Report Shows Cadillac Seeing Big Gains in Search Traffic; Volkswagen Continues Gains Following Scandal
CINCINNATI, OHIO (June 1, 2017) – Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest online car lease marketplace, today released its quarterly lease trends report for the first quarter, 2017 (click here to access the report). The report shows that Volkswagen lease search traffic is now up +2% compared to the previous quarter, a sign the brand continues to mend for people shopping for a lease. Hyundai saw the largest gain in search traffic during the quarter (+16%), followed by Subaru (+12%).
Among domestic brands, Cadillac saw the biggest jump in the quarter for search traffic (+3%), with Buick and GMC both seeing +2%. Chevrolet was down (-4%), as was Ford (-5%) and Chrysler (-7%). For European brands, Audi saw the biggest gain in the quarter at +5%, and BMW saw the largest drop at -6%.
Mercedes-Benz held onto its position as the largest share of overall traffic (10%), with BMW and Lexus each at 9% of overall traffic. Cadillac saw the largest increase in share of traffic, jumping from 4% in the fourth quarter to 7% in the first quarter. Volkswagen, still recovering from its diesel scandal, rose from 2% of traffic in the fourth quarter to 4% in the first quarter.
The average monthly payment on a lease was registered at $436.35 (Slightly up from Q4 at $435.35), with Mercedes-Benz holding the most expensive monthly payment at $704.65. Toyota holds the least expensive monthly payment during the fourth quarter at $348.34.
In the first quarter, men listed their vehicles with an average incentive of $578.13, and women listed with an incentive of $462.44. Incentives overall averaged $677.24, compared to a year ago when incentives registered $662.17.
“There remains plenty of strength in the lease market during the first quarter, and we believe this should persist through the remainder of the year,” said Scot Hall, Executive Vice President of Swapalease.com. “We are seeing data that suggests people are looking to exit their leases earlier in the life of the lease, which shows a healthy appetite to replace their lease with a different type of vehicle.”
Click here to access the Q1 lease report.
About Swapalease.com:
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Swapalease.com is the world’s largest automotive lease marketplace and the pioneer in facilitating lease transfers online. More specifically Swapalease.com matches individuals who want to get out of their lease with people who are looking for short-term lease agreements. Prospective buyers can search the listings for the exact vehicle they want, and then register for a nominal fee, allowing them to use Swapalease.com’s safe online system to contact the prospective seller and close the deal. For more information about Swapalease.com or how to exit your lease early, call 866-SWAPNOW or visit www.swapalease.com.
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