SWAPALEASE.COM RELEASES LEASE TRENDS REPORT FOR SECOND QUARTER
Search Traffic on Secondary Market Jumps; Shoppers Seeking Alternate Options From Fewer OEM Incentive Offers
Cincinnati, OH (August 16, 2018)
Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, announced today its latest lease trends report with highlights from the second quarter of 2018. According to the report, brands such as Buick (6%), Volkswagen (6%), Infiniti (9%) and Hyundai (5%) saw increases in search traffic compared to the previous quarter, while GMC (-13%), Lexus (-13%), and Subaru (-13%) were all down from the first quarter. Click here to download the full report.
Compared to the second quarter a year ago, Mercedes-Benz search traffic is up 29%, Volkswagen is up 23%, and Toyota is up 35%. Swapalease attributes much of this growth to an influx of car shoppers seeking alternate options for lease deals since many OEMs have lowered incentives on new lease offerings. As a result, more consumers are searching to take over an existing lease deal through the Swapalease.com marketplace.
BMW continues to lead all brands in total overall share of traffic on Swapalease.com, with 11% share of traffic. Mercedes-Benz is next with 8%, followed by Audi at 3%. Lexus, which saw its search traffic fall significantly from the previous quarter, also saw its total overall share of traffic on the site fall to 2%, down from 3% the previous quarter. Several brands continue to see total overall search traffic less than 1%, such as Chrysler, Ram and Nissan.
The average lease payment on the road in the second quarter was registered at $487.51 per month, down from $495.83 in the first quarter.
The average months remaining rose during the second quarter, up to 28.8, an indication that people are looking to escape their leases earlier in their contracts. Conversely, the average miles remaining dropped slightly to 22,617 left in their contract, which shows people are driving more while they have their lease; perhaps due to the continued low price of fuel. The average incentive offered to escape an existing lease fell slightly to $601.91, which is reflective of the rise of search traffic and the increased demand for lease takeover. Sellers are finding more buying activity on the site and are less likely to offer a hefty incentive to escape their contract.
“As the trends show, leasing remains popular as an alternate form of finance, and shoppers will continue to seek the right deal that fits their automotive needs whether that’s on the showroom floor or through the secondary market where there is greater term flexibility,” added Scot Hall, Executive Vice President of Swapalease.com.
Most people continue to lease an SUV (23.7%), up noticeably from 19.5% during the first quarter. Conversely, mid-size car drivers fell to 12.3% (13.3%), as well as sports car drivers at 4.7% (7.7%). What’s more, even though popular truck models are some of today’s best-selling vehicles at the dealership, only 3.5% of people say they’re leasing one, down from 4.2% in the first quarter.
