India’s equipment leasing industry has become an essential financing channel for businesses seeking to access costly machinery, IT hardware, and construction equipment without locking up scarce working capital, with leasing increasingly viewed as converting a heavy capital expenditure burden into a predictable, manageable operating expense. The market spans several distinct segments including construction and earthmoving equipment financing, IT and office equipment leasing, agricultural and tractor financing, and full-service vehicle leasing, each dominated by different combinations of large diversified NBFCs, foreign-parented specialists, and OEM-affiliated captive finance arms. Banks remain on the periphery of Indian leasing compared to developed markets, leaving the field open to NBFCs including Tata Capital, Bajaj Finance, and Mahindra Finance alongside specialised international players such as ORIX India and Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service, even as the sector continues to absorb the fallout from SREI Infrastructure Finance’s prolonged insolvency resolution, finally concluded when the National Company Law Tribunal approved National Asset Reconstruction Company’s resolution plan for the SREI group companies. Let us have a look at the top 10 equipment leasing companies in India for the year 2026.
1. Tata Capital Limited
Tata Capital offers one of the widest leasing product ranges in the country, spanning IT equipment, plant and machinery, furniture and fixtures, cars, and solar systems, positioning itself as a genuine one-stop shop for corporate clients across virtually every asset category. The company’s construction equipment financing arm additionally serves real estate developers with new asset finance, refinancing, working capital support, and structured finance, offering loan tenures typically ranging from one to five years with competitive rates and minimal hidden fees.
Tata Capital serves SMEs, large corporates, and real estate developers with an unmatched breadth of leasing categories under the trusted Tata Group umbrella, and its combination of genuine one-stop-shop product range with the group’s institutional credibility confirms its position as one of the most comprehensive and widely trusted equipment leasing companies operating in the country.
2. ORIX India
ORIX India, part of the Japanese ORIX Group, offers equipment leasing solutions to SMEs, large corporates, and multinational companies across healthcare, IT, construction, and manufacturing, uniquely managing technology obsolescence risk and e-waste disposal on behalf of clients when leased assets are returned at the end of their term. The company’s digital-first Supido platform provides instant access to essential equipment like IT hardware, printers, and generators, while its lease terms range from 12 to 60 months with a choice of fixed or floating interest rates and dedicated account management.
ORIX India serves technology-conscious businesses across healthcare, IT, and manufacturing seeking flexible end-of-term options and genuine asset lifecycle management, and its distinctive assumption of technology obsolescence and e-waste disposal risk on behalf of clients makes it one of the most operationally sophisticated and client-friendly equipment leasing companies in the country.
3. Bajaj Finance Limited
Bajaj Finance brings substantial consumer-facing lending strength into equipment and machinery leasing specifically for sectors including healthcare and manufacturing, leveraging the broader Bajaj Finserv ecosystem’s rapid, technology-enabled underwriting and disbursement infrastructure. The company’s scale as one of India’s largest diversified NBFCs gives it distinctive underwriting speed and digital processing advantages relative to smaller, more narrowly focused equipment finance specialists.
Bajaj Finance serves healthcare providers and manufacturing businesses with fast, technology-enabled equipment and machinery leasing backed by the broader Bajaj Finserv ecosystem’s underwriting scale, and its consistent emphasis on rapid digital disbursement makes it one of the most operationally efficient equipment financiers for businesses that prioritise speed of access to capital equipment.
4. Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited
Mahindra Finance maintains a distinctively strong rural and agricultural footprint, financing tractors, commercial vehicles, and farm equipment for customers across India’s semi-urban and rural markets that many larger, metro-focused financiers underserve. The company has more recently entered passenger vehicle leasing as well, bundling road tax, insurance, breakdown assistance, and routine maintenance into a single predictable lease price aimed at corporate clients seeking to convert vehicle capital expenditure into operating expense.
Mahindra Finance serves rural and semi-urban agricultural equipment buyers alongside corporate vehicle leasing clients with its distinctive dual rural-and-urban footprint, and its deep agricultural financing heritage combined with newer full-service vehicle leasing expansion makes it one of the most geographically differentiated equipment financiers in the country.
5. L&T Finance Limited
L&T Finance, born out of the Larsen & Toubro engineering and construction conglomerate, naturally focuses its equipment leasing expertise on construction equipment and commercial vehicles, drawing on the parent group’s deep operational understanding of heavy machinery usage patterns, resale values, and maintenance cycles. This construction-industry heritage gives L&T Finance a distinctive credibility among contractors and infrastructure developers evaluating equipment financing partners.
L&T Finance serves construction contractors and commercial vehicle operators with equipment financing informed by the parent group’s genuine engineering and construction expertise, and its unique heritage advantage in understanding heavy equipment residual values and usage economics makes it one of the most operationally credible equipment lessors for infrastructure-focused clients.
6. Sundaram Finance Limited
Sundaram Finance, one of the veteran names in Indian vehicle and equipment financing, has built decades of accumulated expertise in commercial vehicle and equipment leasing, particularly across South India where the company has maintained deep dealer and customer relationships. The firm’s long operating history and consistent underwriting discipline have made it a trusted name for customers who prioritise institutional stability and established relationships over newer digital-first alternatives.
