What was published on 13 October
The European Rental Association (ERA) has published its 2026 Market Report. It is produced together with KPMG, covers 17 European countries and, according to ERA, describes more than 95% of the equipment rental market in the EU, EFTA and the United Kingdom.
The key figures from the public summary:
- Growth in 2025: 1% — the European equipment rental market grew, but slowly.
- Rental turnover 2026: €35.5bn expected, up 1.6% on the previous year, across the 17 countries covered.
- CAGR 2025 to 2027: 1.8% — the compound annual growth rate the association forecasts for the coming years.
- Non-construction activity: around 35% of the European rental market.
- The three largest rental markets — the United Kingdom, Germany and France — together account for almost 60% of the market volume.
The headline figure hides where it works — and where it does not
ERA states the differences within Europe explicitly: Southern Europe is performing strongly, while several of the largest and most established rental markets are under pressure.
- Spain, Portugal and Italy benefit from infrastructure investment, rising rental penetration and demand from areas such as logistics and data centres.
- France remains weighed down by weak construction activity and political uncertainty; for 2025 to 2027 ERA gives a projected annual rate of −0.7%.
- United Kingdom: still limited growth.
- Germany: could benefit from increased public investment towards the end of 2026.
- The Nordics: signs of recovery after several difficult years, but not yet back to the earlier level.
By sector, civil engineering and infrastructure continue to support rental activity, while residential and non-residential construction remain weak in many countries.
The sentence that is usually missing from the headlines
Of the €35.5bn, around 35% does not sit on construction sites. The non-construction share of the European rental market has reached that size; logistics, data centres and other commercial applications are part of it.
For fleet planning, that sentence matters more than the growth rate. A rental depot that sizes its equipment only around construction projects is planning past a third of its market.
This is our reading of the published figures — not a statement by the association.
What this article does not say
Three limits belong here:
- The 35% is a statement about the rental market as a whole, not about energy storage. The public summary gives no figures for battery units or generators.
- The report itself costs €1,500 and is free to ERA members and to members of its national member associations. This article relies solely on the publicly available summary, not on the full text.
- Forecasts are forecasts. The −0.7% for France and the 1.8% for Europe are expectations of the association and KPMG, not outcomes that have occurred.
Sources (publicly available, as of 16 October 2026)
ERA, Market Report overview:
https://erarental.org/publication-category/era-market-report/
Construction Briefing, ERA releases its 2026 Market Report, 13 October 2026:
https://www.constructionbriefing.com/news/era-releases-its-2026-market-report/8133611.article
International Rental News, ERA veröffentlicht seinen Marktbericht 2026, 13 October 2026: