What is Follow-up Leasing?
Follow-up leasing means that a bicycle leased as a company bike can be leased again for a further 24 months after the regular leasing period of 36 months has expired.
No new bicycle is ordered in this process.
Instead, a new leasing contract with a term of 24 months is concluded for the existing bicycle.
The monthly leasing rate is usually lower than in the original leasing contract because it is recalculated based on the takeover price of the regular leasing contract (36 months).
Who can use Follow-up Leasing?
Follow-up leasing is currently offered exclusively for employee leasing contracts. The offer is not available for company and pool bikes, as well as owner or dealer bikes.
The application for follow-up leasing can be easily submitted by employees whose leasing period is about to expire via the Bikeleasing portal and must be made before the end of the regular leasing period.
- Whether follow-up leasing can be offered for a specific contract depends on various factors regulated by the framework leasing agreement between the lessor and lessee. Ultimately, the lessee decides whether to offer follow-up leasing to their eligible employees or not.
If follow-up leasing is available, the corresponding option will be displayed as part of the decision at the end of the leasing period in the Bikeleasing portal.
ℹ️ After the leasing period expires, follow-up leasing can no longer be applied for. In this case, only the options offered in the portal, such as taking over or returning the bicycle, are available.
When and how can follow-up leasing be concluded?
The follow-up leasing option is displayed as part of the decision at the end of the leasing period in the Bikeleasing portal.
If follow-up leasing is available for the contract, the non-binding offer can be requested directly by the employee in the Bikeleasing portal.
After the offer is requested, the follow-up leasing request is automatically created. As soon as the request is ready for review and approval, a corresponding notification will be sent. This usually happens within about 30 minutes.
Then the approval process follows:
- Review and approval by the employee
- Approval by the employer
- Automatic activation of the follow-up leasing at the end of the original leasing contract
After successful approval and activation, a new individual leasing contract is created. The employer also receives a new recurring leasing invoice.
👉Step-by-step instructions for approving follow-up leasing
- Instructions for request and approval by the employee: Approval of the leasing contract by the employee
- Instructions for approval by the employer: Approval of the leasing contract by the employer
ℹ️ The status Bicycle handover required may appear as a technical intermediate status during the process. In this case, it has no further significance and automatically changes to Active after activation of the follow-up leasing.
How are the costs for follow-up leasing calculated?
The monthly leasing rate is recalculated for the follow-up leasing.
In practice, the "old" takeover price after a leasing period of 36 months is often around 18% of the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). The "new" takeover price at the end of the 24-month "follow-up leasing" is usually only about 30% of the "old" (first potential) takeover price.
- As a result, the monthly leasing rate is usually significantly lower than in the original leasing contract.
- Additionally, the currently valid conditions of the employer's framework leasing agreement are taken into account.
- The lessee decides on the currently valid conditions here.
ℹ️ The individual offer can only be viewed in the Bikeleasing portal.
Insurance and Service Benefits
The insurance benefits from the original leasing contract are generally transferred to the follow-up leasing.
-
Since follow-up leasing is a new, independent leasing contract with a term of 24 months, the services and conditions of the insurance and service manual for follow-up leasing contracts apply.
- The insurance and service benefits are recalculated based on the new contract data. This takes into account, among other things, the shortened term and the services included in the original leasing contract. As a result, budgets and scopes of services may change.
👉 Here is the Follow-up Leasing Insurance and Service Manual
ℹ️ Follow-up leasing is not an extension of the existing leasing contract under unchanged conditions but a new leasing contract with adjusted conditions.
A change to the insurance or service benefits in follow-up leasing is not possible.
What happens after follow-up leasing?
The following options exist:
👉 Takeover of the bicycle: I want to take over my company bike at the end of the leasing period
- If a takeover offer is available, the bicycle can be taken over.
or
👉 Return of the bicycle: I want to return my company bike at the end of the leasing period
- If the bicycle is not taken over, the follow-up leasing ends with the expiry of the contract term. The bicycle must then be returned according to the applicable return guidelines.
ℹ️ A takeover offer cannot be contractually guaranteed as this would contradict the legal regulations on company bike leasing.
Tax Treatment
The same tax regulations generally apply to follow-up leasing as to the previous company bike leasing.
- The taxable benefit continues to be taxed according to the applicable legal requirements.
- If the employee takes over the bike after the 24-month period, Bikeleasing also applies the flat-rate taxation according to §37b EStG, as long as this paragraph is applicable to the case.
Since no tax or legal advice may be given, no binding information on individual tax or social security treatment can be provided.
ℹ️ Questions about this should be coordinated with the employer, payroll department, or a tax advisor.