Sundaram Finance serves commercial vehicle and equipment buyers, particularly across South India, with decades of consistent underwriting discipline and dealer relationship depth, and its status as one of the industry’s most veteran and stable names confirms its position as one of the most trusted legacy equipment and vehicle finance companies in the country.
7. Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, part of the Murugappa Group, stands alongside Sundaram Finance as one of the established veterans in Indian vehicle and equipment financing, building a substantial national franchise spanning commercial vehicle loans, equipment finance, and home loans over multiple decades of operation. The company’s diversified lending portfolio beyond pure equipment finance gives it a broader institutional resilience across different credit cycles.
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance serves commercial vehicle operators and equipment buyers nationally with a diversified, multi-decade lending franchise backed by the Murugappa Group, and its sustained scale and diversification across lending categories confirms its position as one of the most institutionally resilient equipment and vehicle financiers in the country.
8. SREI Equipment Finance Limited (under NARCL resolution)
SREI Equipment Finance, historically one of the most visible names in Indian construction equipment leasing offering contractors access to excavators, cranes, concrete pumps, and road construction machinery from multiple OEMs through flexible lease structures aligned with project cash flows, underwent Reserve Bank of India-directed insolvency proceedings after the RBI superseded its board in October 2021. The National Company Law Tribunal’s Kolkata bench subsequently approved National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited’s resolution plan for the SREI group companies, formally concluding one of the largest NBFC resolution processes in recent Indian financial history.
SREI Equipment Finance historically served contractors seeking cross-brand, cross-equipment leasing flexibility for heavy construction machinery, and while its business continues under new ownership following the NARCL-led resolution, its inclusion on this list reflects the platform’s continued relevance and the broader lesson its insolvency offers about execution risk in a capital-intensive, cyclical leasing business.
9. Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service (SMAS)
Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service, the Japanese subsidiary specialising in full-service vehicle leasing, operates across more than 50 locations in India, bundling maintenance, insurance, and disposal into a single predictable monthly payment for corporate fleet clients. The company’s operating lease model, distinct from finance leases, has gained particular traction among corporates specifically seeking to convert vehicle-related capital expenditure into predictable operating expense without ownership responsibilities.
Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service serves corporate fleet clients seeking fully bundled, maintenance-inclusive vehicle leasing across a genuinely extensive location network, and its Japanese parentage combined with a dedicated full-service operating lease specialisation makes it one of the most operationally polished vehicle leasing specialists serving corporate clients in the country.
10. Tata Cleantech Capital Limited (TCCL)
Tata Cleantech Capital Limited offers comprehensive equipment financing and leasing solutions with a distinctive focus on clean energy and sustainability-linked asset categories, enabling businesses to acquire essential equipment with financing coverage reaching up to 100 percent for qualifying assets. The company’s specialised positioning at the intersection of equipment finance and clean energy transition reflects the broader shift among Indian financiers toward sustainability-linked lending products.
Tata Cleantech Capital serves businesses seeking equipment financing specifically aligned with clean energy and sustainability goals, and its distinctive up-to-100-percent financing coverage for qualifying green assets makes it one of the more forward-looking and sustainability-focused equipment leasing specialists within the broader Tata Group financial services ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Which companies dominate India’s equipment leasing market?
A: Tata Capital, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra Finance, L&T Finance, Sundaram Finance, and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance are consistently cited among the well-known names dominating Indian equipment leasing, alongside specialised international players such as ORIX India for IT and industrial equipment and Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service for full-service vehicle leasing.
Q: What happened to SREI, once a leading construction equipment leasing company?
A: SREI Infrastructure Finance and SREI Equipment Finance were admitted for bankruptcy following applications filed by the Reserve Bank of India in October 2021 after the RBI superseded the companies’ board, and the National Company Law Tribunal’s Kolkata bench subsequently approved National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited’s resolution plan for both group companies, concluding the prolonged insolvency process.
Q: Why do banks play a limited role in equipment leasing compared to NBFCs in India?
A: Banks remain on the periphery of Indian equipment leasing compared to developed markets, mostly participating through subsidiaries, because NBFCs have historically been faster in approvals and more familiar with the residual values and resale dynamics of specialised machinery, while banks tend to require more collateral and take longer to underwrite equipment-specific credit risk.
Q: What is the difference between an operating lease and a finance lease for equipment?
A: In an operating lease, offered by companies like Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service, the lessor retains ownership and bundles maintenance and insurance into the lease payment while the lessee simply returns the asset at term end, whereas a finance lease, more common with equipment financiers like Tata Capital and L&T Finance, is structured so the lessee typically has the option to own the asset at the end of the lease term.
Q: What industries rely most heavily on equipment leasing in India?
A: Construction and infrastructure, healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, and IT and office administration are the industries that rely most heavily on equipment leasing in India, since leasing allows businesses in these capital-intensive sectors to access costly machinery and technology without bearing large upfront ownership costs or the burden of managing technology obsolescence and asset disposal.
