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Luxury Sports Sedans Lose Favor in Secondary Lease Market

New data from Swapalease.com’s survey-based Q1 lease trends report shows the decades-long domination of the lease market by sports cars and luxury sedans may be over.

May 1, 2019
2 min to read


Interest in SUVs such as the Dodge Durango rose sharply at the expense of sports cars and luxury sedans in Swapalease.com’s Q1 report.

Photo courtesy of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. 

New data from Swapalease.com’s survey-based Q1 lease trends report shows the decades-long domination of the lease market by sports cars and luxury sedans may be over. When asked what type of lease they would most likely get into next, only 11.2% of consumers listed luxury sports sedans, down significantly from 17.7% a year earlier, while 37.7% listed SUVs, up sharply from 29.9% a year ago.

Among the reasons cited for exiting a lease early range from “change in income” (38.3%, up from 34.8% a year ago) to “change in family size” (13%, up from 8.1%). Fifteen percent of respondents said they are driving an average of 7,500 miles a year on their vehicle lease, up from only 10.4% of people indicating this level a year earlier. This is a possible indication that more people are utilizing ride sharing and food delivery services, and driving less for work, recreation and everyday household tasks, analysts said.

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The Dodge, Honda, and Volkswagen brands saw a noticeable year-over-year increase. Ford and Nissan were among those seeing a decline. Searches for Ram vehicles increased by 93%.

“I don’t think many people will be surprised to see that SUVs are becoming more popular as a lease option,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president of Swapalease.com. “However, the luxury sports sedan has been a staple of leasing for decades, and it is yet another indication that the American appetite for vehicles continues to march toward SUVs and crossovers of all sizes.”

This story originally ran on F&I and Showroom, another Bobit Business Media Publication.

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