Lease or buy?

Is it cheaper to lease a new car privately or to buy it? We compared the brands' own private lease offers in Sweden for 61 cars with buying the same version new and selling it when the lease ends, usually after 36 months.

Leasing is cheaper for 43 of 61 cars Buying is cheaper for 16, and for 2 the difference is under SEK 100 a month. At 12,500 km a year and 5 percent interest on the money when you buy.

• Electric: leasing is cheaper for 19 of 20
• Plug-in hybrid: leasing is cheaper for 6 of 7
• Hybrid: leasing is cheaper for 5 of 14
• Petrol: leasing is cheaper for 13 of 20

Private lease campaign prices are often lower than what the car loses in value, especially for electric cars and pricier cars that lose a lot of value in the first years. Cars that hold their value well, like many hybrids and small cars, are more often cheaper to buy.

All cars with a private lease offer

Swedish kronor per month. Lease and buy include everything: fees or depreciation and interest, servicing, fuel, insurance and tax. Sorted from the biggest advantage for leasing to the biggest advantage for buying. Choose a car for the full calculation.

How we compare

• Lease: the brand's private lease payment at your distance, set-up and invoice fees and any higher first payment spread per month, and servicing if it isn't included. If you drive more than the offer assumes we use the brand's price for more distance, or an estimate where the brand doesn't give one.
• Buy: the same version new, at the list price or what new cars are advertised for if that is lower, sold when the lease would end at the ad price for a car of the same age. The residual value is adjusted by 2 percent per 10,000 km you drive more or less than a typical car. On top of that come interest on the money and servicing.
• The same either way: fuel and road tax, and insurance unless the leasing company requires its own, like Peugeot for SEK 395 a month.

More about the calculations under How we calculate. In the calculator you can change the distance and the interest: open a car and go to Lease or buy new.

Good to know about private leasing

• The contract usually runs for 36 months, and ending it early costs money.
• If you drive more than agreed you pay for the extra distance when you hand the car back, SEK 8–12.50 per 10 km in the offers that state it, plus damage beyond normal wear.
• Many payments are variable and follow interest rates. Toyota, Tesla, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot and Ford have fixed payments in their offers.
• You pay insurance and road tax yourself, and the leasing company may require a certain insurance.
• You never own the car. A car you buy is yours to decide over, and if it ends up worth more than expected, the gain is yours.

Sources

The offers were read on the brands' Swedish websites on 26–27 October 2026 and may have changed since. Campaigns often cover a limited number of cars.

• Audi Privatleasing (privatleasing.audi.se), valid until 31 October 2026
• BMW Privatleasing (bmw.se), valid until 31 October 2026
• Cupra Privatleasing (privatleasing.cupraofficial.se), valid until 31 October 2026
• Dacia Privatleasing (dacia.se), valid until 4 January 2027
• Ford Privatleasing (ford.se), valid until 31 December 2026
• Hyundai Privatleasing (hyundai.com), valid until 31 October 2026
• Kia Privatleasing (kia.com)
• Mercedes-Benz PrivatLeasing (mercedes-benz.se), valid until 31 December 2026
• Nissan Privatleasing (nissan.se)
• Peugeot Privatleasing (peugeot.se)
• Polestar Privatleasing (polestar.com), valid until 31 December 2026
• Renault Privatleasing (renault.se), valid until 4 January 2027
• Tesla Privatleasing (tesla.com), valid until 31 March 2027
• Toyota Easy Privatleasing (toyota.se), valid until 11 January 2027
• Volkswagen Privatleasing (privatleasing.volkswagen.se), valid until 31 October 2026
• Volvo Privatleasing (volvocars.com)
• Škoda Privatleasing (privatleasing.skoda.se)

Updated 2026-10-29 · ad data Oct 2026