growth in the comparison of means of transport, as 46% of respondents want to use it more often in future than they do now.” Interest in electric bikes is especially high, as “around one in two (51%) would like to see state subsidies for pedelecs / electric assisted bikes.“ A quarter of respondents were planning to buy a bike in the next year, half of them saying they would want it to be an electric bike.
And as I’ve discussed, it’s quite likely that German employers provide the financially favorable and flexible option to lease a bike. This collaboration between government policies and employers is sowing the seeds for an even more cycling-friendly Germany which is already reaping rewards as cycling rates increase with young workers set to carry the torch.
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Key Takeaways
- Tax-smart commuting: Bike leasing lets German employees save up to 40% on e-Bikes through salary-sacrifice tax advantages.
- Employer-driven adoption: Over 269,000 companies now offer bike leasing, fueling record cycling rates across the country.
- Young riders, bright future: Gen Z workers are embracing leasing schemes, signaling a lasting cultural shift toward sustainable mobility.
