The neutron-deficient 196,198Pb isotopes have been studied in Coulombexcitation experiments employing the Miniball γ-ray spectrometer and radioactive ion beams from the REX-ISOLDE post-accelerator at CERN. The reduced transition probabilities of the first excited 2+ states in 196Pb and 198Pb nuclei have been measured for the first time. Values of B(E2) = 18.2 +4.8 −4.1 W.u. and B(E2) = 13.1 +4.9 −3.5 W.u., were obtained, respectively. The experiment sheds light on the development of collectivity when moving from the regime governed by the generalized seniority scheme to a region, where intruding structures, associated with different deformed shapes, start to come down in energy and approach the spherical ground state.