Leasing Alive And Well
Cincinnati, Ohio September 19, 2008
The automotive leasing industry has gone through some drastic changes over the last 45 days. Swapalease.com, however, contends that leasing in the car market is alive and well. Although some major players such as Chrysler Financial have exited leasing recently, most of the Imports (i.e. Toyota, Honda, BMW, etc.) have experienced little change in leasing since the beginning of August when viewing leasing as a percentage of new-vehicle retail transactions. As a result, Swapalease.com has still seen steady growth in their lease transfer business consistent with prior years.
When isolating top Asian nameplates in terms of new-vehicle retail lease penetration percentages there was no statistically significant evidence of a retreat from leasing. In fact, the Asian automakers remained relatively consistent overall when compared to previous periods and in one instance even showed an increase in lease penetration. European brands were slightly more erratic than their Asian counterparts regarding lease penetration percentages, but far more consistent than domestic offerings. The one exception to this being Daimler AG (Mercedes Benz) being off 16.5 percent in August when compared to July. Regardless, better than one in three Mercedes vehicles were leased in August indicating that leasing is a necessary financing tool for the automaker.
Other factors indicating the relevance of leasing as an automotive financing option moving forward include the following. First, consumers and dealers alike prefer the shorter trade cycles permitted by leasing as opposed to more traditional long term financing. Second, leasing allows consumers to drive more expensive vehicles with a lower payment, which is evidenced by high luxury lease penetration percentages. Lastly, a significant business opportunity is created for foreign captives, banks, and credit unions when domestic leasing companies change course.
Swapalease.com is the world’s largest automotive lease marketplace and the pioneer of facilitating lease transfers online as evidenced by the company’s patented processes. Conceptualized in 1997 it has evolved into a leading automotive consumer online destination servicing all aspects of the automotive leasing lifecycle including education, research, pricing, acquisition and lease transfer.
Swapalease.com has been featured in stories by CNN, MSNBC, Time, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal as well as cited by leading search engine provider, Google.com as an online marketing case study.
The company is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is privately held. For more information please call 866- SWAPNOW (866-792-7669).
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