Advantages of Follow-up Leasing at a Glance
✅ Continue to use the familiar bicycle
✅ No new bicycle required
✅ Usually lower monthly leasing rate
✅ Insurance coverage generally remains in place
✅ Insurance and service benefits remain usable
✅ No immediate purchase decision required at the end of the leasing period
✅ Option to take over the bicycle later after the follow-up leasing expires
All information in this article is for general guidance only. For decisions regarding benefits or claims, only the insurance terms and conditions in force at the time apply. In case of doubt, the terms and conditions always take precedence.
FAQ/ Additional Notes |
No.
For follow-up leasing, no new bicycle is ordered. The already leased bicycle is leased for another 24 months under new conditions.
How long is the follow-up leasing period?
Follow-up leasing has a fixed term of 24 months.
Yes.
A new monthly leasing rate is calculated for the follow-up leasing. This is usually lower than in the original leasing contract.
Yes.
Since follow-up leasing is conducted through the employer, participation is only possible if the requirements are met and the employer approves the follow-up leasing.
No.
Follow-up leasing is currently offered exclusively for employee leasing contracts. It is not available for company and pool bikes, as well as owner or dealer bikes.
However, this does not mean that every employee contract automatically qualifies for follow-up leasing. Whether follow-up leasing can be offered for a specific contract depends on various factors regulated by the framework leasing agreement between lessor and lessee. Ultimately, the lessee decides whether to offer follow-up leasing to their eligible employees or not.
If follow-up leasing is available for a contract, the corresponding option will be displayed in the Bikeleasing portal.
Yes.
The insurance benefits of the original leasing contract generally remain in place.
Since follow-up leasing is an independent leasing contract, the services and conditions of the currently valid insurance and service manual for follow-up leasing contracts apply.
More information: Follow-up Leasing Insurance and Service Manual
A subsequent change to the insurance or service benefits is not possible
All information in this article is for general guidance only. For decisions regarding benefits or claims, only the insurance terms and conditions in force at the time apply. In case of doubt, the terms and conditions always take precedence.
Basically, yes.
We intend to contact employees at the end of the leasing period to offer a takeover option. This would take place three months before the contract expires.
- In practice, the "old" takeover price after a leasing period of 36 months is often around 18% of the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). The "new" takeover price at the end of the 24-month "follow-up leasing" is usually only about 30% of the "old" (first potential) takeover price.
Step-by-step instructions for taking over the bicycle at the end of the leasing period: I want to take over my company bike at the end of the leasing period
A takeover offer cannot be contractually guaranteed as this would contradict the legal regulations on company bike leasing.
No.
At the end of the follow-up leasing, the available options can be reviewed and selected.
If the bicycle is not taken over, the follow-up leasing ends with the expiry of the contract term and the bicycle is returned according to the applicable return guidelines.
Step-by-step instructions for returning the bicycle at the end of the leasing period: I want to return my company bike at the end of the leasing period
An early termination of the leasing contract can be requested at any time through the Bikeleasing portal.
Returning the bicycle to the dealer is generally only possible in the event of an insured damage claim through the Bikeleasing employer default insurance or at the regular end of the contract.
Early return of the bicycle due to dissatisfaction or non-use is generally excluded in commercial leasing.
Possible reasons include:
- The employer belongs to a customer group for which follow-up leasing is not offered.
- The requirements for follow-up leasing are not met.
- It concerns a company bike, pool bike, owner bike, or dealer bike.
- The existing contractual relationship does not allow follow-up leasing.
Whether follow-up leasing can be offered is always checked individually.
If follow-up leasing is available for the contract, the corresponding option will be displayed as part of the decision at the end of the leasing period in the Bikeleasing portal.
- If the option is not displayed, there can be various reasons. Therefore, no definitive statement about the possibility of follow-up leasing can be derived from the absence of the option alone.
- Follow-up leasing can only be requested and concluded through the Bikeleasing portal.
If follow-up leasing is available for the contract, the corresponding option appears as part of the decision at the end of the leasing period in the Bikeleasing portal.
After selecting follow-up leasing, the familiar approval process starts:
- Digital approval by the employee
- Approval by the employer
- Automatic activation of the follow-up leasing at the end of the original leasing contract
Can another follow-up leasing be concluded after the follow-up leasing expires?
No.
After the 24-month follow-up leasing expires, no further follow-up leasing contracts are currently planned.
Only the available options at the end of the leasing period, especially takeover or return of the bicycle, are available.
Translation Note: This article has been translated using automatic translation software to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the content. Despite reasonable efforts to provide an accurate translation, we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
If there are any questions regarding the accuracy of the information in the translated article, please refer to the German version of the article, which is the official version.