Incentives to Propel Car Leases in May

Online new-lease marketplace Wantalease.com has released its latest update on new lease offerings for the month of April and a forecast for new leasing trends in May.

The numbers reveal a number of factories, including Ford, are targeting compact and midsize inventory. Ford offered the most generous discounts on vehicles in those segments. Most luxury and midsize SUV brands maintained their lease prices: the Nissan Sentra is currently priced the lowest of all vehicles for the third consecutive month, with payments as low as $109 per month. The Chevrolet Cruze and Ram 1500 Crew Cab both place second for new lease deals with payments of just $169 per month.

While most vehicle prices have remained steady into the month of May, many dealers have offered lower lease pricing on compact and midsize cars. The vehicle that saw the largest price drop coming into the month of May was the Ram 1500 Crew Cab with a 28.70% decrease. The vehicle is offered at $169 per month, followed by the Ford Fusion at $199 (-21.44%), the Ford Focus for $179 per month (-11.90%), and the Infiniti QX80 at $669 per month (-10.66%).

The vehicles with the largest increased monthly payment are the Honda Accord with a 29.37% increase, and the Lexus RX 350 with a 10.08% increase in price from March. The Honda Accord is currently offered at $249 per month, while the Lexus RX350 is offered for $429.

“It’s apparent that dealers are finding great value and opportunities in promoting lease opportunities with cars, as many of these vehicles have performance and features that rivals today’s smaller and midsize utility vehicles,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president of Wantalease.com. “We may also want to watch how the price of gas plays a role in smaller car demand, as the price of fuel has risen a little over the last few months.”

Related: Flat Prices, Higher Incentive Spending Signals Headwinds for New-Car Market