Swapalease.com Auto Lease Trends Report 4 th Quarter 2016 A snapshot of the auto lease industry 1
About The Report Swapalease.com studies lease market trends and consumer insights each quarter. In order to gain these insights the company studies a variety of lease market data, and takes the pulse of consumer appetites for leasing by presenting surveys to more than 2,500 drivers across the U.S. The purpose of the report is to provide a deeper understanding to the industry on where U.S. auto lease activity is in the present market, and where it may be forecast to go in coming quarters. 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. 2
Auto Lease Activity in Q4 2016 U.S. auto lease activity during the 4th quarter, 2016, saw continued growth for several brands. Overall search traffic on the Swapalease.com marketplace saw pressure from consumer spending occurring in a number of areas in addition to auto shopping. Namely, holiday shopping meant that search traffic was down toward the end of the quarter. It is expected that the U.S. auto lease market will remain at healthy and near-record levels heading into the 1st quarter of 2017, particularly with overall U.S. new-vehicle sales expected to remain in the forecasted 17+ million mark for 2017. 3
Q4 Searches by Brand Hyundai and Subaru saw the largest lift in search traffic during the 4th quarter in comparison to the3rd quarter, with European brands Mercedes-Benz and Audi also seeing some gains in search traffic. GMC was among the only U.S. domestic brands to see a lift in search traffic. The additional brands that saw declines suffered from a seasonal pinch as many consumers were also focused on holiday spending, in addition to vehicle shopping. Domestic -3% -6% -6% -4% -2% 6% European 3% 2% -6% -4% -2% -2% -15% -8% Asian -3% -5% -10% 25% 15% *Compared to Q3-2016 4
Q4 Searches by Brand While still seeing depressed search activity, Volkswagen search traffic was off its lows from the 3rd quarter. Subaru and Hyundai continue to see gains compared with the same time a year ago, as well as Chevrolet and GMC. 11% Domestic -6% -2% -9% -6% 15% -15% European 11% 0% -1% -14% -7% Asian -17% -19% -12%-12%-13% 17% 21% *Compared to Q4 previous year 5
15% 5% 4% 9% 8% 5% 5% 4% 4% 8% 7% 6% 5% 3% 2% 12% 12% 11% 3% 2% 6% 5% 10% 9% 2% 2% 1% 1% 7% 6% 1% 1% 2% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% % of Total Traffic Q3 16 Q4 16 Chevrolet was the only U.S. domestic brand to not see search traffic gains overall in the Swapalease.com marketplace during the 4th quarter compared to the 3rd quarter. Continuing its rebound from its recent scandal, Volkswagen also saw gains in overall traffic during the 4th quarter. 6
$418.35 $410.56 $376.98 $375.24 $364.38 $345.11 $322.69 $357.27 $489.34 $532.16 $658.35 $572.76 $516.48 $456.86 $374.98 $342.44 $525.57 $679.91 $736.26 Swapalease Q4 Lease Report Q4 Avg. Payment by Brand Americans paid an average of $435.35 per month on their leases during the 4th quarter. A 7
Lease Term Trends 8
Q4 Lease Snapshot Y-O-Y Months Remaining Miles Remaining Incentives 22.3 23.2 21,738 23,016 $657.00 $671.00 Q4 2015 Q4 2016 Q4 2015 Q4 2016 Q4 2015 Q4 2016 Q4 Lease Trends Months remaining, miles remaining and listing incentives all remain in normal levels, although incentives particularly have begun to increase as people look to become more aggressive in attracting interest for their vehicles. 9
Q4 Lease Snapshot (by gender) Months Remaining Miles Remaining Incentives $566.00 $458.00 20.2 24.8 20,126 24,869 Men Women Men Women Men Women Q4 Lease Trends During the 4th quarter there remained a slight difference in how men and women approach listing incentives,as well as how they're driving their vehicles in consideration to miles driven and when they're looking to escape their lease for another vehicle. 10
Q4 Lease Profiles WHAT THEY RE LEASING 73% 57% 61% 56% 57% 43% 39% 44% 43% 27% Hybrid Small Car Mid-Size Luxury Utility Men Women ACURA AUDI FORD TOYOTA BMW TOYOTA LEXUS MB FORD BMW 6.5 7.1 10.1 16.9 17.2 0 5 10 15 20 Women 6.5 7.7 10.4 10.5 13.5 0 5 10 15 Men 11
Q4 Lease Profiles WHAT THEY RE PAYING 17% 22% 26% 25% 19% 17% 16% 8% 7% 11% 9% 6% 4% 5% 4% 5% Under $200 $200-$299 $300-$399 $400-$499 $500-$599 $600-$799 $800-$999 $1000+ Average Payment Q4 vs. Q3 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 The average monthly payment on a lease in Q3 was $445.85; this number dipped slightly for Q4 at $435.35. 12
Brand Trends 13
Q4 Lease Profiles Number of Leases Per Household 40.7% 39.9% 35.7% 35.7% 19.0% 17.9% 2.9% 4.6% 1.2% 1.1% 0.4% 0.9% 0 Lease 1 Lease 2 Leases 3 Leases 4 Leases 5 or more Number of Leases Per Household 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 During Q4 2016, the number of leases per household remained relatively unchanged compared with the previous quarter, with the exception of a small bump in the number of 2-lease households dipping and 3-lease households increasing slightly. 14
Q4 Lease Profiles What Type of Lease Are You Driving? 14.9% 16.8% 12.6% 12.2% 16.6% 13.9% 5.9% 8.2% 5.3% 5.3% 2.7% 4.2% 4.4% 2.0% Small Car Midsize Car Fullsize Car Spors Car SUV Crossover Truck Type of Lease in the Driveway 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 Smaller cars, mid-size cars and crossovers all saw slight increased from Q3 to Q4; SUVs and trucks both saw slight dips from quarter to quarter. 15
Q4 Lease Profiles Domestic Import Yes Not Sure No 68% 32% 19% 31% 50% Type of Vehicle You d Want to Lease Slightly more drivers said they want to lease a foreign vehicle compared to the 3rd quarter. Stay with the Same Brand? More drivers in the 4th quarter said they wanted to stay with the same brand compared with the 3rd quarter. 16
42.2% 41.4% 27.3% 25.7% 34.0% 34.9% 7.5% 11.4% 16.8% 14.8% 17.7% 17.4% Reasons For Change Q3 16 Q4 16 The reasons why people decide to change their vehicle constantly change. Over the last two quarters, the largest reason why people would want to change is because they want a different type of vehicle (from one size or segment to another). The desire to change because of brand preference fell during the 4 th quarter. 17
51 49 43 41 57 58 58 60 Overall Confidence in the Economy Confidence in Economy Looking Ahead Confidence Level in Leasing A Vehicle Today Confidence in Leasing Versus a Year Ago Economy & Lease Confidence Indexes Those polled feel generally more confident about the overall economy, as well as their desire to shop for a vehicle lease compared when considering economic conditions today, going forward, or compared with a year ago. Q3 16 Q4 16 18
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