The Great Recession has given us so much since it began five years ago with the fall of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, from underwater mortgages and high unemployment, to bailouts of the financial and automotive manufacturing sectors and credit freezes.
Regarding the last item, a byproduct from said freeze will flood automakers with the potential to retain and steal customers when more and more leases draw to completion in the next year.
Leasing has come back into vogue as of late due to low interest rates, easy credit terms and improved residuals, allowing automakers to keep more of their profits while giving the lessee lower payments. In turn, 23 percent of new-car registrations through September 2013 are through leases, a number that should rise as wave upon wave of lease customers return to the showroom for the latest and greatest.
This fact is not lost on any of the automakers wanting to bag and tag as many customers from the booming off-lease salmon run as possible. Case in point: GM, who rolled out their lease-conquest program nationwide last month, offering $500 through January 2, 2014 to non-GM customers to lease most of the Chevrolet and all of the GMC lineup. Meanwhile, Hyundai will offer more early-termination deals so that their customer base never even make it to the run.
And how long will this run last? ALG Inc. president Larry Dominque says automakers should have plenty of fish to catch until 2017, with those whose customers are loyal will focus on retaining their stocks while those who ready to fill their coolers will be aggressive with their bait, such as lower payments and nicer incentives.
from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com
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