Medical Equipment Rental in European Union: Market Size, Businesses & Forecast 2026

The medical equipment rental and leasing industry in the European Union provides crucial operating leases of clinical and diagnostic technologies to healthcare providers, assisting them in bypassing high upfront capital expenditures. Amid fiscal constraints across public healthcare systems and the rapid obsolescence of high-tech machinery, the industry has experienced steady growth in demand. According to Eurostat, European medical infrastructure has scaled to accommodate these shifts, as evidenced by Germany utilizing 3,088 computed tomography (CT) scanners and France operating 773 radiation therapy units as of 2023 (Eurostat), showcasing a massive, ongoing institutional demand for high-val

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What does the Medical Equipment Rental in European Union industry cover?

The medical equipment rental industry comprises the provision of operational, non-financial leasing and short-term rental of professional medical, surgical, and diagnostic devices without operators. This includes high-value diagnostic systems such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and CT scanners, therapeutic equipment like ventilators and infusion pumps, as well as durable medical furniture, including hospital beds and mobility aids.

• •Covers key segments such as monitoring/therapeutic devices, medical furniture, and personal mobility equipment.
• •Excludes financial leasing activities (which are classified as financial intermediation) and the rental of equipment with an operator.
• •Primarily serves institutional end-users like hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, alongside home care settings.

Who operates in the industry and how is it structured?

The European market is structurally characterized by a mix of specialized local players, pan-European third-party logistics and medical asset managers, and the captive financial services divisions of major medical technology manufacturers. Larger operators hold distinct competitive advantages due to their ability to provide certified sanitization, complex regulatory compliance, and integrated logistics across multiple EU member states.

• •Captive leasing units of major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) dominate the high-end diagnostic and imaging rental space.
• •Independent specialized rental companies focus on high-turnover durable medical equipment (DME) like bariatric beds, pressure care products, and mobility aids.
• •Operating models span direct manufacturer rentals, specialized third-party asset management, and digital B2B rental networks.

What drives demand in the industry?

Key demand drivers include escalating capital budget constraints in public and private European hospital groups, which encourage a structural shift from capital expenditure (CapEx) to operating expenditure (OpEx). Furthermore, a rapidly aging European demographic increases the volume of chronic illnesses, elevating the clinical utilization rates of monitoring and therapeutic equipment.

• •Rapid technological obsolescence cycles force hospitals to rent rather than purchase to avoid holding outdated diagnostic assets.
• •According to Eurostat, high-density asset utilization is substantial, with the EU utilizing approximately 12,800 CT scanners and 10,500 MRI units in 2023.
• •Post-pandemic healthcare reforms stress clinical flexibility, requiring hospitals to scale device fleets dynamically during patient surges.

Who are the notable companies in the industry?

The competitive landscape in the EU is highly competitive, featuring prominent multi-national engineering, medical technology, and specialist rental firms. Major medical technology conglomerates manage robust captive financial and rental services, while specialized medical logistics firms drive the durable and therapeutic rental segments.

• •Siemens Financial Services (a division of Siemens AG) provides extensive medical imaging and diagnostic equipment leasing across the EU.
• •Getinge AB, a Swedish medical technology giant, offers specialized rental programs for surgical workflows, ventilators, and ICU equipment.
• •Stryker Corporation maintains localized operational rental and leasing pathways across EU member states for medical beds and surgical infrastructure.
• •LINET Group SE is a major European manufacturer and provider of clinical bed rental solutions to European healthcare facilities.

What are the recent trends and outlook?

The European medical equipment rental sector is increasingly embracing circular economy principles, with an emphasis on remanufacturing, recycling, and sustainable asset management. Furthermore, the integration of IoT-enabled tracking and telemetry in rental fleets allows providers to monitor device performance and location in real-time, optimizing asset allocation.

• •Increasing demand for clinical trial equipment rentals, where specialized machinery is leased only for the duration of a study.
• •Rising adoption of 'managed equipment services' (MES), where third-party providers take over the entire lifecycle, maintenance, and replacement of a hospital's technology suite.
• •Expansion of home-care medical rentals, directly driven by public policy measures that aim to shorten hospital stays and support outpatient recovery.

How is the industry regulated?

Rental operators in the EU must navigate a strict regulatory framework governing patient safety, hygiene, and device tracking. Because medical devices are transferred between multiple clinical environments, providers must maintain meticulous sterilization records and adhere to rigorous quality management standards.

• •All rented devices must maintain strict compliance with the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR 2017/745), ensuring high standards of safety and quality.
• •Companies must meet strict EN ISO 13485 standards for quality management systems specific to medical devices, covering storage, transport, and maintenance.
• •Stricter national hygiene and infection prevention protocols (such as those from Germany's Robert Koch Institute) govern the sanitation cycles of rented clinical surfaces.

Government, statistical and trade sources used for this Claight analysis.

• Eurostat Healthcare Resource Statistics 2023 ·
• European Commission NACE Rev. 2 Classification Database ·
• MedTech Europe Industry Data Hub 2024/2025